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Genuine or Constructed
Sarah, in today’s Old Testament reading, has yet to give birth to a child. She is judged by the society surrounding her as cursed by God. God is believed to be inflicting this suffering upon Sarah for some sin she must have committed. Sarah suffers deep shame as a result. That Sarah is yet…
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When Does Life Begin?
Jesus’ listeners choose to dehumanize Samaritans. Jesus knows this when he is teaching, “Love God… and love your neighbor as yourself.” Thus, when a listener asks, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus asserts, It is “a Samaritan.” Choosing to dehumanize human life is an element of the ancient and still prevalent religion of Militarism. The…
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Lambs Convert Wolves
“At that time Jesus appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him.” “‘Go on your way. Behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves… Behold, I have given you power.’” Lambs are gentle and vulnerable. They tend to stay close together, shoulder to shoulder, in a community. We see lambs with shepherds…
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A Cache of Life-Giving Energy
Jesus was “determined to journey to Jerusalem’ and on the way “entered a Samaritan village.” “They would not welcome him.” “When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, ‘Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?’ Jesus turned and rebuked them, and He said, “You do…
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Religious Role, Human Vocation
“Jesus said to disciples, “The Spirit… will glorify me, (to) take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine.” The concept of the Trinity, which includes making Jesus God, is developed over time by ruling patriarchs. The author of John’s Gospel, which is today’s reading for…
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Noise to Move Us
“When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind.” “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues… (People) from every nation… gathered in a large crowd… (and) each…
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Revelation: Truth and Peace
In the Book of Revelation, John of Patmos, is reporting on the persecution and violence experienced by early peacemakers. John exhorts them to keep praying and working for peace. John uses symbolic language that includes war images. He begins by writing of a “rider called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages…
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Revelation: Now
In the Book of Revelation, John of Patmos has a vision of a “new earth,” for the “former earth had passed away.” Currently there are persons who misinterpret the book and believe their destructive God will set them in rule over the ‘new earth.’ The rulers will be justified in making ‘former sinners pass…