This thread of “Stop, Look and Go” winds through the words and actions of this Feast of Epiphany.
McKenna
Ready to See (Luke 3:1-6; Phil 1:9-10)
What the teacher had done was prepare him to see. She had given him a way to notice more of what was there.
Intertwining Worlds (John 18: 33-37)
More than most any other, the feast of Christ the King immerses us in this swirling dilemma of negotiating worlds.
What do I do, Lord? Gospel/Vincentian Discernment
“What Do I Do, Lord?” Gospel/Vincentian Discernment (Acts 1; John 15) There’s what you might call a woman’s quip about the man supposedly being the one who pursues the woman. It runs, “He chased her and he chased her and he chased her – until she caught him!” You...
St. Louise: Moving Toward Love
St. Louise: Moving Toward Love (Is. 58: Mt. 25) There’s a famous quote attributed to Mark Twain: When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much...
The Saints as Bibliography
The Saints as Bibliography Acts 4:8 There’s a writer who characterizes the lives of the saints as “bibliographic entries onto the life of the Lord Jesus Christ.” A bibliography: a series of additions to the one story; i.e., variations on how Jesus’ story plays...
Moving Toward “I Believe” John 10:27-30
First, some scene-setting. You’re there with these other disciples, and this Jesus person is right in front of you looking you in the eye. He’s in the process of making this claim: “I and God are one. What you hear coming from my mouth is coming from God’s mouth.” And...
The Faces of God
The Faces of God John 8:14 I once came across a psychological test aiming to measure a person’s trust in life or fear of it, life understood in its most general sense as existence or reality. It was getting at the question, “Down at your instinctual level, do...
“Hazy, Clearer, That’s It.” An Emmaus Pattern of Discipleship
“Hazy, Clearer, That’s It.” An Emmaus Pattern of Discipleship (Lk 24:13-35) Apologies if this opening metaphor doesn’t catch the profundity of this wonderful conversion story of the two disciples on the Emmaus road. But… You’re in the eye doctor’s office and sitting...
Soaked Through and Through by Sense of God’s Reality
“Soaked Through and Through by Sense of God’s Reality” - Psalm 82 My Father loved and listened to classical music. Looking back on that, it’s a bit surprising because he was from a working class home, never graduated high school, played semi-pro football, and so on....
Not Just Interesting, But Moving
“Not Just Interesting, But Moving” (Exodus 3; Psalm 103) There’s a difference between things that are interesting and things that are intriguing, between things which make us curious and things which actually move us. I can pick up a score of a symphony and...
St. Louise and the tax collector in the back of the room
One of the famous Gospel characters is the publican, the tax collector in the back of the room. Jesus portrays him as the ideal worshipper, the best kind of pray-er. He knows how to come before God; he does it right. Not full of himself, not holding up accomplishments...
