Search and you may find…
Late one evening Jerry lost the key of his moneybox and went down on fours looking for it outside. His neighbours joined him in searching under streetlights until all were exhausted. “Where did you lose the key?” asked a concerned friend. “Inside my house,” replied Jerry. “Then why look for it outside?” “Because,” explained Jerry, “there is more light outside than inside my house!” We often look for keys in wrong places and, ironically, the key to understand today’s readings is a key: of the House of David in the first reading and of the kingdom of heaven in the gospel. On April 24, 2005, at his installation as Pontiff, Benedict XVI described himself as “weak servant of God” showing deep awareness of being servant of servant. Likewise, on Oct. 22, 1978, when Pope John Paul II began his ministry he said, “Open wide the doors for Christ!” It is heartening that those who hold the keys are aware of their responsibility to serve and open Church doors for the Spirit’s action. Have we been given the key to the kingdom of God?
Francis Gonsalves in ‘Sunday Seeds for Daily Deeds’
In today’s world, we have a glut of opinion polls especially around election times. These opinion polls show the variety and often contradictory views people can have about particular issues or personality. In the gospel we have an example of an early opinion poll conducted by Jesus himself. Though it was a limited one, it concerned a vital question, namely the identity of Jesus. ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ Jesus knew who he was. The question was for the benefit of the disciples. In his time, the question was on everybody’s lips: Who is this man Jesus? The question echoes through the entire gospel. Jesus rejected the inadequate answers of others and demanded that the disciples speak for themselves: “And you, who do you say that I am?” “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Peter answered. All of us as believers have to give our personal answer to that question. A person cannot be baptized without a profession of faith. The more people we have in the Church who believe out of personal conviction, the more the Church will be founded on rock. The profession of faith is only the beginning. We must live our faith. We must allow our lives to be shaped by our faith. Peter is the centre of today’s gospel, he is the leader but he has his weaknesses and faults. He denied Jesus, He did not fall simply because he was weak. He fell because he felt he was strong. In giving authority to a man who denied him, Jesus showed that he was establishing his Church not on human strength, but on his own love and faithfulness. God does not choose perfect people to do his work. God chooses people who are flawed, but nevertheless have the capacity for greatness and holiness. Peter’s story helps us to understand ourselves and shows us how to develop a close relationship with Jesus.
How to have a God-experience?
A young boy approached an enlightened person and asked him what he must do to have a God-experience. The enlightened one closed his eyes and remained silent for some time. The young man asked again, “What must I do to have a God experience?” The enlightened one opened his eyes smiled at him and closed his eyes again. The young man in his restlessness repeated his question a third time. Now the enlightened one opened his eyes, smiled at the young man and told him, “I told you twice. Seek the Lord in the silence of your heart and you will have a God-experience. The closed eyes help you only to open your inner eyes to see God enthroned in your heart. The atmosphere of external silence is only an attempt to experience inner silence. Once you open the cave of your heart with the keys of inner silence and deeper awareness you stand face to face with God.”
Robert D’Souza in ‘The Sunday Liturgy’
She may not know but I know…
Every day Tim would go to the nursing home and visit her. And each time Tim would explain who he was and why he was visiting. He would tell the story of his children and grandchildren, all the activities and all the news of his family. And while he was feeding her lunch each day, he would gently remind her that he was married for 52 years to the same woman and that woman was her. Then each time she would smile brightly as if told for the first time. That woman was Margaret, and Margaret suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, she moves in and out of reality. Tim tends to her each and every day before he leaves, he caresses her gently, kisses her and tells her that he loves her dearly, knowing well, that tomorrow he will have to repeat the whole routine over and over again. His friends plead with Tim as to why he continues to put himself through this. They tell him, “She does not even know who you are anymore.” And he would always respond in the same way, “But I know who I am.” Do I know Jesus? Do I know who I am?
John Pichappilly in ‘The Table of the Word’
Who is Jesus?
