Another Easter

There have been only three to six major events so far, depending on how you count them: the creation of this universe; humanity's creation and fall; and our Lord's arrival, execution, and resurrection.

There's another big one coming, eventually, and I'll get back to that.

Cosmic Scale

I'm a Catholic, so I take Sacred Scripture very seriously,¹ including this:

"God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good. Evening came, and morning followed - the sixth day."
(Genesis 1:31)

We've known that God's creation was big and old, and been impressed, for a long time:

"¹ Think! The heavens, even the highest heavens, belong to the LORD, your God, as well as the earth and everything on it."
(Deuteronomy 10:14)

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky proclaims its builder's craft."
(Psalms 19:2)

"³ Raise your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth below; Though the heavens grow thin like smoke, the earth wears out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies, My salvation shall remain forever and my justice shall never be dismayed."
(Isaiah 51:6)

"⁴ Indeed, before you the whole universe is as a grain from a balance, or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth."
(Wisdom 11:22-25)

I also believe that God is infinite and eternal, almighty and ineffable: beyond our power to describe or understand. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 202, 230)

I might not have created a universe as big and old as the one we're in: but God's God, I'm not, and that's a good thing.

As I see it, what we're learning about the cosmic scale of this creation is cause for greater admiration of God's work, and that's another topic. (July 26, 2015; March 29, 2015; September 21, 2014)

Wounded, but Basically Good

I've said this before: God doesn't make junk.

The universe is basically good. So are we — basically. (Genesis 1:26-27, 31; Catechism, 31, 299,)

The first of us — Adam and Eve aren't German — listened to Satan, ignoring what God had said. Then Adam tried blaming his wife, and God, which did not end well. (Genesis 3:5-13)

That was a very, very long time ago. We've been living with the disastrous consequences of their decision ever since. (Catechism, 396-412)

Humanity is still made "in the divine image." (Genesis 1:27)

But loving ourselves, others, and God is a struggle because the harmony we had with ourselves and with the universe is broken. Human nature is wounded: but not corrupted. (Catechism, 355-361, 374-379, 398, 400, 405, 1701-1707, 1949)

True God and True Man

About two thousand years ago, our Lord arrived:

"For God so loved the world that he gave ⁷ his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.

"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn ⁸ the world, but that the world might be saved through him."
(John 3:16-17)

Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Shepherds and Magi thought it was good news, Herod didn't, and that's yet another topic. (January 3, 2016)

The Word has become Flesh, true God and true man. (Catechism, 456-478)

Anguish, Betrayal, Blood, and Death

We reviewed Luke's account of our Lord's final Passover meal last week; and kept reading until Luke 23:55-56, where some women spotted the tomb his body was in.

The whole week has been like that. Friday's Gospel, John 18:1-19:42, was similarly uncheerful:

"^{1 2} When he had said this, Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to where there was a garden, into which he and his disciples entered."
...
"So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by."
(John 18:1,19:42)

There's been a lot of anguish, betrayal, torture, blood, and death, in this week's Sacred Scripture.

All four Gospels agree on what happened next, although the accounts don't quite match up: by American standards.²

"^{1 2 3} On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb."
(John 20:1)

It took time and effort, but our Lord finally convinced the surviving Apostles that they weren't seeing a ghost. Our Lord had stopped being dead. (November 22, 2015; October 18, 2015)

That's where it gets interesting.

The Eighth Day: Life, Death - - -

Two millennia later, we're still celebrating.

Pope St. John Paul II called the Resurrection of Jesus "the fundamental event upon which Christian faith rests ... the fulcrum of history."³

Death, physical death, happens: but it is not the end. (Catechism, 1007, 1010-1014, 1022, 1682)

"^{7 8} But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

"⁹ For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead came also through a human being.

"For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,"
(1 Corinthians 15:20-22)

What happens next is up to each of us: whether we've decided to accept or reject God's grace, and what we've done with our life. (John 14:15; 2 Timothy 1:9-10; James 2:14-19; Catechism, 1021-1022, 1987-2016)

What our Lord expects is simple, but not easy.

I should love God, love my neighbor, see everyone as my neighbor, treat others as I want to be treated. (Matthew 7:12, Matthew 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-31; Matthew 5:43-44; Mark 12:28-31; Luke 10:25-30; Catechism, 1825)

I try to love God and neighbor because I follow the Man who is God: who died in my place; descended to the abode of the dead; rose from the tomb; and lives today and forever. (Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-11; 1 Peter 4:6; Catechism, 631-635, 638-655)

We are living in the eighth day of creation, a day of life and hope: and have been for two millennia. (Catechism, 349, 1166, 2174)

- - - and Beyond

There's more to being a Christian than celebrating, and waiting for our Lord's return.⁴ We're expected to live as if loving our neighbors and loving God matter.

Truly respecting the "transcendent dignity" of humanity, and each person, isn't easy: but it's something we must do. Also building a better world for future generations. The job starts within each of us, with an ongoing "inner conversion." (Catechism, 1888, 1928-1942)

We've made some progress: and have a very great deal left to do.

As I said last year, my guess is that we'll still be waiting and working when the 8.2 kiloyear event, Y2K, and Y10K are seen as roughly contemporary. (December 28, 2014; November 23, 2014; October 26, 2014)


(From Jaime Jasso, via DeviantArt.com, used w/o permission.)

