Skeptical Faith

Google Image I’m sure you’ve heard the gospel story of the “three wise men,” sometimes called “the three kings” or the “magi.” Most Scripture scholars believe the writer of the Gospel of Matthew uses this mythical story to convey Jesus’ divine and messianic stature, and the wise men “from the East” are thought to signify that gentiles as well as Jews will honor Jesus’ divinity. Although the story of the wise men has become part of the Christmas story, they are traditionally celebrated in western Christianity on Jan. 6, on what is called the Feast of the Epiphany, the revelation of Jesus as God-become-human. Though the number isn’t specified in the gospel, there are said to be three wise men because they brought three gifts to the infant Jesus. But did you know there were actually six? Me, neither. Tongue-in-Cheek But that’s part of an on-line homily of Padre Santiago Martín, a Spanish Franciscan, on the subject. He says so “tongue-in-cheek” to make a point. He points out ...

Google Image In a blog back in 2014, I wrote about Tom Pfeffer, my sister’s brother-in-law. He was an extraordinary priest who was pastor of a mostly Hispanic parish before he died in April of 2004. In my view, the measure of the man was demonstrated by the incredible outpouring of love and sense of loss at his funeral. Thousands of people attended. Long lines of people waited to touch his casket. Dozens of people accompanied his body to his burial in a rural cemetery, over an hour from the funeral. Singing songs in Spanish, they wouldn’t leave the graveside so the cemetery employees could complete the burial. A while ago, I found among my family memorabilia a copy of Tom’s notes, originally on 3X5 cards, of a homily he gave in 1990. It was a commentary on the First Book of Kings in the Hebrew Bible in which the prophet Elijah waited for the appearance of the Lord, who was not in the wind or earthquake or fire, but in a “tiny, whispering sound.” A Trip to Colorado For Tom, t...

Google Image I recently had a wake-up moment. I was reading the gospel story that includes the parable about leaving the 99 sheep to find one that was missing. In case you don’t recall, Jesus was giving a long set of instructions to his disciples when he touched on the subject of God’s view of “people who go astray.” “What do you think?’ he asked. “If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.” I’ve heard the story dozens of times and have always assumed that I’m among the 99 – even feeling a little wounded because there’s more rejoicing over the one that is lost. But why did it never occur to me that I’m the lost one? Slow to Wake Up I would bet many believers feel the same, but I don’t know how many are as slow to wake up to this as I was. Anyway,...

Google Image I’ve been watching a documentary on Netflix on the Andes Mountains. The series is mostly about the natural beauty of the South American mountain range and the people who live there. It included scenes of the famous Atacama Desert, the driest in the world, along the coast of Chile. And that’s the site of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array ( ALMA ) a collection of 66 radio telescopes, operated by several countries and groups of countries – including the U.S. – to study star birth and planet formation. It’s an impressive array of sophisticated technology, costing $1.4 billion. I found the presentation fascinating, but I couldn’t help but think of the story in the gospel of Mathew in which Jesus chides the Jewish leaders, noting that they knew how to predict the weather by observing the formation of clouds and the color of the sky but missed recognizing the signs that were important. The "Easy" Things “You know how to interpret the appearan...

Google Image Remember when the Amazon forest was on fire? It was only a few months ago, but so many things have happened since – more school shootings, mass demonstrations in Latin America and Asia, the impeachment hearings – it’s hard to remember. To refresh your memory, the Amazon region burned at an alarming rate last summer. Tens of thousands of fires laid waste to the world's largest tropical rain forest, mostly in Brazil.  The Amazon is called "the lungs of the world," absorbing greenhouse gases that would otherwise harm the planet. It also is home to indigenous people who rely on the forest's resources.  But besides fires, much of which are due to global warming, say scientists, the Amazon is being de-forested by rapid commercial and industrial use.  Illegal Cutting Most responsible for the deforestation, says the site Save the Amazon Rain Forest, are agriculture, mostly cattle, and the wood industry. And in the latter, it’s the illegal cu...

Mural in San Salvador My lifelong friend, Fr. Gerald Waris, about whom I’ve written before in these blogs, used to tell people considering a trip to El Salvador, where he has supported various projects for over 20 years, “It will ruin your life.” He wasn’t talking about acquiring some dreadful disease, being a victim of a horrible crime or getting involved in an accident. He meant that you would be so moved by the experience of seeing so many people live hope-filled lives in the midst of apparent hopelessness you wouldn’t be able to continue your life quite like before. And I’ve found that to be true in my trips there. The resilience of most Salvadorans in the face of poverty and deprivation is inspiring. You can’t just return to a life of relative prosperity and plenty. You look at the world differently, and it’s hard to avoid a commitment to help. The "ah-ha" Moments The search for God is like that, I believe. The “ah-ha moments” in the process can ruin your ...

