The Mysterious Trinity

The language of three persons points to a mystery of distinction that nevertheless abides in relationship at the heart of the one God. God is not a singleness but a communion—a living fecundity of relational life. For God, to be is to be in relation—this is the primary divine characteristic of God. Yet, even these powerful words are not to be taken literally. As St. Augustine reminds us, "the formula 'three persons' was coined not in order to give a complete explanation by means of it but in order that we might not be obliged to remain silent." Fundamentally, speech about the Trinity needs to go hand in hand with knowing that we do not totally understand. Quite simply, to say that the persons are three is to negate solitariness, thus affirming relationality at the heart of God.

Although the images of Father, Son and Spirit are rooted in Scripture, liturgy and traditional use, they are not necessarily the only imagery in which the triune symbol can be expressed. The Scriptures themselves speak about the triune God in the economy of salvation in cosmic images such as light, fire and water, and theology today quests mightily for other articulations. Whatever the categories used, the three's keep circling round. Always there is reflected a livingness in God; a beyond, a with and a within to the world and its history; a sense of God as from whom, by whom and in whom all things exist, thrive, struggle toward freedom and are gathered in.

The biblical doctrine of the Trinity, bound to the experience of salvation in Jesus and freed from literal interpretations, has the power to call forth loving relationship in our community and in the world. It does so positively, by inspiring efforts to create a community of sisters and brothers interwoven with the whole web of earth's life according to the ideal community that the Trinity models. It does so negatively, by prophetically challenging social and ecological injustices that distort such a community. And it does so by the power of grace, the trinitarian mystery of God actually empowering relationships of mutuality, equality and inclusiveness among persons and between human beings and the earth.

The goal of all creation is to participate in the trinitarian mystery of love. The Church is called to be a sacrament making this love visible and effective in the world. Wherever the human heart is healed, justice is done, peace holds sway, liberation breaks through, the earth flourishes…wherever sin abounding is embraced by grace super-abounding…there the human and earth community already reflect, in fragments, the visage of the trinitarian God.

Lunch/Dinner for Breakfast and Everything Else

My day got away from me on Tuesday a little bit. I knew I didn’t have class that night so I pretty much got out of bed in the morning thinking of how to occupy myself before going back to bed that night. As I completely zoned out in front of the TV at nine o’clock in the morning, I skipped my usual breakfast of high fiber cereal and low fat milk. At about eleven o’clock I came to the realization that my stomach was growling. I went to the fridge but it felt too late for cereal and too early for lunch. I needed something…and two slices of leftover cold pizza caught my eye. Cold pizza any time is how I usually run my life, but the rare occasion where it fits in my breakfast schedule makes me wonder what else you could eat besides the typical breakfast fare. I realized that cold pizza is just the beginning.

Now, make no mistake here: breakfast has a lot going for it already. Yeah, we’re talking fresh brewed coffee, sizzling bacon, and hot, fluffy pancakes (unless you are adverse to breakfast carbs). Nothing wrong with waking up groggy and heating up the dirty frying pan, flipping down the toaster, or getting that coffee machine dripping. But there’s also something sinful about eating things that have no business being in your mouth before noon. It makes you feel like a rebel, like you have gone off the beaten path, or in my case, like you are still a college freshman. As I ate my cold pizza and drank sweet tea I came up with these other breakfast substitutes:

- Cake: What’s up, last night’s birthday? We were all stuffed when the flaming sugar slab got wheeled up so most people didn’t eat much. Thank goodness someone put it back in the fridge because now it’s time to kickstart the day with a couple icing flowers. Goes great with morning ice cream.
- Coke: There was a time in my life where I started every day with a Mountain Dew and nothing else. It’s deliciously sinful pouring a tall glass of the brown (yellowish/clear) fizzy at 8:00am. Don’t even try to justify it, either. We understand, friend. We’ve all been there.
- Mix and Match: This is where you stare into your fridge for five minutes and realize you don’t have any good breakfast stuff kicking around. Now it’s time to grab a couple pickles, spoonful of peanut butter, and some slices of bologna before putting the backpack on and running out the door. Works best after late parties where the second round of appetizers is ignored due to booze consumption.
- Regular breakfast food with a key ingredient missing: If you grew up in the hood then you know there were days where milk was not around, so your ‘rents told you to put water on your Cheerios. Sure, maybe it’s disgusting, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. If you’ve ever smeared strawberry jam on your pancakes or eaten a plate of eggs with a handful of Ritz crackers, then you know what we’re talking about.
- Breakfast Grillin’: Flip on the gas and get grilling. You can try whipping up bacon or eggs out there if you want to keep the classics, but frankly, if you’re ever gonna do sausages or wieners, now’s the time. Great for camping or cottages.
- Leftover takeout: Open up your fridge and get ready for that surprise Styrofoam wake up call. Nothing like some snow peas and cross-cut carrots soaking in an ice-cold bath of soy sauce to get the day started with a salty jolt. There is a warning on this one, don’t take your roommates leftovers cause they’ll end up eating whatever you thought you were going to have for lunch.

