On Pentecost and St. Barnabas – 2025

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Commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit – on the very first Pentecost Sunday

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Welcome to “read the Bible – expand your mind:”

The Book of Common Prayer says that by sharing Holy Communion, Christians become “very members incorporate in the mystical body” of Jesus. The words “corporate” and “mystical” are key. They show that a healthy church has two sides, with the often-overlooked “mystic” side posing the question, “How do I experience God?” This blog will try to answer that.

It has four main themes. The first is that God will accept anyone. (John 6:37.) The second is that God wants us to live lives of abundance.(John 10:10.) The third is that Jesus wants us to read the Bible with an open mind. (As Luke 24:45 says: “Then He [Jesus] opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.”) The fourth theme – another one often overlooked – is that Jesus wants us to do even greater miracles than He did. (John 14:12.) 

And this thought ties them together:

The best way to live abundantly and do greater miracles than Jesus is: Read, study and apply the Bible with an open mind. For more see the notes or – to expand your mind – see the Intro.

In the meantime:

June 12, 2025 – Last June 8 was Pentecost Sunday. The following Wednesday, June 11, was the Feast Day for St. Barnabas, who some call the “Apostle of Second Chances.” There’s more on St. Barnabas in a bit, but first a word or three about Pentecost. The word comes from the Greek for “50th day,” and it’s always celebrated 50 days after Easter Sunday.  (Seven weeks and a day.) And it’s been around a long, long time. (Over 2,000 years?) See Pentecost – Wikipedia:

Pentecost is the Greek name for the Feast of Weeks, a prominent feast in the calendar of ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai. This feast is still celebrated in Judaism as Shavuot. Later, in the Christian liturgical year, it became a feast commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ … as described in the Acts of the Apostles [verses 1-13 et seq.].

Other notes: It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks. (Described in the Acts of the Apostles 2:1–31.) It’s also called the Birthday of the Church.

Before the events of the first Pentecost … a few weeks after Jesus’ death and resurrection, there were followers of Jesus, but no movement that could be meaningfully called “the church.”  Thus, from an historical point of view, Pentecost is the day on which the church was started.  This is also true from a spiritual perspective, since the Spirit brings the church into existence and enlivens it.  Thus Pentecost is the church’s birthday.

(What is Pentecost?  (Patheos).) Another name for Pentecost is Tongue Sunday, partly because of the “tongues of fire,” as told in Acts 2:3. But another reason was the “speaking in tongues” – glossolalia – that occurred that day. Acts 2:4: “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” But those there weren’t just babbling, as some today seem to think. Instead they spoke in concrete, known languages. As a result, people from many different nations could understand them. See Acts 2, verses 8-11:

“How is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs – in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”

(See also 1st Corinthians 14:19, on the potential abuse of that “gift,” where the Apostle Paul said that while he was glad he could speak in tongues, in church “I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.”)

So as of Wednesday, June 11, “Happy Umpteenth Birthday, Church!”

Moving on to St. Barnabas, he wasn’t one of the original 12 apostles, but is regarded as one of the first 70 (or 72) Disciples. He was also one of the most respected men in the first-century Church, “after the Apostles themselves.” But his biggest contribution may have been welcoming Paul – originally called Saul – into the early church, despite Paul’s “baggage.”

“Saul” was a leading persecutor of the early church, as told in Acts 8:3: “Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.” Then came Acts 9:1-2, where Saul, “still breathing out threats of murder … went to the high priest and requested letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, he could bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.”

But on the way – to drag Christian prisoners back to Jerusalem – Saul-Paul had his Damascus Road Experience. The result? From being a hard-core enemy of the early Church, Paul became “second only to Jesus” in spreading the Gospel to the far corners of the known world. Which might never have happened if it hadn’t been for the intervention of Barnabas.

The Bible first mentions him in Acts 4:36:  “Joseph, a Levite, born in Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (son of encouragement), sold a field he owned, brought the money, and turned it over to the apostles.” And the site Barnabas the Apostle – Justus added that even after Paul’s Damascus Road experience, most Christians in Jerusalem “wanted nothing to do with him. They had known him as a persecutor and an enemy of the Church. But Barnabas was willing to give him a second chance.” (Which is pretty much what Jesus is all about.)

In short, if it hadn’t been for Barnabas willing to give Paul a second chance, he might never have become that Church’s most important early convert, if not the “Founder of Christianity.” But then came an ironic twist, after Barnabas gave that new “Apostle Paul” his Second Chance:

Paul and Barnabas went on a missionary journey together, taking Mark with them. Part way, Mark turned back and went home. When Paul and Barnabas were about to set out on another such journey, Barnabas proposed to take Mark along, and Paul was against it, saying that Mark had shown himself undependable. Barnabas wanted to give Mark a second chance [as he had with Paul] and so he and Mark went off on one journey, while Paul took Silas and went on another. Apparently Mark responded well to the trust given him by the “son of encouragement,” since we find that Paul later speaks of him as a valuable assistant (2 Tim 4:11; see also Col 4:10 and Phil 24) .

So again, we too might just call Barnabas “the Apostle of Second Chances.”

Then too Barnabas was known for a power to heal and to encourage others. See The Power of Encouragement: Lessons From the Life of Barnabas. As noted, the original Apostles called him “Son of Encouragement,” and that’s a trait we could use more of today. (Also a power to heal some of today’s wounds in the national discourse.) And we could use someone in power who would use that power to lift our spirits and encourage and support us to be our best.

Even it – for that to happen – it may take a Damascus Road experience. Therefore,

Keep on praying!

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Barnabas curing the sick– and giving second chances… 

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The upper image was first courtesy of Pentecost Sunday Images – Image Results. But see also El Greco – Pentecost, 1610 at Prado Museum Madrid Spain. The caption – gleaned from past posts – is from Wikipedia, in turn gleaned from the following: “The Christian High Holy Day of Pentecost is celebrated on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) from Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks, as described in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:1–31).”

The Book of Common Prayer reference: The “corporate-mystical” prayer is on page 339, the post-communion prayer for Holy Eucharist, Rite I.

Feast days are designated days on the liturgical (church) calendar “set aside to commemorate events, saints, or doctrines that are important in the life of the Church. These can range from Solemnities, which are the highest-ranking feast days like Easter and Christmas, to optional memorials that celebrate lesser-known saints.” Feast Days: Celebrating the Church’s Calendar.

For this post – as to Pentecost Sunday – I borrowed from 2015’s On Pentecost – “Happy Birthday, Church,” from Pentecost 2020 – “Learn what is pleasing to the Lord,” On Pink Floyd – and Pentecost Sunday, 2021, and On Pentecost Sunday – 2024. As to St. Barnabas I borrowed from 2014’s On St. Barnabas, On D-Day and St. Barnabas – 2021, and June ’24, St. Barnabas and second chances. See also Barnabas – Wikipedia. The Lectionary site St Barnabas, Apostle adds this Collect:

Grant, O God, that we may follow the example of your faithful servant Barnabas, who, seeking not his own renown but the well­being of your Church, gave generously of his life and substance for the relief of the poor and the spread of the Gospel; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

“70 or 72.” See Who were the 70 (or 72) disciples in Luke 10? – GotQuestions, and Seventy disciples – Wikipedia: “The number of those disciples varies between either 70 or 72 depending on the manuscript.”

Re: Paul as “second only to Jesus.” See articles including How Much Did Paul Influence Christianity? | Cold Case Christianity: “Few individuals have had as much impact on Christianity as the Apostle Paul. Traditionally credited with authoring thirteen or fourteen books in the New Testament,” he was a man of immense influence, “second only, perhaps, to Jesus.” And some have gone so far as to describe him as the “founder of Christianity.”

On Barnabas and encouragement, see also The Power of Encouragement: St. Barnabas – eicatholic.org.

Re: “Therefore.” According to the Britannica Dictionary the word is somewhat formal” and means “for that reason : because of that.” Examples:The cell phone is thin and light and therefore very convenient to carry around.” Or “Payment was received two weeks after it was due; therefore, you will be charged a late fee.”

The lower image is courtesy of Barnabas – Wikipedia. The caption: “‘Barnabas curing the sick‘ by Paolo VeroneseMusée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen, c. 1566.”

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As noted in the opening blurb, this blog has four main themes. The first is that God will accept anyone. (John 6:37, with the added, “Anyone who comes to Him.”) This is a consistent theme throughout the Bible. From the Old Testament, Psalm 9:10, “You never forsake those who seek you, O Lord.” (In the Version in the Book of Common Prayer.) The second is that God wants us to live abundantly.  (John 10:10.) The third is that we should do greater miracles than Jesus. (John 14:12). A fourth theme: The only way to do all that is read the Bible with an open mind:

…closed-mindedness, or an unwillingness to consider new ideas, can result from the brain’s natural dislike for ambiguity. According to this view, the brain has a “search and destroy” relationship with ambiguity and evidence contradictory to people’s current beliefs tends to make them uncomfortable… Research confirms that belief-discrepant-closed-minded persons have less tolerance for cognitive inconsistency

So in plain words, I take issue with what I came to call “Christian first graders.” Those who stay in a kind of elementary school, and maybe even never go beyond first grade. See John the Baptist, ’24 – and “Christian First Graders,” for more detail. But the key point: “The Bible was designed to expand your mind,” not keep it narrow. Also, the idea that “Jesus was anything but negative. His goal was for you to grow and develop into all that you can be.” (For more on that see ABOUT THE BLOG, above.)

literalists who never go “beyond the fundamentals.” But the Bible can offer so much more than their narrow reading can offer…  (Unless you want to stay a Bible buck private all your life…) Now, about “Boot-camp Christians.” See for example, Conservative Christian – “Career buck private?”  The gist of that post is that starting the Bible is like Army Basic Training. You begin by“learning the fundamentals.” But after boot camp, you move on to Advanced Individual Training.” 

http://www.toywonders.com/productcart/pc/catalog/aw30.jpg

However, after boot camp, you move on to Advanced Individual Training. And as noted in “Buck private,” one of this blog’s themes is that if you want to be all that you can be, you need to go on and explore the “mystical side of Bible reading.*” In other words, exploring the mystical side of the Bible helps you “be all that you can be.” See Slogans of the U.S. Army – Wikipedia, re: the recruiting slogan from 1980 to 2001. The related image at left is courtesy of: “toywonders.com/productcart/pc/catalog/aw30.jpg.”

