2614AFC040326 – That’s unbelievable, yet still … ← PODCAST LINK 😀
Before we begin, I want to acknowledge the copious, much needed, and truly efficacious assistance from Daniel at Kukui-IT. Somebody – or some-bot – made it impossible to open any page whatsoever at our blog site for the Moon Beam Network at Aloha-Friday.org last week. I don’t know how, but they restored us to fully-open in a very remarkable display of technical expertise, and so we say to Daniel and his cohort at Kukui-IT …
And let us begin!
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Isaiah 53:1 (GNT) [1]–
1 The people reply,
“Who would have believed what we now report?
Who could have seen the Lord’s hand in this?
John 20:1-2 – 1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”
Adelphos: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. As you are aware, today is Good Friday. Our Key Verses come from the Old Testament reading for Good Friday, and the Gospel from Easter Sunday’s Mass in the morning ← PODCAST LINK 😀 – a pair of unexpected events that were unbelievable because the Apostles forgot (we just keep doing that, adelphos) that those happenings should have been fully believable because they should have been fully expected, and yet still …
Who could have believed that the man called Jesus of Nazareth would have to be taken down from a Roman crucifixion cross? This was the man who was to restore Israel, to get rid of the Romans, to reign forever on the Throne of David. And now he’s dead? How could that be? We had no warning, no clue that this would happen! Yet still …
Since in the Liturgy for Cycle A liturgical year we primarily use the Gospel according to Matthew, here are three quotes from Matthew in which Jesus told them it would happen and we can now ponder:
#1 Matthew 16:21 – 21 From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
#2 Matthew 17:22–23 – 22 As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands, 23 and they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.” And they were greatly distressed.
#3 Matthew 20:17–19 – 17 While Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, 18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death; 19 then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified; and on the third day he will be raised.”
What he was saying was unbelievable, yet still it should have been memorable. I think I know at least one person who might have remembered. There was one of Jesus’ followers who kept every moment and word of Jesus in her heart and wondered about them. She some of the long hours in solitary prayer. She watched the resolute determination on Jesus’ face as he made his way to Jerusalem. She heard and remembered these three warnings, and as she pondered them, and her heart ached because she feared that those warnings might become true. And yet still …
Mary also knew that being the Messiah would not be a political or military role It would be the role of the suffering servant. I think Mary was the source of a lot of parables that Jesus told, Little stories she told him when he was a child to help him understand what was going on in the world. Now that seems unbelievable, yet still, for at least part of the time between Jesus’ age 12 and age 30, she was a single parent. Now we know that Jesus worked as a carpenter or perhaps a construction worker. He built things for people, so he must have learned those skills from Joseph. We have no mention of any other person in a fatherly role for Jesus so perhaps Joseph was around long enough to teach him. Some people might want to say, ”Well, after all he is God so he should know everything.” But we forget (there it is again) that he was also fully human. When he hit his thumb with a hammer it still hurt. He knew going to Jerusalem would end up hurting, yet still …
Luke 9:51-53 – 51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; 53 but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. (See also Luke 9:51, 13:33, 17:11, 19:11 for additional important information) In our own 20/20 hindsight we know that for him to be taken up means for him to die and be resurrected – not resuscitated, but resurrected – and then ascend to Heaven in a Glorified body. We also know that his face was set toward Jerusalem was offensive to the Samaritans because of the enmity between them and the Jews. His determination was patently evident. Jesus tells his Disciples, “Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.” (See Luke 13:33)
Weeks, months, years later might not the Apostles have wondered, “How did I miss that.” We know that initially, the Gospel was shared verbally. And many years later, people began writing it. One of the first documents that was written down was The Didache(did’-a-key), Διδαχή – the summary of the teachings of Christ that was used – along with accounts of Jesus’ miracles and life – by the early Church to teach the message of Jesus. That link will allow you to download your own PDF copy of this amazing little book. It’s something that should be read often. In addition to The Didache, the Epistles were also circulated among the early Churches. They were delivered physically by well-trusted and brave Disciples who carried the letters to the various assemblies of Christians in places like Colossae, Ephesus, and Corinth. Some of the epistles were personal letters like those from The Apostle Paul to Timothy and Philemon. We can crank up that little movie theater on the inside of our forehead and imagine how listeners might have thought, “That’s unbelievable, yet still …”
Those persons who listened with open hearts and minds could find it believable, and could become Christians. In that era becoming a Christian was a multifaceted experience, and included the possibility of jail or even death. It worked out a little like this, as far as I can tell:
- Hearing the Word.
