For me, one of the saddest lines in all of Holy Scripture comes from the little fellow with the one talent: “I was afraid and I went and hid your talent in the ground.” Fear loses. Passion wins.
00443 – Faith Helps Us Resist Violence
Faith becomes the one wholly inflexible ground for resistance to violence, precisely because it teaches us how to face death—not in excited expectation of reward, but in the sober letting-go of our fantasies in the sure hope that a faithful God holds us firmly in life...
00435 – God Laughs & Weeps with Us
The story of Jesus enables me to envision God as One who genuinely cares for each and all of us. In Jesus, God confronts the Darkness face to face, Incarnate, for our sake. Jesus is Light to the gentle face of God. The story of Jesus says that God laughs with us in...
00316 – Glory is Not What We Think
The mounting rhythms of time, the gathering passion of godhead pervading earth’s body erupt, ecstatic, unbounded…no fiery deluge, no fist-clenching rapture. No star-strewn apocalypse. Only a woman laboring. Only the needy cry of child in the dark. Glory is not what we...
00123 – Dying Before You Die
What is the wisdom that matters now? For me, it’s the Paschal Mystery [the passion, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus the Christ]. . . . Simply, the one who would save his life or her life will lose it and the one who’s willing to lose it, will save it. In...
00052 – Friendship Does Not include Domination
Friendship is the reasonable passion for truly human fellowship; it is a mutual affection cemented by loyalty. The more people begin to live with one another as friends, the more privileges and claims to domination become superfluous. The more people trust one...