Tom McKenna, CM
Author
The God of Creation
Images for God — metaphors and visuals that catch something more fundamental and grounded than ideas for God.
Bottom Land (Mt 5:21)
We all know the phrase, “getting to the bottom of it.” It means digging down beneath the outside appearances to the inner core of something
Who’s In/Out? (Mark 3:20-35)
I remember a man complaining that there was too much dissention in his family. He used a memorable phrase to describe their connections: “In a given month, who’s in and who’s out?”
The Power For Oneness (1 Cor 12: 12-13)
The motto on the great seal of the United States is the Latin “E Pluribus Unum.” It’s translated: “Out of the Many, One.”
Hearing the Voice (John 10:11-18)
I think people would worry if someone accused them of “hearing voices.” But the truth of the matter is that during each week, any number of voices are directed at us.
Indwelling (John 14:21-26)
The Lord Jesus grew up in an agricultural setting, and so it’s no surprise that He draws on images that run through that world.
The Shining Gaze (Ps 4:7a; Lk 24:36-80)
A favorite verse, Psalm 4, reads: “Lord, let your face shine upon us.” It summons up a very warm and private kind of experience that each of us in our own way can recognize.
Solidarity – in Life, Death, and New Life (Mark 14:1-15:47)
A remark I once overheard: “I don’t mind suffering when nobody knows about it – as long as somebody knows about it!”
John 3:16 – Read It!
If you’ve watched any sports events over the last decades, you’ve seen banners held high, calling attention to a famous passage in John’s Gospel.
A Closer Walk (John 2:13-25)
Early in St. John’s gospel, we see Jesus resolutely striding into the outer courtyard of the Jerusalem Temple, a space bordering on what the Jewish people acknowledged to be God’s own Dwelling place.