Welcome to Pastor Jack Buckley's weekly blog and podcast.
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Monday, July 09, 2007
Kindness: True Spirituality
Isaiah 58:6-12; Ephesians 4:25-32
In our day and age, kindness is considered a soft virtue. Kind of weak, mushy, always nice. Our society puts a higher premium on being strong, assertive, even belligerent when the occasion calls for it.
Poor St. Paul, then. What a wuss!
For he calls kindness one of the strongest evidences that God is at work in a person's life. Think along with Paul a while, and you'll see that kindness is a strong virtue. Strong enough to consider what would be best for a person -- not necessarily the nicest thing to do, but what will work towards the greatest good. Sometimes that calls for a tough kind of love, one that refuses to flinch until the job is done.
Listen to the GODcast!
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A LITTLE BOWL O' KINDNESS
The 6-year-old boy asked his mother if he could say grace at the family's restaurant table. This was his prayer:
"God is good, God is great. Thank you for the food. And I would thank you more if Mom gets us ice cream for dessert. And liberty and justice for all! Amen!"
People nearby laughed, but one older woman complained, "That's what's wrong with our world today. Children don't even know how to pray. Asking God for ice cream!"
The boy began to cry, asking his mother, "Did I do it wrong? Is God mad at me?" She held him and said that he'd done a terrific job, that God was surely not angry with him.
An elderly man came over to their table, winked at the boy, and said, "I happen to know God thought that was a wonderful prayer." Then, in a stage whisper, he added, "It's too bad that lady never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes."
Well, as the meal ended Mom bought a round of ice cream for her little family. Her boy stared at his sundae a few moments. Then he picked it up, walked over to the critical woman's table, and set the bowl down in front of her.
With a big smile he announced, "Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes. And my soul is good already."
posted by Jack Buckley at
10:35 AM
Monday, July 02, 2007
Patience: Watchful Waiting
James 5:7-11; Job 2:7-13
"Dear God, I asked you for patience -- and you still haven't given it to me!" So it goes...
This fourth "Fruit of the Spirit" in St. Paul's list (Galatians 5:22) may be the most important one of all. I mean, we're dealing with lofty ideals here -- Love, joy, peace, and the like. None of them comes easily, or quickly. It takes waiting, watching, working patiently towards God's good goals. Patiently...
So, how do we wrap our minds and hearts around this necessary, but elusive, ingredient of true spirituality?
Listen to the GODcast!
posted by Jack Buckley at
11:59 AM
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