The issue of border security and violent crime has taken another turn for the worse here in Southern Arizona. Last month the violence of the drug wars in Northern Mexico spilled over the border with the killing of Rob Krentz a rancher in Cochise County. Many believe his death was retaliation because he had discovered a large drug stash on his property and notified the authorities. Considering the following stories, they may be right!
Now, in retaliation for local Police in Nogales Arizona discovering a similar stash a cartel boss has issued threats against American Law Enforcement. CNN ran the story yesterday and today Reuters has picked it up.
For the CNN story click here
For the Reuters story click here
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Homily for Proper 6 C - June 13, 2010
May sisters and brothers, God is not only just, God is also merciful: which side we see depends on our response to his call.
In our first reading we heard about Jezebel plotting murder to give possession of a vineyard to her husband King Ahab. We also heard of God’s reprisal through the agency of Elijah. King Ahab ruled Israel, the northern kingdom, ca 870-850 BC. Ahab has committed a massive sin in offering Naboth a choice of either other land or money for his vineyard. Both legally and by religious custom, the vineyard must remain in Naboth’s family (“ancestral inheritance,”). Ahab shows that he knows both the Law and the custom but clearly doesn’t care about either. Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, hatches the murder plot, on the pretext that the King of Israel is God’s agent. Presumably the property of a man stoned to death was forfeit to the crown so the faults accusations serve Ahab and Jezebel’s ends. Now Elijah enters the picture, God sends him to prophesy to Ahab: his fate will be the same as Naboth’s. Later, a stray arrow kills Ahab, who dies from his wounds. Divine justice is served.
In our Gospel story we see the other side of the coin. Jesus forgives! Explaining to his host that God’s forgiveness toward the repentant is rich; it can be seen in the great love they give in return. Jesus’ fellow guests respond profoundly: this guy is more than a prophet; he even forgives sins.
Several of Jesus’ followers are mentioned, especially Mary Magdalene. She in particular is an important and often ignored (and even maligned) character in Jesus’ story. First of all her expanded name or nick name, Magdalene is not as simple as it appears. Magdala is a Gk word – the Hebrew is Migdol meaning “tower.” There is also a town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee by this name; it was a center of fishing and fish packing. Most scholars take her moniker to mean that she was Mary from Migdol. But there still remains some possibility that the moniker was meant descriptively, Mary the Tower. I’m sure scholars have good reason for not perusing this possibility but I can’t personally help being intrigued because of her pivotal role as witness to the resurrection.
From the canonical Gospels, we know only a few details about her:
1) Healed of 7 daemons: Mk & Lk.
2) Ministered to Jesus: Mt. & Lk.
3) Witness of the Crucifixion: Mt, Mk, Jn.
4) Witness to His Burial: Mt, Mk
5) Witness of the Resurrection & Apostle of the Resurrection: Mt, Mk, Lk, Jn.
6) Privet vision of Jesus after resurrection: Mk & Jn.
No matter how history may have mistreated her, she remains an important disciple and a unique Apostle.
For our own spiritual lives today we ought to refocus ourselves on the dynamic that God is both merciful and just. Forgiving and demanding of accountability. “Believe it or not,” this one hinges on us. The response God shows us depends on our attitude and response to our own sinfulness
Do we admit our misdeeds and seek forgiveness from God? Do we make apology and amends where we can? These things make us like the repentant women in today’s gospel story.
Or do we pretend that we’ve done nothing wrong – remaining self-righteous and selfish? In this case we are like Ahab and Jezebel.
So my brothers and sisters, it is only wise for us to trust in God’s love and seek God’s forgiveness with sincere hearts. Then we can also experience God’s overflowing love and mercy!
In our first reading we heard about Jezebel plotting murder to give possession of a vineyard to her husband King Ahab. We also heard of God’s reprisal through the agency of Elijah. King Ahab ruled Israel, the northern kingdom, ca 870-850 BC. Ahab has committed a massive sin in offering Naboth a choice of either other land or money for his vineyard. Both legally and by religious custom, the vineyard must remain in Naboth’s family (“ancestral inheritance,”). Ahab shows that he knows both the Law and the custom but clearly doesn’t care about either. Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, hatches the murder plot, on the pretext that the King of Israel is God’s agent. Presumably the property of a man stoned to death was forfeit to the crown so the faults accusations serve Ahab and Jezebel’s ends. Now Elijah enters the picture, God sends him to prophesy to Ahab: his fate will be the same as Naboth’s. Later, a stray arrow kills Ahab, who dies from his wounds. Divine justice is served.
In our Gospel story we see the other side of the coin. Jesus forgives! Explaining to his host that God’s forgiveness toward the repentant is rich; it can be seen in the great love they give in return. Jesus’ fellow guests respond profoundly: this guy is more than a prophet; he even forgives sins.
