Reading Francis

What does it mean to be grateful for a gift that wasn’t what you asked for? In my defense, I have been on both ends of the story I’m about to tell. My beloved, in an act of angelic generosity, went to get me coffee recently. But it wasn’t made the way I would have…

In the Jim Carrey version of “The Grinch,” he has a throwaway line that sticks with me. Cindy Lou Who has just said something sweet about the Grinch, and as he pats her off the screen he says, “Cute kid. BAD judge of character,” before indulging in some shenanigans. Was Jesus a bad judge of…

Fathers, man. At the end of John 4, there’s a weird little section headlined in verses 46-54 by a father, a royal official, whose son is sick. I honestly thought it was maybe one of the few stories that shows up in all four gospels, but it turns out that it’s unique to John, though…

What is it that we need, really? I was at a (secular) conference this week, and one of the speakers, a distinguished 93-year old “aging rebel,” talked about what older people need, using a term born from research that began with juvenile delinquents: Mattering.  We need to feel like we matter. Whether we are a…

Peace is the word. I’m not able to tie this up in a pretty bow at this point, but maybe because this Sunday’s gospel reading was the one where Jesus says he’s here not to bring peace, but division, I wanted to share this thing from our retreat this summer even if it’s unfinished. Do…

We should be more surprising. My hope is that at some point I’ll be able to reflect on the Gospel of John without complaining. We’re only on chapter 3, so I’ve got time, which is good, because this is not that reflection. I happened to be watching Oceans 12, which was not as good as…

Can we see clearly without being a little disappointed? Can God? So let’s Bible. The back half of John’s second chapter is hard to figure. After the wedding at Cana, Jesus goes straight to Jerusalem for the Passover (which he will do three times in John’s gospel, whereas the Synoptics only have Jesus entering Jerusalem…

There’s a funny misunderstanding in the life of St. Francis of Assisi that I got a new insight to during our recent retreat.  You might know Francis’ story. He was praying in a little, rundown, abandoned church in the valley below Assisi, and the painting of Jesus on the crucifix spoke to him, by his…

Get to? Or Have to? I think it was Bert and John Jacobs, in their book about their clothing brand Life is Good, who first flagged for me the fundamental difference in mindset that happens when we say we get to do something compared to when we say we have to do something. Think about…