Now, morning is generally time for slow movements and soft tastes. Most of us baby our tongues with oatmeal muffins, scrambled eggs, or some butter on toast. But that’s why it’s fun eating ridiculous things for breakfast once in a while. You’re drawing outside the lines, ripping up the rules, and adding adventure to your morning. Bring on the day! I will eat this two day old spicy steak and peppers! I will garnish my fried eggs with crushed barbeque flavored potato chips! I will eat the cupcakes leftover from my niece’s birthday party! Seize the day, readers, seize the day!

The Babaganoush Sports Beat

Texas Rangers
We’ve hit the skids. We’re on the schneide. When will it end? I’m not going to tell you! Why? Because you should be watching the games at home or heading out to the ballpark, that’s why. The Rangers are on the cusp of being a true playoff contention team, but they need fan support. So dig out those Rangers shirts you have hidden away in the back of your closet or on your rag pile and throw up The Claw. IT’S TIME!

Dallas Cowboys
As much as I would like to say about the embarrassment that was our preseason, I’d rather not. We’ve had some keys players with injuries over the length of preseason, so it is hard to judge, but let’s just be content that preseason doesn’t count, it’s hardly important, and it’s over. The regular season starts Sunday for the Cowboys, so get your hands out of your pockets and start cheering for the home team. How embarrassing would it be to be considered a Super Bowl contender at the beginning of the year and not make it? Not as embarrassing as having to host the Super Bowl at your new home stadium and not make it? Think about it.

SMU Mustangs Football
Kyle Padron was 21 for 38 and threw for 218 yards, along with 2 touchdowns in a loss against Texas Tech on Sunday, 35-27. The win gave Tommy Tuberville his first as Red Raiders coach. Texas Tech ran its winning streak against SMU to 14 games, dating back to 1989. Tech QB Potts was 34 for 53 with no interceptions and connected with Lyle Leong for three scores and Detron Lewis for the other. Eric Stephens rushed for 3-yard TD to put Texas Tech up 35-14 midway through the third quarter. Texas Tech's defense had the task of trying to stop Padron, who threw for a school-record 460 yards and two touchdowns running coach June Jones' run-n-shoot in a 45-10 win over Nevada in the Hawaii Bowl. SMU’s Darryl Fields returned a kickoff 92 yards to set up a 24-yard field to pull SMU within 35-17. Early in the fourth, Matt Szymanski booted a 61-yard field goal, his longest ever.

SMU scored its first touchdown on its final drive of the first half as Padron led a 13-play drive, including his scrambling for 18 yards for a first down on fourth-and-3 from Tech's 34. Zach Line scored from 2 yards and the Mustangs were down by only one score. SMU pulled within 35-27 midway through the fourth quarter after taking over on downs on the Tech 32. On fourth-and-six from the 13, Padron threw into the end zone and it looked like safety Cody Davis had broken it up. But the ball stayed up in the air and Cole Beasley caught it for a score.

The Mustangs had a chance late and were driving when they failed to convert a fourth-and-21 from the 50 on their final drive. Texas Tech intercepted SMU quarterback Kyle Padron three times in the game. The Mustangs rallied behind their special teams. The Mustangs also blocked two field goals. All in all, it was a fun game to watch, if not completely frustrating. SMU had many chances to break open this game and turn the tides, but failed. It was just plain sloppy, especially the first half. Once Padron seemed to calm down and get in a rhythm things started to look up for the Mustangs, but you can’t bet the farm on him just yet. If I had to pick an upside of this loss it would have to be the SMU defense. There were times in this game where SMU’s defense looked completely gassed, but came through with a big stop. Against the less offensively suave teams in our conference, I have no doubt that this defense will be a huge game changer.