During the Second World War, in his famous BBC Radio talk- ‘Mere Christianity’, C.S. Lewis said, “I am trying to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people say about Him: “I am ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who is merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic-on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg –or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make a choice. Either this man was, or is the Son of God; or else a man or something worse.” If we accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, then we must necessarily accept Him as god, for great moral teachers do not tell lies. One person who fascinates and baffles everyone –both believers and non-believers, is Jesus Christ. One is surprised by the simple life of Jesus, and the tremendous impact He had on history.
John Rose in ‘John’s Sunday Homilies’
One Solitary Life
Jesus was born in a manger, in a simple carpenter’s family; He never went to school, nor attended college; He never wrote a book. Until the age of thirty he was a village carpenter. At thirty he became a nomadic preacher; but he never travelled more than 200 miles from the place of his birth. When he was thirty-three years old, public opinion turned against him; He was betrayed by his friend and deserted by the others. He was unjustly condemned to death and was nailed as a criminal between two thieves. When he died, they laid him in a borrowed tomb. Twenty centuries have come and gone. Till today he is the central figure of history. No library is complete without his biography. All ages and dates are numbered from His birth; He never led an army, never held a gun; but all the armies that ever marched and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of a man on this earth like that ONE SOLITARY LIFE.
Anon
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From Fr. Tony Kadavil’s Collection:
1. What is in a name?
In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Juliet says to Romeo, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." The Journal of the American Medical Association did a study on the names of people in the medical profession in the United States. Doctors’ names included: Needle, Probe, Lance, Ligate, Drill, Scope, Bolt, Pin, Croak and Klutz. On the up side, we find physicians named Fix, Cure, Heal, Brilliant, Able and Best. A vet’s name is Dr. Fish. There is an Episcopal priest in New York City named Donald Goodness. Do names make a difference? Can a person’s name determine his or her destiny? If you had the choice, would you pick Dr. Brilliant or Dr. Klutz? Many actors will take a stage name because their real name is considered unattractive, dull, or amusing for the wrong reason, or because it projects the wrong image, or is considered too “ethnic.” Today’s gospel describes how Jesus who gave Simon a new name Peter made him the bedrock foundation of his Church.
2. "Suppose Jesus were to come here."
Without the 19th century essayist Charles Lamb, William Shakespeare would be “missing in action.” It was Mr. Lamb's essays that snatched the 17th century playwright from undeserved obscurity after he had been famous for Andy Warhol's fifteen minutes. One night Lamb and his guests were chatting about the Bard over Spanish port and Cuban cigars. "Supposing," one asked Lamb, "Shakespeare were to stroll into our dining room at this moment." The essayist replied, "We would raise a glass of port to the great man." "Supposing," asked another, "Jesus were to come here." Lamb answered, "We would all get down on our knees.” There is the essential difference between the Man from Nazareth and all other great people you can think of. The Christ is God and all others, no matter what their deeds, are but fools strutting on the stage for a brief time and then exit.” (Fr. Gilhooly)
3. Mount Rushmore National Memorial:
When one thinks of South Dakota, one thinks of Mount Rushmore. Carved into the mountainside by Gutzon Borglum are the heads of some of the great leaders of the United States. It's ironic that this monument is in the heart of an area sacred to the Lakota and Dakota people whose ancestors possessed the land centuries before George Washington's family came to America. Thousands of Americans visit Mount Rushmore each year. Many come away with flags, patriotic symbols and T- shirts reading, "God Bless America." Perhaps they feel a rush of pride and make resolutions to be better Americans in the future. Let us remember that Christians are part of the rock. Jesus built his Church on the rock of Peter as a reward for his great confession of faith in the divinity of Christ. The members of the Church are given a new face on the same rock, the face of Jesus, as they proclaim his love, mercy, forgiveness in their daily lives.
4. Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador,
assassinated in 1980 while defending Jesus, said eloquently: "Christianity is not a collection of truths to be believed or laws to be obeyed. Rather, Christianity is a person. Christianity is Christ."
5. "To draw out all his savings?"
A teacher was giving her students a lesson in logic. "Here is the situation," she said. "A man is standing up in a boat in the middle of a river, fishing. He loses his balance, falls in, and begins splashing and yelling for help. His wife in her riverside house hears the commotion, knows he can’t swim, and runs down to the bank. Why do you think she ran to the bank instead of calling for help?" A girl raised her hand and asked, "To draw out all his savings?" In today’s gospel, the disciples are faced with a similar situation – like being in class when the teacher asks a very important question. We want to seem intelligent so we blurt out an answer – not always the right one – but an answer nonetheless. In today’s gospel lesson Peter blurts out an answer that is theologically correct, inspired and amazing.