Re: “mystical.” Originally, mysticism “referred to the Biblical liturgical, spiritual, and contemplative dimensions of early and medieval Christianity.” See Mysticism – Wikipedia, and the post On originalism.  (“That’s what the Bible was originally about!”) See also Christian mysticism – Wikipedia, “In early Christianity the term ‘mystikos’ referred to three dimensions, which soon became intertwined, namely the biblical, the liturgical and the spiritual or contemplative… The third dimension is the contemplative or experiential knowledge of God.” As to that “experiential” aspect, see also Wesleyan Quadrilateral – Wikipedia, on the theological reflection method using four sources of spiritual development: scripturetradition, reason, and “Christian experience.”

For an explanation of the Daily Office – where “Dorscribe” came from – see What’s a DOR?

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Ascension Day 2025 – and a Visitation…

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John Singleton Copley on Jesus Ascending, after He “opened [His Disciples’] minds…”

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May 31, 2025 – The last post said the next major feast days are Ascension Day – this year Thursday, May 29 – and two days later the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin. (Mary’s visit to the expectant mother of John the Baptist.)  And that this post would cover those two feasts, so here goes.

First off, Ascension Day always comes on a Thursday, 40 days after Easter. It’s a major Feast, and it’s ecumenical. (“Universally celebrated.”) More precisely, it’s celebrated on the 40th day of Eastertide, the 50-day church season running from Easter Day to Pentecost Sunday. And in terms of importance it ranks up there with the Passion, Easter, and Pentecost.

The standard Gospel reading for the day, Luke 24:44-53, tells the story:

Jesus said to his disciples, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you… Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day…”   Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven

Note the words saying Jesus “opened their minds to understand the scriptures,” followed by words that the disciples “returned to Jerusalem with great joy.” (That’s the euaggelion, the Good News!) I found two good articles on the subject. The first, Why Does the Ascension of Jesus Matter? – BibleProject, says that we as Christians are “invited to ascend into this way of living,” that is, ascend to where the “followers of Jesus become the place in the world where Heaven and Earth overlap.” (Emphasis added.) The second, The Ascension of Jesus – What was the Meaning and Significance, said the event was the “climatic, crowning event of [Jesus’] exaltation, and the necessary precursor to his continuing work through the Spirit and the church.”

Then too there’s the Wikipedia article, Ascension of Jesus. It refers to the Apostle’s Creed, which says in part that Jesus “ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.” This idea “provided an interpretative frame for Jesus’ followers to make sense of his death and the resurrection appearances.” Or as theologian Justus Knecht wrote:

Our Lord went up Body and Soul into heaven in the sight of His apostles, by His own power, to take possession of His glory, and to be our Advocate and Mediator in heaven with the Father. He ascended as Man, as Head of the redeemed, and has prepared a dwelling in heaven for all those who follow in His steps.

In other words, if Jesus hadn’t “ascended to Heaven,” we wouldn’t have a place to stay when we get there. (By faith, expressed in Romans 10:9, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Period.)

Turning to the Visitation, where Mary visited the mother of John the Baptist (this year celebrated Saturday, May 31): It’s discussed in Visitation (Christianity) – Wikipedia:

The Visitation is the visit of Mary with Elizabeth as recorded [in] Luke 1:39–56.  It is also the name of a Christian feast day[,] celebrated on 31 May…  Mary is pregnant with Jesus and Elizabeth is pregnant with John the Baptist.  Mary left Nazareth immediately after the Annunciation and went “into the hill country” [of Judah] to attend to her cousin.

Wikipedia added, “In the Gospel of Luke, the author’s accounts of the Annunciation and Visitation are constructed using eight points of literary parallelism to compare Mary to the Ark of the Covenant.” (Which I didn’t know.)  And the Blessed Virgin Mary article added that Elizabeth greeted Mary with the words, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Mary responded with what became known as Magnificat. In turn:

John the Baptist, still unborn, leaped for joy in his mother’s womb. Thus we are shown, side by side, the two women, one seemingly too old to have a child, but destined to bear the last prophet of the Old Covenant … and the other woman, seemingly not ready to have a child, but destined to bear the One Who was Himself the beginning of the New Covenant, the age that would not pass away. (Emphasis added.)

 In turn the Magnificat echoes several Old Testament passages, including allusions to “the Song of Hannah,” in 1st Samuel 2:1-10. (Not to mention “the Book of Odes, an ancient liturgical collection,” but not to be confused with the Odes of Solomon.)

Note also that another big feast day is coming up on June 8, the Day of Pentecost, also called Whitsunday. I’ll cover that in the next post, but in the meantime consider this painting of Mary reciting the Magnificat with John the Baptist’s parents “looking on in the background.”

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The upper image is courtesy of the Wikipedia article, Ascension of Jesus, with the full caption:  “Jesus’ ascension to heaven depicted by John Singleton Copley, 1775.”  

The Book of Common Prayer reference: The “corporate-mystical” prayer is on page 339, the post-communion prayer for Holy Eucharist, Rite I.

Feast days are designated days on the liturgical (church) calendar “set aside to commemorate events, saints, or doctrines that are important in the life of the Church. These can range from Solemnities, which are the highest-ranking feast days like Easter and Christmas, to optional memorials that celebrate lesser-known saints.” Feast Days: Celebrating the Church’s Calendar.

For this post I borrowed from The Visitation – 2016, 2017’s Ascension Day 2017 – “Then He opened their minds,” also Mary’s Visitation – and Pentecost – 2017, and On Ascension Day, 2024. A side note: In the 2024 post I explored the idea of “life after life,” especially “after a grueling event years ago. My nephew was riding in a car, the car plunged into the Chattahoochee River north of Atlanta, and he was trapped inside… That tragic death shook my faith.” Strangely enough – to some anyway – I found comfort in the First law of thermodynamics, which says energy is neither created nor destroyed, it simply changes form. (I came to figure the human soul is a form of energy.) See also On “her spirit returned” – and Ascension Day, from 2023. It explored at greater length such topics as Ensoulment and Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.”

The lower image is courtesy of Mary’s Magnificat James Tissot – Image Results, and more especially Magnificat of Our Lady Painting by James Tissot—A Catholic Commentary. (“Catholic Art Blog[:] The Moment of the Magnificat,” by Patrick Werick (July 21, 2011),” which noted: “French artist and illustrator James Tissot captures the moment the blessed Virgin Mary recites the Magnificat while visiting her relations Elizabeth and Zacharias (notice them looking on in the background):”

Tissot was known for spending time in the Holy Land and painting a plethora of scenes from the life of Jesus Christ. What particularly sets him aside from other artists’ renditions of the life of Christ is his authenticity in displaying accurately the ethnic garb and customs that were in place while Jesus walked the earth. 

See also The Magnificat (Le magnificat) – Brooklyn Museum, and James Tissot – Wikipedia.

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On visiting four churches in England – and an OBE?

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Yours truly, with a view of Shakespeare’s Church after a Sunday service back on May 11.

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May 24, 2025 – The next major feast days are Ascension Day – this year on Thursday, May 29 – and two days later comes the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin. (Mary’s visit to the expectant mother of John the Baptist.) I’ll cover those later, but first I’ll review just getting back from two weeks in England – and visiting four famous churches. (Foreshadowed in the last post.)

But before that: The Daily Office Gospel reading for Friday, May 23. Luke 8:40-56 tells the story of the Raising of Jairus’ daughter. It has lots of weeping and wailing – on the apparent death of the 12-year-old daughter of the leader of a synagogue – followed by (nervous?) laughter when Jesus tells mourners the girl is “not dead but sleeping.” Then came (for me) the really intriguing part; Luke 8:55, where – after He held her hand and told her to get up – “her spirit returned.”

Which in the past led me to ask, “Where the heck did her spirit go?”

That is, where did her spirit go between when she died and Jesus brought her back to life? Put another way, “Where did her soul go?” (Is there an appreciable difference between soul and spirit?) And how does all that relate to the concepts of Ensoulment and “life after life,” not to mention the First law of thermodynamics. (Which “First Law” says energy is neither created nor destroyed, “it simply changes form.” Which in turn means if a human soul is a form of energy, it too is neither created at the moment of conception, nor destroyed at the moment of death. For another view see Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.”)

Of course none of that parenthetic stuff answers the question, “Where the heck did her spirit go?” But here’s a thought: Maybe it’s something like leaving your home country to spend two weeks in the UK. (How’s that for a segue?) And maybe seeing four famous churches?

