“My joy is gone, grief is upon me, my heart is sick. The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt, I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead?” – Jeremiah 8:18, 20-22a “To […]
religion
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Pardons and forgiveness
However perceived by men, the matter of “pardons” involve actions done which are considered personal, social, political and/or legal. Such actions involve something done which, at the least, are either immoral, illegal, improper, embarrassing, undeserved and/or inconveniencing to another person or group of people. The “pardon” does not deny the truth nor reality of the […]
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Jesus and The Bab: Parallels in divine lives
On Nov. 10, Baha’is around the world will celebrate the birth of The Bab, the herald of their faith. From small villages on the continent of Africa to modern mega-cities such as New York and Toronto, to our own small Baha’i community here in Springfield, Baha’is will gather to celebrate the birth and the life […]
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What is the cost of “religious unity”?
Much like my great nieces and nephews who will never know a world without the technologies of our age, I grew up just past the fringe of a time before freedom of conscience, religious liberty and the rise of amicable interfaith relationships were taken for granted by the Catholic Church. What, you say? Wasn’t the […]
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Holy indifference
Moses presented the Ten Commandments around 1300 BCE. These were not the first list of guidelines in ancient history, nor were they the only list. About 400 years earlier Hammurabi, the king of Babylon, bound himself and the people he ruled to 272 statutes, bringing a new order and stability. For the first time, royal […]
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Peaches, pears or apricots?
What is it about either or all, that sparks your interest or desire? What impact does each or either have upon your gustatorial delights? What impact does each or either have upon your digestive processes? In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addressed the matter of distinguishing the real from the unreal. He specifically focused […]
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Welcoming a new year with prayer, penitence and charity
This coming Friday evening we will mark the beginning of the Jewish holiday season known as the Days of Awe. Rosh Hashanah, observed this year from Sept. 11 through sunset on Sunday, Sept. 13, is the Jewish New Year. For religious purposes, Jews use a lunar calendar, and the appearance of a new moon marks […]
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Loving care and harmony during the Season of Creation
The choir has arrived. It is dawn. A red glow hovers to the north, at the tree line, just past my window this late summer day. Today they arrived without my attention, though many days I watch for them. When I do finally look up, I see a few dozen “choristers” – small black birds, […]
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A summer “staycation” can open our listening hearts
“Every scribe who becomes a disciple of the Kingdom of Heaven is like a householder who brings out of the storeroom things both new and old.” Mt. 13:52 If I ran downstairs right now to check my “storeroom” aka the pantry, I’m pretty sure I’d find a fresh box or two of pasta, some crackers […]
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Revisiting reverence
Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place – and I did not know it.” – Genesis 28:16 The fall of 2001, I found myself driving alone from St. Louis to Chicago to be with my mother who was to undergo lung surgery. I was feeling a mixture […]
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Deliver us from evil …
One of the most sobering requests cited by Jesus in what has been called the “Lord’s Prayer,” is a sobering request of God, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” In no uncertain terms, Jesus instructs those who were following him to include in their prayer requests to God, “Lead us not […]
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The mail carrier, the grocery clerk and the barista
No, the next line isn’t “walk into a bar!” although creating such a joke might be an interesting challenge. What, then, is the relationship between these three? They each represent the kinds of relationships sociologists call “weak ties.” That is, the kind of casual relationships that don’t generally lead to strong emotional bonds, although they […]
