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Carried to the Table

January 4, 2011 pilgrim 4 comments

Today I’d like to share a few thoughts about one of the lesser-known stories about my Biblical namesake, arguably the greatest king in Israel’s history, David.

Hail to the King, baby!

In the eighth chapter of Second Samuel, we are told of David’s great military victories and the tribute brought to him by other kings. David had clearly “made it”: his Kingship was secure, Israel was safe and the Ark of the Covenant had been brought back to Jerusalem where it belonged.

Personally, I would have expected that it would be time for David to put up his feet and enjoy some of the benefits that came from being king. However, what follows in 2 Samuel 9 is something rather different:

“David asked, ‘Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?’ …Is there no one still left…to whom I can show God’s kindness?” – 2 Samuel 9:1, 3

What a reaction! Rather than simply indulging himself, David looks to use his wealth and power to bless others!

Background: Biblical Homeboy

To understand the meaning behind David’s question, we must look a little further back in events recorded in the books of 1 & 2 Samuel. The “Jonathan” David referred to above, was son of the “Saul” he mentions, the same Saul who was the former king of Israel (1 Samuel 10:24). Because of Saul’s disobedience, God rejected him as king (1 Samuel 15:23), choosing the shepherd boy, David, to be his successor (1 Samuel 16:13). Despite Saul’s jealousy (1 Samuel 18), Jonathan and David were extremely close friends, even from their first meeting:

“Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself… And Jonathan made a covenant with David… Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt” – 1 Samuel 18:1-4

Catholicism

Peace, but not as the world gives…

January 10, 2011 pilgrim One comment

I didn’t want to let another week pass without commenting on a blog entry entitled The Sign of Peace – theory and practice by my favourite Australian monk over at Dominus Mihi Adjutor.

He opens the blog entry describing some of the awkwardness that routinely arises at the“Sign of Peace” in a typical parish.

For those unfamiliar with this moment of the Mass, it is when members of the congregation are encouraged to give “a sign of peace” to one another, usually in the form of a handshake, or sometimes a kiss or hug for family members or close friends. This takes place shortly before receiving communion, with the priest saying:

Priest: Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles: “I leave you peace, my peace I give you”. Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church, and grant us the peace and unity of your kingdom where you live for ever and ever.

All: Amen.

Priest: The Peace of the Lord be with you always.

All: And also with you.

Deacon or Priest: Let us offer each other a sign of peace…

[Sign of Peace]

All: Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us…

As Fr. Hugh mentions, the Sign of Peace is actually an optional part of the Mass and I quite often go to a Mass here in San Diego where the priest omits it entirely which some people love and others hate. The Byzantine Rite parish I visit whenever I can has no general Sign of Peace.

Fr. Hugh traces the development of the Sign of Peace from New Testament times through the early centuries and into the modern Church. He argues that the Sign of Peace which takes place in most parishes today doesn’t really fulfill its intended liturgical purpose and is often more of a disturbance than anything else.

Catholicism

Advice from an insomniac

January 11, 2011 pilgrim Leave a comment

As some of you know, I occasionally have a real issue with insomnia.

It first became a real problem in my final year of University. However, it was shortly after leaving University that it really started to become a regular (frustrating) feature in my life.

The cause of the insomnia eventually became clear – stress. When I can’t sleep, it’s because I’m worrying about something. Even at times when I’m not conscious that I’m worrying, my body refuses to let me sleep. My body clearly knows me better than my own conscious mind! My body decides it wants to help me and that the best way to do that is to deprive me of sleep until 3am each night, thereby giving me ample opportunity to reflect on the possible sources of this stress in my life!

But anyway, this isn’t really a post about insomnia. A few of my friends have recently indicated from their Facebook statuses that they’ve been sleeping poorly. An adult needs about 7-8 hours of sleep every night so here are some helpful strategies I’ve used over the past ten years to get good night sleep…

Catholicism

Knowing God’s will

January 18, 2011 pilgrim One comment

It has been said that it’s easier to preach a hundred sermons rather than to live one out. Equally, I’ve found that, more often than not, the advice we freely hand out to friends, family and even strangers is usually the advice that we ourselves need to hear.

At the moment I’m taking a bit of time out to consider the things going on in my life and to ponder where all this is heading… I have done this at other points in my life and, more often than not, I’ve ended up tying myself up into knots trying to discern God’s will for my life.