But — the war is over. We won. We're already in "the last hour," and have been for two thousand years. This world's renewal is in progress, and nothing can stop it. (Matthew 16:18; Mark 16:6; Catechism, 638, 670)

More of my take on the best news ever:

• "The Messiah We Need"
  (March 20, 2016)
  Particularly
  • "But who do you say that I am?"
  • Last Supper, Messy Death
  • Still Celebrating
• "Stones, Sin, and Mercy"
  (March 13, 2016)
  Particularly
  • "Neither do I Condemn You"
• "Names and THE Name"
  (February 28, 2016)
  Particularly
  • "What am I to Tell Them?"
  • "...Tell the Israelites..."
• "Death? Been There, Done That"
  (April 5, 2015)
  Particularly
  • Jesus Died - - -
  • - - - and Stopped Being Dead
  • The Last Hour — Two Millennia and Counting
• "Joy and Standing Orders"
  (October 5, 2014)
  Particularly
  • The Beatific Vision and Mirrors
  • Rejoice!
  • Move Out!

---

¹ Reading the Bible is a very Catholic thing:

"The Church 'forcefully and specifically exhorts all the Christian faithful. . . to learn the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ, by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures. Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.¹¹²"
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 133)

It's literally 'Catholicism 101:'

• Catechism, 101-133

² As I keep saying, Sacred Scripture wasn't written from a contemporary Western viewpoint:

• "Taking the Bible Seriously"
  (February 21, 2016)
  • footnote 2
• "Space Archaeologist, 55 Cancri e"
  (February 19, 2016)
  • "So You Believe the Earth is Flat?"
• "Precision-Grip Thumbs and a 'New' Archosaur "
  (January 30, 2015)
  • Informed Faith and Norse Mythology
• "Earth's Wandering Poles, A Comet, a Wobbling Moon"
  (October 24, 2014)
  • Evidence and a Cosmic Coffee Cup

³ From Pope Saint John Paul II's "Dies Domini" (Day of the Lord):

"...The Resurrection of Jesus is the fundamental event upon which Christian faith rests (cf. 1 Cor 15:14). It is an astonishing reality, fully grasped in the light of faith, yet historically attested to by those who were privileged to see the Risen Lord. It is a wondrous event which is not only absolutely unique in human history, but which lies at the very heart of the mystery of time. In fact, 'all time belongs to [Christ] and all the ages', as the evocative liturgy of the Easter Vigil recalls in preparing the Paschal Candle. Therefore, in commemorating the day of Christ's Resurrection not just once a year but every Sunday, the Church seeks to indicate to every generation the true fulcrum of history, to which the mystery of the world's origin and its final destiny leads...."
("Dies Domini," Pope Saint John Paul II (Pentecost, May 31, 1998))

More about the Resurrection:

• Catechism of the Catholic Church, 638-655
• "Fear of resurrection"
  Pope Francis, via L'Osservatore Romano (19 September 19, 2014)
• "A mystery of hope, forgiveness and resurrection"
  Luigi Giussani Jubilee 2000 magazine (2000)
• "Address to organizers and members of the Symposium on the Resurrection of Christ"
  Pope Blessed Paul VI (April 4, 1970)
• "Christ the source of resurrection and life"
  From an Easter homily by an ancient author (Sermo 35, 6-9; PL 17 [ed. 1879], 696-697)
  Prepared by the Spiritual Theology Department of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross

⁴ Our Lord's return, and the Final Judgment, will happen: and is the next major event. As for when it's coming — I have enough on my plate, without trying to outguess God.


(From Wily Miller's Non Sequitur, June 14, 2011 and May 3, 2010, used w/o permission.)

More of my take on Final Judgment and getting a grip:

• "Taking the Bible Seriously"
  (February 21, 2016)
  Particularly
  • Last Judgment and Getting a Grip
• "Doomsday Du Jour — or — Doing My Job"
  (April 19, 2015)
  Particularly
  • A Job to Do
• "Victory and Standing Orders"
  (November 23, 2014)
  Particularly
  • Ragnarok - - -
  • - - - and Mutant Squirrels
  • On Standby Alert: Two Millennia and Counting
  • Sheep, Goats, and Me

Joy to the World!

(From Silar, Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)
(Nativity scene at the Christ the King Church in Sanok, Poland, 2010.)

Shepherding is a comparatively new occupation, compared to hunting and knapping.

The earliest evidence we've found so far puts the first shepherds north of Sargon's Akkadian Empire, where the Hittite Kingdom was, a dozen or so centuries later. I've mentioned them before. (August 21, 2015; October 16, 2015)

That was about the time someone carved a bit of siltstone into the Narmer Palette, and folks started building Stonehenge; and that's another topic.

Around the time Emperor Ping died, leaving Wang Mang in charge — he was either a great reformer or conniving scoundrel, depending on who you read, and that's yet another topic — the Roman Emperor ordered an empire-wide census.

That obliged a nine-month-pregnant young woman and her fiance to visit Bethlehem. Or maybe her husband. Either way, Mary got pregnant before she and Joseph married. There's a reasonable explanation, and it's not what one might expect. (Matthew 1:19-24; Luke 1:26-38)

I'll get back to that.

An Official Birthday Celebration

The Christmas "Mass at Dawn" actually started at 10:30 in the Our Lady of Angels parish here in Sauk Centre, Minnesota.

It's part of a four-Mass marathon: the Vigil Mass, Mass at Midnight, Mass at Dawn, and Mass During the Day. By the time that's over, someone attending all four would have heard Matthew 1:1-25 — yeah, the whole first chapter — Luke 2:1-14; Luke 2:15-20; and John 1:1-18.

I was at the "Mass at Dawn," but not the others. We've got rules about Christmas Mass;¹ but as far as I know nothing says I must be at all four, and I'm wandering off-topic again.

So: why make such a big deal of Christmas? Short answer: it's when we celebrate out Lord's birthday. We don't know exactly which day and month Jesus was born, and that's okay.

The way I explained it to our kids is that it's an official birthday.