As indicated in the last post, late last Wednesday, May 7, I took a red-eye flight over to London. After spending May 8 recovering from jet lag, my travel partner and I took BritRail to Liverpool and Stratford-on-Avon. (Then came back to London for nine days before heading home.) And on the ride back to London – from Stratford – we visited the first of the four churches mentioned, “Shakespeare’s church,” officially known as Church of the Holy Trinity, Stratford-upon-Avon.

Now for some background. From London we took the train to Liverpool’s Lime Street Station, with its association to Brian Epstein and the Beatles. Next morning I fulfilled a life-long dream, taking the “Ferry ‘Cross The Mersey.” (Or at least a dream since 1964 when I first heard the Gerry and the Pacemakers’ song.) Later that afternoon we took a change-of-trains trip – halfway back – to Stratford, where I re-learned an English phrase, “What a cock-up!”

It had to do with a reservation problem, as in a reservation to an apartment right next door to Holy Trinity, which would have been really convenient for getting to church next morning. But the “cock-up” later worked out, as will be described in greater detail in my companion blog. (We ended up in what seemed to be a “Better Place,” spiritual metaphor intended.)

This post will (briefly) detail that Sunday morning visit to Shakespeare’s church.

First off I noted some similarities but also some differences with my church back home. For example, unlike back home (with none), Holy Trinity had four large video screens, each showing the words to each hymn and also a view of the Celebrant as he gave his sermon. (In part because the place was pretty big and also had side sections, where we ended up having to sit.) Plus images like a shepherd carrying a lamb to fit in with the Gospel reading.

Also, as I found out in the basement men’s room, Holy Trinity takes part in Twinning. That concept “links a toilet in the UK with a toilet in a developing country. By twinning a loo, you can raise funds to provide safe and hygienic toilets, education and support to communities in need.” And why? Because four and a half billion people across the world “do not have access to a safe toilet even though clean water and sanitation are basic human rights.” All of which gives a prime example of how travel broadens the mind. (Learning things you had no idea existed.)

I’ll write more on the other three churches in a bit, mostly because this post got side-tracked by all that about “spirits returning” and other such out-of-body or near-death experiences. Next up? Reflections on Ascension Day and Mary’s Visitation to the mother of John the Baptist.

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The daughter of Jairus – her spirit returned – after coming back “from where?”

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The upper image is courtesy of my traveling companion. See also Church of the Holy Trinity, Stratford-upon-Avon – Wikipedia. The other churches – discussed in a later post or two – were Winchester Cathedral, Canterbury Cathedral, and St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

The Book of Common Prayer reference: The “corporate-mystical” prayer is on page 339, the post-communion prayer for Holy Eucharist, Rite I.

Feast days are designated days on the liturgical (church) calendar “set aside to commemorate events, saints, or doctrines that are important in the life of the Church. These can range from Solemnities, which are the highest-ranking feast days like Easter and Christmas, to optional memorials that celebrate lesser-known saints.” Feast Days: Celebrating the Church’s Calendar.

For this post I borrowed from “Her spirit returned” – and Ascension Day (May 2023). On the May 23 ’25 Gospel see The Lectionary – Satucket, for more information. The link NRSV takes you to the full readings for the week of May 18-24, including the Friday Gospel reading from Luke 8:40-56.

A segue is “a transition from one topic or section to the next.” Wikipedia.

In an out-of-body experience (OBE) a person “perceives the world as if from a location outside their physical body.” Wikipedia. See also Near-death experience – Wikipedia. Some say Paul had such an experience in 2d Corinthians 12; specifically verse 12. The NIV: “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know – God knows.” The New Living Translation reads, “I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago…” See also Third Heaven: Near Death Experience of Paul? (Definitely a Rabbit Trail – see the last post-notes – but it leads to a good question: Did the daughter say something at the time on being “out of body,” but no one thought to write it down? On the other hand there’s Luke 8:56, “Her parents were overwhelmed, but Jesus insisted that they not tell anyone what had happened.”)

See also Mersey Ferries | Liverpool Ferry.

Re: Companion blog, The Georgia Wasp | A blog of life-reviews by an old guy who still gets a kick out of life. (But give me a day or three to get back up to speed on Liverpool and Stratford.)

Re: “Better place.” See ‘They’re In A Better Place” And The Christian White-Washing of Grief: They may be well-meaning, but phrases like, ‘They’re in a better place’ or ‘It’s part of God’s plan’ can come across as either hollow or insensitive.As one grieving person said, “At the time, all I really wanted to hear was ‘I’m here for you.’” (Something to keep in mind.)

Links to “twinning” include How twinning your toilet is a lifesaver – BBC, Toilet Twinning – Wikipedia, Home – Toilet Twinning.

Links to mind-broadening travel include Why travel broadens the mind, Traveling Opens Your Mind: Here’s How | GoAbroad.com, and How Does Travel Broaden the Mind? – Mindful Wonderer. The latter included the thought, “Discover the benefits of leaving your comfort zone,” a main theme of this blog, as in the July 2017 post, On “Comfort Zone Christians.”

The lower image is courtesy of The Raising of the Daughter of Jairus, 1881 – Gabriel von Max.

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On Shadrach, Meshach – and Magoo?

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May 3, 2025 – Next Wednesday I’ll fly to London. After a day recovering from jet lag I’ll visit Stratford-on-Avon and Liverpool, then come back to London for some sightseeing. (And hope I don’t get bored?) Meaning this will be my last post until I get home near the end of May.

So for this post I’ll talk about this week’s Old Testament readings in the Daily Office. (On Shadrach, his two buddies and a threat of being burned alive.) And about how hard it can be to Get Good Stuff From God. Which brings up Magoo, a Hell’s Angel from the ‘Frisco chapter.

Hunter Thompson wrote about Magoo in his 1967 book, Hell’s Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga. Aside from being an Angel, the 26-year-old Magoo – so called because of his thick glasses – worked as a teamster. (Which gave him a decent income.) Thompson went on:

One night in Oakland, Magoo and I got into a long conversation about guns. I expected the usual [talk about] “shoot-outs” and “cooling guys with a rod,” but Magoo talked more like a candidate for the Olympic pistol team. When I casually mentioned man-sized targets, he snapped, “Don’t tell me about shooting at people.  I’m talking about match sticks.” And he was. He shoots a Ruger .22 revolver, an expensive, long-barreled, precision-made gun that no hood would ever consider. And on days when he isn’t working, he goes out to the dump and tries to shoot the heads off match sticks. “It’s hard as hell,” he said. “But now and then I’ll do it just right, and light one.”

(Emphasis added.) But now for the really strange thing. The really strange thing is the way too many people think that getting good stuff from God – the Force that Created the Universe – should somehow be easier than trying to shoot the head off a match stick…

All of which is another way of saying that in his pursuit, Magoo didn’t have ulterior motives. He wasn’t trying to weasel something good out of anyone. And he wasn’t trying to keep something bad from happening. He was just trying something extremely difficult  – if not impossible – on the off chance that every once in a long while he’d “do it just right…”

All of which reminded me once of what a female Muslim mystic once said:

O God, if I worship Thee in fear of hell, burn me in hell;  if I worship Thee in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise;  but if I worship Thee for Thine own sake, withhold not Thine everlasting beauty.

In other words, in trying to shoot the head off a matchstick – and on rare occasions even lighting one – Magoo wasn’t going for a prize. (A bribe, if you will.) He was doing it “for it’s own sake.” He was doing it for the sheer joy, and he wasn’t expecting anything in return.

My point is that maybe we practicing Christians would be better off trying to approach God in the same way. (With a lot more respect and a lot less greed.) Maybe we shouldn’t expect God to cater to our every whim. Maybe we shouldn’t get so angry when things don’t turn out exactly how we want. Maybe we should take a pure and simple joy in the off chance that the Force That Created the Universe even knows we exist. (And is willing to help out once in a while.)

Which brings up this week’s Old Testament readings in the Daily Office. They too have a bearing on things like when you get mad because the Lord didn’t buy you a Mercedes Benz. For one thing, “things could be worse. A lot worse!” Like the threat of being burned alive in a Fiery Furnace.

Starting last Monday, April 28, the Daily Office Old Testament Readings have been from the Book of Daniel. It’s best known for Daniel getting thrown into a lion’s den – and surviving – but it has lots of other good stuff too, including an early apocalypse. (A better-known apocalypse is Revelation, the last book in the Bible.) But now the readings have moved to the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. (Daniel 3:1-18, and 3:19-30.)

It all started when Daniel and his three friends were among the “handsome young men” from Judah who got deported to Babylon – in the Babylonian captivity – but eventually were taught the literature and language of the Chaldeans. The three friends were originally Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, but by royal decree their Hebrew names were changed, to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. (Daniel’s name was changed to Belteshazzar.) In turn King Nebuchadnezzar gave them prominent positions within his administration. (They were made “administrators over the province of Babylon.” Daniel 2:49.)  But there’s always a catch…

In this case the catch was that King Nebuchadnezzer had a giant golden statue of himself built.  Then he ordered that all his subjects bow down and worship it – him – whenever they heard “the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble.” (Daniel 3:5,7.) The king further ordered that “whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.” (Daniel 3:6.) And so – to make a long story short – Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to fall down and worship an earthly “god,” especially because Nebuchadnezzar was a mere man himself, like them.

