The Little Friar

Ever since I was at school, the relationship between holiness and love has fascinated me.   Etymologically, holiness means to be "set apart", to create a social and moral separation between the "clean" and the "unclean", between the "holy" and the "profane".   So, typically, we think holiness and love go in two different directions.  Those most concerned with holiness tend to emphasize rules over love; think the biblical Pharisees.  For them, being holy meant withdrawing from sinners, and not  extending love and hospitality toward those one judged to be "unclean". Jesus resolves the tensions by radically rethinking what it means to be holy.  According to Jesus, loving God (the pursuit of holiness) is equated with loving your neighbor (the pursuit of hospitality).  This is illustrated time and again in the gospels where the Pharisees achieve holiness by moral and social exclusion and separation from tax collectors, sinners and...

This time of year, one of the more interesting ideas that captivates my theological imagination is the presence of all those monsters in our culture -- zombies and werewolves and such -- alongside people like witches.  I've been thinking lately about all these monsters.  And today I want to round out this under appreciated triduum -- Dia de Los Muertos, All Saints and All Souls -- with a theological meditation of monsters, hospitality and "the wicked", in which I hope to engage in a more sustained argument in favor of Halloween for Christians.  First, what exactly is a monster ?   The word "monster" has its origins in the Latin  monstrum , meaning "omen" or "warning".  The question really is, then, as a sign and omen, what are monsters warning us about? When it comes to traits of our monsters -- traits shared across time and cultures -- the list becomes rather telling: Aggressive Gigantic Man-eating Malevolent Hybrids Gruesome Atavistic Power...

Earlier today, I began thinking about holiness as a missional chategory.  That is, holiness is less about avoiding sin than it is about offering and representing God.  Now, I want to expand a bit on what I meant.  If I'm privileging welcome  and compassion  over purity  (which was where I was heading earlier), where does that leave spiritual formation?  As someone trained in moral theology, this isn't a minor question for me. It's also not just an academic one; as a parish priest whose responsibilities lay in preaching, pastoral care and spiritual direction, it's at the heart of who I am and what I do.   Where are Christian virtues modeled, practiced, and acquired?  Where is saintliness and sanctity promoted, even  expected ?  How am I to understand the Christian spiritual life if I'm right about this?  How does holiness fit into being missional? The first that comes to mind with this question is an important foundation. The...

"Jesus stopped ..." (Matthew 20.32; Mark 10.32).  Those words always give me pause each time I read them.  I've been thinking of my strengths and weaknesses as a pastor lately, so what follows is an extended thought about one of my personal weaknesses.  I tend to work on a pace that borders on insane.  I walk fast between places.  I focus on projects with a red-hot intensity.  And I typically don't view interruptions favorably.  Sure, I don't say anything, but internally such interruptions create chaos for a moment.  So in those words, I'm given a spiritual pause.  Literally.  That's because, in those two little words -- "Jesus stopped" -- there's a spiritual discipline particularly important for pastors.  It's the spiritual practice of interrupt-ability :  The ability to be interrupted for the Kingdom's work.  Basically, interruptibility is a form of welcome and hospitality .  It's a way of making room for others. ...