He is risen!
Happy Easter to all the faithful of the Western Church. The 27th of April will come soon enough for our Eastern brothers and sisters. An interesting past week or so. Mikhail Gorbachev is (has been) a Christian, the Obama/Wright controversy, the pastor I grew up under died, and today I read of a prominent(non-practicing)Muslim convert to Catholicism and baptized by Benedict XVI. Religion still matters. Christ still matters. The message of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Resolution still resonates and changes lives.
God is good and Jesus is Risen! What else needs to be said. You who suffer or mourn, you are not alone. You who burn with lust or murderous desires, there is one whose hand is not too weak to help. You who inflate yourselves with pride and intellect, there is still wonder in the world. Beauty, Goodness, and Truth have found a locus in the author of those concepts. He has put on human dress and he will not be stopped by our stupidity, ignorance, hatred, or refusals. Death couldn't stop him, what makes you think you can?
As I heard in church this morning, a bodily resurrection matters because all creation matters. Why should God only save our souls, when he made bodies, dirt, stars, leaves, and metamorphic rocks? All of Creation is to be restored, and so we endure this separation of body and spirit for a time, but that Great Day will come when we shall be united with Him, our bodies, and all our friends and family who have fallen asleep in the Lord.
May the God of Peace grant you comfort and mercy.
He is Risen, indeed! Alleluia!
Now we keep the feast for 50 days.
Addendum: Apparently the rumors of the old man's demise were greatly exaggerated.
Happy Easter to all the faithful of the Western Church. The 27th of April will come soon enough for our Eastern brothers and sisters. An interesting past week or so. Mikhail Gorbachev is (has been) a Christian, the Obama/Wright controversy, the pastor I grew up under died, and today I read of a prominent(non-practicing)Muslim convert to Catholicism and baptized by Benedict XVI. Religion still matters. Christ still matters. The message of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Resolution still resonates and changes lives.
God is good and Jesus is Risen! What else needs to be said. You who suffer or mourn, you are not alone. You who burn with lust or murderous desires, there is one whose hand is not too weak to help. You who inflate yourselves with pride and intellect, there is still wonder in the world. Beauty, Goodness, and Truth have found a locus in the author of those concepts. He has put on human dress and he will not be stopped by our stupidity, ignorance, hatred, or refusals. Death couldn't stop him, what makes you think you can?
As I heard in church this morning, a bodily resurrection matters because all creation matters. Why should God only save our souls, when he made bodies, dirt, stars, leaves, and metamorphic rocks? All of Creation is to be restored, and so we endure this separation of body and spirit for a time, but that Great Day will come when we shall be united with Him, our bodies, and all our friends and family who have fallen asleep in the Lord.
May the God of Peace grant you comfort and mercy.
He is Risen, indeed! Alleluia!
Now we keep the feast for 50 days.
Addendum: Apparently the rumors of the old man's demise were greatly exaggerated.
Comments