Turning Aside

Then Moses said, ‘I must turn aside and look at this great sight and see why the bush is not burned up.’   (Ex. 3:3) Today’s scripture is such a small moment that had such incredible outcomes.  If Moses hadn’t turned aside and obeyed God’s calling out of the bush, the Hebrew people would have remained …

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Our Time in Midian

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.   (Ex. 3:1) For the first 40 years of his life Moses had been trained to be a commander of armies. For his next 40 years Moses …

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Let the Little Children Come to Me

People were bringing little children to [Jesus] in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them.  But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me…'   (Mk. 10:13-14) David, a seminary classmate, and I were at a folk mass.  As we …

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…and a Little Child Shall Lead Them

“The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.” (Is. 11:6) Let me call him Fred.  He didn’t like the changes I was making at church.  He made an appointment to express his …

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A Kingdom of God Moment

Jesus said, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.'   (Mk. 1:15) At the end of each session at the jail I always ask the inmates what subject they would like to talk about for the coming week.  On one occasion they decided to …

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Room For All

He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.’   (Lk. 4:17-18) One of church’s receptionists buzzed to tell me that she had a woman on the phone that demanded to talk with …

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Being All-In With God

He said to them, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and will all your mind.’   (Mt. 22:37) I was meeting with a couple (I’ll call them John and Mary) before their wedding the next day.  While reviewing their vows, John said, “I’m having a hard …

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Taking Responsibility for Your Life

Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? The man said, ‘The woman whom you have to be with me, she gave me the fruit from the tree, and I ate.’    (Gen 3:11-13) Recently I was asked to help resolve some serious conflicts between two colleagues. I planned …

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Doing God’s Adam Inventory

So, when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.  …

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With Barnabas

When he [Paul] had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples; and they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, brought him to the apostles, and described for them how on the road he had seen the Lord...   (Acts 9:26-27) …

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