When is Baptsm Appropriate

As our family has been growing over the past year or so with the cousins starting to have babies, there has been a point of contention among our ranks…when is it necessary to have the baby baptized? My father comes from the generation of Catholics who were told that a baby must be baptized as soon as possible (as in a day or two after the baby leaves the hospital). But, due to how spread out our family is and the fact that godparents often have to come from obscure corners of the US, the new babies in the family have gone a month or more before baptism. This confounds my father greatly and he has asked me repeatedly if this is alright or not. Why me? I guess because over the years my brother and mother have nurtured this idea that I am some sort of expert on canon law. This is hardly the case. Although today, sitting in church I was reminded of my goddaughter’s baptism and decided to look into it.

Catholics believe in infant baptism. I have written about this before on a couple of occasions but I’ll try to sum it up. Catholics believe that because of Original Sin, all men have lost the original holiness and justice given to Adam and Eve [CCC, no. 405]. Just as He gives the gift of life, so God gives Baptism as the gift to bring us eternal life. Not only is this given as a gift, but God requires us to accept His gift in order to be saved. As Jesus Himself says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (Jn. 3:5). Children, even babies, were not excluded from the Old Covenant. Likewise, the family of God in the New Covenant is for all people, including babies. As Jesus Himself said, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God” (Lk. 18:16). This is the basis for our belief and the reason why we baptize our babies rather than waiting as most non-Catholic Christians do. I fully understand and appreciate the non-Catholic stance on baptism and have witnessed my own friends receive their baptisms as teenagers and young adults. I’m not here to say one way is right or wrong, for it is not my place to judge. I am only telling you what I, as a Catholic, believe.

Back to the question at hand, when is it necessary to baptize a newborn baby? For the answers I went to the one place that would have it, a website of Catholic Canon Law. Catholic Canon Law #867 states that, if an infant is in danger of death, it is to be baptized without any delay. Under ordinary circumstances, states Canon #867, parents are to see to the Baptisms of their infants within the first few weeks: "As soon as possible after birth, even before it, they are to approach the parish priest to ask for the sacrament for their child and to be themselves prepared for it." So according to the Church, my father is relatively correct in his knowledge of Catholic Tradition. The Church still believes that baptism is essential as soon as possible after birth.

I wanted to know if there is any flexibility in this, because Canon Law is like the Constitution…it was written a long time ago, hardly ever gets revised, and takes ridiculous amounts of effort to change it. I found information for new parents on how to prepare for Baptism. The first consideration in determining the time is the welfare of the child. If the child is at risk of death from complications at birth, it is important to have baptism administered immediately. Also to be taken into account is the health of the mother so that if possible she may be present for the Baptism. For Catholics, baptism is one of the first holy and spiritual moments they have with their child and it is important to be there and be healthy. There may also be necessary some time to prepare the parents for the sacrament and to plan the ceremony. A specialist in canon law has noted that the phrase "within the first weeks after birth" may be interpreted broadly to allow for special family considerations, for example, to await the return of a family member who lives out of town. So, there you go.

Mount Tater and Lake Gravy

I went to lunch with the family last weekend as my brother and sister were preparing to go out of town this week. It was one last chance to catch up on things before being in different cities for a few days. Sounds a little crazy, I know, but I don’t care because I got to see my niece for a few hours. She even went all thug at one point and threw her glass bottle to the ground, shattering it and spraying apple juice everywhere. She’s hardcore…straight from the hood! Anyway, we went to a country style eatery near my brother’s place and I got me some chicken fried steak (it is the Sunday special after all). It comes with mashed potatoes and realized once again my love affair with them. Sure I have had mashed potatoes off and on over the past months, but there’s something about having mashed potatoes and chicken fried anything that just rekindles your love. Must be the gravy…thus I thought I would elaborate on my love of mashed potatoes today.

