This Sunday’s readings remind us—as if we needed reminding—of how small we are in relation to the divine. The first reading from the book of Wisdom sets the tone: “Before the LORD the whole universe is as a grain from…
“O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity — greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ Two-thousand years…
Today’s readings have some of the raw materials of every great James Bond story. Bond’s success depends on his meetings with Q, who equips 007 with the tools he’ll need to accomplish his mission. “Equips” is the key word here…
Those weren’t lepers in today’s readings. They were sightless—blind as Helen Keller. But by God’s grace, some were given visibility of who they were in relation to God—and to their neighbors. And like Helen Keller, their breakthrough moment was the…
The Grand Canyon is on many bucket lists of “things to see before you die.” Of course before venturing out to this site from some hotel or campground, who wouldn’t want to start the day with a nice breakfast? Maybe…
There’s a fine line between comedy and tragedy—but always an important moral in both. The parable of the rich man who winds up in hell while the poor man he ignored to death ends up in God’s eternal presence is…
Pleased to meet you Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah but what’s confusing you Is just the nature of my game. Mick Jagger could have had Jesus in mind when he wrote “Sympathy for the Devil.” At least he…
A coupon has no intrinsic worth other than the value a manufacturer prints on it. A penny isn’t intrinsically worth a cent but its maker vouches for that value. A debit card’s worth goes up and down, depending on the…
Business people could learn a lot about management from Jesus. He wasn’t just a carpenter; he was a craftsman who knew something about planning a project. Good planning requires wisdom, which is the theme of today’s readings. Poor planning and…
In today’s gospel reading from Luke Jesus puts another Pharisee in his place and offers him some practical advice to boot. He tells him how to win friends and influence people with one simple direction, which I’ll paraphrase: Never pay…