Pax Christi South

Daniel 9:4b-10 is a profound acknowledgment of sinfulness. God is just, merciful and compassionate and we have rebelled. What sin? We usually think of sin as an individual, private matter. Sin also has communal or corporate aspects. In spite of what we may have retained from our catechism training, there is more to sin than the Sixth Commandment. Continue Reading

In recounting the covenant Yahweh made with Abram, the author caps the covenant off with the promise of land. Land was the source of security in their society. If you did not have land, you were poor and dependent upon others. In Jesus’ time, many of his followers had lost their land to predatory farmers who took advantage of their hard luck. Many of Jesus’ followers were without land and were sharecroppers or day laborers, not unlike the immigrant workers who gather before dawn on street corners in the hope of getting work. Continue Reading

This reading is typical of readings we must take with a grain of salt. “Today you have obtained this declaration from Yahweh: that he will be your God, but only if you follow his ways, keep his statutes, his commandments, his customs, and listen to his voice” (Dt 26:17). The author is saying that God will not be their God if they disobey God’s statutes and commandments. God does want and expect us to respond to infinite love; however, God never writes us off if we miss the mark and fall short. Continue Reading

Ez 18:21-28 Ezekiel seems to be saying that what goes around comes around. When we engage in evil, we are embracing death. When we do good, we are participating in life. God does not derive pleasure from the sins and death of the wicked, the unjust. God wants the wicked to turn to godly ways and to live life fully. The psalmist reminds us that God is forgiving. Continue Reading

Jon 3:1-10 The Ninevites hear Jonah’s message and repent. Their king proclaims a time of repentance. Jonah, the reluctant prophet, will resent God’s mercy toward them. Unlike Jonah, we know that our God is always merciful and compassionate. God is nonviolent, in spite of  Old Testament anthropomorphisms. He sends prophets to call us to justice and mercy. We are to be compassionate as God is compassionate. We just have to turn to God and we will be saved. We will be healed. We will be made whole. We need to break out the sackcloth and ashes and turn toward God. Continue Reading

Tuesday, February 23, a cool but pleasant foggy morning in the gazebo. Beads of water are trapped in the west screen. The birds are chirping and cawing, asking permission to be  as they once more greet the day. A snowy white egret glides gracefully over the pond. Creation is once again groaning into new life. The sheer wonder of it all! It sprang forth billions of years ago when the creator made and exploded the first stardust. Creation surged forth into a mighty blast. Life was beginning. Continue Reading

The word of God is a two-edged sword. When god speaks and utters the word, it goes forth and brings about what God wills. God waters us with the word. God nurtures us with the word. God’s ultimate word to us is the Word made flesh. Jesus speaks to us of the mercy, justice and compassion of the Creator. The word was with God from the beginning and will bring about God’s promises and fulfill them. (Is 55: 10-11) In the beginning was the Word.  The Word, Wisdom, danced at the creation of the universe. Continue Reading

In Lv. 19:1-2, 11-18, Yahweh gives his people their marching orders. Everything is based on the fact that God is God and that the people are to fear God—tremble before the glory and power of God. [I use Yahweh advisedly because that is the name God gave and the circumlocution—Lord—according to Fr. Roger Karban, a scripture scholar, was the word for Ba’al. I am afraid that Rome did not do its homework on the injunction regarding the use of this word.]

Yahweh stresses fair and equitable treatment of others. The people are to treat one another justly. The fullness of the “law” has yet to be revealed because these injunctions apply only to their fellow Jews. Jesus will broaden the invitation. Neighbor will mean every other person regardless of national origin. We Christians are to love everyone—no exceptions. Continue Reading

This is a teaching about gratitude. God had entered history in a powerful way and had liberated the people in a powerful way. He broke the yoke of their Egyptian captivity. God delivered the people and set them free. Gratitude is a natural response to God’s deliverance. Everything is gift. We must show gratitude to the God who gifts us with unconditional love.

Paul tells us that we must confess with our mouths and believe with our hearts that Jesus is the Christ, the one sent to deliver us from oppression. Some religious people have misunderstood this passage. They fail to realize that confessing and believing with the heart is but a prelude to discipleship. Disciples do what the Master did. As disciples of Jesus, we must be involved in our world. We must live mindfully even if it means being painfully aware of our complicity in the evil. We must live so as to set ourselves and others free. Continue Reading

Isaiah ( 58:9b-14) makes God’s message quite clear. Oppression, false accusation, malicious speech, and, more positively, bestowing bread on the hungry and satisfying the afflicted all bring the light of God. Gloom shall become like the brightness of midday.

On May 13, 1961, Merton wrote in his journal:

The great work of sunrise again today. Continue Reading