One talent at the time of Jesus was what a labourer would earn in half a life-time. So, for a master to entrust one, two or five talents to three of his slaves was a huge act of trust in each one of them. He knew their skills differed, so...
FOSTER OR FESTER One angle we might take on today’s Gospel of the parable of the talents is that the spiritual life of the Christian either grows or it stagnates. Either we foster its growth or it will fester. When I speak of the “spiritual life”, I refer more broadly...
The first generation of Christians thought that Jesus would return from heaven during their life-time. They all expected to be alive when he came back. But as time passed, the first of them began to die. So, the rest began to worry: did that mean the dead person would not...
TO PREPARE FOR DEATH IS TO PREPARE FOR LIFE The unavoidable reality of death is one of the great questions which every person must face, sooner or later. Even for those who live in denial, it is the proverbial great elephant in the room. Because everything in us recoils at...
DEVOTION TO THE SAINTS The saints are often an untapped source of love, friendship, help and affection as we make our way through life. The Letter to the Hebrews depicts them as a great cloud of witnesses to Jesus who are all surrounding us and cheering us on, as the...
I DESIRE TO DESIRE TO BE A SAINT Sainthood can seem an unattainable dream when we think of ourselves as candidates. The daily experience of our moral fragility and weakness can appear to put to rest any notion of such an exalted aim. But to accept that is to buy...
LOVE DEMANDS LOVE It can seem a strange proposition to command someone to love you. Our experience is that we either fall in love whether we want to or not, or else love blossoms as the result of kinship or other social ties. If someone came up to you and...
During my own missionary globetrotting, I saw that missionaries often met with tension from the local public authorities. This is especially so when they are engaged in works like education, health and the care of the poor. In poorer countries, the state can envy missionary-run schools and hospitals, not just...
ON MISSION TO CAESAR With his words about Caesar and God, Jesus, the first to do so in history, separated religion from state. It is Christ who commands us to keep these two separate. The state is secular, i.e. it deals with the organization and administration of our earthly affairs,...
THE BODY AS A SACRIFICE PLEASING TO GOD (Romans 12:1-2) Through the body we are present to one another. Our body mediates to the other not just the fact of our presence but also how we are present. Body language gives the other a lot of information about me...
