Salvation

Salvation.

As Christians it is the ultimate prize that we pray about. The salvation that brings us eternal life in God's Kingdom when our time comes. 

I can only imagine. Eternal life. In the presence of our Savior, our God. To approach the Throne of Grace and be granted forgiveness for my sins. To live in the bright white light of glory and salvation.

Only thru his death did Jesus give us this path to follow. This light to guide us. And only thru him can we attain this glorious promise.

"He is the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved." -acts of the apostles, 4:11-12

Will I stand in your presence 

or to my knees will I fall?

Will I sing Hallelujah

or will I be able to speak at all? 

I've often wondered - how will Jesus recognize me? Not me as a human being or me as a Christian but me as in - me, myself. 

How will he know I'm his follower, that I love him to the depths of my heart? I know God knows all but when the time comes - how does he know that I have followed him, done my best to be what he wants me to be?  This...is how. Because Jesus tells us:

I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep.

- the gospel of john 10:13

I am his. And he is mine. 

I am his.

This is the promise of our salvation.

Believe

"Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away." -acts of the apostles 3:19

Sounds easy, right? Just repent. And you are forgiven?

Really?

"...if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world. - the first epistle of saint john 2:1-2

Repent and the whole world is forgiven?

Such is the power of the sacrifice of Jesus. The apostles witnessed it all - from the birth of Christ's short-lived ministry to his crucifixion to his resurrection. And ultimately to Christ's ascension into heaven.

And they still doubted. They just weren't sure. Christ had to, once again, show them his hands and feet. In today's Gospel he even eats some dried fish to prove he was flesh and blood, not a ghost.

Yet Christ never chastises them. He never tells them are foolish for not believing what they are seeing. Before they even ask him, they are forgiven for their lack of faith in that moment.

And so it is for us. Before we even ask God, thru Jesus, to forgive our sins - we are already forgiven. The blood Christ shed for us guaranteed that to us.

Wolf Moon, October 2019
as seen from the summit of Cadillac Mountain
in Acadia National Park

I can't quite wrap my mind around that with my mere human understanding. But if I am to believe - and I do - that God's forgiveness is there for the asking, AND that he sees all and knows all - then it must follow that he knows my sins and my heart. He knows that I am repentant and thus, forgives me before I can put the words together to repent.

Thru Jesus Christ, my sins are forgiven.

Repent.

And believe.

Doubt

As humans, it is in our nature to require proof of events - "seeing is believing".  

This old saying is attributed to either the ancient Greeks or a 17th century cleric, Thomas Fuller.  I find the latter to be easier to "believe" - since the original man who needed to see to believe was the Apostle, St. Thomas Didymus. The coincidence of the first name just can't be ignored.

St. Thomas - walked with Christ during the three year ministry of our Savior.  He was side-by-side with Jesus, witnessing the miracles, the conversions of the Jews.  St. Thomas was there for the radical belief of others.  

I will use that word - radical - quite a bit in this space.  Because for his time - for any time - Jesus Christ was and remains a radical.  His new covenant with the Jews, and then the Gentiles, would transform his world and all the centuries to follow.  Belief in Christ - is transformational.

And there it is - belief.  In a man we won't see while we are alive; a man that no one since the year 33 AD has seen alive.

Save for the Apostles.  Jesus would stay with them for 40 days after his resurrection.  He would literally appear out of thin air.  In today's Gospel from St. John, Chapter 20, we read that in a locked room, Jesus came to them.

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

Locked doors.  Did Christ walk thru the walls?  Or the locked door itself?  Imagine, for 1st century individuals, how that would have felt.  You are in a locked room, in hiding, and Jesus just...shows up.

How unnerving.  How scary.  How radical.

Yet even with that unexpected appearance, St. Thomas still doubted.  He needed not only to see Jesus, he required more...to touch Jesus.

And Jesus let him. Talk about unnerving!  Putting your hands into the wounds that you had witnessed the man receiving.  Knowing the horrific death Jesus experienced, you put your hands into his flesh...and there is no pain for Jesus.

Only love for his Apostle. And only wonderment and adoration for St. Thomas.

Then a subtle rebuke, which holds promise for us, 2000 years later:

Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

We who believe in Jesus do so thru that marvelous and inscrutable thing called - faith.

Just off the Loop Road in Acadia National Park

We who believe will only see Jesus when it is our time to, with prayers for mercy, rise to the heavens to fall at his feet in gratitude and great love.

We who believe - wait patiently for that day to come. 

We who believe - do so with no evidence except what we open ourselves up to in our own lives. Prayer to God, thru Jesus, will bring wondrous works into our lives. Truthfully - God is going to work in our lives whether we are aware of it or not. I rather like keeping myself open to what God wants me to see or hear.

