Priest. Hermit. Aspie.
It was the late spring of 2005. The diocese had just announced that I was being transferred from a parish assignment that I loved to a new parish. For a priest in parish ministry, this is hardly unusual. For a priest on the autism spectrum (though I did not know it at the time), any change is very trying.
But that wasn’t the only problem with this move. Continue reading “No Wine”
(Note: Although we are in Cycle B this year, parishes that have RCIA catechumens and candidates can use Cycle A for these next three Sundays. This is the situation in the parish where I help out, so this is what you will have for these next three weeks!)
Today, John’s Gospel introduces us to a woman in the Samaritan town of Sychar who comes to Jacob’s well, located outside the town, to draw water. It is about noon. Continue reading “Living Water”
It’s a familiar scene from the Gospels.
The disciples are in a boat, struggling with wind and rough waters by night. Jesus comes to them, walking on the water. Peter cries out, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water”. Jesus says, “Come”, and Peter comes. However, seeing the wind and waves, Peter loses heart. Beginning to sink, he cries out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus does do, and then gently chides him for his ‘little faith’.
We usually see Peter’s ‘little faith’ as being his fear in the face of wind and wave. We often hear homilies extolling Peter’s willingness to leave the safety of the boat in faith, but then telling us how Peter took his eyes off Jesus and then sunk. But what if there was another way to understand this story? What it Peter’s lack of faith happened earlier, before he even left the boat? Continue reading “Is It Really You, Lord?”
I’ve always enjoyed word play. Puns, crosswords, cryptograms, Scrabble – just about any game involving words. Psychologists tell us that people on the autism spectrum tend to like word play even more than people in general. Puns and word games come standard with us Aspies, so to speak!
But we’re not alone. The Bible is filled with examples of puns and word play. Very often, the naming of a person or place involves a play on words. Adam, on seeing Eve: “This one shall be called ‘woman’, for from ‘her man’ this one has been taken”. In Hebrew, ‘woman’ and ‘her man’ sound almost the same. Jesus, to Simon: “You are ‘Peter’, and upon ‘this rock’ I will build my church.” Again, ‘Peter’ and ‘this rock’ sound almost the same in the original. John, writing out of a rich Biblical tradition, will also use plays on words as a means to draw out deeper meanings. Jesus tells Nicodemus, “You must be born ‘again’.” In Greek, the word translated as ‘again’ can also mean ‘from above’, depending on context. Nicodemus objects, understanding the word in its usual, literal ‘again’ meaning. Jesus then explains further, using the meaning ‘from above’. The Biblical authors used puns and word play not merely because they may have enjoyed it. It served a purpose. It is a reminder that they are writing about realities that cannot be adequately expressed in words. To show this, the Biblical authors used word play to show the reader that there is always more to life, and to God, than we might assume at first glance. Word play is an invitation to “come and see”, to go deeper. Continue reading “The Bridegroom at the Well”