Several of Jesus’ followers are mentioned, especially Mary Magdalene. She in particular is an important and often ignored (and even maligned) character in Jesus’ story. First of all her expanded name or nick name, Magdalene is not as simple as it appears. Magdala is a Gk word – the Hebrew is Migdol meaning “tower.” There is also a town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee by this name; it was a center of fishing and fish packing. Most scholars take her moniker to mean that she was Mary from Migdol. But there still remains some possibility that the moniker was meant descriptively, Mary the Tower. I’m sure scholars have good reason for not perusing this possibility but I can’t personally help being intrigued because of her pivotal role as witness to the resurrection.
From the canonical Gospels, we know only a few details about her:
1) Healed of 7 daemons: Mk & Lk.
2) Ministered to Jesus: Mt. & Lk.
3) Witness of the Crucifixion: Mt, Mk, Jn.
4) Witness to His Burial: Mt, Mk
5) Witness of the Resurrection & Apostle of the Resurrection: Mt, Mk, Lk, Jn.
6) Privet vision of Jesus after resurrection: Mk & Jn.
No matter how history may have mistreated her, she remains an important disciple and a unique Apostle.
For our own spiritual lives today we ought to refocus ourselves on the dynamic that God is both merciful and just. Forgiving and demanding of accountability. “Believe it or not,” this one hinges on us. The response God shows us depends on our attitude and response to our own sinfulness
Do we admit our misdeeds and seek forgiveness from God? Do we make apology and amends where we can? These things make us like the repentant women in today’s gospel story.
Or do we pretend that we’ve done nothing wrong – remaining self-righteous and selfish? In this case we are like Ahab and Jezebel.
So my brothers and sisters, it is only wise for us to trust in God’s love and seek God’s forgiveness with sincere hearts. Then we can also experience God’s overflowing love and mercy!
Homily for Proper 5 C - June 6, 2010
My sisters and brothers, Jesus and Elijah have demonstrated grate power and set a tremendous example.
Our first reading relates how the power of God was manifested through the ministry of Elijah. Even on the soil of another god, Baal, Yahweh is fully potent.
Ahab (king of the northern kingdom, Israel, ca 870-850 BC) and his wife Jezebel rebelled against God by worshiping Baal; the Canaanite god of storms and fertility. Elijah, seemingly on his own authority and claiming to be God’s servant, has decreed a drought – apparently as punishment for Ahab’s waywardness. Elijah has not been commissioned as a prophet. Later, God gives him instructions for avoiding arrest by Ahab and starvation. He shows himself to be God’s servant by obeying God’s orders. He, like the Israelites during the Exodus, is fed by God.
In today’s story, the Baalist woman recognizes the power of Israel’s God and asserts the validity of Elijah’s claim to speak for God. Elijah is indeed a prophet.
In our second reading, Paul tries to give some credential for his preaching, calming that his gospel is unique yet fully authentic. He even drops the names of two apostles who know him and presumably support his teaching. The detractors Paul is trying to rebut are saying that he is not a real apostle and that his teaching is too liberal. The Jerusalem council, reported in Acts, struck a compromise position on the issues of circumcision and food laws. Peter did lean in the liberal direction of Paul but did not go as far.
Our reading today presents the core of Paul’s defense. His detractors claim that he is not a real apostle, because he did not accompany Jesus in his ministry. They say that he was commissioned for mission by humans, in Antioch; real apostles received the good news directly from Christ. We see this fact related in the story of the apostles picking a replacement for Judas. Paul argues that he was commissioned “through a revelation of Christ”, through his vision on the road to Damascus. He rebuts the false teachers further: they accuse him of weakening the faith by excusing Christians from Jewish practices, e.g. circumcision and the dietary laws. Paul points out that he was ardently and strictly Jewish until his vision, his commissioning by Christ. God had set him apart for his purposes first as a Pharisee and then as one sent, as an apostle with a distinct mission: “among the Gentiles”.
Today’s Gospel story shows how Jesus’ reputation as Prophet and man of God spreads. He even equals the feats of the Great Prophet Elijah; raising a widow’s only son from the dead!
Previously, in Capernaum, Jesus has been approached by Jewish leaders to heal the slave of a centurion who has paid for the building of a synagogue. They argue that, despite being a Gentile, he is worthy to receive the blessings that God grants to Israel, his elect. But Jesus has healed him for his faith. Now, moving on to the town of Nain, Jesus encounters the body of a dead man being carried out of the town, through the “gate.” In a patriarchal society, a widow’s loss of her “only son” would render her destitute. The story recalls Elijah raising a widow’s son; indeed the words translated “gave him to his mother” also appear in the then-current Greek translation of 1 Kings. Jesus is truly a powerful prophet through whom God shows Divine mercy.
Jesus and Elijah have each raised from the dead the only son (the only security) of a widowed mother. They, however, demonstrate more than just the power of God. Compassion for the widows’ grief and their pending financial insecurity is also a powerful theme. Also, Jesus shows compassion for the untimely death of the young men.
