The reading from Revelation 22 concludes the book’s resurrection songs: the baptized enjoy the fruits of the tree of life. But the tree is not merely one of the countless archetypal trees that religions and cultures everywhere have imagined.
Nussbaum, a psychiatrist who labels himself a “bad Catholic,” delves with religious fervor into the mystery of his calling to serve people who suffer. Guided by mentors like Basil of Caesarea, Hildegard of Bingen, and Stanley Hauerwas, he envisions medical care as a precious craft honed by the development of virtue.
“You, Lord, are both Lamb and Shepherd.” So begins “Christus Paradox,” a hymn penned by Sylvia Dunstan more than three decades ago. According to notes on the hymn text, Dunstan first scribbled down the lyrics--rich with paradoxical, tension-laden images of Jesus--while she rode the bus home after a difficult day of prison chaplaincy.
The First Assembly of God in Honolulu thinks it has a partial solution to the homelessness crisis in Hawaii, which has the highest per capita homeless rate in the country. The church is putting up dome-shaped buildings that look like igloos, using land it had once reserved to build retreat cabins. The structures can each house four people, and they keep the temperature ten to 15 degrees cooler than outside. They are made of 21 fiberglass panels that overlap like fish scales and can fit into the back of a pickup truck. The 314-square-foot structures cost the church about $9,500 each, not including a floor or base and shipping costs (AP).