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Peace, Love — Messages of action in a time of fear
Messages of action in a time of fearEaster 2A, John 20:19-31 Mary Magedalene visited the tomb where they laid Jesus to rest only to find it empty. She brought this strange news to the disciples, two of whom raced each other to see for themselves this odd sight, this strange occurrence. And the two leave her there, perplexed and perhaps frightened. It is after they leave that she investigates,…
A Story of Far More Than Doubt — for Easter 2A
For Sunday Easter 2A Collect Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and…
The Incredulity of Saint Thomas or The Rockox Triptych Peter Paul Rubens, 1613-1615
Some thoughts on this week's bulletin art
The Rockox triptych ("three paneled work of art") is an altar piece commissioned by Sir Nicolaas II Rockox and his wife Adrianna Perez. Each of the three paintings were originally arranged above the altar in the Lady Chapel of the Recollects church in Antwerp where Rockox served as Mayor. As I was browsing art for last Sunday's bulletin, this would made me laugh. There are many depictions of the post-resurrectional appearance in last week's gospel, the story of Doubting Thomas, but this was the only one that had a couple flemish aristocrats in the painting as well. The practice of including patrons in art isn't unique to Rubens, but the idea of including patrons in this story gave me a chuckle. I can't speak for Rockox's motivation for his inclusion, but, it's telling that every time I do a bible study about the Doubting Thomas story, at least one person in the group will talk about how much the story means to them as a "doubting Thomas" type of person. The patronal inclusion gives me the feeling that perhaps Mayor Rockox thought similarly. It can be very fruitful for us to imagine ourselves participating in Biblical stories. As I prepare for sermons, I often find myself asking the question, "who would I be in this story?" Sometimes its a fruitful line. I'd invite you to ask yourself that question as you do your personal study and as you hear stories read on Sundays. The Bible is the foundational document of our faith and its stories are OUR stories. At the Great Vigil of Easter, we read a collection of Biblical stories to remind ourselves of this fact: the story of God is the story of God's people.
=Fr. Patrick
Sight and Belief
Sight and Belief - Beyond Thomas, doubt, and our simple approaches to faith
When we look at the same picture, do our brains assess the contents of the picture differently?
The short answer is yes. But how interesting is the short answer? Especially when the science had essentially been saying no.
Easter 2A | John 20:19-31
Dr. Richard Nisbett, a psychologist from the University of Michigan has for years studied the connection between culture and cognition. He was…
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John 20:19-31, Receive the Holy Spirit
John 20:19-31, Receive the Holy Spirit
[April 27, 2014] At the heart of this passage, which takes place on the evening of Easter Day, Jesus breathes into his disciples and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” It is the fulfillment of everything for which the Gospel according to Johnhas been preparing us. John’s gospel (written decades after Matthew and Luke wrote theirs and after Peter first gave the substance of Mark’s gospel, in the…
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Trusting Us: A Simple Act of Faith
Trusting Us: A Simple Act of Faith
a Homily for Easter 2A Text: John 20:19-31
Photo Credit: Joel Bedford via Compfight cc
Again, Thomas
At one level, this is a simple story. Each year, the Second Sunday of Easter, we receive Thomas, the Twin. This is Easter.
And Each year, we gather on that Easter and each year, Thomas misses it. A week later, like that fateful day 2000 years ago, we remember the man who missed the great Jesus…
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