10th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A, RCL)

There is nothing in us that is not also in earth, sun, stars, and everything composed of matter.

In Genesis, Sarai is a profoundly underwritten character.

All of the narrative details in the call of Abram story reinforce a single point: God commands Abram to go, and Abram goes.

Move over, pink flamingos. For me, the cross of Christ is as campy as it gets.

Human parents, even good ones, have limits. God does not.

At Matthew’s house, we learn about more than just Jesus’ message.

Sitting and talking with a boy from Ethiopia, I received a radical dinner invitation.

What we know about Sarai is what she lacks. This week’s reading lacks her.

What would possess me to copy a chapter of the Bible by hand?

Why do we forgive him so much more easily than migrants today?

Is it man or humanity? Ark or chest?

Genesis 12:1–4a; John 3:1–17

The call of Abram is one of my favorite stories in the whole Bible. I have moved quite a lot, and the experience of packing up my life in England to move to the U.S. nearly three years ago is still fresh in my memory. The challenges that face Abram and his family are exciting, probably daunting, but certainly not without their cost. I love the way the call is vague about the destination: it seems that getting moving is more important than knowing the final details. 

I'm thinking about Psalm 33. It's a good one. It begins with music and ends with this reminder that princes and horses are not actually running the show. I know. I was surprised as well.

Some days it might feel that way, mind you, but it's not really the way things are. I always want question that kind of logic...ontology again. If Congress reinstates the draft then they are running the show. There is this thing called "power" and some people have more than others in some contexts. How does an ontological theo-philosophical argument slow down Congress or what have you?