It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Although that phrase is often heard in our modern culture in and around the Christmas season, few people seem to take it seriously.  Even fewer recognize its origin: oddly enough, (the only?) words of Jesus not found in the four gospels.  Paul's recollection of the phrase was faithfully recorded by Luke the Evangelist in Acts 20:35.

So, what does it mean?  More blessed to give than to receive?!  That must have sounded strange to the Jewish audience who had historically interpreted an abundance of possessions as a sign of God's blessing and favor.  It probably sounds even stranger today.  But if we really stop and think about the times in our lives when we witnessed or participated in true, unconditional and selfless charity, we know it to be true.

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The Love of a Father

Sometimes it's not easy being a father. Our children imitate what they've learned from us -- both the good examples, and unfortunately, the bad.  We try to pass on the wisdom we've learned by experience -- to help them avoid the same pitfalls that we've fallen into ourselves -- but often see them following the same paths.  We try to discipline but often exercise it imperfectly.

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The Light of the World

The bible has plenty of what a skeptic might label contradictions, or at best, inconsistencies.  Some of these are due to less-than-accurate translations.  Others due to misinterpretation or unfamiliarity with the writing style of the text's ancient authors.  But some of these are simply passages taken out of context.

John tells us that, despite the grumblings of the Pharisees, Jesus declared: "I am the light of the world." (Jn 8:12)  Yet in today's gospel, we hear what seems to be a direct contradiction as He said to his disciples at the tail end of the Sermon on the Mount: "You are the light of the world." (Mt 5:14)

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Beginnings

One of the awesome things about Sacred Scripture is the way it creeps up on you.  You can read a passage or hear it read a hundred times and each time something new springs out.  Or like an onion, another layer gets peeled back. Sometimes a message or meaning is so obvious, so in-your-face, that you wonder how you could have missed it.  One day, I had one of those moments while I was reading Matthew's account of Judgement Day, as illustrated by the Separation of the Sheep and Goats, and became finally, understandably disturbed by its implications.

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