Well… not actually “fishing” but I am heading out on vacation to visit family, friends, lakes, oceans, and other places where fish live… but I will leave the fish be. Not to worry, there are a whole bunch of posts queued up and ready to go on a daily basis… might even blog a thought or two while away. God bless!
I think that on our best days, we who profess to be Christian, we are storytellers. Today I have three stories for you. Two of which we know the ending; the third is a work in progress. Continue reading
This coming weekend we celebrate the 2nd Sunday of Easter in Lectionary Cycle B. In response, Jesus told Thomas, Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. Thomas came to believe because he saw the risen Lord, but Jesus did not praise Thomas’ pathway to faith; rather, he pronounced a blessing upon those who have not seen the risen Jesus yet have believed in him nevertheless. These are those who hear or read the witness to Jesus borne by the disciples and confirmed by the Spirit (15:26–27). This is the second pronunciation of blessing by Jesus in the form of a beatitude in the Fourth Gospel (cf. 13:17: “If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it.”). There are people who refer to this as the 9th beatitude. Continue reading
This coming weekend we celebrate the 2nd Sunday of Easter in Lectionary Cycle B. Although many translations include “doubt” in v. 27 — and thus lead to the phrase “Doubting Thomas,” but there is no Greek word for “doubt” in the verse. The phrase do not be unbelieving, but believe contrasts apistos and pistos — the only occurrence of both these words in John. Simply put, the word does not mean “doubt” and Greek does not lack the equivalent words: diakrinomai, dialogismos, distazō, dipsychos, aporeō, and aporia. Continue reading
This coming weekend we celebrate the 2nd Sunday of Easter in Lectionary Cycle B. The sacred writer had already introduced the giving of the Holy Spirit in John 7 in a scene during the Feast of Tabernacles in which the Spirit is promised at a future time when Jesus was glorified. In the Fourth Gospel it is at the crucifixion that Jesus is glorified in that his willing obedience manifests the nature of God, which is love. It is there on the cross that Jesus delivers the Spirit into the world (19:30), symbolized immediately afterward by the flow of the sacramental symbols of blood and water. Continue reading
In the gospel reading for today we share the story of the two disciples on that first Easter heading home discouraged by the events that had unfolded with the death of Jesus. By the time that Cleopas and his unnamed companion had walked with Jesus the seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus, the evening darkness had descended upon them. When Jesus acted as if he would continue walking, they implored him, “stay with us, for the day is almost over.” And so they had dinner at Emmaus. Continue reading
This coming weekend we celebrate the 2nd Sunday of Easter in Lectionary Cycle B. Consider this one verse: When Jesus prayed for his disciples he said to the Father, “As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world” (17:18).
Jesus and the disciples were not born into a time of theological vacuum. Jewish theology was robust and with a history of succeeding and competing rabbinic schools. The followers of Jesus and the people of his time were Jews who were raised and lived this theology. It provided the framework for their daily lives and shaped their expectations about the Messiah, the Anointed One, who was to come. Among the gospels, John’s is the writings whose work expresses the fulfillment of those expectations and provides the theology for those that would follow Jesus. The basis of the theology is evident from the opening:
John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and Word was God…”
In the gospel reading today we encounter a well known scene. It is Sunday morning in the first light of the day, the third day since the crucifixion. Mary Magdalene is there to complete the burial rituals to honor the corpse of Jesus – only to discover an empty tomb. She was already grieving, carrying that pain and loss until the completion of the Sabbath, and now this – someone has taken the body of Jesus; a final insult and desecration. It is too much. She is in tears. Continue reading
This coming weekend we celebrate the 2nd Sunday of Easter in Lectionary Cycle B. The disciples, still reeling from the events of the last three days, gather in the upper room. In Matthew 28:8, Mary Magdalene’s reaction to the encounter with Jesus was “fearful but overjoyed.” Perhaps this too is the experience of the disciples. All John tells us is that they were gathered together, hiding as it were, for fear of the Jews (v.19) Continue reading
For those interested in keeping up with the maritime story behind Baltimore’s Key Bridge collapse, Sal Mercogliano – maritime historian at Campbell University (@campbelledu) and former merchant mariner – provides an update on MV Dali and discusses the insurance ramifications of the accident. You can watch the full video or just the segments you are interested in.
00:00 Update on MV Dali and Key Bridge
03:36 Review of Power Outage on Dali
07:15 Dali Sitting on Gas Lines
10:18 Insurance Implications
19:08 $3.1 Billion in Insurance!
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