As a result they got thrown into the burning fiery furnace, just as the king had threatened.  But the real kicker in the story comes at Daniel 3:16-18.  There the three men – about to be thrown into the burning, fiery furnace – gave their answer to King Nebuchadnezzer:

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to present a defence to you in this matter.  If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us, he will deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king.  But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up.”

Note the emphasized “But if not…”  So what the three men were really saying was something like this:  “O Nebuchadnezzar, it’s up to God Himself to decide if He’ll deliver us out of your hands from this dreadful, painful and agonizing death. God certainly has the power to save us, but even if He decides not to, we will still believe in and follow Him.”

Some lessons to learn? Like how we should resist an earthly king’s tyrannical demands? Like how we should keep the faith, whatever the mortal challenge? Like how we should remember that it can be hard to keep the necessary patience to get good things from God, or wait for Him to deliver us from some ordeal we’re going through? And how it’s sometimes as hard as shooting the head off a matchstick from 100 yards. Keeping that patience can be hard as hell, but now and then we’ll “do it just right.” Like it says in the King James Version of Psalm 27:14, “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart.”

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“Magoo.” An example of Psalm 27:14 patience?

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The upper image is courtesy of Shadrach Meshach And Abednego – Image Results.

The Book of Common Prayer reference: The “corporate-mystical” prayer is on page 339, the post-communion prayer for Holy Eucharist, Rite I.

Feast days are designated days on the liturgical (church) calendar “set aside to commemorate events, saints, or doctrines that are important in the life of the Church. These can range from Solemnities, which are the highest-ranking feast days like Easter and Christmas, to optional memorials that celebrate lesser-known saints.” Feast Days: Celebrating the Church’s Calendar.

For this post I borrowed from the April 2015 post, Shadrach “et al.” and the Fiery Furnace, and the June 2015 post, On the wisdom of Virgil – and an “Angel.” The June post noted the Roman poet Virgil’s “peculiar way of looking at things,” in that most people – today and throughout history – have seen religious matters in terms of black or white:  “our attitude toward the possibility of divine control of things tends to be all or nothing.” And how our puny human minds are as incapable of fully understanding as a “cat trying to understand calculus.”

Re: Stratford-on-Avon. Technically it’s Stratford-upon-Avon, but I shortened it. Fewer syllables…

Hunter Thompson book. The link in the text is to Amazon Books, indicating “1996.” See also Hell’s Angels (book) – Wikipedia, showing the original publishing date 1967. The passage I used was from page 182 of the Ballantine Trade Edition, published in 1996. (In Chapter 16, part of Thompson’s account of the “Hoodlum Circus and The Statutory Rape of Bass Lake.”) The book includes this insight: “Despite his Cro-Magnon appearance, [Magoo] has a peculiar dignity that can only be dealt with on its own terms… His opinions are flavored with a morality that seems more instinctive than learned.” See also Hunter S. Thompson – New World Encyclopedia.

Re: The female Muslim mystic. See Rabia Basri – Wikipedia. See also Page : Book of common prayer (TEC, 1979).pdf/857, on the Prayer of Adoration: ” Adoration is the lifting up of the heart and mind to God, asking nothing but to enjoy God’s presence.”

Re: Mercedes Benz. The link Janis Joplin – Mercedes Benz Lyrics – Genius: The song is a “blues tune about the search for happiness by the pursuit of worldly goods.”

Re: Fiery furnace. For a learned discussion see A Summary and Analysis of the Story of Shadrach and the Fiery Furnace, which included this: “The Book of Daniel deals with the Jews deported from Judah to Babylon in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, and shows Daniel and his co-religionists resisting the Babylonian king’s tyrannical demands that they leave aside their religious devotion to God.”

The lower image is courtesy of Charles Joseph Tinsley (1937-1971) – Find a Grave Memorial: “Charles Tinsley was known as Charlie Magoo, and was a very famous member of the Oakland California charter of the Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club. He had a featured part in the movie Hell’s Angels 1969, and was written about extensively in books by Hunter Thompson, and Sonny Barger.” (As originally written the piece noted “Hells.” I added the Plural Possessive rule to make it “Hell’s.”) Tinsley died in 1971, at age 33. See also Hell’s Angels – Wikipedia, which added some interesting updates. Like the fact that they incorporated in 1966, have filed numerous lawsuits to protect that status, and that to become a Hell’s Angels “prospect,” candidates must have “a valid driver’s license, a motorcycle over 750cc (46 cu in), and the right combination of personal qualities.” It is said the club excludes child molesters and people who have applied to become police or prison officers.”

(On that note. That’s why I love blogging. So many Rabbit Trails to follow. And about those rabbit trails, a fellow-blogger said while going down rabbit trails in “can be fun and interesting,” they can also interfere with resolving the topic at hand. But also noted this distinction:)

You would never use that phrase to describe a leisurely trip when you explored a side path and had an interesting adventureThat’s more like taking the road less traveled[,] which is a literary reference to a poem by Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken.”

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Doubting Thomas Sunday, 2025 – and a Resurgence?

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A stained-glass version of Apostle Thomas – proving to himself that Jesus had risen…

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This Sunday, April 27, is officially the Second Sunday of Easter. Note the “of,” rather than “after.” That’s because Easter is not just one day, it’s an entire season. A full season of 50 days – called Eastertide – that runs from Easter Sunday to Pentecost. So while April 27 is arguably the first Sunday after Easter, it is better known as the Second Sunday of Easter.

Actually, it’s also known as Low Sunday, mostly because church attendance falls off so much that first Sunday after. (Compared with the high attendance on Easter Day. See “CEOs;” Christians who only go to church on Christmas and Easter.) But you could also call it “the Sunday of Many Names.” For example, Doubting Thomas Sunday, mostly because the Gospel lesson always tells the story of Thomas. (John 20:19-31, “which recounts the story of Christ appearing to the Apostle Thomas in order to dispel the latter’s doubt about the Resurrection.” Which made him the original – the prototype – “Doubting Thomas.”)

And it’s called the Octave of Easter.  In this case the Octave in question is the eight-day period in Eastertide that “starts on Easter Sunday and runs until the Sunday following Easter.”

Getting back to Doubting Thomas, Wikipedia defines the term generically as a “skeptic who refuses to believe without direct personal experience.” The term refers to Apostle Thomas, “who refused to believe that the resurrected Jesus had appeared to the ten other apostles, until he could see and feel the wounds received by Jesus on the cross.” 

Wikipedia went on to explain that Thomas the Apostle – also called Didymus, meaning “The Twin” – was best known from the account in John 20:19-31. He questioned Jesus’ resurrection at first, but after his direct experience – seeing and touching Jesus’ wounded body – he proclaimed, “My Lord and my God.” Of course we can’t have such a direct experience with Jesus – not in this life anyway – but there’s something to be said for having doubts, and yet working to overcome them. (“Improvise, Adapt, Overcome…”)

You could say there are two kinds of faith. The first is blindly believing, without asking any questions, having any doubts or asking how other people interpret the Bible. The second type does ask questions, does dig deeper and as a result often comes across doubt. You could think of that second type of faith as a form of resistance training. But the Blind Faith Christian doesn’t like resistance. He does the same boring spiritual exercise, over and over again, and stays at the same low level of spiritual fitness. The Healthy-Doubt Christian welcomes resistance, and asks the probing questions that often lead to doubt. But in the process, he ultimately grows spiritually stronger by overcoming that resistance, by overcoming those doubts.

Think of it as a kind of Charles Atlas spiritual workout, as shown in the image below.

There’s more information on Thomas in the Notes, like “Quasimodo Sunday” as yet another name for this April 27th. And the tradition that Thomas went to India to preach the Gospel, but was martyred in 72 AD, possibly “at Mylapore near Chennai.” But in closing, here’s some good church news for a change. It came in a New York Times article dated April 20, 2025: The Morning: America wants a God. (Not like it sounds at first blush.) That is, I’ve written before about falling church attendance, like in the July 2023 post, On today’s Pharisees – and “Freedom ’23:”

In 1999 70% of Americans belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque. In 2018 it was 50%, and in 2020 it was 47%. That’s the first time in 80 years of polling the percentage fell below half. A lot of it has to do with politics. Specifically, “Christians” who use the Faith as a tool of political power.

But maybe The Times They Are a-Changing? I’ve included a fuller summary of the April 20, 2025 Times article below the Notes proper, but here are some highlights.

COVID and the country’s limited social safety nets have inclined Americans to stick with (or even turn to) religion for support. In turn, “America’s secularization is on pause, people have stopped leaving churches, and religion is taking a more prominent role in public life.” Americans want a return to stronger communities, more meaningful rituals and spaces to express their spirituality. They’re also longing to have richer, more nuanced conversations about belief. And many Nones – people with no religious affiliation – seem to have a dawning recognition that, in leaving the Faith, they threw “the baby out with the baptismal water.”

In short, sometimes it takes a plague (which can take many forms it seems) – to lead us to a national “softening of the heart, a turning away from judgment and moralizing,” and turning instead to joy, gratitude – and going back to church.

Meanwhile, here’s that brand-new “he-man” spiritual body you can look forward to.

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The upper image is courtesy of Doubting Thomas – Image Results. See also Crossroads Initiative, which featured the image.

The Book of Common Prayer reference: The “corporate-mystical” prayer is on page 339, the post-communion prayer for Holy Eucharist, Rite I.