6. Fr. Herbert O’Driscoll uses a wonderful image to explain the structure of the Church.
His idea is to look at all of the last 20 centuries as rings of time, or as concentric circles of time. Today's Christians, in the 21st century, are in the outermost circle, farthest away from the center – which is a Cross. We are brought into the circle, into the faith, in large part because somewhere, somehow, someone in the circle just before ours took us by the hand and said, “Come,” and so drew us in. That is one very important reason why we are here. That person was able to do this for us because someone had taken him or her by the hand and had drawn that person in. And so it went, back through all the centuries until we reach the hands that had actually touched the mark of the nails. In this way, Christ builds his church. We constantly re-live this Gospel story. When we say to Jesus, “You are the Christ,” he says to each of us—“You, too, are Peter, you too, are a rock, and with you, also, I am building my church.” What happened to Peter continues to happen and actually includes us.
7. "But how did the other ear get burned?":
On Sunday morning a man showed up at church with both his ears terribly blistered, so his pastor asked, "WHAT happened to YOU?" "I was lying on the couch watching a ball game on TV while my wife was ironing nearby. I was totally engrossed in the game when she went out, leaving the iron near the phone. The phone rang, and keeping my eyes on the TV, I grabbed the hot iron and put it to my ear." "How dreadful," gasped the pastor. "But how did the other ear get burned?" "Well, you see, I'd no sooner hung up and the guy called back!" He just didn't get it. Lots of folks never get it, never understand how life really works, even at the simplest levels. That's why Jesus is pressing his followers — and us — so insistently in today’s Gospel: "Do you understand who I am," he asks, "and what my being here means for you?" (Msgr. Dennis Clarke)
On Sunday morning, a man showed up at Church with both his ears terribly blistered, so his pastor asked, "WHAT happened to YOU?" "I was lying on the couch watching a ball game on TV while my wife was ironing nearby. I was totally engrossed in the game when she went out, leaving the iron near the phone. The phone rang, and keeping my eyes on the TV, I grabbed the hot iron and put it to my ear." "How dreadful," gasped the pastor. "But how did the other ear get burned?" "Well, you see, I'd no sooner hung up and the guy called back!" He just didn't get it. Lots of folks never get it, never understand how life really works, even at the simplest levels. That's why Jesus is pressing his followers — and us — so insistently in today’s Gospel: "Do you understand who I am," he asks, "and what my being here means for you?" (Msgr. Dennis Clarke)
9. “But on the other hand..”
Three of the clergy—a Lutheran, a Catholic, and an Episcopalian—ended up at the Pearly Gates one day. It was St. Peter’s day off, so Jesus was administering the entrance exam. “The question is simple,” he said. “Who do you say that I am?" The Lutheran stepped forward and began, “The Bible says . . . ” but Jesus interrupted and said, “I know what the Bible says; who do you say that I am?” The Lutheran said, “I don’t know,” and fell through a trap-door to that other place. The Catholic stepped forward and began, “The Pope says . . . ” But Jesus interrupted him and said, “I know what the Pope says; who do you say that I am?” “I’m not sure,” said the Catholic, and promptly fell through the trap-door to that other place. Jesus turned to the Episcopalian and asked, “Who do you say that I am?” The Episcopalian replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!" Then, just as Jesus smiled and gestured for the Pearly Gates to be opened, the Episcopalian continued, “but on the other hand..."
10. .”In 1896, after fifteen centuries, Athens renewed the Olympic Games.
You can imagine how proud the Greeks were to host the first modern Olympics. You can also imagine how disappointed they were at their athletes' lack of success in event after event. The last competition was the marathon. Greece's entrant was named Louis, a shepherd without competitive background. He'd trained alone in the hills near his flock. When the race started, Louis was far back in the pack of marathoners. But as the miles passed he moved up steadily. One by one the leaders began to falter. The French hero fell in agony. The hero from the United States had to quit the race. Soon, word reached the stadium that a lone runner was approaching the arena, and the emblem of Greece was on his chest! As the excitement grew, Prince George of Greece hurried to the stadium entrance where he met Louis and ran with him to the finish line.