What about you? Do you need to see to believe? Whether you do or don't - Jesus loves you just the same.

The Octave

We have now entered Eastertide. Or the Octave of Easter.

These eight weeks that follow Easter Sunday are a time, in Christianity, for rejoicing at the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For taking unto ourselves the "newness of life" that Christ foretold. If you are going to open up your heart and mind to Jesus ... this is the time of year to get busy. 

During much of these eight weeks we read from The Acts of the Apostles. Literally this New Testament book, written by the Apostle Luke, details the actions of the Apostles in the months after Christ's incredible resurrection.

In Acts, Luke has provided a broad survey of the church’s development from the resurrection of Jesus to Paul’s first Roman imprisonment, the point at which the book ends. In telling this story, Luke describes the emergence of Christianity from its origins in Judaism to its position as a religion of worldwide status and appeal. 

We read how the Apostles - who scattered after the crucifixion and went into hiding - reunite in the glorious appearing of Christ. For 40 days Jesus walks with the Apostles, using the Holy Spirit to continue his ministry with them until his Ascension.

My beautiful country parish home.

For these next eight weeks, I will focus on the Gospel readings, plus those from The Acts of the Apostles, to - with prayerful contemplation - attempt to provide a conversational time with our Lord and Savior. A - coffee chat - with the man who gave his life for our sins. Our Redeemer.

Today's Gospel reading, from the Roman Catholic Missal, is from the Gospel of St. Mark, Chapter 16:

When Jesus had risen, early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. She went and told his companions who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.

It is important to note that the first people Jesus appeared to were - the women. Those very women who had remained with him after his last breaths on the Cross, the ones who stayed when Christ was taken down from that Cross and placed in the Tomb. The ones who watched as the rock was rolled over the opening, sealing away their beloved Messiah.

The men? They didn't believe. Why not? Fear? They certainly were in fear for their own lives in the days following Christ's death. St. Peter himself - the rock on which Christ built his church - denied his Lord three times even before the Crucifixion. They were, quite literally, on the run from the Sanhedrin. 

Did they lose their faith in Jesus and his ministry? Personally, I don't think so. Like every human in all of time, we have a "fight or flight" response. And certainly after seeing Jesus Christ scourged, beaten, and crucified would put the "flight" response into action.

I can imagine Jesus - so patient and loving yet a radical - gazing on his beloved Apostles and sighing inwardly...Did I not tell them I would return to them? What do I have to do - show them the wounds?

Well, that's what was needed. And show them, he did.

Risen

He is risen!

The promise made by God during the times of

Abraham, Elijah, Isaiah, King David, 

and so many others -

a redeemer sent to heal the world - 

has come to fruition today.

Christ's great love for us,

submitting to the will of God to die for us;

rising to save us.

A spotless, divine, holy sacrifice.

May we always be mindful of the 

promise of redemption ...

... and make our lives a living memorial to Christ.

He commissioned us to preach to the people and testify 

that he is the one appointed by God as judge of 

the living and the dead.

To him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone 

who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins 

through his name.

-the acts of the apostles 10: 42 & 43

Holy Fire, Holy Spirit

Fire is seen as a cleansing power.

It transforms the landscape and while terrifying,

fire ultimately allows for renewal.

For many Christians fire is a symbol of the 

undimmed light of Christ.

Certainly 2,000 years after his death and

resurrection Christians the world over continue to

celebrate, worship, and turn their lives 

over to their Savior.

Be cleansed by this holy fire; 

allow its purifying power to

penetrate your heart.

Come Holy Spirit, come.

God indeed is my savior;
I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the Lord,
and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water
at the fountain of salvation.

-the prophet isaiah 12:2&3

Finished

It is finished.

Christ's last words on the cross.

He had done as his father asked and 

became the Savior of the world.

In three days he would rise, as promised, 

and become King of Kings.

His rising gives us hope; the promise of new life in him.

We all have the capacity to rise from our own ashes;

taking on a new life in Christ. 

A life of love, compassion, and 

the greatest joy one can ever know.

Are you ready?

So let us confidently approach 

the throne of grace 

to receive mercy.

-hebrews 4:16

A King

This is the day that Christ gave his life for our redemption.

An innocent man - a King - allowed himself to be 

put to death so that we sinners would have 

a place to turn to for comfort and forgiveness.

Do we have room in our lives to forgive when it's required?

We need to be open to the Holy Spirit as it

moves thru us; open to freeing ourselves from the

burdens we insist on carrying every day.

I give you a new commandment, says the Lord:

love one another as I have loved you.

-the gospel of john 13:34