Come out!
Each of us answers a specific question about our faith: How important is this? We answer it internally as we make some sense about who we are, what our lives mean and even how much we decide to think about that at all. We answer it externally in the ways that it affects the ways we talk and the ways we act in the world. Each Gospel passage challenges us some way, usually pushing us to be better people. We learn to give and forgive, to see the potential in others, to endure temptation and so on.
Today’s Gospel pushes us hard on faith in Jesus.
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Let love be your aim.
I’m just curious, when was the last time you ran into a Scribe? We don’t really use Scribes very often. It’s an antiquated synonym for secretary or clerk of meetings, maybe a writer. But it feels like you’d need a flagon or something to really use it correctly. I remember when I was in Boy Scouts we actually had a leadership position called Scribe. The Scribe was like the clerk, which was a pretty easy job because we never made motions or took minutes or anything.
The scribes of Israel were not that. They were a guild of experts, teachers and exponents of the law. Remember that in their culture the law of Moses wasn’t just for their personal religious direction and observances. It was their law – everything from national laws to civic ordinances that defined how they lived in community.
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Into the Blue
About a week and a half ago, 11 days to be exact, the world watched William Shatner, the actor most famous for his role as Captain James Tiberius Kirk on the original Star Trek TV show and movies, actually rocket into space and safely return aboard the Blue Origin.
At 90 years of age, with a whole life of extraordinary experiences, here was a chance to experience in real life what he had portrayed on the little and big screen.
I don’t know what he said after they landed before they opened the capsule door. I know what I want him to have said. I know what I needed him to say. For me, he needed to fix his steely gaze on the other passengers and say, “Phasers on stun.”
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