The Arrow's Path

Prison ministry has always been something that has been dear to my heart. I did not get to do a lot of it, but when I did, it was a meaningful ministry. It is certainly a niche ministry that a lot of people cannot begin to understand. You often get questions like, "How could you possibly minister to someone who committed <insert horrible crime here>? I could never do that." And, I get it. Particularly if you are in a SuperMax or Death Row type prison, you will certainly run into the Hannibal Lecter's of the world. The people that society would refer to as the scum of the earth. Those that "deserve to rot" in prison or "should be dead," or words to that effect. Again, I get it. I honestly don't know if I could minister to someone who had killed a close friend or family member. I would like to think by the grace of God, if put into that position, I could operate in Christian charity and see the face of Christ even in such of those, but I cannot...

 One of my all time favorite comedians passed away last week at the age of 94. I would be remiss without posting this: 

This coming Sunday 's readings beautifully weave together a narrative of God's providence and generosity, reminding us that "the hand of the Lord feeds us." They invite us to trust in God's provision, embrace unity within the Body of Christ, and recognize Jesus as the true Bread of Life. In 2nd Kings 4:42-44, a situation has arisen where there is scarcity of food, but the prophet Elisha instructs the man to share the twenty loaves of barley bread and fresh grain that he has with a hundred people. Through the prophet's obedience and faith, God multiplies the food, and everyone is fed with some left over. This story foreshadows the miraculous feeding of the multitude in the     Gospel of John.    St. Paul, in his Letter to the Ephesians 4:1-6, emphasizes the importance of unity and peace within the Christian community. As members of the Body of Christ, we are called to live in humility, gentleness, patience, and love, bearing with one another in unity. Just...

I ran across this transcript years ago and have kept it in my memory banks to pull out for such a time as I hoped would never come again. Sadly, however, here we are yet again, once more unto the breach, in this country that has a long history of political assassination attempts, four of which have been successful at killing sitting US Presidents. Dozens more of which have not been.  I have largely been unimpressed by the theological reflections I have seen from various religious leaders across the spectrum in response to the attempt on former President and candidate Trump. Now, I am not in any way advocating for or against Trump or his candidacy here. My political philosophy is that salvation cometh not from politicians, and as Forest Gump once said, "that's all I have to say 'bout that..." In the age of social media, responses poured in from religious leaders all over the globe after last weekend's failed assassination attempt in fairly short order. Because ...

I am conflicted on sharing this video, not because I think it is theologically horrendous. There are certainly some things that I disagree with, as the gentleman being interviewed is (I gather) extremely Evangelical Protestant. How he seems to understand the Church and the nature of the Body of Christ I think we would disagree on quite strongly. That having been said, however, I still try to foster ecumenical understanding. When dealing with sincere Christians who don't believe as I do, I do try to foster the spirit that we are brothers and sisters in Christ. We are ultimately on the same team and trying to work as best we can for the greater Kingdom of God. To foster that, I do try to find those things that we can agree on and work with that. I really dislike arguing and getting sucked into polemical arguments over theology if both sides are not going to mutually respect the other as brethren in Christ. The minute we can no longer "agree to disagree" with some semblance ...

The 23rd Psalm is perhaps the most quoted and well known Psalm in the Bible. The vivid images of the shepherd leading one beside pastures and restful waters and through dark valleys and shadows is extremely compelling. Both the psalm’s text and images have been used extensively in Western culture from poems to Hollywood films. Perhaps one of its most poignant uses in modern literature is when Atticus Finch in the classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird is explaining to his daughter, Scout, why he is choosing to defend a man that everyone in the town is convinced is guilty of having committed a heinous crime. Atticus references this psalm to encourage Scout to have courage and determination in the face of adversity. He reflects on the spirit of trust and reliance on God's guidance that the 23rd Psalm talks about with its imagery of the shepherd and the valley. All of today’s Bible readings for the 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time collectively underscore these very themes of justice, reconci...

The irony of Sola Scriptura ("by Scripture alone") is that it is a non-biblical doctrine. The premise is that everything we do as Christians has to be based on Scripture and nothing else. There are several problems with this logically. First of all, the Bible never itself says this. In fact, the Bible says the opposite. St. Paul very clearly says to follow what he he writing there and all the other stuff the Apostles orally taught. Or, at the end of the Gospel when John says he basically has to stop writing at this point because if he were to write down everything that Jesus had said, it would fill whole libraries. But, regardless of how one interprets passages like that, at no time does the Bible specifically say, "You can only follow what is written in this book."   That is because there was no codified canon of the Bible. There were letters and Gospels written here, there, and everywhere. There were multiple Old Testament texts and books that were of...

This little gem popped up in my Youtube feed. I have no earthly idea why the YoutubeAI thought this was of interest to me. In a really weird way, it actually was interesting, but not for any of the reasons the AI (or the preacher himself likely) thought it would be. I will just post it here for teaching purposes. I in *NO WAY* agree with much of anything he says, but I think it's a perfect example of denominations which have gone so far down the rabbit hole of both taking Bible verses out of context and having ordinances and not sacraments. I also note that comments are turned off. Do with that as you will. But, here it is: I won't bore you with a total synopsis of every thing this man says because, frankly, it's heretical. But, I do post it because it's a prime example of false doctrine. I don't say that to be mean or nasty. I certainly never label something as heresy in a flippant way or for purposes of hyperbole. Heresy is false teaching that is so bad and danger...

     American novelist Herman Melville’s favorite book from the Bible was The Book of Wisdom. He owned a stand alone copy that he underlined and wrote in extensively. His copy of Wisdom is now housed in the family museum in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The Biblical book’s themes of wisdom, justice, generosity, and faith are mirrored in the characters and plot of his classic novel, Moby Dick . In the margins of his personal copy of Wisdom , Melville also directly references, amongst other Scripture citations, today’s other two Mass readings, as he was creating notes for the characters in what ultimately becomes his classic novel.      Melville took Captain Ahab's relentless pursuit of the white whale from Wisdom ’s discussion of the pursuit of wisdom and justice. Instead of the righteous pursuit of wisdom and justice as Wisdom suggests, Ahab's single-minded focus on his own desires ultimately leads to his downfall. Highlighting the importance of seeking G...

This is truly brilliant satire...