Feast days are designated days on the liturgical (church) calendar “set aside to commemorate events, saints, or doctrines that are important in the life of the Church. These can range from Solemnities, which are the highest-ranking feast days like Easter and Christmas, to optional memorials that celebrate lesser-known saints.” Feast Days: Celebrating the Church’s Calendar.

The full link to Improvise, Adapt, Overcome, then Adapt Again > 2nd Marine Division:

Improvise, adapt, and overcome. Those three words are paramount to fighting and winning battles, but what happens when you finally overcome? You keep improvising, and you keep adapting. The enemy won’t rest and neither should you.

That’s advice that seems especially relevant in these times of polarization and the weaponizing of Christianity by some. (And whatever happened to Onward, Christian Soldiers? See Wikipedia for background, and for one example, Why ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’ may not be sung at this Remembrance Sunday: “The hymn Onward, Christian Soldiers has been dropped from one English church’s Remembrance Sunday service over concerns that it will offend non-Christians.” However, “British Legion members are protesting at the decision to scrap the hymn at the service in St Peter’s CofE Church in Oadby, Leicester.”)

For this post I borrowed from “Doubting Thomas Sunday” – 2017, from 2019’s Easter, Doubting Thomas Sunday – and a Metaphor, and On Doubting Thomas Sunday – 2023.

Re: “Sometimes it takes a plague.” See On St. Mark, 2020 – and today’s “plague,” and Advent 2021 – “Enjoy yourself.”

The lower image is courtesy of Dynamic Tension Charles Atlas – Image Results.  See also Dynamic Tension – Wikipedia, and Charles Atlas – Wikipedia. (I used the image in the March 2019 post, On the Bible’s “dynamic tension.”)

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Items from the article, The Morning: America wants a God, subtitled: “Americans believe,” for future reference:

“Most people are wary of the government, the future and even each other, but they still believe in astonishing possibilities. Almost all Americans — 92 percent of adults — say they have a spiritual belief, in a god, human souls or spirits, an afterlife or something ‘beyond the natural world,’ as we reported earlier this year…

“The country seems to be acknowledging this widespread spiritual hunger. America’s secularization is on pause, people have stopped leaving churches, and religion is taking a more prominent role in public life…

“In my reporting, I found that there are many reasons for this shift in American life. Researchers say the pandemic and the country’s limited social safety nets have inclined people to stick with (or even turn to) religion for support. But there is another reason, too: Many Americans are dissatisfied with the alternatives to religion. They feel an existential malaise, and they’re looking for help. People want stronger communities, more meaningful rituals and spaces to express their spirituality. They’re also longing to have richer, more nuanced conversations about belief…

“Over the past few decades, around 40 million Americans left churches, and the number of people who say they have no religion grew to about 30 percent of the country…

“People who practice a religion tend to be happier than those who don’t, a study by the Pew Research Center found. They are also healthier: They are significantly less likely to be depressed or to die prematurely from suicide, alcoholism, cancer, cardiovascular illness or other causes, multiple studies from Harvard found…

“But in aggregate, religion seems to help people by giving them what sociologists call the “three B’s” — belief in something, belonging in a community and behaviors to guide their lives…

“Religion fills a psychological need, Michele Margolis, a political scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, told me. ‘We want to feel connection,’ she said. ‘We want to feel like life makes sense.’ Finding these things alone or creating them from scratch is ‘really hard,’ she added.

“But for now, many ‘nones’ — people who have no religious affiliation — that I spoke to seem to have a dawning recognition that, in leaving faith, they threw ‘the baby out with the baptismal water…’ 

“Conservatives seem to be better at naming this longing. They speak to ‘civilizational’ renewal and a restoration of moral values. They promise deliverance through politics. They use the infrastructure of evangelical Christianity to communicate their vision. It’s working for them…

“But is this the only way? Successful alternatives haven’t emerged at scale, and many liberals have ignored American spirituality — this longing — at their party’s peril…

“This data reveals that finding a way forward may require acknowledging that Americans want to wrestle with hard questions about how to live. They’re looking to heady concepts — confession, atonement, forgiveness and sacrifice — for answers…

“In short, they’re looking to believe in something.”

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And about that “Conservatives seem to be better at.” That’s why I say non-conservatives – including Nones and bleeding-heart liberals – need to read and study the Bible more: Political self-defense!

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“If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him” – Easter ’25

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Yes, Jesus rose from the grave for us, but first came the Cross, then the Harrowing of Hell

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April 16, 2025 – We’re in the middle of Holy Week, 2025, and let’s face it: We’ve had a lot happier Easters to celebrate than the one coming up. (See e.g., Trump’s second term so far: A story of chaos, confusion and reversals.) But as good Christians we try to “stay above the fray,” with Jesus, as the only place to be. (Even though these days, it’s a real pain.)

Or so I thought until I did the Daily Office readings for Tuesday, April 15.

First off, there was that passage from the Gospel, John 12:26, the one that become the title for the post: “If anyone serves Me” – Jesus – “the Father will honor him.” Which serves as a reminder of our Christian duty during what seems to be an upcoming Time of Troubles. And a reminder of the mantra we should remember in the coming years: “I believe in Jesus Christ, the rule of law, and the Constitution.” But back to the Daily Office readings for Tuesday, April 15.

Aside from John 12:26, the main readings included Jeremiah 15:21, “I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.” Then came the psalms, including Psalm 12:78, “Oh Lord, watch over us and save us from this generation forever. The wicked prowl on every side, and that which is worthless is highly prized by everyone.”

All of which sounded both familiar, and relevant, then came the first part of Psalm 94:

The Lord is a God who avenges. O God of vengeance show yourself. Rise up, O Judge of the earth; give the arrogant their just desserts. How long shall the wicked, O Lord, how long shall the wicked triumph? They bluster in their insolence; all evildoers are full of boasting. They crush your people, O Lord, and afflict your chosen nation.

And finally came the end, Psalm 94:23: “He will turn their wickedness back upon them and destroy them in their own malice; the Lord our God will destroy them.”

Not exactly the usual sentiments to express the joy of Jesus’ resurrection – The Lord is risen indeed!” – but again, they seem both familiar and relevant, no matter what your political persuasion. (“Wink wink nudge nudge.”) But seriously, let’s get back to the real meaning of Easter.

But first some background. The name Easter came from a pagan figure called Eastre (or Eostre), “celebrated as the goddess of spring by the Saxons of Northern Europe. Her earthly symbol was the rabbit, known as a symbol of fertility.” And that’s how we got the Easter Bunny and Easter egg hunts. But let’s talk about what Easter Sunday is really about.

Isaac Asimov noted that many skeptics – even to this day – still don’t believe in Easter. They say “the tale of the resurrection must be put down to legend.”  But he added that if the story had ended with the burial of Jesus – standing alone – it was highly likely “that Jesus’ disciples would gradually have forgotten their old teacher.” In turn, they couldn’t have attracted many new disciples “to gather in His memory,” as they did in the years following His death. (As described in the Acts of the Apostles – Wikipedia.) In sum (Asimov noted), the history of the world would have been “enormously different” without the Easter event:

[E]ven if we take the rationalist view that there was no resurrection in reality, it cannot be denied that there was one in the belief of the disciples and, eventually, of hundreds of millions of men – and that made all the difference. (E.A.)

(See also Resurrection of Jesus – Wikipedia.) So Asimov’s point seems to be that even though the “rationalists” among us can’t be persuaded by and through any direct evidence of the Resurrection, they can’t deny the circumstantial evidence. That is, the evidence provided by those millions of lives transformed by their belief in Jesus. (Not to mention the rule of law and the Constitution.) In other words, by rising from the grave Jesus showed His power to save us from all those “slithery coils” shown in the upper image, whatever form they may take.

Something to remember during the upcoming Easter Season, along with Psalm 94:23.

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 The Risen Jesus – “holding the white banner of victory over death.”

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The upper image is courtesy of Harrowing Of Hell Image – Image Results. See also Harrowing of Hell – Wikipedia: “the period of time between the Crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection. In triumphant descent, Christ brought salvation to the souls held captive there since the beginning of the world.”

The Book of Common Prayer reference: The “corporate-mystical” prayer is on page 339, the post-communion prayer for Holy Eucharist, Rite I.

Feast days are designated days on the liturgical (church) calendar “set aside to commemorate events, saints, or doctrines that are important in the life of the Church. These can range from Solemnities, which are the highest-ranking feast days like Easter and Christmas, to optional memorials that celebrate lesser-known saints.” Feast Days: Celebrating the Church’s Calendar.

Strictly speaking, Time of Troubles (per Wikipedia), referred to “a period of political crisis in Russia which began in 1598 …  period of deep social crisis and lawlessness following the death of Feodor I, a weak and possibly intellectually disabled ruler who died without an heir.”

Re: The “first part of Psalm 94.” I combined the translations from the Book of Common Prayer and the New International Version, in “Bible Hub.” (“Poetic license.”)

Re: “Nudge Nudge,” etc. See Wikipedia: “a sketch from the third Monty Python’s Flying Circus episode … featuring Eric Idle (author of the sketch) and Terry Jones as two strangers who meet in a pub.”

For this post I borrowed from 2015’s On Easter Season – AND BEYOND, 2016’s On Eastertide – and “artistic license” – which included a section on Rabbit Trails – along with 2017’s Frohliche Ostern – “Happy Easter” and Happy Easter – April 2020! (Was that the last happy one?)