The British monarch's birthday celebration is celebrated in May or June, since Commonwealth countries are in Earth's northern hemisphere, and those months generally have nice weather. Sometimes the actual birthday is within a few days of the official one: but that's a coincidence.

My guess is that Christmas is just a few days from the northern hemisphere winter solstice because that's when folks here were celebrating daylight's return. My pagan forebears saw that part of Earth's seasonal cycle one way. I see it as a handy symbol for our Lord's arrival:

"^{1 2} In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

"He was in the beginning with God.

"³ All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be

"through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race;

"⁴ the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."
(John 1:1-5)

Human on His Mother's Side

Like I said, Mary became pregnant before she and Joseph got married. I talked about her decision to accept a high-risk mission last year. (December 21, 2014)

I've heard Jesus described as "a nice Jewish boy who obeyed his mother and went into his Father's business." It's not the most conventional way of expressing what we're told in Luke 1:26-38, John 2:1-5, and John 5:17-20; but it's basically accurate.

I can't explain how Jesus is human and God. Some things we can't fully understand, like exactly how the Trinity works. (May 31, 2015)

There's a pretty good discussion of Jesus, the Word become Flesh, true God and true man, in Catechism of the Catholic Church, 456-478.

Where was I? Shepherds, emperors, birthdays. Right.

Luke 2:1-14, that's the Gospel reading for Christmas Mass at Midnight, includes this:

"⁴ Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock.

"The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear.

"The angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

"⁵ For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.

"And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.' "
(Luke 2:8-12)

Shepherding wasn't a high-status job. Night watchmen and night shift convenience store clerks might be equivalent occupations these days.

Back to Luke's narrative:

"When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.'

"So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger.

"When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child.

"All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds.

"And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.

"Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them."
(Luke 2:15-20)

Two millennia later, that birth is still a big deal. Jesus grew up, spending part of his childhood in Egypt — I'll be talking about the magi and Herod's execution of kids in Bethlehem in another post. That sad account is in Matthew 2:13-18.

"Goodness, Life and Truth"

Our Lord grew up; and said that we should love God, love our neighbors, and see everybody as our neighbor.² Then Jesus was tortured, executed, and buried:³ and stopped being dead. (Luke 24:15-33)

I've talked about that before. (December 20, 2015; August 30, 2015; April 5, 2015)

That's why Christmas is such a big deal: it's when we celebrate God's coming to live with us, as one of us. The Old Testament let us know that God takes a personal interest in human affairs. When Jesus arrived, we saw that God is personally involved.

"...let us take another step; what gives rise to this joy? I would say that it is born from the heart's wonder at seeing that God is close to us, that God thinks of us, that God acts in history; it is therefore a joy born from contemplating the face of that humble Child because we know that he is the Face of God present for ever in humanity, for us and with us. Christmas is joy because at last we see and are certain that God is the goodness, life, and truth of human beings and that he stoops down to them to lift them up to him...."
(Benedict XVI (January 4, 2012)⁴)

(From NASA/ISS, used w/o permission.)

Our joy isn't a fairytale 'and they lived happily ever after' thing. Tomorrow we'll be celebrating Herod's mass murder of the Holy Innocents. Yesterday was St. Stephen's feast day. (October 18, 2015)

Our joy is the best news humanity's ever had: God loves us, and wants to adopt us. All of us. (John 3:17; Romans 8:15; Ephesians 1:3-5; Catechism, 1-3, 52, 1825)

"For God so loved the world that he gave ⁷ his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.

"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn ⁸ the world, but that the world might be saved through him."
(John 3:16-17)

More reasons to celebrate:

• "Advent and a Sense of Scale"
  (December 20, 2015)
  Particularly:
  • Jesus of Nazareth
  • Love
• "Truth and the Big Picture"
  (November 22, 2015)
  Particularly:
  • Kings and Questions
  • The Man Who Wouldn't Stay Dead
  • Truth and the Long Run
• " 'Have No Anxiety At All' "
  (October 18, 2015)
  Particularly:
  • Why Take Jesus Seriously?
  • Rejoice!
• "Gideon, Gabriel, Mary, and Guts"
  (December 21, 2014)
  Particularly:
  • Mary and 'Happy Days' America
  • Submissive? Maybe
• "Joy and Standing Orders"
  (October 5, 2014)
  Particularly:
  • Joy, Zest, and Mud
  • Rejoice!
  • Move Out!

---

¹ Regulations for laity are fairly straightforward, like the Sunday obligation detailed in Catechism of the Catholic Church -2183 and Code of Canon Law Book IV Part III Title II Chapter I 1248.

It's different for priests and bishops: Code of Canon Law Book II Part II Section II Title I Chapter II Article 2 3 and Book IV Part I Title III Chapter III 951, for example.

I'm okay with that. The way I see it, my position as a Catholic layman is a bit like a foot soldier's: and I'm quite content to let the officers deal with administrative details. (December 28, 2014; October 12, 2014)

² Matthew 5:43-44, 7:12, 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31 10:25-27, 29-37; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1789

³ Matthew 27:26-54; Mark 15:34-39; Luke 23:14-47; John 19:1-40.

⁴ More about joy and Christmas:

• "Nativity of the Lord, Mystery of Joy and Light"
  General Audience, Pope Benedict XVI (January 4, 2012)
  (From w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2012/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20120104.html (December 26, 2015))
• "Feast of Saint Stephen"
  Angelus, Pope Francis: (December 26, 2013)
  (From w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/angelus/2013/documents/papa-francesco_angelus_20131226.html (December 26, 2015))

The Transfiguration: More Than Just a Man

Second Sunday of Lent, 2015:

• Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18
• Romans 8:31b-34
• March 9:2-10

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Second Sunday of Lent, 2015

By Deacon Lawrence N. Kaas
March 1, 2015

This year we hear St. Mark's account of the Transfiguration. The event took place a few weeks before Jesus would travel to Jerusalem to suffer and die. The Transfiguration has a three fold purpose: it was intended for Jesus himself, for the Apostles, and for each of us.