Healing, support/help in time of need; all these themes are tied up in these stories. They are expressions of caring. Jesus and Elijah set an important example for us believers today. We really must give a dam if we are to be authentic Christians. We really must do what we can to ease the suffering of others. It is Jesus’ most consistent messages as well as his personal example. Even though we will probably never see a perfect world, we must never allow ourselves to grow cynical or complacent about our call to Christian love.
Our first reading relates how the power of God was manifested through the ministry of Elijah. Even on the soil of another god, Baal, Yahweh is fully potent.
Ahab (king of the northern kingdom, Israel, ca 870-850 BC) and his wife Jezebel rebelled against God by worshiping Baal; the Canaanite god of storms and fertility. Elijah, seemingly on his own authority and claiming to be God’s servant, has decreed a drought – apparently as punishment for Ahab’s waywardness. Elijah has not been commissioned as a prophet. Later, God gives him instructions for avoiding arrest by Ahab and starvation. He shows himself to be God’s servant by obeying God’s orders. He, like the Israelites during the Exodus, is fed by God.
In today’s story, the Baalist woman recognizes the power of Israel’s God and asserts the validity of Elijah’s claim to speak for God. Elijah is indeed a prophet.
In our second reading, Paul tries to give some credential for his preaching, calming that his gospel is unique yet fully authentic. He even drops the names of two apostles who know him and presumably support his teaching. The detractors Paul is trying to rebut are saying that he is not a real apostle and that his teaching is too liberal. The Jerusalem council, reported in Acts, struck a compromise position on the issues of circumcision and food laws. Peter did lean in the liberal direction of Paul but did not go as far.
Our reading today presents the core of Paul’s defense. His detractors claim that he is not a real apostle, because he did not accompany Jesus in his ministry. They say that he was commissioned for mission by humans, in Antioch; real apostles received the good news directly from Christ. We see this fact related in the story of the apostles picking a replacement for Judas. Paul argues that he was commissioned “through a revelation of Christ”, through his vision on the road to Damascus. He rebuts the false teachers further: they accuse him of weakening the faith by excusing Christians from Jewish practices, e.g. circumcision and the dietary laws. Paul points out that he was ardently and strictly Jewish until his vision, his commissioning by Christ. God had set him apart for his purposes first as a Pharisee and then as one sent, as an apostle with a distinct mission: “among the Gentiles”.
Today’s Gospel story shows how Jesus’ reputation as Prophet and man of God spreads. He even equals the feats of the Great Prophet Elijah; raising a widow’s only son from the dead!
Previously, in Capernaum, Jesus has been approached by Jewish leaders to heal the slave of a centurion who has paid for the building of a synagogue. They argue that, despite being a Gentile, he is worthy to receive the blessings that God grants to Israel, his elect. But Jesus has healed him for his faith. Now, moving on to the town of Nain, Jesus encounters the body of a dead man being carried out of the town, through the “gate.” In a patriarchal society, a widow’s loss of her “only son” would render her destitute. The story recalls Elijah raising a widow’s son; indeed the words translated “gave him to his mother” also appear in the then-current Greek translation of 1 Kings. Jesus is truly a powerful prophet through whom God shows Divine mercy.
Jesus and Elijah have each raised from the dead the only son (the only security) of a widowed mother. They, however, demonstrate more than just the power of God. Compassion for the widows’ grief and their pending financial insecurity is also a powerful theme. Also, Jesus shows compassion for the untimely death of the young men.
Healing, support/help in time of need; all these themes are tied up in these stories. They are expressions of caring. Jesus and Elijah set an important example for us believers today. We really must give a dam if we are to be authentic Christians. We really must do what we can to ease the suffering of others. It is Jesus’ most consistent messages as well as his personal example. Even though we will probably never see a perfect world, we must never allow ourselves to grow cynical or complacent about our call to Christian love.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Up date on the "More on Border Security" post
Mr. Ayoob has added his part two to his reflections on visiting with law enforcement in Southern Arizona. I had no idea that the Huachuca City PD had fagged suspicious activity for the FBI. One has to admit, purchasing 500 cell phones at one time looks very odd. Once again, Mr. Ayoob's blog is proving to be very informative. Also I must reiterate, he is an authoritative source.
Here is Massad Ayoob's blog
Here is my early blog entry on the border security and immigration question
Here is Massad Ayoob's blog
Here is my early blog entry on the border security and immigration question
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
More on Border Security
Today I spent lunch cursing the blog-o-sphere for different perspectives on our Arizona border security issues. This Link will take you to a posting by Massad Ayoob who is a nationally recognized police firearms instructor and author (hence the gun related details in his posing). He recently visited Southern Arizona and interviewed some local law enforcement about their experiences with crime related to the border and smuggling. Very valuable to hear another perspective.
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