Coming to believe: the Spirit given

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doubting-Thomas-Duccio“Receive the holy Spirit” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit. 23 Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

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 deliver the Spirit into the world (19:30), symbolized immediately afterward by the flow of the sacramental symbols of blood and water. Continue reading →

Coming to believe: an excursus

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doubting-Thomas-DuccioSo I send you… an excursus. “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit. 23 Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

How one already understands and practices their faith forms parts of lens with which one understands these three simple verses. When I quiz Catholics about who is meant with the plural “you” in these verses, the  most common answer is “the apostles.” Behind the answer lies the Catholic church ecclesiology (understanding of what it means to be church) and the sacramental understanding of confession/reconciliation. Those in the Protestant and Reformed churches would not agree and (in general) understand the “you” to be all disciples. Continue reading →

Coming to believe: context

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doubting-Thomas-Duccio19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 (Jesus) said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit. 23 Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” 24 Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Continue reading →

Eastertide

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eastermorningAs a liturgical season, Lent is rather straightforward. It is kinda’ easy to write about. There is Ash Wednesday to dramatically mark its beginning, and we all know we are moving relentlessly towards Easter. We count the days even as we mark Lent’s beginning. The Ashes make a visible mark upon us, reminding us that we are dust and to dust we shall return – but that is not the end of the story. We are reminded to repent and believe in the Gospel – but that is not the end goal. We are encouraged to pray, fast, and give alms – but those practices are meant to make room in our lives for God that we too may rise to the newness of life at Eastertide. Continue reading →

The 4th Day

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There were so many times in Jesus’ ministry that he told his disciples that on the third day he would be raised from death. Today is the third day. The day when the world changed forever. When His best overcame our worst. When He broke the chains of death and now we are free.

Today is that third day when our hearts are healed, our lives rescued, and we can rejoice with Alleluias. Rejoice, I say again, rejoice! It is the third day!  Can I get an “Amen?” Continue reading →

Easter is coming

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It is good to be reminded.

Easter is coming
But for many of us, this is not the ultimate reality
There is too much pain and suffering in the world today.
Death has the last word. It would therefore be foolish to say that the life and death of a first century
Jew names Jesus makes a difference.
Why? Might makes right. Power is superior to compassion and despair is stronger than hope.
So I refuse to believe a man can come back from the dead.
Sometimes the most important facts are the hardest to accept.
Resurrection is a false hope.
How can you say an empty tomb changes everything.
Don’t you see “God loves the world” is a lie.
“Money is God” and “The one dies with the most toys wins.”
I will tell you what I tell my children
There is no more to this world that what you can see, hold, and buy.
There is no mystery in everyday life and there is nothing sacred about ordinary things and people
Many of us simply do not believe that God can give life to the dead, bring light from darkness, and create something out of nothing.

But what if the testimony of the woman at the tomb was true? Then
God can give life to the dead, bring light from darkness, and create something out of nothing.
Many of us simply do not believe that There is no mystery in everyday life and there is nothing sacred
about ordinary things and people and There is no more to this world that what you can see, hold, and buy.
I will tell you what I tell my children. “The one dies with the most toys wins.” and “Money is God” is a lie.
Don’t you see an empty tomb changes everything.
A man can come back from the dead.
How can you say Resurrection is a false hope. Sometimes the most important facts are the hardest to accept.
So I refuse to believe despair is stronger than hope. Power is superior to compassion and Might makes right. Why?
The life and death of a first century Jew names Jesus makes a difference.
It would therefore be foolish to say Death has the last word.
There is too much pain and suffering in the world today.
But for many of us, this is not the ultimate reality

Easter is coming

Between death and Resurrection

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Good Friday has passed and now it is morning on the second day. And we wait, even as we are busy about things. This morning last vestiges of the sparseness of Lent and Good Friday will give way to the many hands readying our church for the Light of Christ to enter the main doors. And yet we wait.  The Elect and Candidates of RCIA, along with their sponsors are waiting. They too wait. All filled with Hope.

“The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us. For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God… For in hope we were saved. Now hope that sees for itself is not hope. For who hopes for what one sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance.” (Romans 8:16-19, 24-25)

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…and we wait

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We wait between the two earthquakes – the ones announcing the death of Jesus and his Resurrection

Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, and gave up his spirit. And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom.* The earth quaked, rocks were split” (Mt 27:50-51)

And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it (Mt 28:2)

Between the two earthquakes, there is the silent waiting of Holy Saturday. As Jesus lay in tomb, what was God doing?

As Jim Harnish notes: “Perhaps the silence of Saturday is the reminder that beneath the surface, God is still at work in every dark, deadly, lifeless place to break through the darkness and bring new life. The resurrection means that tomorrow is never just another day!”

It’s not all about you

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We say that. We think that. About others and not often charitably. Even about ourselves as a reminder and call to be good. It is the mark of Christ that a person can live with the focus on others, making it all about them because the love of God compels us.

But today is Good Friday. It is all about me, you, all of us. Today is about a people who are fallen, broken, sometimes  lost, cannot save themselves, and are not sure about the way home. It is about a people who were loved into existence, love in their being, and who are doggedly pursued in love. Even if it means that the Word of God will become flesh and “pitch his tent among us.” Continue reading →