Priest. Hermit. Aspie.
Now that baseball season is well underway, I can mention a quote I recently came across. It was from Warren Spahn, the Hall of Fame pitcher who played for the Braves nearly all his career – beginning when the Braves were still in Boston. Here is the quote:
“Hitting is timing. Pitching is disrupting timing.” Continue reading “The Serpent’s Trap”
It was a meal that gave Jesus’ disciples a lot more than they expected.
They had prepared a Passover meal, eager to celebrate this great feast of God’s liberation of their people with their Master. Jesus, unexpectedly, redefined the meal. He would be their Passover lamb. His own sacrifice would be the means by which humanity would be reconciled with God. The disciples, on their part, were to reenact this new Passover in memory of what Jesus was about to do. “What did this mean?”, the disciples must have wondered.
But there was more. Continue reading “Gethsemane”
Though I normally focus on the Gospel reading for homilies and blog posts, it seemed better this time to focus on Paul’s letter to the Philippians, and to stay with it for a while. Last Sunday, we saw how he urged us to have no anxiety at all, but to make our needs known to the Lord with faith. Today’s selection from Philippians is from the section of the letter where he elaborates more on this, in the context of thanking the community of Philippi for their generosity in supporting his ministry. Continue reading “Being ‘Self-Sufficient’”
“Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:6-7
“Paranoia strikes deep; into your life it will creep. It starts when you’re always afraid. Step out of line, the man come, and take you away” – from the song For What It’s Worth by Stephen Stills
“And any time you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain; Don’t carry the world upon your shoulder. For well you know that it’s a fool who plays it cool by making his world a little colder.” – from the song Hey Jude by John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Anxiety.
Do a little research, and you may be surprised at how many people struggle with anxieties in their lives. It is estimated that three out of ten Americans have some form of anxiety disorder. In one survey, 41% of all employees from a variety of industries reported high levels of anxiety in the workplace. Another survey showed that over half of all college students have sought help for their anxiety challenges. 43% of Americans take mood-altering prescriptions on a daily basis. That last statistic doesn’t include the many and varied ways that people try to self-medicate for anxiety: alcohol, other drugs, food, exercise, sex, meditation techniques, and so on. Besides this, intense anxieties tend to close people in on themselves and make them less willing to trust others. This affects not only individuals, but also families and communities of all kinds, and our nation as a whole. Anxiety, and the issues that flow from it, has become a significant epidemic in our culture. Continue reading “No Anxiety At All?”
Here’s a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note-for-note
Don’t worry, be happy
In every life we have some trouble
But when you worry, you make it double
Don’t worry, be happy Don’t worry, be happy now
– from the Bobby McFerrin song, Don’t Worry, Be Happy
Or, how about this?
When you feel sad, or under a curse
Your life is bad, your prospects are worse
Your wife is sighing, crying,
And your olive tree is dying,
Temples are graying, and teeth are decaying
And creditors weighing your purse…
Your mood and your robe
Are both a deep blue
You’d bet that Job
Had nothing on you…
Don’t forget that when you get to
Heaven you’ll be blessed..
Yes, it’s all for the best…
– from the song All For The Best, Godspell
So. As we used to say in the Eighties, how does that make you feel? Continue reading “Don’t Worry, Be Happy?”