Every now and then a scripture text slaps you in the face. In the Acts of the Apostles Paul presents his apologia before the Sanhedrin with this remark: I was zealous for God, just as all of you are today. What Paul came to realize and what he hoped to get his co-religionists to realize,… Read More »

Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted and they came to him. He appointed Twelve, whom he also named Apostles, that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach. Twelve was a symbolic number in Israel — the sons of Jacob who became the twelve tribes.… Read More »

One of the questions which has vexed the Church for centuries: Jesus is the savior of the world. Does that mean only those who acknowledge him as the savior will be saved? It does not seem consistent with the vision of God as a loving Father named as such by Jesus that the majority of… Read More »

I was on a bus in Jerusalem just as Sabbath was beginning. As we went through an ultraorthodox neighborhood people started throwing stones at the bus for violating Sabbath. Our Israeli tour guide sighed, “Thank God for the Palestinians. If it weren’t for them the Jews would be at each others’ throats all the time.”… Read More »

The tradition of the Church speaks of three “theological” virtues: faith, hope and charity. Faith we get — needing to put our trust in God’s plan for us. Charity we get — love is the foundation of a truly human life since it reflects the life of God. Hope does not play as large a… Read More »

The epistle to the Hebrews provides an account of the prayer of Jesus that the gospel writers report happened in the Garden of Gethsemane. He offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. “He was… Read More »

Several years ago, there was a small drama when my sister was getting married. Being from a large family herself and with her husband-to-be one of ten children she wanted to keep the number of invited guests to a reasonable number so she decided that first cousins would be as far up the family tree… Read More »

From the days of the cave men and in every culture there are have priests, those who were set aside to handle sacred things. People were aware of the gap between the gods and themselves so they needed mediators, those set apart, who knew how to deal with the holy. The rest of us are… Read More »

A friend of mine wrote a book about the “silent witnesses in the gospels” and the four friends of the paralyzed man are featured prominently. In most miracle stories the petitioner approaches Jesus with a need and after the cure Jesus says something like “Your faith has saved you.” The paralytic never utters a word… Read More »

The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews criticizes Israel by quoting from Psalm 95:  ‘they do not know my ways.’ For me, the problem is not that I don’t know God’s ways but that I just don’t do them. The scene in the gospel of Mark where Jesus heals the leper rings true. After the… Read More »