If we are fortunate, we will, like Jesus, be led by the Spirit into the desert. There, amidst all that seems barren, we will bloom. For it is in desert places that the externals we’ve built up and hide behind can be removed; status, privileges, ideologies, defenses. We are inclined to cling to these externals … Continue reading “Facing Our Demons”
Category: Military-Dominion
Sacred and Profane
Jesus cleanses the Temple in today’s Gospel reading. The Temple represents a division instituted by religion, specifically the division between Divinity and the natural world. Gods were once believed synonymous with the forces of nature. Those forces could be deadly and were feared. So too the gods assigned to the forces were deadly and feared, … Continue reading “Sacred and Profane”
Models of Authority
One model of authority is to rule over people. It is the military model of domination. A rather clear sign of such authority is the threat of or use of a weapon. The weapon might be a fist or a gun. It could be a knife or a tongue sharpened like one. Whatever its shape, … Continue reading “Models of Authority”
In Dependence
What is often hidden from we who are clever and learned is the truth that we live in dependence. When we’re clever, about getting money, or we’re learned, about getting information, we can forget that simple truth about dependence. Wealth and information tempt us toward self-reliance, self-sufficiency. We might even be tempted to use both … Continue reading “In Dependence”
Doing Our Jobs
Jesus’ opponents were not all necessarily heinous people. It is quite likely that some scribes and Pharisees who constantly debated Him loved their wives and children. The chief priests who determined his need to die were possibly faithful in providing for the well-being of widows and orphans. Pontius Pilate who ordered His crucifixion probably had … Continue reading “Doing Our Jobs”
Strong and Weak
The Magi seek one they believe is born to wisdom. They are strong in their conviction, travelling possibly thousands of miles to find the child. They are therefore also strong physically to make the journey and strong emotionally to keep at it. Being strong they are not deterred by a weak King, Herod, who is … Continue reading “Strong and Weak”
Kings
Jesus is no king. Kings however, would like us to believe he is. The king of the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope, instituted a feast day in 1925 proclaiming Jesus a king. Pope Pius XI did so in an attempt to encourage disciples to transcend earthly kings and the nationalism they were ratcheting up in … Continue reading “Kings”