Tuesday of the 5th week of Easter (Acts 14:19-28; Jn 14:27-31)
‘MY PEACE I GIVE TO YOU’
At
the instigation of the visiting Jews, Paul was stoned and left half
dead. He regained consciousness and continue to preach the Gospel
saying, ‘through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.’
It's obvious that he did not hold anything against those who stoned him,
rather he saw it from the perspective of the Kingdom of God. ''I can endure all these things through the power of the one who gives me strength'' (Phil 4:13).
In the Gospel of today Jesus declares, ''Peace I leave with you; my
peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.'' What kind of peace is Christ offering us?
From
Paul we see that the peace Christ offers is stronger than any
tribulations. It is a peace tested on the Cross to overcome every cross.
The world rejects such peace and tells us that peace is the absence of
cross. In fact, what the world offers is momentary excitement. Jesus
makes peace by laying down His life.''And
through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in
heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross'' (Col 1:20). Since
Christ died once for all, it means that only Him can give us peace.
For Paul, If
we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So,
whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord (Rm 14:8). So
the peace of Lord, which comes through the Cross and is stronger than
any cross, must be received as a gift. It is a gift we receive when we
receive the Lord. Thus, the peace of Jesus begins in the individual who
is reconciled with God. Unless we are at peace with God, we know no
peace! Jesus said to the disciples on mission, ''Whatever
house you enter, first say, peace be to this house!'' (Lk 10:5). Peace
comes when we receive Jesus as our savior. He is the king of Peace.
St. Paul is not cowed by persecution and physical suffering. He knows that this
ReplyDeletecrisis is the prelude to abundant spiritual fruit. Each of us has at some time or other experienced that serving Christ our Lord involves suffering and hardship; to deny this would imply that we had not yet found God but whatever it be, the experiences only go to show that Jesus continues to give us peace, especially in our troubled lives and in our troubled world. It is only with this peace that Jesus gives that will enable us persevere in our faith and empower us to face the many hardships of life.
Thanks! If not Christ, we are in crisis
ReplyDeleteReasons to Believe in Jesus
ReplyDeleteReasons to believe Jesus is alive in a new life with God can be found in quotes from two prominent atheists and a biology textbook.
Thus the passion of man is the reverse of that of Christ, for man loses himself as man in order that God may be born. But the idea of God is contradictory and we lose ourselves in vain. Man is a useless passion. (Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness: A Phenomenological Essay on Ontology, New York: Washington Square Press, p. 784)
Among the traditional candidates for comprehensive understanding of the relation of mind to the physical world, I believe the weight of evidence favors some from of neutral monism over the traditional alternatives of materialism, idealism, and dualism. (Thomas Nagel, Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature Is Almost Certainly False, location 69 of 1831)
And certain properties of the human brain distinguish our species from all other animals. The human brain is, after all, the only known collection of matter that tries to understand itself. To most biologists, the brain and the mind are one and the same; understand how the brain is organized and how it works, and we’ll understand such mindful functions as abstract thought and feelings. Some philosophers are less comfortable with this mechanistic view of mind, finding Descartes’ concept of a mind-body duality more attractive. (Neil Campbell, Biology, 4th edition, p. 776 )
Sartre speaks of the "passion of man," not the passion of Christians. He is acknowledging that all religions east and west believe there is a transcendental reality and that perfect fulfillment comes from being united with this reality after we die. He then defines this passion with a reference to Christian doctrine which means he is acknowledging the historical reasons for believing in Jesus. He does not deny God exists. He is only saying the concept of God is contradictory. He then admits that since life ends in the grave, it has no meaning.
From the title of the book, you can see that Nagel understands that humans are embodied sprits and that the humans soul is spiritual. He says, however, that dualism and idealism are "traditional" alternatives to materialism. Dualism and idealism are just bright ideas from Descartes and Berkeley. The traditional alternative to materialism is monism. According to Thomas Aquinas unity is the transcendental property of being. Campbell does not even grasp the concept of monism. The only theories he grasps are dualism and materialism.
If all atheists were like Sartre, it would be an obstacle to faith. An important reason to believe in Jesus is that practically all atheists are like Nagel and Campbell, not like Sartre.
by David Roemer
347-417-4703
David Roemer
http://www.newevangelization.info