casual theology

Over the past three weeks the Gospel readings at mass have been a series of parables taken from Matthew 13 about the Kingdom of God (or the Kingdom of Heaven).  Using the visual language of parables Jesus has described the Kingdom of God as being like: A sower spreading seed on different soils Wheat and weeds growing together in the same field A mustard seed Yeast added to dough A hidden treasure A pearl of great price A net cast into the sea catching good and bad fish When we consider the parables about the Kingdom of God they each provide a different perspective in a simple, yet deeply profound way. Take, for instance, the parables about the hidden treasure and pearl of great price.  “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of gre...

  “As Jesus turned water into wine, we have turned wine back into water, turned the intoxicating wine of the Gospel into a mushy grape jelly. He came to light a fire, and we have found a way to water it down… He came to spread his good infection, and we have found antidotes. The antidote for potent religion is pallid religion. The antidote for Christ is “Christian stuff.” The antidote for his noun is our adjective.” (Peter Kreeft, Jesus Shock ) “Why do people in churches seem like cheerless, brainless tourists on a packaged tour of the Absolute? ...Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of Power we so blandly invoke? … It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hemlines to church; we should be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to the pews. For the sleeping god may wake someday and draw us out to where we cannot return.” (Annie Dillard, An Expedition to the Pole) “But you shall receive power when...

Porn kills. I’m not talking about the many individuals within the porn industry who commit suicide, are murdered, or who die of AIDS, drug overdoses, or chronic alcohol abuse. Porn kills those who watch it. It snuffs out the ability to love, turning men & women inward on themselves. It compromises their ability to deal with real life by offering the lie of fantasy instead. It destroys empathy and normalizes the objectification of others. It becomes a hindrance to relationship with others and with God. I know because I’ve struggled with porn. I was spending an anniversary weekend with my wife. She always talks about memories she has of spending time with her grandparents when she was young. We were at dinner and I thought I’d try to come up with some of my own childhood memories to share. I had loving grandparents on both sides of the family. My paternal grandparents would take me on summer vacations with them and I often slept over at their house on the wee...

(Note:  Well, time flies. I had every intention of posting during the Easter Triddum and especially on Easter Sunday, but busy schedules and internet connectivity issues at home conspired against me. Fortunately, it is still the Easter season.) “ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile ; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep   in Christ are lost.   If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. ” – 1 Corinthians 15:17-19 What a glorious cause for celebration. I love Easter. As St. John Paul II said, “We are Easter people, and alleluia is our song!” Easter makes all the difference. If not for the empty tomb, why bother celebrating Christmas? If Christ isn’t raised from the dead then he’s not God and we have no reason to celebrate his incarnation and birth. If not for the empty tomb, why bother going on at all? It is the empty tomb that gives us hope to carry on, hope to...

The way of the cross began with cheers and acclamations. The crowds yelling “Glory!” and “Hosanna!” also cried out “Crucify!” How fickle people can be, and how quickly friends can turn. As I ponder the start of Holy Week I’m drawn to consider how often I concern myself with the opinions of others. How have I compromised at times out of fear of man? I’m also struck by how many Christians mare caught up with winning the approval of the world. Think of the compromises so many denominations have made in the area of morals just to keep up with the times. How many so called “Catholics” continuously call for major changes in doctrine? God has a plan, and that plan does not depend upon the cheers or jeers of others. It’s easy to be a disciple when the crowds are cheering for Jesus, but what do we do when they come with their pitchforks and torches? 

I’ve always wondered how the reality of this: Ended up becoming this: Thanks to Darren Aronofsky’s movie the story of Noah has been getting a good bit of attention lately. Unfortunately, most of that attention has been focused on debating the merits of the movie and how it compares to the details of the biblical text. In fact, bible websites like BibleGateway.com and others have seen 200% - 300% increases in traffic to their sites, and specifically to Genesis 6-8, since the movie premiered. What does the story of Noah teach us, and what does it mean today? Sin is a serious thing. When you read the Genesis account, you see that the sinfulness of mankind was such an offense to God that he decides to wipe out creation altogether. Think about the reality of that event compared to the nursery themed cartoon we've made it into. We live in a culture that has lost its sense of sin. In fact, it ...

“So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.” ( John 19:17-18, 25-27 ) It is only John’s gospel that tells us that Mary was at the cross. Only John who recorded the dying words of Jesus addressed to his mother. It was only John because he was there too. It seems odd, even a bit cold, that Jesus would call his mother “woman”. But this one word carries so much weight. Eve was the first woman and it is by “woman” that she is addres...