We’re less than a week from the Fourth of July, which means most of us here in ‘Muricaland are getting ready for our annual red-white-and-blue orgy of food, fireworks and unbridled patriotism. I love Independence Day. But, before we indulge in too many hot dogs, blow up a little piece of this country we love … Continue reading This Fourth, let’s declare independence from nationalism
Month: June 2019
History begs us to avoid another bloody war
We, in the United States, are not very good at learning from history. After our protracted, bloody and ultimately pointless war in Vietnam, the United States adopted the Weinberger Doctrine, designed to prevent wars not vital to our interests, and the kind of aimless blood-letting that carved more than 58,000 names on the Vietnam Memorial … Continue reading History begs us to avoid another bloody war
The Journey Within
A reflection on Anglican writer and mystic Evelyn Underhill This post was delivered as a sermon, June 19, 2019, at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Enid, Oklahoma. In our Gospel reading today, Christ invites us to a new journey, to go beyond our holy mountains, our temples and the trappings of this world, and to rest … Continue reading The Journey Within
Going beyond Scripture
Scripture is an invaluable and irreplaceable resource for any traveler on The Way of Christ. We must immerse ourselves in the Word, and in it find God's instruction and His nourishment for our souls along life's path. But, is there more we must do to understand and truly digest God's teaching beyond mastering the written … Continue reading Going beyond Scripture
‘Won’t back down’
A reflection on Bernard Mizeki, catechist of the faith and martyr "Well I won’t back down; No I won’t back down; You can stand me up at the gates of Hell; But I won’t back down." I've always loved those lyrics from Tom Petty's 1989 song "I Won't Back Down." They speak of courage, steadfastness — … Continue reading ‘Won’t back down’
‘It’s our baptism that calls us’
An interview with the Sisters of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ WICHITA, Kan. — In the not-too-distant past, a trip to the hospital in Enid, Okla., could be as much a spiritual journey as a physical one, with nurses equally ready to tend to matters of medicine and faith. St. Mary's Regional Medical … Continue reading ‘It’s our baptism that calls us’
Be like Barnabas, the glue of encouragement
Have you ever needed encouragement? Ever needed a second chance, even when you didn’t really deserve it? God gives us these gifts through grace, and sometimes that grace flows through his servants. St. Barnabas was such a servant. Barnabas first appears in Acts 4:36: “Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which … Continue reading Be like Barnabas, the glue of encouragement
It’s time we made more, and more different, friends
“The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because generally they are the same people.” There is more truth than ever to that quote by British writer G.K. Chesterton, as our society becomes increasingly — and I would add gloriously — diverse. Yet, just as in Chesterton’s day, … Continue reading It’s time we made more, and more different, friends
Women’s equality — a fight to save us from ourselves
Tuesday was the 100th anniversary of the Senate passing the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote. While ratification wouldn’t come until August 1920, passage by the all-male Senate marked an important turning point in women’s rights. But, like the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it … Continue reading Women’s equality — a fight to save us from ourselves
“No good comes of war” Birthday memories of D-Day
ENID, Okla. — Ernest Leierer's 22nd birthday started out like any other day at his Army Air Corps Base in England. By the end of that day, Leierer was in France, in Eisenhower's "Great Crusade" to liberate Europe. Leierer, now 97, of Enid, Okla., found himself in the war the same way as many other … Continue reading “No good comes of war” Birthday memories of D-Day
James R. Neal 