In this sports tale, we have something of the history of the human race. Jesus Christ started from way back in the pack. He was born in relative obscurity, never had many followers, commanded no army, erected no edifices, wrote no books. He died young, was buried in a borrowed grave, and you'd think he'd be quickly forgotten. But, no! His reputation has grown, so that today Jesus is worshiped on every continent, has more followers than ever before and sixteen times has been pictured on the cover of Time magazine, while Jesus’ sayings have been translated into more than 200 languages. Consider: Socrates taught for forty years, Plato for fifty, and Aristotle, forty. Jesus Christ only taught for three years. Yet which has influenced the world more, one hundred thirty years of classical thought or three years of Christ's? In the Library of Congress there are 1,172 reference books on William Shakespeare, 1,752 on George Washington, 2,319 on Abe Lincoln, and 5,152 on Jesus Christ. Perhaps H. G. Wells best summed up the runaway difference in interest. "Christ," he wrote, "is the most unique person of history. No man can write a history of the human race without giving first and foremost place to the penniless teacher of Nazareth." As Emerson once noted, "The name of Jesus is not so much written as PLOUGHED into the history of the world." Today’s gospel challenges us to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior as St. Peter did at Caesarea Philippi.
11. “Who is Jesus?”
In his teens, C.S. Lewis was a professed agnostic. He was influenced in his conversion to Christianity by reading the book The Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton and through the influence of two of his Christian friends. After his conversion, he wrote a number of books defending Christianity. During the Second World War, in his famous BBC radio talk, “Mere Christianity,” he said, “I am trying to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Jesus: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who is merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic, on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg, or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.” If we accept Jesus as a moral teacher, then we must necessarily accept Him as God, for great moral teachers do not tell lies. (John Rose in John’s Sunday Homilies)
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From Sermons.com
Jesus and his disciples ventured into the District of Caesarea Philippi, an area about 25 miles northeast of the Sea of Galilee. The region had tremendous religious implications. The place was littered with the temples of the Syrian gods. Here also was the elaborate marble temple that had been erected by Herod the Great, father of the then ruling Herod Antipas. Here also was the influence of the Greek gods. Here also the worship of Caesar as a God himself. You might say that the world religions were on display in this town. It was with this scene in the background that Jesus chose to ask the most crucial questions of his ministry.
He looked at his disciples and in a moment of reflection said: "Who do men say that I am?" The disciples begin sharing with Jesus what they have heard from the people who have been following Jesus: Some say that you are Elijah; others say John the Baptist, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. It's always been this way, Jesus as seen by the masses is seen in so many different ways.
You can speak of Jesus as prophet, holy man, teacher, or spiritual leader, and few will object. But speak of Him as Son of God, divine, of the same nature as the Father, and people will line up to express their disapproval.
Who do people say he is? Who do you say he is? And what are we called to do? Let's take a look at the answers to these three questions...
He looked at his disciples and in a moment of reflection said: "Who do men say that I am?" The disciples begin sharing with Jesus what they have heard from the people who have been following Jesus: Some say that you are Elijah; others say John the Baptist, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. It's always been this way, Jesus as seen by the masses is seen in so many different ways.
You can speak of Jesus as prophet, holy man, teacher, or spiritual leader, and few will object. But speak of Him as Son of God, divine, of the same nature as the Father, and people will line up to express their disapproval.
Who do people say he is? Who do you say he is? And what are we called to do? Let's take a look at the answers to these three questions...
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Sin is less something we succumb to or fall into than it is something we are seduced by. And the greatest seduction is pride. Pride is holy halitosis. Like all bad breath, you're the last person to know you have it.
Last week in Zurich, the pride of a gold medal champion, a 3000 meter steeplechase runner, managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. French runner Mahidine Mekhissi, already a two time European champion, found himself in the final 100 meters of his race. He was well ahead of the rest of the pack. After a long backwards glance confirmed his apparent victory over the trailing field of runners, Mekhissi began to celebrate early. He stripped off his jersey. With the jersey went his identifying race number. He put the jersey and number in his mouth as he cavorted to the finish line, taunting his competitors with the pride of victory.