About those rabbit trails, a fellow-blogger said while going down rabbit trails in “can be fun and interesting,” they can also interfere with resolving the topic at hand. But also noted this distinction:

You would never use that phrase to describe a leisurely trip when you explored a side path and had an interesting adventure.  That’s more like taking the road less traveled[,] which is a literary reference to a poem by Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken.” (E.A.)

Re: Asimov. The quotes – including on Matthew – are from Asimov’s Guide to the Bible (Two Volumes in One),  Avenel Books (1981), at pages 896-97 and 932-33. Also, from a past post:

Asimov (1920-1992) was “an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books.  Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards.” His list of books included those on “astronomymathematics, the BibleWilliam Shakespeare’s writing, and chemistry.”  He was a long-time member of Mensa, “albeit reluctantly;  he described some members of that organization as ‘brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs.’”  See Isaac Asimov – Wikipedia.

The lower image is courtesy of Resurrection, 1584-94 by El Greco. I borrowed the caption from Easter Season – AND BEYOND, along with the origins of Easter information therein, including Asimov. And about that ending paragraph, see also The Proof Of The Pudding – Meaning & Origin Of The Phrase.

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On Palm Sunday – 2025

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“The same voices that welcome [Jesus] today will demand His crucifixion by Friday…”

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April 12, 2025 – The past 10 days have been an up-down, roller-coaster ride. Including the unexpected sudden death of “another person way younger than me,” together with the need to help cobble together a memorial service, followed by a quick road trip up to Louisville – plagued by endless rain and flooding – for a joyful Celebration-of-25-years-of-Marriage ceremony.

All of which I suppose is a good metaphor for the Lenten journey itself, or for any Christian on his pilgrim-path throughout life. (Keeping in mind that “Happy are the people whose strength is in You! Whose hearts are set on the pilgrim’s way.Psalm 84:5.) But now it’s time to focus on the upcoming Palm Sunday, which begins another week of roller-coaster riding.

It’s called Holy Week, what has been called “the most sacred period in the liturgical calendar.” It begins with Palm Sunday, a day featuring moments of victory and expectation for Jesus, “yet a tragic irony looms. The same voices that welcome Him today will demand His crucifixion by Friday.” A week for reflecting and renewing, ending in a celebration of Christ’s resurrection. And to review: Holy Week marks the end of Lent and itself ends with Easter Sunday. It begins with Palm Sunday and includes Holy Wednesday (also called “Spy Wednesday,” a reference to the betrayal of Judas), followed by Maundy ThursdayGood Friday, and Holy Saturday.

Palm Sunday in turn remembers “Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.” The symbolism of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey comes from Zechariah 9:9. In turn, the welcoming crowds chanted from Psalm 118:26, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.”  Further:

The symbolism of the donkey may refer to the Eastern tradition that it is an animal of peace, versus the horse, which is the animal of war.  A king would have come riding upon a horse when he was bent on war and riding upon a donkey when he wanted to point out he was coming in peace. Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem would have thus symbolized his entry as the Prince of Peace, not as a war-waging king.

(Emphasis added.) But then came the part where Jesus got “numbered among the transgressors,” which in any reasonable interpretation means “the rest of us poor struggling slobs, even down to the present day.” To explain, one Gospel reading for Palm Sunday is Luke 23:1-49. It includes Luke 22:37, where Jesus said, “I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in Me: ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’” In turn, Biblehub.com has other translations for transgressors. Words like lawless, rebels, evil doers, outlaws, or even “criminals.” And the notes thereto point to Isaiah 53, “a manifest prophecy of the Messiah;” specifically, Isaiah 53:12:

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Bible Hub also noted Jesus was “crucified between two thieves; and more than this.” The “more than this” involved what we’d call a legal fiction, ”a fact assumed or created by courts which is then used in order to apply a legal rule.” The Old Testament rule – Leviticus 17:11 – demanded a blood sacrifice to cover the sins of “the people.” (All people down to the present day, including us.) To solve that problem for all time, Jesus substituted His own blood for ours:

[In]stead of his people, and having their sins laid upon him, and imputed to him, he was made and accounted, by imputation, not only a sinner, but sin itself

(Emphasis added.) Which is something to think about in this final week of Lent, 2025.

Something else to think about: Psalm 22, and especially the first verse. We know it well  because Jesus quoted it on the cross. See Matthew 27:46:  “About the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?’” (See also Mark 15:34, or in the Latin, “Deus, Deus meus.”) What many don’t realize is that Psalm 22:1 goes on to add:  “Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?” And that’s a thought many can relate to these days.

Then comes Psalm 22:18. In the NIV:  “They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” That from Psalm 22 was mirrored in Matthew 27:35:  “When they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments by casting lots.” (Talk about “preordained before the beginning of time.”) But that’s enough on Palm Sunday. (Except for those who may explore the links in the Notes.) Which brings up another note: Holy Week doesn’t “end” with Easter Sunday. Easter Sunday just begins another liturgical season, 50 days long, called Eastertide:

[In Western Christianity] Easter time is the period of 50 days, spanning from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday. It is celebrated as a single joyful feast, called the “great Lord’s Day,” Each Sunday of the season is treated as a Sunday of Easter. In some traditions, Easter Sunday is the first Sunday of Eastertide and the following Sunday (Low Sunday) is the second Sunday of Eastertide and so on…

Then comes Pentecost season, or “the Season after Pentecost,” which this year runs from Sunday, June 8, through the rest of the year to the season of Advent, at the end of next November. Meaning the up-and-down roller-coaster ride will continue, but all that and more will be the subjects of later postings. In the meantime, “Have a Happy Holy Week!”

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Ordinary Time” – Pentecost Season – can take up half the Church year…

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The upper image is courtesy of Palm Sunday – Image Results. The painting was accompanied by a Page, Days of Holy Week: What they teach us about faith, redemption. (Which I borrowed from.)

The Book of Common Prayer reference: The “corporate-mystical” prayer is on page 339, the post-communion prayer for Holy Eucharist, Rite I.

Feast days are designated days on the liturgical (church) calendar “set aside to commemorate events, saints, or doctrines that are important in the life of the Church. These can range from Solemnities, which are the highest-ranking feast days like Easter and Christmas, to optional memorials that celebrate lesser-known saints.” Feast Days: Celebrating the Church’s Calendar.

Re: “His pilgrim-path.” Not “his or her,” or the ubiquitous “their.” Sorry, I’m old school in some ways, at least for this post.

Re: Psalm Psalm 84:5. I used the version in the Book of Common Prayer, where it’s listed as Psalm 84:4 (which happens sometimes). I capitalized the “You,” for God, and the following word in the BCP, “whose hearts are set.” Also, the Biblehub translations include “on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem” (which I’ve done), “all who deeply desire to visit your temple,” and of those whose “hearts are on the road [that leads to you].” (Brackets in the “Hub” website.) The last one ties in with John 6:37, where Jesus promised that “whoever comes to Me I will never drive away.” (And yes, I capitalized the “Me” too.)

Re: “A reference to Judas.” See Why Is Wednesday of Holy Week Called Spy Wednesday?

For this post I borrowed from On Holy Week – 2016, Psalm 22 and the “Passion of Jesus,” from April 2017, and from March 2018, Palm Sunday: To “not sin,” or to accomplish something?

The lower image is courtesy of Liturgical year – Wikipedia. See also Ordinary Time – Wikipedia.

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Some 2025 Mid-Lenten meditations…

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Was Mary cool and collected at the Announcement – or did she “shrink back in terror?”

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Last Thursday, March 20, was the Feast Day for St Joseph. This past Tuesday, March 25, was the Feast of The Annunciation. And here we are in mid-Lent, so let’s get right to “St. Joe:”

Christian tradition places Joseph as Jesus‘ foster father… Joseph is not mentioned [at] the Wedding at Cana at the beginning of Jesus’ mission, nor at the Passion at the end. If he had been present at the Crucifixion, he would under Jewish custom have been expected to take charge of Jesus’ body, but this role is instead performed by Joseph of Arimathea

Which makes you wonder, “Whatever happened to Joseph?” And for that matter, is he a good role model for this and every Lent? Struggling away in obscurity for so many years, and largely remembered today “only” because when push came to shove he set aside some pretty substantial doubts and did the right thing? I’d say so, but let’s get to what little we do know.

For some possible answers, check out Question of Faith: What happened to St. Joseph – Catholic Telegraph, or – for a lot of Bible passages on the issue – What ever happened to Joseph, Jesus’ stepfather? One thing we do know: Joseph is the patron saint of workers, along with fathers in general and also “the dying.” (Those at or approaching death.) As for that “worker” definition, the prevailing view is that he was a carpenter, but the original Greek term was tektōn.

Commonly translated “carpenter,” it can also mean mason, craftsman or a builder in wood, stone or metal. (Not to mention “fabricating and joining.”) In other words, tekton can refer to a highly skilled laborer “adept at doing all kinds of work.” (One theory has Joseph – with Jesus and maybe another son – helping build the massive amphitheater for Herod Antipas at Sepphoris, 3.7 miles from Nazareth.) But the important thing for us is that Joseph “did the right thing,” which included putting up with Jesus when he was a teenager.

Which brings up the question: Did Jesus as a teenager know He was the First-born Son of God? If so, He could see into the future, and know – absolutely – everything that ever was or would be. Yet there He was, stuck in a backwater, hayseed town. Worst of all He had to take orders from older people who didn’t know a fraction of what He knew about “real life.” Of course:

Since every teenager in the world has felt exactly the same way – since the beginning of time – how could the people of Nazareth know this teenager was any different?

