Reflections for February 2022

I sit here in Europe with a war starting not so far away, hard though it is to believe. Yes, it’s the other side of the continent, but less than the distance from San Fransisco to New York, in a country that doesn’t seem so different, with people who don’t seem very different. Wars are […]

Jesus says: “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you”. (Lk 6:27-38) And just to be sure he repeats it: “love your enemies and do good to them”. Then he finishes up with “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” From ridiculous to impossible! Let’s start with the impossible and work back

“Blessed are the poor”. So that’s OK then… The poor may be having a tough time right now, but they’ll be OK at some point in the future, actually in another life. (Lk 6:17, 20-26) This view of Jesus’ teaching, which pushes the impact into the future is a profound distortion. The distortion arises because

Three very different people. Three very different encounters with the divine.  We can perhaps relate most easily to Peter, since he met a man, Jesus (Lk 5:1-11). He agreed to help him out with a trip on his boat. A meeting well within our normal scope of experience. But then again it wasn’t. Peter had