Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have. Luke 24:39 These words should shock you: “God is dead.” Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote these famous words in criticism of morality and religion. He wrote, “the belief in the Christian God has become unbelievable,” and everything that was “built upon this faith, propped up…
Christ indeed from death is risen, our new life obtaining. – Easter Sequence Alleluia! Jesus is risen! Happy Easter! This Sunday we celebrate the feast of the victory of Jesus over the powers of death. Death seems so frightening and final, like nothing can stop its grip on us. On the surface, seeing only with worldly eyes, it seems like death has the final word. But Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the true victory.…
Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead. – John 20:8-9 Our Lenten adventure has reached its end. We have reached Jesus’s empty tomb. We have encountered the truth of the Resurrection. Imagine you are with Mary Magdalen that Easter morning. As you follow her to…
…when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people! I will put my spirit in you that you may live…- Ezekiel 37:13-14 Imagine a tropical island getaway. Everything there has been arranged for you. All you have to do is get there. But there’s a catch: you have to get there completely on your own. No planes, trains, or automobiles; no boats or helicopters. Just you and your own power.…
Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. – Matthew 17:1-2 Our Lenten adventure includes a mountain hike this Sunday! We follow Jesus, Peter, James, and John as they climb the mountain of encounter with the Holy Trinity. A theophany is a manifestation of God, a direct…
…and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise. – Luke 20:36 Being a child of God means that we shall live forever with Him. Those of us who have been baptized have the power to become God’s children (John 1:12). The Lord promised that His children shall have eternal life: “those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead…are…
May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy! – Psalm 126:5 Alleluia! The season of Easter joy has arrived! Jesus promised His disciples that although He would suffer and die and they would have to hide while mourning Him, their suffering would be replaced with joy. Jesus told His disciples: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your…
An Easter Poem Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? – 1 Corinthians 15:55 At early morning, join the women at the tomb. The tomb now stings of death no more. No more shall death prevail nor scare, for Christ triumphant left it there. There in the morning, join the women, who come to anoint the Son. The Son now risen victoriously—sin and death…
Just after His resurrection, Jesus met two disciples on the road to Emmaus. One of the disciples was Cleopas; the other is unnamed. We know that Mary, the wife of Clopas, was one of the women who was present at the crucifixion (John 19:25). Some Biblical scholars have postulated that this Mary could have been the second disciple. So we might imagine a married couple who had been disciples of Christ just days before—one of…
Our first reading tells of the apostles in the early days of the Church. It was a time of togetherness, sincerity, and joyful praise. They met in their homes to worship, pray, and eat together. They shared all that they had, and Love—yes Love with a capital “L”—united them. The Holy Spirit had come upon them just before this at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). It was this Spirit of peace and unity that gave them the…