MOST OF THE TIME, most of us are happy to be alive. At least in comparison with the alternative, the gift of life seems like a great deal, if not an absolute bargain. All of us woke up this morning. That’s a plus. Whatever happens with the rest of the day, that we are here right now puts us ahead of the game.
DIRECT YOUR ATTENTION for a moment to the cross of Christ. What's fair about that? An innocent man dies at the hands of the guilty. The friend of sinners is abandoned by his closest companions. A teacher, healer, and wonder worker is beaten, wounded, and left to die after being denounced by the very people he served and saved.
TODAY WE'RE ADVISED to seek God where the Holy One may be found. That's fine as far as it goes—so long as God isn't someplace we're not inclined to look. That's the problem with God, isn't it?
TEACHERS SHOULD KNOW more than their students. I think most of us hope that the people who are training us in any capacity have more expertise than those whom they are mentoring. But we've probably all taken courses in which we found out that our teachers were posers, or we've held jobs in which our supervisors had less expertise than we did.
A FEW GENERATIONS ago, the idea that Big Brother was watching us was a fearful notion. George Orwell invented Big Brother in 1949 as the all-seeing eye of a police state that would emerge by the year 1984. While the name implies a fraternal and benevolent watcher, Big Brother was actually the fierce custodian of a lockstep society where contrary thoughts could be crimes, and no one might be trusted.
The danger of losing your beautiful, unique, priceless soul to the Oversoul of culture is real and imminent. But there's a cure for the 21st century, and it's simple and absolutely affordable no matter what the limits of your health insurance are. Just unplug.
What good is the church? This isn't a pious-sounding question, I admit. But if we don't ever ask ourselves why we need the church, then we may never arrive at a serviceable answer.
Theologians have a lot to say about the omniscience of God. The bottom line of every discussion comes down to this: God knows everything.
Whenever shocking events rock the world, many shake their heads and wonder what God is up to. Why would God cause an earthquake or permit a tsunami? Why does God do nothing while those two warring groups chop each other to pieces? Is there a God at all if we live in a world where children die of preventable diseases? Why does God give evil people such free reign to commit grave harm?
God created a world in which all who are thirsty could come to the water. God's hand opens, and the desires of every being are addressed. But many are still waiting for their share—not a banquet, just enough food to feed their children, their elders, their expectant mothers, their breadwinners.