Mekhissi's antics did not sit well with his colleagues. Or the race authorities. After multiple complaints were filed by the other competitors, Mekhissi was disqualified. He won. But he lost. He won the race. But he lost the game. Mekhissi was so proud of his prowess that he managed to turn a clear victory into a humiliating defeat.
The line between pride as honor and pride as hubris is often a hair's breadth distance. The honors that come with personal accomplishments are worthy and welcome. Showcasing one's successes is a bit trickier. Proving one's skills and self-worth in action is one thing. Proclaiming in words one's worthiness to the world is another.
Our reading for this morning is a portion of Paul's communication to a Gentile congregation in the heart of Rome...
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The Authority of the Church
There is general agreement that the phrase "the gates of Hades" is poetic language for the power of death (see Isa. 38:10). What is meant is that the congregation of the new covenant will persist into the age to come despite all the efforts of the powers of darkness to destroy it. "The gates of Hades" may here represent a defensive posture: death will strive to hold in its prison house all who have entered its gates, but the Messiah's congregation will triumphantly storm the gates and rescue those destined for the life of the age to come.
Douglas R.A. Hare, Interpretation: Matthew, John Knox Press,1993, p.191
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Without the Struggle, There Are No Wings
A family brought in two cocoons that were about to hatch. They watched as the first one began to open and the butterfly inside squeezed very slowly and painfully through a tiny hole that it chewed in one end of the cocoon. After lying exhausted for about ten minutes following its agonizing emergence, the butterfly finally flew out the open window on its beautiful new wings.
The family decided to help the second butterfly so that it would not have to go through such an excruciating ordeal. So, as it began to emerge, they carefully sliced open the cocoon with a razor blade, doing the equivalent of a Caesarean section. The second butterfly never did sprout wings, and in about ten minutes, instead of flying away, it quietly died.
The family asked a biologist friend to explain what had happened. The scientist said that the difficult struggle to emerge from the small hole actually pushes liquids from deep inside the butterfly's body cavity into tiny capillaries in the wings where they hardened to complete the healthy and beautiful adult butterfly. The lesson? WITHOUT THE STRUGGLE, THERE ARE NO WINGS.
The family decided to help the second butterfly so that it would not have to go through such an excruciating ordeal. So, as it began to emerge, they carefully sliced open the cocoon with a razor blade, doing the equivalent of a Caesarean section. The second butterfly never did sprout wings, and in about ten minutes, instead of flying away, it quietly died.
The family asked a biologist friend to explain what had happened. The scientist said that the difficult struggle to emerge from the small hole actually pushes liquids from deep inside the butterfly's body cavity into tiny capillaries in the wings where they hardened to complete the healthy and beautiful adult butterfly. The lesson? WITHOUT THE STRUGGLE, THERE ARE NO WINGS.
Collected Sermons, David E. Leininger
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The Triumph of Jesus
In 1896, after fifteen centuries, Athens renewed the Olympic Games, thus fulfilling the dream of Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France. You can imagine how proud the Greeks were to host the first modern Olympics. You can also imagine how disappointed they were at their athletes' lack of success in event after event.
The last competition was the marathon. Greece's entrant was named Louis, a shepherd without competitive background. He'd trained alone in the hills near his flock. When the race started, Louis was far back in the pack of marathoners. But as the miles passed he moved up steadily. One by one the leaders began to falter. The Frenchman fell in agony. The hero from the United States had to quit the race. Soon, word reached the stadium that a lone runner was approaching the arena, and the emblem of Greece was on his chest! As the excitement grew, Prince George of Greece hurried to the stadium entrance where he met Louis and ran with him to the finish line.
In this sports tale we have something of the history of the human race. Most historical figures make their impact, achieve a measure of fame, books are written about them, but as the years go by they begin to fade. Less and less is written or spoken of their lives until they rest in relative obscurity.