For our Lord, the Transfiguration was His early preparation for His own passion and death. Luke tells us that our Lord was praying, probably in the evening. Then something happens instantaneously: Jesus is "transfigured." His body changes and His clothing becomes "dazzling white." His divine nature, which He has kept carefully hidden until now, shines through His human nature.

Then, Moses and Elijah appear. It was the consistent Jewish belief that when the Messiah appeared, He would be accompanied by these two historical figures. Why them? Because the Jews at the time of Christ believed that Moses and Elijah were the only two people whose bodies had been assumed into the next life. Elijah's body was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. And ancient book, titled "of the Assumption of Moses," it told of the devil trying to use Moses' body for some sinister purpose. As a result, Saint Michael came and snatched Moses' body away from the devil and took it to heaven. In addition, Moses and Elijah stood for things. Moses was the great lawgiver, bringing God's law to men. Elijah was the great prophet, the voice of God providing direction, guidance and wisdom. These two men were the greatest figures in Israel's history, and they came to speak with our Lord during the Transfiguration. They spoke to Jesus of His departure--in Greek, His exodus---which He was to accomplish in Jerusalem. As he approached Jerusalem, the great lawgiver the great prophet appeared to encourage Jesus so that He would completely fulfill all the law-giving and prophecy of the Old Testament.

As God, Jesus needed no encouragement. As man, however, he needed encouragement. His sacrifice, His passion and death, were going to be bloody, and an excruciatingly painful experience. Not even the God-man would want to endure it. These two Old Testament figures came to offer consolation and encouragement for the upcoming trial of His life.

After Moses and Elijah encouraged Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit appears in the cloud. The cloud is one way God frequently appears to people in the Old Testament (remember the cloud that led the Hebrews out of Egypt). In this cloud the Father called Jesus His "beloved son". The cloud, also often represents the holiness.

The Transfiguration was also for the apostles. Peter, James, and John were the leaders of the 12. Jesus will also bring these three closest to him during the agony in the garden. None of the Apostles had been happy, hearing a few days earlier that their Lord was going to Jerusalem to suffer and die. They complained about it, to no avail. So Jesus took them up on the mountain to witnesses Transfigured Glory. The Transfiguration gave Peter, James, and John greater insight into who Jesus really was. God the Father told them to listen to Jesus. The Transfiguration also gave these three Apostles hope by providing a window into the future. And they, in turn, reassured the rest of the Apostles about what was to come. Although no one really knew how painful our Lord's agony would be. It would help at the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost--50 days after the Resurrection--that the Apostles really could start to understand everything that happened to Jesus, as to what He had been telling them. Finally, the Transfiguration account is meant for all of us. It shows us that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of everything God did for His people, especially through the law and the prophets of the Jewish religion during the thousands of years between the creation of Adam and Eve, and the Annunciation, at which the Blessed Mother said, "May it be done according to your word."

The Transfiguration teaches us that our Lord Jesus is not just a man, not just the teacher, not just the great moral leader. He is also God, Himself, the second person of the Blessed Trinity, God-in-the-flesh. But as a man, in His human nature, as a human being, He underwent a tremendous sacrifice to die for us so that each of us could share in His life and glory forever, after our earthly lives are ended. He wants to transfigured every one of us, too, if we cooperate with him. So we need to heed the Lords voice, and obey his commands.

We do that by listening, by being active members of his Mystical Body, the Church; by obeying His teachings and morals; by living our faith--the seven Sacraments, especially the Eucharist-- our personal Mt. Tabor experience with prayer, and carrying our crosses with Him. And we don't just do that one day a week, or occasionally when we feel like it, or when it's convenient or easy.

The Transfiguration reminds us that our Catholic religion is not just for special occasions, like Sundays, or when we are in serious need; not just up on the mountain, like midnight Mass at Christmas, Easter Sunday, or an Ordination to the Priesthood. Catholicism is supposed to permeate every part of our lives, and touch everything we say and do. We may fail from time to time, but we have to keep trying to live as Jesus taught.

If we lived by the teachings of Jesus, after our lives on earth are ended, we will get our own Transfiguration. And we are going to change to "dazzling white" like a very bright light, too. We will be beautiful and handsome, without spot, wrinkle, blemish, or any disfigurement; we will be in perfect shape, like an Olympic athlete, only to a greater extent than we can possibly fathom. May the Blessed mother, who bore the light of the world in her womb, pray for us that we will open our minds and hearts to the light. Amen.

So you all be Good, be Holy, preach the Gospel always using words and holy actions and be faithful to the Gospel!

---

'Thank you' to Deacon Kaas, for letting me post his reflection here.

---

More reflections:

• "Reflections from Sauk Centre's Our Lady of Angels Church"

Somewhat-related posts:

• "Corpus Christi: 'Whoever Eats My Flesh,' Two Millennia Later"
  (June 22, 2014)
• "Jesus: Two Millennia of Truth and Alternatives"
  (May 4, 2014)
• "Standing Orders and Spider-Man"
  (June 30, 2013)
  Particularly
  • Jesus in the World
  • Parthians, Medes, Americans - - -
• "Jesus, God, and Something Thomas Aquinas Said"
  (Guest post) (February 24, 2013)
• "Faith, Belief: and a Really Good Role Model"
  (October 24, 2012)

Corpus Christi: "Whoever Eats My Flesh," Two Millennia Later

Earlier this year, someone asked me if I realized that Catholics are cannibals. I responded with something like 'yes, but it wasn't our idea.'

