This morning I went for my annual physical exam. Afterwards I went to have my blood taken, where I was handed a print-out in order to "check over my information" to see if anything had changed since last year.
In the box labeled "employer or guarantor" I noticed that they had written "God." When I saw it I just started laughing, and I showed it to the woman who was working with me. She explained that they had to write something there, and it must have seemed like the appropriate thing.
But then I quizzed her: what would they do if I defaulted on payment? Do they have God's phone number or email address? Even if they got in touch with God, from what bank would he draw the check? I thought it was all pretty funny.
But it got me thinking on the way home. From what does God save us in Christ? Certainly we are not saved from creditors. We're not even saved from all the illnesses and problems that keep us going to the doctor all the time.
As one of my teachers says, "In Christ we're saved from death, but not from dying."
October 31, 2006
Democracy
Don has a great Merton quote posted today. It points out the education and spiritual formation that is the condition of possibility for a democratic society. And from somebody who rides the subways with the schoolchildren of today, I'm not confident that such formation is going on. They seem like sheep without a shepherd to me.
Check out the post here.
Check out the post here.
October 29, 2006
Desire
Today's Gospel stands in direct contrast to the passage we heard last Sunday. They are unified by Jesus' response to those who seek him out: "What do you want me to do for you?"
Last week we had a negative example in the sons of Zebedee who asked Jesus to increase their own glory. Today we have blind Bartimaeus, an example of faith and a model for our prayer.
From the side of the road Bartimaeus calls out, "Son of David, have pity on me!" Thus he reveals that, though blind by the world's standards, he is the one who can truly see - immediately he sees Truth itself in Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God.
Once he approaches Jesus he tells the Master that he wants to see. But we know that he already sees what really matters. Thus Jesus does not say anything about sight, but simply, "your faith has saved you." This is the faith that made Bartimaeus call out in the first place. He was already saved when he knew in his heart that Jesus was the Son of David, the Anointed of God.
There is only one true desire in the human heart. Yes, we need and want love and care and security, but all of these things at their best are incarnations of the divine presence. Our prayer is simply the realization that God sits humbly amidst all of these earthly loves. In this little bit of faith we call out to God that we want to see, we want more, to enter more fully into this divine mystery.
To be on this path is to enter into the human life of Jesus Christ, and to accept the journey is faith. That is why Jesus is able to say, "Go on your way. Your faith has saved you."
Last week we had a negative example in the sons of Zebedee who asked Jesus to increase their own glory. Today we have blind Bartimaeus, an example of faith and a model for our prayer.
From the side of the road Bartimaeus calls out, "Son of David, have pity on me!" Thus he reveals that, though blind by the world's standards, he is the one who can truly see - immediately he sees Truth itself in Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God.
Once he approaches Jesus he tells the Master that he wants to see. But we know that he already sees what really matters. Thus Jesus does not say anything about sight, but simply, "your faith has saved you." This is the faith that made Bartimaeus call out in the first place. He was already saved when he knew in his heart that Jesus was the Son of David, the Anointed of God.
There is only one true desire in the human heart. Yes, we need and want love and care and security, but all of these things at their best are incarnations of the divine presence. Our prayer is simply the realization that God sits humbly amidst all of these earthly loves. In this little bit of faith we call out to God that we want to see, we want more, to enter more fully into this divine mystery.
To be on this path is to enter into the human life of Jesus Christ, and to accept the journey is faith. That is why Jesus is able to say, "Go on your way. Your faith has saved you."
October 27, 2006
Durability
A brother I met today was talking about how Italian communism never managed to shake the culture of catholicism. He described their creed:
There is no God, and Mary is his mother.
There is no God, and Mary is his mother.
October 25, 2006
Browsing
Mozilla Firefox 2.0 has been released, and I've just updated. It's looks and feels better than ever, and the only thing hard to get used to thus far is that the closing buttons for tabs are on the tabs themselves rather than on the extreme right side of the bar.
My stats indicate that just under half of the visitors to this site come via Internet Explorer, so this is a great time to make the switch. You won't regret it!
My stats indicate that just under half of the visitors to this site come via Internet Explorer, so this is a great time to make the switch. You won't regret it!
October 24, 2006
October 23, 2006
Foiling the Enemy
Yesterday I was leading a children's liturgy of the Word, and I asked the kids why we make the sign of the cross on our forehead, lips, and heart as we begin to hear the Gospel.
One little girl raised her hand and said, "Because we should think about Jesus, and tell him that we love him." Who could improve on an answer like that?
It brought Psalm 8:3 to mind: Out of the mouths of children and of babes you have found praise to foil the enemy and the avenger.
One little girl raised her hand and said, "Because we should think about Jesus, and tell him that we love him." Who could improve on an answer like that?
It brought Psalm 8:3 to mind: Out of the mouths of children and of babes you have found praise to foil the enemy and the avenger.
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