Scripture

August 21, 2019

Sept. 1: 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Book of Sirach, this Sunday’s first reading, sounds a fundamental motif of the Bible: “My child, conduct your affairs with humility and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts.”

August 21, 2019

Aug. 25: 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Some years ago, I read Barbara Gordon’s memoir, “I’m Dancing as Fast as I Can,” a frank and gripping account of a woman who was at the top of her career as a documentary producer when her life fell apart.

August 07, 2019

Aug. 18: 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

This provocative phrase, I learned, originated with a Quaker pamphlet published in 1955 titled “Speak Truth to Power: a Quaker Search for an Alternative to Violence.” It has been adopted by many different groups since then to characterize their public stance.

August 07, 2019

Aug. 11: 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Some claim that everything there is to say about the spiritual life has already been said by St. Augustine, the remarkable fourth-century bishop of Hippo in northern Africa. An “exhibit A” of his enduring wisdom is his famous quotation from his “Confessions,” the magnificent account of his own spiritual journey: “You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

July 24, 2019

Aug. 4: 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Scripture readings for this Sunday seem to gang up on us and insist on a truth that may not fit comfortably into our mid-summer leisure activities. The tone is set by the first reading from the Book of Ecclesiastes or, also known by its Hebrew name, Qoheleth.

July 24, 2019

July 28: 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The readings for this Sunday give us a glimpse into the biblical understanding of God. A strong current that runs through all the Bible is a deep reverence for the utter majesty and transcendence of God. Genesis acclaims God as the creator of the universe, the one who set the boundaries of the seas and fashions human beings from the clay of the earth and fills them with divine life through God’s own life breath. God rules the turns and twists of history, fashioning a people for his own and giving them a land of promise.

July 10, 2019

July 21: 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Sunday readings offer two wonderful stories involving biblical women. Genesis 18 contains one of the most intriguing incidents in the Bible.

July 10, 2019

July 14: 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

This Fourth of July I watched the news reports about the earthquake in Southern California and saw an interview with the mayor of the town of Ridgecrest, Peggy Breeden. Her town was at the epicenter of the quake.

June 19, 2019

July 7: 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 7: 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

June 19, 2019

June 30: 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Portraying human life as a journey is one of the oldest and most important metaphors in the Bible, as it is in other literature. The epic journey of Ulysses is at the heart of a Greek classic. “Pilgrim’s Progress” also presents human life unfolding as a journey. The story of Israel’s ancestors begins with the journey of Abraham, called by God to set out from his homeland in Ur for a land of destiny, and so the story of God’s people would begin.
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