On that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, / And out of gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see. / The lowly will ever find joy in the Lord, / And the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. / For the tyrant will be no more…[read more]
The past few nights I have been reading the concluding chapters of Roger Lipsey’s biography of Dag Hammarskjold. These chapters deal with the very complicated role of the United Nations, and so of Hammarskjold himself, in the struggle for independence of the Congo. In the course of that most difficult time in Hammarskjold’s life and work, a work that would ultimately cost him his life, he gave a brief statement on the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Human Rights.…[read more]
The Judaeans answered Pilate, “We have a Law, and according to the Law he ought to die because he has made himself out to be God’s Son.” When, therefore, Pilate heard this statement he was more afraid, and again went into the Praetorium and says to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus did not…[read more]
What makes us, human beings, so restless and anxious? Albert Camus says that we are constantly seeing refuge “in love, and work, and communal life.” From what are we seeking that refuge? The basic philosophical and psychological answer to this question is that we are evading the awareness of our deaths. The gospel answer, while not at all contradicting this, adds that in doing so we are also avoiding our own lives. Remember the young man asks Jesus “Good master, what may I do in order that I may inherit the life of the Age?” And Jesus responds, after telling…[read more]
Today’s reading from 1 John tells us that we are to love one another in the way that God has loved us. The nature of this love of God for us is seen and known, we are told, in God’s giving of Jesus, the very life of God, to us, “so that we might live through him.” God does not love us because we have loved God, but rather in pouring out God’s self to us “as atonement for our sins.” Love, according to the author of this letter, is not a contract; it is not a response to another…[read more]
There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!” But God said to him, “You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things…[read more]
“Why has the Lord permitted us to be defeated today by the Philistines?” 1 Samuel 4:3 A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said, “if you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched the leper, and said to him, “I do will it.…[read more]
“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to…[read more]
On that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, / And out of gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see. / The lowly will ever find joy in the Lord, / And the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. / For the tyrant will be no more…[read more]
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