With Jesus Christ, however, one finds quite an opposite phenomena! Christ started from way back in the pack. He was born in relative obscurity, never had many followers, commanded no army, erected no edifices, wrote no books. He died young, was buried in a borrowed grave, and you'd think he'd be quickly forgotten.
But, no! His reputation has grown so that today he is worshiped on every continent, has more followers than ever before, sixteen times has his picture been on the cover of Time magazine, and his sayings have been translated into more than 200 languages.
The last competition was the marathon. Greece's entrant was named Louis, a shepherd without competitive background. He'd trained alone in the hills near his flock. When the race started, Louis was far back in the pack of marathoners. But as the miles passed he moved up steadily. One by one the leaders began to falter. The Frenchman fell in agony. The hero from the United States had to quit the race. Soon, word reached the stadium that a lone runner was approaching the arena, and the emblem of Greece was on his chest! As the excitement grew, Prince George of Greece hurried to the stadium entrance where he met Louis and ran with him to the finish line.
In this sports tale we have something of the history of the human race. Most historical figures make their impact, achieve a measure of fame, books are written about them, but as the years go by they begin to fade. Less and less is written or spoken of their lives until they rest in relative obscurity.
With Jesus Christ, however, one finds quite an opposite phenomena! Christ started from way back in the pack. He was born in relative obscurity, never had many followers, commanded no army, erected no edifices, wrote no books. He died young, was buried in a borrowed grave, and you'd think he'd be quickly forgotten.
But, no! His reputation has grown so that today he is worshiped on every continent, has more followers than ever before, sixteen times has his picture been on the cover of Time magazine, and his sayings have been translated into more than 200 languages.
Stephen M. Crotts / George L. Murphy, Sermons For Sundays: After Pentecost (Middle Third): The Incomparable Christ, CSS Publishing Company, Inc.
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Call Him God
In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis addressed the inclination to say nice things about Jesus, but to stop short of calling him God.
He wrote, "I am here trying to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God." That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things that Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic-on a level with a man who says he is a poached egg-or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any of that patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. Nor did he intend to."
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, MacMillan, 1943, p. 55-56, with thanks to Paul Janke
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Public Notions of Jesus' Identity
Some, said Peter, say that you are Elijah. Now why would people think that Jesus was the long deceased prophet Elijah. Elijah was, of course, a highly revered personality in the religious life of the Hebrews. His defeat of the 450 prophets of Baal on the top of Mt. Carmel was a story that was known even by the little children. It was a commonly held belief among the Hebrews that one day Elijah would return and that would mark the end of the world. In the very last passage in the Old Testament, in the Book of Malachi, we find these words: "Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes."
Most of you have read Charles Schultz's comic strip Peanuts. One day we see that the television is on but there is no one in the room listening to it. The announcer is talking about a golf tournament that is in process. He says: Smith has to make this putt to win the championship. There will be no tomorrow." And just as he says, "There will be no tomorrow," in walks Lucy. She immediately goes into a panic and starts running around and yelling to the other children: The world is coming to an end. They just announced it on television. Her panic quickly spreads as we see all the peanuts kids as they go wildly screaming about. Finally in the last square we see all of the children huddled on top of Snoopy's doghouse waiting for the end of the world. And Charlie Brown finally speaks up with a puzzled voice: I thought that Elijah was supposed to come back first."
Well Charlie Brown knew his Bible. Elijah was supposed to come back before the end time. When the disciples told Jesus that some people thought he was Elijah, they were expressing a common thought among the people that the end was very near.
Staff, www.Sermons.com
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A Point of Reference
The state highway department in Pennsylvania once set out to build a bridge working from both sides. When the workers reached the middle of the waterway, they found they were thirteen feet to one side of each other. Albert Steinberg, writing some time ago in the Saturday Evening Post, went on to explain that each crew of workmen had used its own reference point. No wonder they did not connect.
In that same article Steinberg tells about a small disc on the Meades Ranch in north central Kansas where the thirty-ninth parallel from the Atlantic to the Pacific crosses the ninety-eighth meridian running from Canada to the Rio Grande. The National Oceanic Survey, a small federal agency whose business it is to locate the exact positions of every point in the United States, uses the scientifically recognized reference point on the Meades Ranch. So far, no mistakes have been made, and none are expected. All ocean liners and commercial planes come under the survey. The government can build no dams or even launch a missile without this agency to tell it the exact location to the very inch. "Location by approximation," the article goes on to say, "can be costly and dangerous."