Are ya’ll ready? Ready to get your mash on long? Ready to get your mash on strong? How great is it that a bunch of rock-hard brown things yanked from the dirt can turn into a creamy smooth-n-salty canvas of deliciousness right in the middle of our plates? I’m talking salty lumps, I’m talking tasty bumps, I’m talking mashed potatoes, people. Mashed potatoes require a certain artistry to make, especially from scratch. Sure, the instant mashed potato flakes don’t measure up to the real thing, but if prepared properly, they are more than serviceable. My family has a long tradition of making mashed potatoes properly from scratch, however. You have to know what to use and what not to use. If the potatoes are cooked just right, then you don’t need to cheat by adding sour cream or any other binding agent to them before mashed. All you need is a little salt and pepper, milk, and butter (unsalted real butter is best). Some people like their mashed taters with skins…I say to each their own. I can say that sometimes skins add a little flavor and sometimes they make the whole thing taste like dirt.

Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty here. The true loveliness of mashed potatoes comes from the fact that they are moldable. Their like Play-Doh that you can eat and it doesn’t have the taste of Play-Doh (for all you weirdoes out there who actually ate Play-Doh as a kid…weirdoes). Mashed potatoes are one of the few foods who achieve that rare 10 out of 10 on sculpt-ability. This comes in handy when eating your mashed potatoes with gravy. I don’t know where the heavenly combination of mashed potatoes and gravy came from, but it is truly glorious. There are many ways you can form your taters to handle the gravy properly:
- Lakes and ponds. The classic. Nobody’s bending burgers into teapots or folding pancakes into salad plates, but we’ve got no problems curving sloppy potatoes into gravy swimming pools in no time flat.
- Broken dams. Need some gravy on that turkey? No problem! Just slice a gully in the side of Lake Gravy and watch the salty brown goodness lay a flash flood on that bird.
- Retaining walls. Sorry? What’s that? Unruly cranberry sauce is threatening to contaminate your casserole? No problem! Just smear some mashed potato paste across your plate like mortar and keep all the flavors where they belong.
- Buried volcano. When you got the gravy pond sitting pretty on your plate it’s sometimes fun letting it soak in and then quickly flipping the entire structure onto itself, completely submerging the gravy under a thin sheen of potato. Now you’ve got a starchy chest full of treasure.

And because mashed potatoes offer so much potential it’s not uncommon to see other creations like green-bean porcupines or lumpy Pyramids of Giza in the middle of a mashed potato plate. I am not advocating playing with your food, not in the least. I was raised a southern gentleman by a good Catholic couple from up north (a contradiction, I know), but that means you sit up, keep your elbows off the table, and don’t play with your food (while anyone is looking). I have to admit, I am stung by the creativity bug when I’ve got a smooth pile of mashed potatoes on my plate. I try to find ways to eat them so as to form a story. Like the army is surrounding the potato village and their cannons are breaking down the potato walls slowly, bit by bit. There is really no limit to the possibilities so just remember to dig for the moment, sculpt for the memories, and build for your life.

The Babaganoush Sports Beat

Just in case the fact the Rangers lost two of three games to Oakland last weekend made any of you a little anxious that this AL West race might become more nerve-wracking than you might prefer, let’s step away from the race for a moment. I’m not saying there is cause for concern about our upcoming push for the playoffs, but it is never too early to start thinking or game planning for next season. Besides, do you want to be the one hit wonder team who crushed the competition one year and fizzled the next? Yeah, me neither. So let’s just tap the brakes on playoff talk and walk this way…

Slowly. Carefully. There ya go.

Now, let’s talk about something we’re more used to talking about at this time of year. Mainly, that would be next year. While CEO Chuck Greenberg said the club would pursue free agent pitcher Cliff Lee for a long-term deal after 2010, the question is whether investing in him long-term would pay the biggest benefit. Cliff Lee can pitch. And he’s not tanking it. But the question is this: If the Rangers can afford to make one major free-agent acquisition, where are the dollars best spent? There are definitely various other spots around the field where you could at least consider a major investment or at least some well calculated moves. I’ll go around the horn and point out some opportunities that the team shouldn’t pass up if it is at all possible to address them.

Catcher: Remember a year ago, when this position looked like it was stocked for years to come? Not so anymore. The Rangers had to rush to get Matt Treanor as a backup during spring, got more than they ever expected and then still felt the need to get Bengie Molina to front the position. Molina went into Monday hitting .212 as a Ranger. Anybody interested in bringing him back? Or giving the job to Treanor, who will be 35 and who has never been a starter? Or Taylor Teagarden? It’s a problem position. The Rangers will need to pursue a catcher this winter. There just aren’t many guys – if any – out there who would be worthy of a long-term deal and big bucks. The Rangers will sign or trade for another catcher this winter, but it won’t be for prime dollars. It will fall under the heading of “affordable.”