I'm pretty sure that the person wasn't trying to be offensive. I run into odd notions about Catholic beliefs fairly often. I suspect they're often rooted in America's endemic anti-catholicism. (January 6, 2013; February 29, 2012)

Besides: the person was quite right in this case.

Here's part of today's Gospel reading:

"Whoever eats ¹⁹ my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.

"For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink."
(John 6:54-55)

After two millennia, that part of the Gospel may not seem as shocking as it did when my Lord told folks in Capernaum's synagogue. Not, at least, until we start thinking about it.

"Take and Eat"

Some of the more fastidious versions of Christianity sidestep my Lord's indelicate comments, like the ones in John 6:55 and Matthew 26:26-28.

Folks who heard Jesus that day in Capernaum's synagogue understood what my Lord meant. Quite a few went back to their old way of life after their leader said 'eat me.' (John 6:60-66)

I can see why, since the what Jesus said was more like "...whoever gnaws my flesh...."

Translations from one language to another can be tricky, since words with nearly the same 'dictionary' meaning can be associated with very different feelings. More about this bit from John:

"Eats: the verb used in these verses is not the classical Greek verb used of human eating, but that of animal eating: 'munch,' 'gnaw.' This may be part of John's emphasis on the reality of the flesh and blood of Jesus (cf ⇒ John 6:55), but the same verb eventually became the ordinary verb in Greek meaning 'eat.' "
(footnote 19)

"The Words of Eternal Life"

Jesus said, 'I am God,' and made the claim stick. (John 8:58; John 14:9-11; Luke 24) Since I believe that, it's like Peter said: my options are limited.

"Jesus then said to the Twelve, 'Do you also want to leave?'

"Simon Peter answered him, 'Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

"We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.' "
(John 6:67-69)

I didn't become a Catholic just because I read those verses, and that's another topic.

Discussing who Jesus is and why this is a big day for Catholics doesn't demand words like hypostatic union and transubstantiation, but I'm a recovering English teacher and an adult convert to Catholicism. Feel free to skip to the next heading (Baldachins, Halos, and Diversity in Unity): or check out World Cup trivia.

Hypostatic Union, Transubstantiation, and All That

Since I'm a Catholic, I acknowledge that Jesus is human and divine. The Son of God is one person: "eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father...," as it says in the Nicene Creed.

I don't understand how that works, not in detail. But we've got a word for it: hypostatic union.

"HYPOSTATIC UNION: The union of the divine and human natures in the one divine Person (Greek: hypostasis) of the Son of God, Jesus Christ (252, 468).

"The Chalcedonian Definition agreed with Theodore that there were two natures in the Incarnation. However, the Council of Chalcedon also insisted that hypostasis be used as it was in the Trinitarian definition: to indicate the person and not the nature as with Apollinarius."
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, Glossary)

Some folks who accept the idea that Jesus is divine have had trouble believing that Jesus is really human. Occasionally someone decides that my Lord couldn't, or shouldn't, have been both human and divine. Their names for the workarounds vary, but these alternatives to reality fall into one of three groups: or four, depending on how you split them up. (May 4, 2014)

What we're celebrating today involves transubstantiation. It's why that person asked me if I knew that Catholics are cannibals.

"TRANSUBSTANTIATION: The scholastic term used to designate the unique change of the Eucharistic bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. 'Transubstantiation' indicates that through the consecration of the bread and the wine there occurs the change of the entire substance of the bread into the substance of the Body of Christ, and of the entire substance of the wine into the Blood of Christ—even though the appearances or 'species' of bread and wine remain (1376)."
(Catechism, Glossary)

"Substance," and "appearances" or "species," in this case are philosophical terms. What they mean is that the unleavened bread doesn't look or taste any different; and the wine is still wine, as far as my physical senses can tell. But under, or behind, or beyond, what my senses tell me: my Lord is there: actually present; not a symbol; really, unequivocally, there.

Eucharistic miracles happen, when we're able to perceive the change with our senses: but these events are very few and far between. The highest-profile one I can remember offhand is the Miracle of Lanciano, about 1,300 years back.

What happened in Lanciano, Italy, isn't the sort of 'I saw the face of [whoever] in a jar of peanut butter' thing. The Church methodically checks out claims of miraculous happenings, and that's yet another topic. (December 8, 2010)

Baldachins, Halos, and Diversity in Unity

Where was I? Who Jesus is, The Body and Blood of Christ, and why today is special. Right.

Weather permitting,we'll do a Corpus Christi procession from Our Lady of Angels to St. Paul's. I'm hoping that we can have the procession: maybe between thunderstorms. This will be the last one we'll have with Father Statz. He revived the tradition here, this is his last month in Sauk Centre, and that's yet again another topic.

Although Corpus Christi is a city on the Texas Coast, that's not what we're celebrating today. "Corpus Christi" is Latin for Body of Christ. In a sense, every Mass is a celebration of Corpus Christi, but we set aside one each year as a special event. (Catechism, 1322-1405)

The current (2003) English translation of the Roman Missal calls today "the solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ." That'll probably upset some folks, and that's — what else? — another topic.

Pope Francis celebrated Corpus Christi Thursday, Rome time. He celebrated Mass in front of the main entrance to the Basilica of St John Lateran in Rome.

Folks in Rome did the traditional Corpus Christi procession to the Basilica of St Mary Major, but the Pope wasn't with them.