But we digress, except to note that those teen years alone were probably enough to earn Joseph a sainthood. Which is also true of Mary, which brings up the The Annunciation.

The full title is Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and it started with the birth of Jesus. Early Church Fathers – thinking backward nine months – figured that since Jesus was born on December 25, He had to be conceived the previous March 25. (A note: late December was about the time that dark winter days started getting lighter again, bringing “great joy and gladness when the sun started returning.” There was also that Roman Saturnalia thing going on about the same late-December, celebrating “a reprieve from death and a return to life.”)

The feast itself celebrates “the announcement by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus, the Son of God, marking his Incarnation.”

Which brings up another prevailing view, that Mary was all calm and collected when she got this startling news. “Ho hum, no big deal!” But according to Luke 1:29, Mary was “greatly troubled” or “confused and disturbed,” depending on the translation. In the original Greek, Mary was διαταράσσω (diatarassó), meaning to “disturb thoroughly, to agitate greatly, to trouble deeply.” But her look can also be described as terrified: “Look at her facial expression. This is not one of acquiescence or pleasure. This is a look almost of horror at what she has just been told.”

Consider too what Garry Wills said: “For me, the most convincing pictures or sculptures of the Annunciation to Mary show her in a state of panic … shrinking off from the angel, looking cornered by him.” He noted especially some 14th century paintings, “where Mary is made so faint by the angel’s words that she sways back and must grab a pillar to keep herself upright.”

As if that wasn’t enough, Mary got another warning when she presented the newborn Jesus at the Temple. That’s when Simeon told her, “you, Mary, will suffer as though you had been stabbed by a dagger.” (Luke 2:35. Or that “a sword will run through this woman’s heart.”) All that could explain why Mary may have had a look “almost of horror at what she has just been told” by Gabriel. Which is something to meditate during this Lent 2025. (If you’re feeling alarmed, agitated or perplexed at world events going on around us.)

That shouldn’t be a surprise, since trying to be a good Christian has always been a real pain, but “It is to vigor, not comfort that you are called.” On the other hand there’s 1st Corinthians 10:13, “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” Something else to keep in mind…

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Another view of the Annunciationby Johann Schröder

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The upper image is courtesy of Rossetti Annunciation – Image Results. See also The Annunciation by Dante Gabriel Rossetti – my daily art display:

Take a while and look at Mary’s expression. How do you read Rossetti’s depiction of this young woman? Look at her facial expression. This is not one of acquiescence or pleasure. This is a look almost of horror at what she has just been told. This terrified look adds a great deal of power to Rossetti’s  painting. Mary herself in Rossetti’s painting looks much younger than we are used to seeing in similar scenes. She exudes a youthful beauty but only seems to be a mere adolescent with her long un-brushed auburn hair contrasting sharply with her white dress. She is painfully thin and her hesitance and sad look tinged with fear endears her to us. 

For a fuller view of Rossetti’s interpretation – of Mary “shrinking back,” maybe in terror – see the bottom image at On the Annunciation (2022) – and Mary “shrinking back.”

The Book of Common Prayer reference: The “corporate-mystical” prayer is on page 339, the post-communion prayer for Holy Eucharist, Rite I.

Feast days are designated days on the liturgical (church) calendar “set aside to commemorate events, saints, or doctrines that are important in the life of the Church. These can range from Solemnities, which are the highest-ranking feast days like Easter and Christmas, to optional memorials that celebrate lesser-known saints.” Feast Days: Celebrating the Church’s Calendar.

Re: “Mid-Lent.” This year from Wednesday, March 5th, to Thursday, April 17. (Lent 2025 – Calendar Date.) So we are pretty much in the middle; March 26 or 27, depending on your “reckoning.” Which brings up the Daily Office readings for Monday, March 24. They included Paul’s letter to the Romans (4:1-12), with a lot on how Abraham believed “and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” Which to me always sounded hillbilly-ish, so I finally checked it out. It turns out the Hebrew word “chashab,” a primitive root, is defined as to think, plan, reckon, account, consider, devise, or to “esteem:”

The Hebrew verb “chashab” primarily conveys the act of thinking, planning, or considering. It is used to describe the process of mental calculation or devising plans… In ancient Hebrew culture, the concept of “chashab” was integral to both daily life and spiritual practice. The ability to think and plan was highly valued, as it was essential for survival, governance, and religious observance. The term reflects a worldview where thoughtful consideration and intentional planning were seen as reflections of wisdom and prudence.

(See Strong’s Hebrew: 2803. חָשַׁב.) Which leads to two thoughts: That’s one reason I love blogging. I get to go chase down those educational “Rabbit Trails.” Second thought: The many ways this one word can be translated makes it hard to think literalism is a good way to approach the Bible.

On Joseph as “tekton,” see Carpenters, Builders, and Masons – Bible Hub, What did St. Joseph actually do as a carpenter? – Aleteia, and Was Joseph a carpenter, stone mason or metallurgist?

Re: The Sepphoris project: “Several scholars have suggested that Jesus, while working as a craftsman in Nazareth, may have traveled to Sepphoris for work purposes, possibly with his father and brothers.” See also Sepphoris | Did Jesus ever visit Sepphoris – itsgila.com. As for Herod Antipas, he is not to be confused with “Herod the baby-killer,” also know – perhaps ironically – as Herod the Great.

On the teenager thing see 2014’s On Jesus as a teenager, and 2016’s On Jesus as a teenager – REDUX.

Re: The word translated from Luke 1:29, see Strong’s Greek: 1298. διαταράσσω (diatarassó).

Re: “What Garry Wills said.” See What Jesus Meant: Wills, the 2007 book, an “illuminating analysis for believers and nonbelievers alike … a brilliant addition to our national conversation on religion.” (Said Goodreads.) The quote is from page 1 of my Penguin Books edition, “The Hidden Years.”

Also, for this post I borrowed from St. Joseph’s Day – 2022, and – from 2015 – The Annunciation “gets the ball rolling,” along with later posts such as On the Annunciation (2022) – and Mary “shrinking back,” and On the Annunciation and the end of Lent – 2023.

Re: Luke 2:35. The “sword will run through this woman’s heart” quote came from the translation Wills used. Most other Bible Hub translations say the sword will pierce Mary’s “own soul;” including the King James Bible. (The one God uses.) 

Re: “To vigor, not comfort.” Here’s the full quote on the life of a new Christian:

Hearing now and again the mysterious piping of the Shepherd, you realize your own perpetual forward movement…  Do not suppose from this that your new career is to be perpetually supported by agreeable spiritual contacts, or occupy itself in the mild contemplation of the great world through which you move. True, it is said of the Shepherd that he carries the lambs in his bosom; but the sheep are expected to walk, and to put up with the bunts and blunders of the flock. It is to vigour rather than comfort that you are called.

From Evelyn Underhill’s Practical Mysticism, Ariel Press, 1914, at page 177.

As for 1st Corinthians 10:13, see also Romans 10:9, “that if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Period. No ifs, ands or buts. (In other words, The Prize Is Worth the Price.)

The lower image is courtesy of Annunciation – Wikipedia. The caption:  “The Annunciation – Johann Christian Schröder.” 

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Ash Wednesday, 2025 – and a reflection on Psalm 22…

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That would be 40 days metaphorically – with Sundays off for a break from the desert…

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These are the times that try men’s souls.” And that’s not just because we’re starting another season of Lent. But for now, let’s focus on that Lenten period of discipline, fasting and repentance – but mostly as a time for looking ahead to ultimate victory. (And deliverance.) Which brings up a post I did back on April 9, 2017, Psalm 22 and the “Passion of Jesus.”

It noted that Psalm 22 begins, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” We know that part because Jesus quoted it on the cross, as told in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34: “About the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?'” (In the original Aramaic.) What many don’t realize is that Verse 1 goes on:  “Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?” Which is a feeling many of us can empathize with these days…

But first some background: Scholars think that Psalm 22 was written about 600 years before Jesus was born, in the pre-exilic period; before the Babylonian Exile and so before the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C. (Or B.C.E. if you prefer.) Which means Psalm 22 seems to be a bit of foreshadowing, “an indication of what is to come.”

On that note, later in the psalm verse 16 notes, “they pierce my hands and my feet.” (Or feet and wrists, depending on the translation of the Greek word “xeiros.”) This was mirrored in John 19:37, “As another Scripture says: ‘They will look on the One they have pierced.’” (See also Isaiah 53:5, “He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”)

Then there’s verse 18: “They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.”  That verse was mirrored in Matthew 27:35:  “When they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments by casting lots.” (Which sounds like more foreshadowing.)

So, what does all this mean? For one thing it means that despite all the anguish Jesus had to go through, He knew that eventually there would be a happy ending. (“Thinking long-term?”) For another, there’s 1st Corinthians 3:21, “Let no one boast of human leaders,” a thought that could prove useful in those coming days. Then there’s Second Timothy 1:7, “For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.” All of which Jesus showed – power and love and self-discipline – when He faced His own ordeal.

Which brings up the question, “Can we do anything less?” In our own ordeal, whether that’s limited to the upcoming time of Lent, or maybe something beyond that? But back to the basics. Ash Wednesday marks the start of the Season of Lent, about which Wikipedia said:

According to the canonical gospels of MatthewMark and LukeJesus Christ spent 40 days fasting in the desert, where he endured temptation by Satan. Lent originated as a mirroring of this, fasting 40 days as preparation for Easter.

