Christ is Risen!

My Lord, Jesus of Nazareth, lost quite a few of his followers when he said "my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink." (John 6:55-69)

Jesus the Nazarene: Crucified, Dead, Buried

Then he was arrested, tortured, killed, and buried. (John 18-19)

I think Jesus was, putting it mildly, a good man who said some quite profound things.

That's not why I follow Him.

I follow Jesus the Nazarene in large part because of what happened after he'd been killed.

Jesus Didn't Stay Dead

Jesus stopped being dead, left the tomb, had a series of meetings with his followers, gave them final orders, and left. Temporarily. (John 20-21, Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:9, Acts 1:10-11)

That apparently made quite an impression on Peter and the rest - Peter repented and was forgiven, by the way. (John 21:15-17)

Almost two thousand years later, the successor of Peter is still leading my Lord's Church through time. Folks - some of us - are still preoccupied with just when Jesus will return. Nothing new there. (2 Thessalonians 2-3) And that's another topic.

Jerusalem, Minnesota, and Points Beyond

My wife and #3 daughter celebrated Mass at the parish church down the street last night - I'd have gone, but a few sneezes and other signs of an impending cold suggested that I stay in. That particular Saturday night Mass can be a long one. As I see it, we're "called to holiness, not stupidity." (February 6, 2011)

An hour or so from now, I plan to be at Our Lady of the Angels church, here in Sauk Centre, Minnesota: where we'll be celebrating Mass.

Quite a bit has happened since the Last Supper, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. The Roman Empire enjoyed a few centuries of prosperity before becoming a memory; other empires rose and fell; my ancestors raided and pillaged each other; and the Catholic Church continues its march through time.

The Church has been doing more than just waiting for the last two millennia - Matthew 25 shows part of our standing orders, and that's yet another topic.

Somewhat-related posts:

• "Christ is Risen"
  (April 4, 2010)
• "He's Alive!"
  (April 3, 2010)
• "Easter, 2009"
  (April 12, 2009)
• "The Catholic Church: 19 Centuries of the Great Commission"
  (March 21, 2009)
• "Happy Lent?! What Kind of a Nut am I?"
  (March 3, 2009)