Google Image It’s no secret that many people have stopped going to church. At most churches, you can observe what national polling data have reported. Many say they get nothing out of religious services. Some complain about lame homilies. Others say they don’t find God in church. Many say it’s simply a boring waste of time. I get all that, though my experience has been otherwise. I’ve come to appreciate, and even love, the Catholic mass. But it hasn’t been automatic or simply a part of growing older, which some people think makes you more amenable to religion. (People my age, it is believed, are closer to death and are more likely to be intimidated into faith.) I believe I’ve worked at understanding and appreciating the Mass, and it’s paid off. Nothing in Common? What I don’t get is the complaint I’ve heard or read by some who say they have nothing in common with the people they find at church. It’s as if we don’t share human feelings of inadequacy, joy in human love, regret...

Google Image I recently came across an online video that moved me. A sanitation worker – among people I’ve noticed who are always in a hurry – shows patience, kindness and affection for an elderly woman, helping her back to her garage door with her trash container. You can watch it for yourself at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oowdKSyuCqc . Why was I moved? Partially because I think I’ve bought into the idea that kindness is dead. I think that perception - that people no longer go out of their way for others - is common. When I give it more thought, I realize that the vast majority of people who I encounter in my life are also kind and compassionate. My wife, Amparo, and I recently returned from a trip to Ireland and were struck by the universal kindness shown us – not just from family members but from clerks, hotel employees, rental-car people, people who owned the cottage we rented, employees in petrol stations. We didn’t encounter one rude or impolite person during the who...

Google Image I have a friend who recently posted a beautiful quote online from a famous eastern mystic. I liked it, but it occurred to me that he would never post a saying of Jesus. It just wouldn’t be cool! Why? This is pure conjecture, but I believe that one of the principal reasons is that Jesus has become so connected with the Christian right, his appeal has been lost to many people who don’t place themselves in that category. A Pew survey last year found that “religious teachings” are the top reason many adults answer “none” when asked about their religious affiliation. That reason has been around a long time. But, the survey found “the second-most-common reason is opposition to the positions taken by churches on social and political issues, cited by 49 percent of respondents.” Who Objects? Some of those respondents, of course, could be people on the right who object to the teachings of “liberal” denominations. But I believe it’s much more the case that people on the ...

Google Image I have a friend who is the eternal pessimist. His outlook is almost always dismal. He looks at life through the lens of Murphy's Law - anything that can go wrong will. Pessimists like him may find this suspect, but researchers who tracked the health outcomes of thousands of adults across many years found optimists were much more likely to reach age 85. They also found that optimism is teachable. The study, reported last month on the National Public Radio web site, finds that optimistic people are likelier than others to live to be 85 years old or more. Researchers at Boston and Harvard Universities found that outcomes were independent of factors such as "socioeconomic status, health conditions, depression, social integration, and health behaviors.” Researchers already knew that optimistic people have less depression, heart disease and other chronic diseases. In this study, they wanted to learn whether optimism is linked to longevity. And unlike some...

Google Image I was fortunate to have had a career I loved. The pay was not great and the hours were unpredictable. But often during my 25 years as a reporter/editor, I sometimes thought I should pay the newspaper instead of them paying me. (I never mentioned this to the bosses, of course.) I found the work that interesting and challenging. Still, there were times I didn’t look forward to going to work. There were Sunday evenings on which I talked my spouse into going to the movies to try to extend the weekend. This kind of ambiguity may be one reason I found conflicting online studies about job satisfaction when preparing this blog. While one article says the majority of people are dissatisfied, others, such as a newly-released report from Gallup, shows that the majority of people are mostly satisfied with their jobs. I’m going with the unscientific hunch that there are at least three groups: those who love their jobs most of the time; those who hate their jobs most of the ...

Google Image According to legend, around the year 1220 when St. Francis of Assisi was living in Gubbio, Italy, a fierce wolf began attacking livestock. And then it began attacking humans. It waited outside the city gates for anyone foolish enough to venture beyond them alone. No weapon was capable of subduing the wolf and anyone who tried to destroy it was attacked. Eventually, the public refused to go outside the city walls. Francis announced he was going to meet the wolf. When he neared the wolf’s den, a small crowd accompanying him stayed back but was close enough to witness what happened. Placing Its Head in His Hands The wolf rushed at Francis with its jaws open, the story goes. Francis made the sign of the Cross and commanded the wolf to cease its attacks in the name of God, at which point the wolf trotted up to him docilely and lay at his feet, placing its head in his hands. "Brother wolf,” said Francis, “you have done much evil in this land, destroying and...