The other week I said something to a friend that, tonight, I realise I needed hear myself:

“Knowing God’s will? Well, that’s easy! Love the Lord your God will all your heart, all your soul, all your strength and all your mind…and love your neighbour as yourself. Everything else is just details” (c.f. Mark 12:29-31)

Important details, sure, but still details nonetheless…

Catholicism

Introduction to Islam

January 31, 2011 pilgrim Leave a comment

This is one of the many blog entries I was halfway through before being distracted by something shiny… I started preparing this series of entries around the time of the media storm from the “Burn a Qur’an Day“. I was rather surprised by the reaction of many Christians to this dispute, but what I found even more troubling was their apparent lack of basic familiarity with the religion of Islam.

In this series of posts I will not be disputing any assertion made by Islam. I only intend to provide a brief sketch of the religion. I would like this to be an introduction and brief overview for the average Christian who is unaware of Islam’s claims.

Please note, I have done my best to ensure factual accuracy in all these posts and have used Islamic sources as much as possible to ensure that I’m not propagating Christian misconceptions of Islam. I did send this to some Muslim friends for comment, but I have yet to hear back. If you are a follower of Islam and believe that I have misrepresented your religion, please drop me an email and I will remedy the situation.

Muhammad

Islam (“submission to God”) was founded by Muhammad in the early 7th Century, a little over six hundred years after Jesus’ ministry, seven hundred and sixty-six miles away from Jerusalem in Arabia. In the early part of Muhammad’s life he was a successful trader and then, through marriage to a wealthy widow, he became an important figure.

Thanks to his wealth, at the age of forty, Muhammad was able to spend much of his time in meditation in a cave on the outskirts of Mecca. It is said that it was during this time that he began to receive messages from Allah (God) through Jibril (the Archangel Gabriel). He was told that these messages were to be preached to all mankind. They were subsequently written down by his companions and collected together to form the Muslim holy book: the Qur’an/Koran (literally “the recitation”).

Muhammad’s followers were initially fairly small in number, consisting mainly of his own family. There were soon violent persecutions in Mecca against the Muslims, causing Muhammad to move to Medina where Islam was more favourably received. A little later, the first jihad (holy war) took place. Muhammad returned to Mecca and destroyed the idols there and within eight years Muslim armies had conquered (and effectively converted) the whole of Arabia.

Introduction to Islam (Part 2 of 5: Revelation)

February 2, 2011 pilgrim 3 comments

In yesterday’s blog post I began a brief introduction to Islam. I focussed primarily on the founding of Islam and Muhammad.

Today I would like to look at the divine revelation which Islam claims to have received, which is found principally in the Qur’an/Koran.

As I said yesterday, I have done my best to ensure factual accuracy in all these posts and have used Islamic sources as much as possible to ensure that I’m not propagating Christian misconceptions of Islam. I did send this to some Muslim friends for comment, but I have yet to hear back. If you are a follower of Islam and believe that I have misrepresented your religion, please drop me an email and I will remedy the situation.

The Qur’an

As mentioned in my previous post, the Qur’an (literally, “the recitation”) is a compilation of the messages given to Muhammad.

Christians and Muslims understand the concept of scripture differently. Christians describe the Bible, in the words of St. Paul, as being “God breathed” (theopneustos). As Dei Verbum explains:

“In composing the sacred books, God chose men and while employed by Him they made use of their powers and abilities, so that with Him acting in them and through them, they, as true authors, consigned to writing everything and only those things which He wanted” – Dei Verbum, Chapter 3

Muslims, on the other hand, view the Qur’an as the word of God in the most literal sense, believing that the text bears no imprint of the writer’s character whatsoever. Rather, they believe that the Qur’an is the literal word of God, dictated to Muhammad, written down verbatim.

Introduction to Islam (Part 3 of 5: Faith)

February 4, 2011 pilgrim One comment

I began this series examining the founding of Islam and the person of Muhammad. Next, I took a very broad look at the Qur’an and some of its teachings and application to Islamic life.

Islam demands of its believers “faith” and “religion”. In today’s entry I would like to look at the “faith” of Islam. I will deal with the demands of “religion” tomorrow.

The Articles of Faith within Islam are thus:

1. The existence and unity of Allah: Muslims are absolute monotheists and unitarians. Even the suggestion of any kind of subdivision or plurality of God is utterly rejected. Islam explicitly rejects the divinity of Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity.

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