We see a lot of things advertised with that four-letter word these days: “Free!” And we’ve grown wisely skeptical of such claims. We’ve all learned by now, sometimes bitterly, that there’s no free lunch, no free subscriptions, and no free merchandise. (And nobody in Nigeria wants to wire a lot of money to your bank account, you internet users!)
One of my favorite teachings from the epistles is almost a throwaway line from Colossians 3:21: “Fathers, do not nag your children, lest they lose heart.” That’s the old ICEL translation from the breviary, anyway.
I’m not going to pretend that I know a thing about fishing. But I do know a thing or two about casting nets and being caught in them. And isn’t being caught how each of us discovers our vocation?
The young boy sleeps in the shrine, curled up in the most sacred spot in Israel, though he can scarcely appreciate it. Dedicated to God in his mother’s womb, Samuel was delivered into the service of religion without ever being asked what he wanted.
January’s probably not the month most of us like to go swimming. I’ve heard of groups that take a swim in the ocean every January 1, but that sort of chilling experience is not how I personally want to dive into 2009.
That introduces the problem in the eternal story of powers and principalities. So doggone many earthly authorities vie for our allegiance. We try to juggle our obedience to laws both mortal and divine, splayed between church and state or personal profit and love of neighbor.
Most of us like to keep things simple. In life we draw up a plan and then step-by-step try to put it into action.
The desire to house God at a singular address was countered by God’s insistence that it actually works the other way around: The Creator built the house in which creation lives and moves and has its being.
Life had never been comfortable for John; he would have seen no reason to set people at their ease with the little fictions that litter most conversations.
Some things take forever to get here. Whether it’s the arrival of a friend, a birthday, or the holiday season we’re anticipating, the day can’t come fast enough.