I think he had good reasons:

"While thousands of people lined the streets holding candles and praying as the Holy Eucharist was carried by the Vicar General for the diocese of Rome and the procession was led by the bishops of Rome, Pope Francis made his way in a closed-in car to Mary Major for Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and his solemn blessing.

"Pope Francis decided not to take part in the procession on foot between the two basilicas partly due to his upcoming commitments over the next few days but more importantly he preferred to avoid the attention he would receive in an open car which he thought could distract the faithful's attention from the Blessed Sacrament, exposed and taken in procession."
("Pope Celebrates Corpus Christi," Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese (June 20, 2014))

Keeping the focus on the Blessed Sacrament, my Lord under the appearance of unleavened bread, is why folks from Poland to Minnesota and beyond have the Consecrated Host under a sort of traveling tent. It's called a baldachin, and has been a symbol of authority in Europe and cultures with European roots for a thousand years, more or less.


(From Silar, Magdalena Bryll Cefeida, Joyce Chan, Eigenes Werk, via Wikipedia, used w/o permission.)

A thousand years from now, we may have another widely-recognized symbol of authority: but we'll still have the same reason for using it.

A sort of bonus to being Catholic is that we're accumulating a growing collection of symbolic expressions of faith. For example, the pelican became a symbol for the Eucharist about eight centuries back; ichthys (fish) and two letters of the Greek alphabet go much further back, and of course there's the Cross.

Most if not all Christian symbols have been used by folks who weren't Christians: like the halo, which has roots in ancient Greece and Egypt, and probably Buddhist iconography.

Then there are Christmas trees, which showed up in 15th or 16th century Germany.

Many Nigerian Christians have celebrated Christmas with Jollof rice/Benachin and Tuwon Shinkafa.

The point is that for two millennia and counting, we've been practicing diversity in unity. And that's still more topics. (December 9, 2012; April 18, 2012)

Related posts:

• Yesterday, today - - -
  
  • "Jesus: Two Millennia of Truth and Alternatives"
    (May 4, 2014)
  • "Believing Impossible Things: Not Required"
    (March 30, 2014)
  • "Jesus, God, and What St. Augustine Said"
    (December 26, 2012)
  • "The Man Who Wouldn't Stay Dead"
    (March 11, 2012)
  • "Miracles, Mass, Bread and Wine"
    (June 7, 2010)
• - - - and forever
  
  • "Looking Forward to Heaven"
    (August 25, 2013)
  • "Fasting, Penance: and Infinite Depths of Joy"
    (June 3, 2012)
  • "Marching Through Time"
    (April 1, 2012)
  • "An Eternal Life I can Live With"
    (August 27, 2011)
  • "Last Judgment: Attendance Mandatory"
    (May 21, 2011)

Jesus: Two Millennia of Truth and Alternatives

John the Baptist identified Jesus as the Lamb of God, so quite a few churches display pictures of a young sheep with a halo. That's a visual metaphor, though. WiseGEEK has a fairly painless discussion of visual metaphor, and I'm drifting off-topic.

I don't worship a lamb, of course. Jesus is human, which is how my Lord is often portrayed. Details vary with time and place.

Jesus, All Over the World

The artist's image Jesus I've seen most often looks very European, hardly surprising since my native culture is rooted in Europe.

Folks in other parts of the world often show Jesus and Saints as nice, normal people from that region.

We don't know what Jesus looked like, at least not before the Resurrection. My guess is that my Lord's appearance was Middle-Eastern, but that's just an educated guess.

Tradition tells us that Mary is a descendant of David, and Joseph, husband of Mary and foster-father of Jesus, is "of the house of David." That makes Jesus a descendant of David: legally and by ancestry. (Luke 1:26-27; Catholic Encyclopedia, Genealogy of Christ)

Anyway, my Lord gave tacit approval to being called the son of David. (Matthew 21:8-16) He also pointed out that the Almighty is — all-mighty: "...God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones...." (Matthew 3:9; Luke 3:8)

True God and True Man: Really

Jesus is human on his mother's side.

I wouldn't worship a fellow-creature, and I don't: Jesus isn't just human. His father is God. (Luke 1:26-38)

For two millennia, the Church has said that Jesus is true God and true man; fully human and divine. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 464-469)

"...Jesus is inseparably true God and true man. He is truly the Son of God who, without ceasing to be God and Lord, became a man and our brother...." (Catechism, 469)

In some circles, that went over about as well as "eat my flesh." (John 6:53-60)

Some folks who had no trouble believing that Jesus is divine balked at accepting my Lord's humanity. They claimed that Jesus is:

• Created by God
  • And therefore subordinate to God
  (Arianism)
• Not human
  • His apparent humanity was an illusion
  (Docetism)
• Human and divine
  • Not at the same time
    • Was human first
    • Then became divine
    (Monophysitism)
  • At the same time
    
    • But the divine and human natures didn't mix
    (Nestorianism)

I think some of the trouble is a distaste for the physical world that's endemic to Western civilization. (March 5, 2012)

Another objection to the mysterious union of God and man may be that the crucifixion is undignified, to say the least.

I don't like the idea that God voluntarily became one of us, and was nailed to a cross: I'm too aware of my unworthiness. But as a Christian I must embrace the Cross and my Savior who died and rose from the dead. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 595-618)

For my Lord's death to mean anything, Jesus must be the Son of God and Son of man: fully human, fully divine. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 456-478)

"Before Abraham Came to be, I AM."

Jesus said, in no uncertain terms, "I am God."

"So the Jews said to him, 'You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?' ²³

"²⁴ Jesus said to them, 'Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.' "
(John 8:57-58)

---

"Philip said to him, 'Master, show us the Father, ⁷ and that will be enough for us.'

"Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, "Show us the Father"?

"Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works.

"Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves."
(John 14:8-11)

Jesus looked and acted like one of us. He was in a particular time and place, learned to speak, and grew up: just like we do. (January 16, 2013)

I'd like to think that I could believe that Jesus is God with nothing to go on but my Lord's word. Happily, I can also "believe because of the works themselves." After twenty centuries, going on twenty one, we've got quite an accumulation of works: that's yet another topic.


(From AnonMoos/Sumudu Fernando, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)

Related posts:

• Jesus
  • "Jesus, Knowledge, and Stories From Egypt"
    (January 16, 2013)
  • "Jesus: Human; Really Human"
    (January 9, 2013)
    Particularly
    • Jesus: Human and Divine
    • "...Believe me ... or ... believe because of the works..."
  • " 'But who do you say that I am?' "
    (October 10, 2012)
  • "The Man Who Wouldn't Stay Dead"
    (March 11, 2012)
  • "Just Who is This Jesus Person, and Who Does He Think He is?"
    (January 17, 2010)
• Hope and joy
  • "The Eighth Day: Two Millennia and Counting"
    (April 20, 2014)
  • "Seeing the Horizon"
    (May 19, 2013)
  • "Fasting, Penance: and Infinite Depths of Joy"
    (June 3, 2012)
  • "A Little Look at the Big Picture"
    (February 13, 2012)
  • "We Won: Quite a While Ago"
    (January 13, 2011)

Jesus, God, and Something Thomas Aquinas Said

Readings for February 24, 2013, Second Sunday of Lent 2013:

• Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18
• Philippians 3:14-4:1
• Luke 9:28b-36

---

Second Sunday of Advent 2012

By Deacon Lawrence N. Kaas
February 24, 2013

The great painter Raphael eloquently envisioned the Transfiguration in what is considered his last painting. Jesus floats in midair before softly illuminated clouds, with Moses and Elijah at his left and right. Below Jesus, the disciples cower in terror as the Transfiguration reveals the light flooded promise of eternal life. It is a revelation of Christ's Divine Glory.

In the lower part of the painting. Raphael depicts the apostles attempting to free a possessed boy of demonic possession.

The painting seems to show the Redemptive Power of Christ contrasted with the flaws of mankind. Raphael died in 1520; the work was finished by his pupil Giulio Romano. And today it is housed at the Vatican.

The Transfiguration was an amazing event. It is reported to appear like a person bursting forth into flames from the inside out.

How often do we meditate on the Transfiguration, especially that now we have one of the mysteries of the Rosary dedicated to the Transfiguration.

Then, wouldn't you know, as I was reading in preparation for this homily: I find that there are some modern Scripture scholars who think this never happened! How come it is that our so-called "modern scholars" know more than the people who actually lived through it. Maybe the question should be asked of them, why are you trying to disprove this great happening of the Transfiguration? One account stated that it is just a preview of the resurrection, written after the resurrection to make the latter resurrection more acceptable. Yeah I know, it doesn't make any sense to me either.

Thomas Aquinas wrote that it was a miracle that suspended a previous miracle. That is, when God became human, the divinity would have overpowered the humanity of Jesus every minute of every day. So, God miraculously shaded the divinity to give the humanity space to be itself. Then on that mountain, God suspended that continues miracle for a few moments, and the divinity of Jesus was free to break forth in splendor.

But exactly what broke forth? What would have overwhelmed the humanity of Jesus had it not been suppressed? The infinite compassion of God for all his creatures; the stunning wisdom of God; the dazzling brilliance of God's beauty; the overpowering crush of God's justice; the dissolving tenderness of God's Mercy. All this converged and exploded on that mountain.

Jesus was not a mere channel for Divinity, not just a vehicle for some divine display. Jesus was equally human and he did not simply appear at that moment. He worked his way there from the beginning of time and evolution. And that is when his personal genius took command. He learned a skill, appreciated nature, loved children, became a notable storyteller, attracted friends, discovered a poetic talent, became passionate about God's kingdom, grew in wisdom and grace, became proficient in prayer, called God his own father. And all of that perfect humanity came to a head on that undistinguished hill. The humanity of God met the divinity of a man and exploded in ecstasy.

Lest someone should think we are confusing the issue we should be reminded that God is so far beyond our vocabulary, we get sloppy with words. We say that God became human. But of course, God did not become anything. God cannot become because God simply is. What we mean to say is that God took our humanity; God assumed a particular human nature.

We also can accurately say that Jesus is equally God and man. But of course, nothing is equal to God. Any human person would be shattered like a mirror in the face of God. What we mean to say is that Jesus is fully divine and fully human, that God did not lose any divinity by becoming human and that Jesus did not lose any humanity by becoming divine. Both natures are miraculously protected.

Jesus is not a combination of two persons, or a split personality. Jesus is one Divine Person. Just as you may have a whimsical or tragic personality apart from your essential self, so Jesus had a unique human personality that is expressed as a Divine Person.

It's complicated, I know. We must speak of God in human terms because that's all we really have. But once we arrived at some human notion of God, that tells us something more about ourselves. It says that your essential self is to live in Christ. You spend a life- time forming your personality around the person of Christ. Then you die, imperfect.

But God transforms your mortal life into God's Divine Life. You become living proof of Irenaeus' conviction: "The glory of God is you fully alive."

So do not doubt, but believe!

Be Good, be Holy, preach the Gospel always, and if necessary use words!

---

'Thank you' to Deacon Kaas, for letting me post his reflection here.

