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State of the Union 2015

1/21/2015

“And Jesus looked around the room,
angry and grieved at their hardness of heart.” [Mk. 3:5]

After listening to the State of the Union address and several Republican responses, I also find myself depressed, angry, grieving at the hardness of heart our politics spews at us.

Through a full hour of claiming some successes and promoting “middle class economics,” President Obama could not [dared not?] once mention the poor of the nation or the world.

Just 2 hours before, PBS posted a news Bulletin:
“The 85 wealthiest people in the world
have more wealth than the poorest 3 billion 600 million”
[which is half the world’s population].

Not one mention from the president.

And the Republicans who spoke kept insisting that it’s tax breaks for the wealthy that will eventually be what helps the middle class.

“And Jesus looked around the room,
angry and grieved at their hardness of heart.” [Mk. 3:5]

James E. Hug, S.J.
January 21, 2015

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An Epiphany Epiphany

1/2/2015

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            An Epiphany epiphany: January 4, 2015

There are so many claims to be at the heart of it all!

These are from the Mass for the Epiphany:

    ‘All nations will come to you, radiant Jerusalem.’ [based on Isaiah 60:1-6]

    “God’s Chosen People” with divine right to “The Promised Land”

    “We belong to God, and anyone who knows God listens to us, while anyone who does not belong to God refuses to hear us.

    This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.” [1John 4]

Here is the Catholic version:
    “The Catholic Church is the One true Church.”

The U.S. version:
    “American Exceptionalism!”
         ‘There is no other nation or people in the history of the world like America.’

ISIS even claims it:
    “Islamic Jihad!”

Who is right? Who is to be believed?
How do we show we have the truth? That we are unique and most important?

The Tea Party appeals to a fundamentalist reading of the U.S. Constitution.

The Catholic Church appeals to the authority of the pope and bishops and tradition.

There are a variety of fundamentalist interpretations of the Christian and Muslim scriptures (and every other religion of a book).

My epiphany for the Epiphany?

The good news of Jesus was “Rethink your life, your faith! The Reign of God is right here at hand.” [Mt. 4:17]

It isn’t in Jerusalem or Rome or Mecca.

It isn’t in the Constitution or the Bhagavad Gita or even in John 3:16.

It is all around us, within us.

There is no single center to which all must or may turn, not even Jesus himself.

God pervades, permeates all, reveals in every way imaginable.

In Tweet format:

            All will come to you, radiant Jerusalem.” “American Exceptionalism!” “One true Church.” #Epiphany! There is no Center. God pervades!

James E. Hug, S.J.

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State of the Union 2015

An Epiphany Epiphany

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