- Believing the Word (I call that HEART-ing the word).
- Publicly confessing that Belief with a Credo.
- Baptism – generally by immersion. Years later there came the practice of pouring blessed water on the head of the candidates and catechumens, whether infants, minors, or adults.
- The laying on of hands and confirmation of metanoia by Receiving the Holy Spirit.
- Welcoming into the community of believers as Adelphos of the Lord.
Now we begin to see the connections between the Key Verse in Isaiah 53:1 and John 20:1-2. That connection is incredulity. NO one would raise up someone who had died! Even though God told Israel through the Prophet Ezekiel that the Lord would raise up all the dead and make them alive. I strongly encourage you to read Ezekiel 37:1-14; however, in case you decide not to, I will give you something more to think about anyway.
Ezekiel 37:12-14 – 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. 14 I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.”
Shall the Lord speak, and we not believe HIM? Well, God’s chosen have done that for millennia. We’re even doing it today. Are we praying for the forgiveness of the sins of those, who, straying far from the path of salvation, refuse in their obstinate infidelity to follow Jesus, their Shepherd and Leader and renouncing the vows of their baptism, have cast off the sweet yoke of God’s Law of Love? Are we praying for those who have died, but yet have a temporal purging that will bring them to the refection of Heaven? Or, are we just breezing along with our fingers crossed, our hymnals tattered, and a shiny spot worn into the pew where we sit every Sunday? Is our Bible so underlined and highlighted that we can’t even read it any more, yet we still gossip about our neighbor, or our Pastor, or badmouth our boss? Do our lives show that we say in our hearts, “Father in Heaven I know what you want, and I know how to do that, but, I’m going to try it my may first.”?
Do we believe that we have understood and worked out the necessities of Salvation through our own hard work and dedication to our Parish or Congregation? You know what? That’s unbelievable, yet still … God the Father loves us (but we sometimes act as if that is unbelievable), Jesus died for OUR sins (even those sins we tell ourselves nobody will ever know about, and that’s unbelievable because God knows!), and the Holy Spirit moves daily to show us The Law of Love and convict us of our sins so that we can know those sins and repent of those sins (and we’d best believe that because that is VERY believable Love). And lest we forget what repent means, here’s a little visual aid to remind us.
Who among the Disciples Loved Jesus the most? His mother Mary? The Apostle John, or The Apostle Peter? Any of the Apostles except Judas? Who would Love Jesus enough to sacrifice their own life to save Jesus from the Cross? Loving Jesus the most is not as important as believing and doing what Jesus commanded – Love God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit completely, Love each other just as completely as The Persons of the Trinity Love us. We can – should, and MUST – have the unbelievable Love that only comes from God. That is as important as it is necessary! Because why? Because, as the Lord himself told us,
1 Samuel 15:22-23 a – 22 And Samuel said,
“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obedience to the voice of the Lord?
Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed than [is] the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is no less a sin than divination,
and stubbornness is like iniquity and idolatry.
Being the biggest fan of Jesus is not enough. Believing everything he said and did is not enough – think of Mary of Magdala going to the tomb and then returning to say, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” Who are “they” and why was that treachery more believable than the Resurrection? It was Too Much To Handle! The Disciples and Apostles all knew Balaam’s Oracle as recorded in Numbers 23:19 –
19 God is not a human being, that he should lie,
or a mortal, that he should change his mind.
Has he promised, and will he not do it?
Has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
God loves YOU! He even loves ME! He even loves your cranky boss, your noisy neighbor and her squalling toddler, the driver of the junk car that cut you off on the highway, and even the politicians we each despise. If God loves all of those in Christ Jesus, then we must do the same. I know! That’s unbelievable, yet still … (paraphrasing here) – WE have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives US. Believe it or else. (çç Click Link to find out “Or else What?!?!?”) oh yeah, and that sentence about facing all conditions? Check out Philippians 4:13 (GNT)
(In this message, scroll down past the credits.)
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!
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Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
Obedience is the root of endurance!
We must consistently ask, “Who is the ruler of my heart?
God, or my imagination’s image (idol) of God? Here’s why.
AGE QUOD AGIS – DO WHAT YOU’RE DOING
Unless it’s the Wrong Thing!
[1] Passages marked (GNT): Good News Translation (GNT) are from the Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition)© 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