---

More reflections:

• "Reflections from Sauk Centre's Our Lady of Angels Church"

Related posts:

• "Jesus: Human, But Not Just Human"
  (January 23, 2013)
• "Jesus, Knowledge, and Stories From Egypt"
  (January 16, 2013)
• "Jesus: Human; Really Human"
  (January 9, 2013)
• "Jesus, God, and What St. Augustine Said"
  (December 26, 2012)
• " 'He Emptied Himself' "
  (December 4, 2012)

Jesus: Human, But Not Just Human

My last few posts about the Incarnation focused on Jesus as a human being: someone who occupied a particular spot, who learned stories he or his family heard, and whose appearance was fairly ordinary.
Jesus is human: but not just human.

John 1:1-5 and 14 makes that fairly clear: God "made his dwelling among us." (John 1:14) Jesus had knowledge that the rest of us - don't.

"...Not Yet Fifty Years Old..."

Jesus said 'I am God' very clearly: "...before Abraham came to be, I AM." (John 8:58) That comes right after this exchange:

"Jesus answered, 'If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing; but it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, "He is our God."

"You do not know him, but I know him. And if I should say that I do not know him, I would be like you a liar. But I do know him and I keep his word.

"Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day; he saw it ²² and was glad.[']

"So the Jews said to him, 'You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?' ²³ "
(John 8:54-57)

Jesus, the Word made flesh, was "not yet fifty years old" at that point. But Jesus, the Son of God, "was in the beginning with God." (John 1:2) Small wonder that some folks have had trouble, trying to understand how a person could be coeternal with God, and have been born at a particular time, and in a particular place.

Me? I've read Job 38:1-42:6. We've learned a bit about this vast universe since that book was written: but I can no more fit a curb to the Pleiades than Job could. As I've said before: God's God; I'm not.

Jesus: Not Just Human

Jesus is human. He's also God. That gives him a kind of knowledge that nobody else has. Jesus knew, and knows, God the Father as a son knows his father; and Jesus knew what other people were thinking:

"Jesus immediately knew in his mind what they were thinking to themselves, so he said, 'Why are you thinking such things in your hearts?
(Mark 2:8)

Sometimes I 'know' what someone else is thinking. More accurately, I can make an educated guess, based on what I know about the person and what's happening at the moment.

What Jesus "immediately knew in his mind" was knowledge, not guesswork:

"...The Son in his human knowledge also showed the divine penetration he had into the secret thoughts of human hearts.¹⁰⁷"
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 473)

Jesus, Peter, and Denial

Jesus knew he was going to be killed. This alone could have been a reasoned prediction. By that time my Lord had insulted powerful men in Jerusalem, and topped that off by claiming to be God. A person wouldn't have to be divine, to know that going back to Jerusalem would be risky, at best.

What sets Jesus apart is that he also said that he would rise after three days. Human beings who are killed don't do that. We stay dead. Jesus didn't and that's another topic. (March 11, 2012)

Jesus was also remarkably specific about what Peter was going to do:

"He began to teach them that the Son of Man ⁷ must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days."
(Mark 8:31)

---

"⁵ And as they reclined at table and were eating, Jesus said, 'Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.'

"They began to be distressed and to say to him, one by one, 'Surely it is not I?'

"He said to them, 'One of the Twelve, the one who dips with me into the dish.

"For the Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, ⁶ but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.' "(Mark 14:18-21)

"Then, after singing a hymn, ⁹ they went out to the Mount of Olives.

"Then Jesus said to them, 'All of you will have your faith shaken, for it is written: "I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be dispersed."

"But after I have been raised up, I shall go before you to Galilee.'

"Peter said to him, 'Even though all should have their faith shaken, mine will not be.'

"Then Jesus said to him, 'Amen, I say to you, this very night before the cock crows twice you will deny me three times.' "
(Mark 14:26-30)

---

Death and Beyond

Not long after that, Peter denied that he knew Jesus. Three times. (Luke 22:56-62) Jesus was publicly executed, and buried in a borrowed tomb: and then stopped being dead. (March 16:6)

That got the surviving disciples' attention. One of my favorite bits from the Bible is what happened after Jesus left:

"When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.

"While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them.

"They said, 'Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.' "
(Acts 1:9-11)

Two thousand years later, that's still a good question - or implied advice. Jesus left us with orders and a promise. (Matthew 28:19-20)

Details of how we carry out those orders changes as the centuries roll by, but our basic instructions haven't:

• "Same Mission, Same Basic Message, New Century"
  (May 31, 2011)

On Standby Alert for Two Millennia

Writing and publishing 'End Time Bible prophecies' is a sort of cottage industry here in America.

I take God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, very seriously: as well as the Last Judgment. What I think of wannabe prophets is another matter:

• "Apocalypse Whenever"
  (June 14, 2011)
• "Last Judgment: Attendance Mandatory"
  (May 21, 2011)

I don't see a point in trying to prognosticate when the Son of God will come back. We've got our instructions, and were placed on standby alert about two thousand years ago. From one point of view, that's a very long wait. From another, it's a tiny fraction of the time humanity's been around - and that's another topic or two.

Jesus doesn't seem to think we need to know God's timetable. That's okay by me:

"'But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

"Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come.

"It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch.

"Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning.

"May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.

"What I say to you, I say to all: "Watch!" ' "
(Mark 13:32-37)

---

"⁵ He answered them, 'It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority.

"⁶ But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'

"When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight."
(Acts 1:7-9)

Related posts:

• "Jesus, Knowledge, and Stories From Egypt"
  (January 16, 2013)
  Particularly
  • A Human Soul
• "Jesus: Human; Really Human"
  (January 9, 2013)
  Particularly
  • Jesus: Human and Divine
• "Jesus, God, and What St. Augustine Said"
  (December 26, 2012)
• " 'He Emptied Himself' "
  (December 4, 2012)
• "Christmas: Mything the Point"
  (December 18, 2011)