Monday of the Second Week of Easter
Readings for Monday of the Second Week of Easter
First Published: Monday, April 24, 2006
Born Again
Reflection:
Sorry this post is so late. I was returning from Kentucky today and did not get a chance to get on line until just now. We start the Second Week of Easter
Last week we saw graphically the before (Pentecost) and after of the disciples and how the Holy Spirit transformed them from the frightened students of the Lord into His formidable protgs. This week we start by seeing the mechanism by which that transformation occurs for us.
While we are not there, in the time of Jesus to receive his direct gift as the disciples did in the locked room when he breathed on them and gave them the gift of the Holy Spirit, he did leave us the means by which that same gift is given. As we have seen so many times before, the last passage in the last chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew gives us the answer.
Then Jesus approached and said to them, "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." (Mt 28 18-20)
Jesus asked his disciples, out Apostles to baptize in his name which, we have been hearing in the readings from Acts, is power itself. He gave us the gift of which the Prophet Ezekiel says:
I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts. I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees. You shall live in the land I gave your fathers; you shall be my people, and I will be your God. (Ez 36 25-28)
He allows us, as Nicodemus was told in our Gospel today, to be born again in the waters of baptism. It is our great gift in the most important of the sacraments, Baptism.
At this point Id like to become a bit apologetic (in the classical sense, I dont think I have too much beyond the occasional grammatical error to apologize for here in the literal sense). The Gospel used today is very central to the doctrines of many of the Bible based Christian denominations. These include the Baptists, Pentecostals, and many of the Non-denominational Christian churches. They refer to themselves as Born Again Christians and they are the ones who will frequently be seen vocally evangelizing in street corners and they are also the core of the Neo Conservative Right that played such a major role in the past presidential elections. They have a number of dogmatic propositions we take issue with.
They believe in the literal interpretation (every word is sacred) of the Bible (Some but not all also say the only Bible that can be used is the King James Version. See the Bob Jones University Web Site for confirmation). We believe what is published in the Vatican II document Dei Verbum, that Holy Scripture (which includes what our Protestant brothers and sisters call the Apocrypha and omit from their bibles, including the KJV) is the divinely inspired word of God and as such is worthy of our strict attention, study, and understanding. In other words, we dont take it all literally but rather depend upon the Holy Spirit to guide us in understanding what needs to be discerned about it. We do so with the guidance of the Teaching Magesterium of the Church.
They believe that once a person formally accepts Jesus Christ as their (personal) Savior (this is usually very public in the presence of the worshiping community) they are saved. This means they are saved forever, regardless of what they may do after that public profession of faith.
They believe that baptism must be a persons own choice (most denominations will not baptize until age 14) and does not carry the weight of sacramental cleansing we believe it.
There is no control over what is taught as doctrine between the various communities. It is left up the individual communitys pastor as to what teachings should be held as main stream. Since each community actually hires their own Pastor, much like a corporation hiring a president, the community itself actually controls what is taught. While there are guidelines (within the Southern Baptist Conference for instance) there is noting approaching the consistency of the Catholic Church. Hence you will often find folks who have gone that route spiritually Shopping for a church they like in a given geography.
Thank Peter and the rest of the Apostles for establishing the Church and giving us the grace and good fortune to have them present through Apostolic Succession to this very day in Pope Benedict XVI. Pax
Readings for Monday of the Second Week of Easter
First Published: Monday, April 24, 2006
Born Again
Reflection:
Sorry this post is so late. I was returning from Kentucky today and did not get a chance to get on line until just now. We start the Second Week of Easter
Last week we saw graphically the before (Pentecost) and after of the disciples and how the Holy Spirit transformed them from the frightened students of the Lord into His formidable protgs. This week we start by seeing the mechanism by which that transformation occurs for us.
While we are not there, in the time of Jesus to receive his direct gift as the disciples did in the locked room when he breathed on them and gave them the gift of the Holy Spirit, he did leave us the means by which that same gift is given. As we have seen so many times before, the last passage in the last chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew gives us the answer.
Then Jesus approached and said to them, "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." (Mt 28 18-20)
Jesus asked his disciples, out Apostles to baptize in his name which, we have been hearing in the readings from Acts, is power itself. He gave us the gift of which the Prophet Ezekiel says:
I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts. I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees. You shall live in the land I gave your fathers; you shall be my people, and I will be your God. (Ez 36 25-28)
He allows us, as Nicodemus was told in our Gospel today, to be born again in the waters of baptism. It is our great gift in the most important of the sacraments, Baptism.
At this point Id like to become a bit apologetic (in the classical sense, I dont think I have too much beyond the occasional grammatical error to apologize for here in the literal sense). The Gospel used today is very central to the doctrines of many of the Bible based Christian denominations. These include the Baptists, Pentecostals, and many of the Non-denominational Christian churches. They refer to themselves as Born Again Christians and they are the ones who will frequently be seen vocally evangelizing in street corners and they are also the core of the Neo Conservative Right that played such a major role in the past presidential elections. They have a number of dogmatic propositions we take issue with.
They believe in the literal interpretation (every word is sacred) of the Bible (Some but not all also say the only Bible that can be used is the King James Version. See the Bob Jones University Web Site for confirmation). We believe what is published in the Vatican II document Dei Verbum, that Holy Scripture (which includes what our Protestant brothers and sisters call the Apocrypha and omit from their bibles, including the KJV) is the divinely inspired word of God and as such is worthy of our strict attention, study, and understanding. In other words, we dont take it all literally but rather depend upon the Holy Spirit to guide us in understanding what needs to be discerned about it. We do so with the guidance of the Teaching Magesterium of the Church.
They believe that once a person formally accepts Jesus Christ as their (personal) Savior (this is usually very public in the presence of the worshiping community) they are saved. This means they are saved forever, regardless of what they may do after that public profession of faith.
They believe that baptism must be a persons own choice (most denominations will not baptize until age 14) and does not carry the weight of sacramental cleansing we believe it.
There is no control over what is taught as doctrine between the various communities. It is left up the individual communitys pastor as to what teachings should be held as main stream. Since each community actually hires their own Pastor, much like a corporation hiring a president, the community itself actually controls what is taught. While there are guidelines (within the Southern Baptist Conference for instance) there is noting approaching the consistency of the Catholic Church. Hence you will often find folks who have gone that route spiritually Shopping for a church they like in a given geography.
Thank Peter and the rest of the Apostles for establishing the Church and giving us the grace and good fortune to have them present through Apostolic Succession to this very day in Pope Benedict XVI. Pax
posted by Deacon Jim | 3:13 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home