Lent in turn is a season devoted to “prayerpenance, repentance of sins, almsgiving, atonement and self-denial.” But getting back to Jesus “wandering in the Wilderness” for 40 days, those 40 days mirrored the 40 years the Hebrews also spent “wandering around.” (Led by Moses.) But here’s more good news: Eventually those wandering Hebrews found the Promised Land. In much the same way, after 40 long days of penance, Lent leads us to the much-anticipated celebration of Easter, and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. (“The Lord is risen … Indeed!”)

And here’s another bit of good news. It’s not 40 straight days of self-denial.

That’s because there are actually 46 days of Lent. 46 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. And why is that? Because Sundays don’t count. Sundays in Lent are basically “days off,” when you can still enjoy whatever it is you’ve “given up.” For example, if you’ve given up chocolate for Lent, you can still enjoy some chocolate treats on Sundays during Lent.

But back to the Lenten time of discipline, fasting and repentance. One thing that’s especially hard to practice in these times of polarization is that Jesus was Radical in his love for all people. (Even – as I noted before – for those “real pains.” As Paul noted in Romans 5:6, Christ died for the Ungodly, whoever you think they may be.) Jesus simply never got involved in politics. He focused instead on healing the divisions so prevalent during His time on earth.

Which is the kind of radical love Johnny Cash tried to show. The writer of Cash’s Religion and Political Views said, “I like to think that Johnny was above politics and more about people and peace and happiness and cooperation.” Or as Cash’s daughter Rosanne said, her dad didn’t care “where you stood politically.” He could “love all stripes, and that’s why all stripes claim him.”

Something to contemplate during this Lent 2025, as we look ahead to Easter.

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The upper image is courtesy of 40 Days … Image Results.

The Book of Common Prayer reference: The “corporate-mystical” prayer is on page 339, the post-communion prayer for Holy Eucharist, Rite I.

Feast days are designated days on the liturgical (church) calendar “set aside to commemorate events, saints, or doctrines that are important in the life of the Church. These can range from Solemnities, which are the highest-ranking feast days like Easter and Christmas, to optional memorials that celebrate lesser-known saints.” Feast Days: Celebrating the Church’s Calendar.

Re: The quote “these are the times,” see The American Crisis – Wikipedia, about a series of pamphlets by “philosopher and author Thomas Paine, originally published from 1776 to 1783 during the American Revolution.” The main crisis came in the winter of 1776 (before Washington’s victory at Trenton), when American spirits were low and the cause of American democracy seemed destined for extinction. (Not that there’s any connection to current events.)

Re: Lent. See What is Lent? Guide to It’s Meaning and Purpose – Christianity, and Lent – Wikipedia.

For this post I referred to Ash Wednesday – 2022, and Ash Wednesday and Lent – 2023. And a note: The 2017 post “Passion of Jesus” included details about the crucifixion process, including the “translation difficulty” involving the original Greek word usually translated as hand:  

“The word xeiros, which we translate to ‘hand’ has a wider semantic range.” Then there is the fact that – anatomically speaking – the “bones and tendons of the hand simply do not have the strength to hold the weight of the body without the nail ripping through. The easiest and strongest place to hammer a nail is through the wrist, between the ulna and radius bones.”

The lower image is courtesy of Johnny Cash – Wikipedia. See also Man in Black (song) – Wikipedia. (I borrowed it from the February 2017 post, Moses at Rephidim: “What if?”)

St. Matthias, 2025 – and the tough life of an Apostle…

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St Matthias – the Apostle who replaced Judas Iscariot – “(c. 1611) by Peter Paul Rubens...”

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Monday, February 24, 2025, is the Feast of St. Matthias, the Apostle who replaced Judas:

[A]ccording to the Acts of the Apostles, [he] was the apostle chosen by the remaining eleven apostles to replace Judas Iscariot following Judas’ betrayal of Jesus and suicide.  His calling as an apostle is unique in that his appointment was not made personally by Jesus, who had already ascended to heaven, and, it was made before the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the early Church.

See Saint Matthias – Wikipedia. (Note that this St. Matthias is not to be confused with St. Matthew, the Gospel-writer whose Feast Day is September 21.) He is also called “Unremarkable Matthias” or the “Overlooked Apostle.” See The Overlooked Holy Apostle, Matthias.

Isaac Asimov described how Matthias became an Apostle:

Peter arranged to have a new individual selected to take the place of Judas Iscariot in order to bring the number of the inner circle back to the mystical twelve that matched the twelve tribes of Israel. Two were nominated, Joseph Barsabbas and Matthias. To choose between the two, lots were used, as told in Acts 1:26, “and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.” Neither Joseph Barsabbas nor Matthias are mentioned anywhere else in the New Testament.

Since there’s no other mention of Matthias in the Bible, we know next to nothing about him. But there are theories. For example, Wikipedia suggested that “Matthias was originally Zacchaeus.” (Remember, the tax collector Zacchaeus who climbed a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus? He had a hard time both as he was short and because of the crowd of people.)

So, was Saint Matthias really Zacchaeus, who fell from a sycamore tree?

Whatever the answer, the now-defunct article – Overlooked Apostle – went into great detail about how much Matthias suffered – and how he ultimately died. Like, he preached in Macedonia and Ethiopia, where “the heathen dragged him over the ground, beat him, hung him from a pillar and tore his stomach with an iron blade and burned him with fire.” Another town he preached in was a “city of the man-eaters,” cannibals. When Matthias came in “the men of that city took hold of him and thrust out his eyes and made him drink poison and sent him to the prison where he sat for thirty days waiting to be eaten and die.” But the Lord appeared to him and got his eyesight back for him, as well as other prisoners who’d suffered the same fate. The site also said Matthias was rescued by the Apostle Andrew; “as Andrew approached the gates of the prison, the doors opened of their own accord.” (But see also Matthias the Apostle – Wikipedia, which said “information concerning the ministry and death of Matthias is vague and contradictory, and that Hippolytus of Rome said Matthias “died of old age in Jerusalem.”)

That Wikipedia account may be true but it’s also a whole lot more boring! (And which indicates how internet users need to Lateral Read and check sources, including but not limited to claims seeming outrageous – or “not boring.”) Getting back to the now-defunct “Overlooked” article, it said eventually Matthias returned to Galilee where he was stoned to death. “The Jews, filled with malice and anger, seized Matthias and presented him to the High Priest, Annas.” The High Priest, who “hated all Christians and was responsible for the death of James, the first bishop of Jerusalem, ordered that Matthias be stoned.” One point of note: Overlooked Apostle said that when Matthias was taken to be stoned, he cried out, “You hypocrites, rightly did the Prophet David speak to those like you: ‘they shall hunt down the soul of the righteous man, and the innocent blood shall they condemn.’” (Which sounds strangely pertinent these days.)

After Matthias spoke these words, two witnesses who claimed he’d blasphemed picked up stones to be the first to stone him. But first, Matthias asked that these stones be buried with him as a testimony of his suffering for the Lord. So they stoned him to death, and as an added insult, also beheaded him to express that he was an enemy of Rome. So whether St. Matthias died by being first stoned and then beheaded, or had his eyes gouged out, then “sat for thirty days waiting to be eaten and die,” the lesson is: Being an apostle was no piece of cake!

Another lesson? Maybe there’s a reason the “Overlooked” piece is NOW DEFUNCT, but the main point remains: Trying to be a good Christian has never been a “piece of cake.” (And these days it’s mostly a pain in the ass.) As to who was Matthias, and how did he die? That’s one puzzle we Good Christians can work on this Lent. (As a spiritual discipline?) There’s also that whole controversy, “should I judge my fellow Christians?” I’ll explore that topic in a near-future post, in which I’ll revisit the March 2019 post, On the Bible’s “dynamic tension,” featuring Charles Atlas

Stay tuned…

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The upper image is courtesy of Saint Matthias – Wikipedia. The caption, as noted: “‘St Matthias’ (c. 1611) by Peter Paul Rubens.

The Book of Common Prayer reference: The “corporate-mystical” prayer is on page 339, the post-communion prayer for Holy Eucharist, Rite I.

“Feast days” are designated days on the liturgical (church) calendar “set aside to commemorate events, saints, or doctrines that are important in the life of the Church. These can range from Solemnities, which are the highest-ranking feast days like Easter and Christmas, to optional memorials that celebrate lesser-known saints.” Feast Days: Celebrating the Church’s Calendar.

Bibliography for this post: 2015’s On St. Matthias – and “Father Roberts”,” 2017’s The “Overlooked Apostle,” Ruth and Mardi Gras, and 2022’s St. Matthias, Zacchaeus, and the tough life of an Apostle.

Re: “Isaac.” The quote is from Asimov’s Guide to the Bible (Two Volumes in One), Avenel Books (1981), page 998. Asimov was “an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards.” His list of books included those on “astronomymathematics, the BibleWilliam Shakespeare’s writing, and chemistry.” He was a long-time member of Mensa, “albeit reluctantly; he described some members of that organization as ‘brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs.’” See Isaac Asimov – Wikipedia.

Re: That “mostly a pain in the ass” comment. Which may be true of this earthly incarnation, but there is that “you have already won your game of life” part. (John 6:37 and Romans 10:9.)

The lower image is courtesy of Dynamic Tension Charles Atlas – Image Results. See also Dynamic Tension – Wikipedia, and Charles Atlas – Wikipedia.

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