First base: Remember, like six months ago, when the position looked like it was stocked for years to come? Not so anymore. Justin Smoak was traded in the Cliff Lee deal. Chris Davis appears to have three strikes against him after three demotions in two seasons. Mitch Moreland has done a solid job since his promotion, but didn’t Davis do the same thing with more pop for half a year in 2008? Are the Rangers content to go with Moreland, considered the lowest of the three first base prospects in the system a year ago or might they want to pursue somebody like Adrian Gonzalez, a Gold Glove caliber defender and disciplined hitter? Could they bring themselves to doing that after letting him go as a throw-in five years ago?

Third base: There is public sentiment that Michael Young’s defense is regressing. I’d say his defense has been disappointing this season. Think even Young will eventually acknowledge that and pledge to do all he can to improve his range for 2011. But despite the defensive shortcomings, which extend only to range (not hands or arm strength), Young remains one of the better overall options at third. If, however, Boston’s Adrian Beltre were to test free agency, you’d have one guy who might be a better defensive fit and an equal offensive threat. It would allow the Rangers to potentially step away from Vladimir Guerrero, make Young the regular DH, but also play him at three infield spots regularly to keep Beltre and Ian Kinsler healthy and Elvis Andrus fresh. It might be intriguing, but there also might be too many moving pieces to make it all work.

Outfield : It’s rumored that Carl Crawford will end up with the New York Yankees after this season. Just as it’s rumored Cliff Lee will end up there. The Rangers have spent the whole year flip-flopping between a pair of left-handed bats in the outfield. David Murphy can produce runs and plays solid all-around defense; Julio Borbon can run and gets to everything in the outfield. Crawford does what both Murphy and Borbon do, only better. How would an outfield of Crawford in left, Josh Hamilton in center and Nelson Cruz in right, look? Expensive. That’s how it would look. But it would also look air tight on defense and multi-dimensional on offense.

So that said, where do you go? You stick with pursuing Lee and putting him atop the rotation (which I see as less and less of a need if the post All-Star CJ Wilson is going to stick around for a few years), or do you decide to take draft picks for him, let the Yankees take all the financial risk and try to address another spot on the roster?

Biblical Quandary: James, the brother of Jesus

Television shows and books refer to St. James as the brother of Jesus. In the Apostles’ Creed we say, “I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord…” If St. James is Jesus’ brother, would James not also be God’s son? Were Mary and Joseph the parents of James?

“James, the brother of the Lord” has puzzled people for centuries. The New Testament refers to three men named James:
- James, brother of John the Apostle, himself an apostle and a son of Zebedee (Matthew 4:21, etc.), is called James the Greater. He was martyred by King Herod Agrippa I about 41 A.D. (Acts 12:2) and is venerated in Santiago de Compostela (Spain).
- James, son of Alphaeus, also an apostle (Matthew 10:3, etc.), is known as James the Lesser. He was clubbed to death and is often confused with “James, the brother of the Lord.”
- The third James is the brother of Joseph/Joses, Simon and Judas of Nazareth (Matthew 13:55, Mark 6:3). Jesus appeared to this James after the Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:7). With Peter, he led the earliest Christian community in Jerusalem (Acts 12:17; 15:13-21), is mentioned by St. Paul (Galatians 2:12) and was stoned to death in 62 A.D. on the high priest’s orders.

The third James is the presumed author of the New Testament’s Letter of James. He may have been Jesus’ cousin; other members of his family headed the Church in Jerusalem until that city was destroyed in 70 A.D.

For us, the term “brother” means a male relative sharing identical parents with the person who calls him “brother.” The term, however, in some societies can include other male relatives, even cousins. Jesus uses “brother” in an even wider sense in Mark 3:35 (“For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother”), Matthew 25:40, Luke 22:32 and John 20:17.

The Catholic Church maintains that Mary had only one child, Jesus, who was not biologically the son of Joseph (Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 1:34-35). Already in the second century, the Protoevangelium of James described these “brothers of Jesus” as children of Joseph by a previous marriage. St. Jerome (d. 420) considered them cousins of Jesus. There is no scriptural evidence that Joseph was a single parent before marrying Mary.