That's why there is so much chaos in our society today. Everyone's using their own reference point. What we need is a universal reference point so that we can say, "Here. Here is how the good life is lived."
For Christians there is such a reference point - and that is Jesus. What would Jesus do? That is the question that continually helps us in our quest for right living. Jesus not only revealed the character of God but he also patterned the ideal life for humanity.
In that same article Steinberg tells about a small disc on the Meades Ranch in north central Kansas where the thirty-ninth parallel from the Atlantic to the Pacific crosses the ninety-eighth meridian running from Canada to the Rio Grande. The National Oceanic Survey, a small federal agency whose business it is to locate the exact positions of every point in the United States, uses the scientifically recognized reference point on the Meades Ranch. So far, no mistakes have been made, and none are expected. All ocean liners and commercial planes come under the survey. The government can build no dams or even launch a missile without this agency to tell it the exact location to the very inch. "Location by approximation," the article goes on to say, "can be costly and dangerous."
That's why there is so much chaos in our society today. Everyone's using their own reference point. What we need is a universal reference point so that we can say, "Here. Here is how the good life is lived."
For Christians there is such a reference point - and that is Jesus. What would Jesus do? That is the question that continually helps us in our quest for right living. Jesus not only revealed the character of God but he also patterned the ideal life for humanity.
King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
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One Generation Away from ExtinctionIt has been pointed out that the Church is always one generation from extinction. If we don't spread the Gospel, it will be just one generation away from disappearing from the face of the earth. It's a compelling idea, isn't it? It enhances our sense of Christian responsibility. We need to get out there and work for the Gospel or the Church could fade into history.
Perhaps you have heard the old story about Jesus appearing in heaven just after his resurrection. Jesus is giving a progress report on all that has happened while he was on earth. Moses is there and he asks him, "Well Jesus, did you leave things in capable hands?"
Jesus responds, "I did. I have left behind Mary and Martha and Peter and the other disciples."
Moses said, "What if they fail?"
Jesus said, "Well, I have established the Church and filled it with the Holy Spirit and they will carry on."
And Moses said, "What if they fail?"
Came the reply, "I have no other plan."
There's a great tension there. God is at work here in our church but we've been given the keys of the Kingdom. We have work to do and Christ calls us to it. The prophet Micah put it this way: "do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with thy God."
Brett Blair, www.Sermons.com
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People See Things Differently
People see things differently all the time. For example, three people - a minister, an archaeologist, and a cowboy - were getting their first look at the Grand Canyon one day. The minister exclaimed, "Truly this is one of the glories of God!" The archaeologist commented, "What a wonder of nature this is!" And the cowboy said, "Can you imagine trying to find a lost steer in there?" People see things differently.
The Messianic hope of those in the Jewish community who held such a belief was that the Chosen One would reestablish the supremacy of Israel among the great nations of the world. The assumption was that this would be accomplished in a violent and vengeful manner, with the forceful overthrow and total destruction of the current ruling powers. But before this happened, the prophet Elijah would return to herald the coming of the Chosen One. As a result of these hopes, Jesus had to somehow communicate to his disciples and others who had such high hopes for him that what he was offering was something completely different from what they expected.
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Irom Sharmila of Imphal India fasting last 14 years and force fed through tubes by the Govt fighting for a cause - against extra ordinary powers to the military.
Lata Tare of Baramati, MH, India ran at a marathon beating all experienced and well clad young runners. She was 61, grand mother, wearing a Maharashtrian 9 yard saree, no shoes or sandals. She needed the money for her husband's surgery. She didn't care for the trophy.
Yellavva from Yadgir Dt of Karnataka-400 Km north of Bangalore was 9 nine pregnant with her first child. Her village was totally marooned by flood waters. No ferries, no road connections. She tied pumpkin and other gourd pods on her body for floatation and buoyancy and swam 1 km across 14 feet deep waters and reached a hospital to give birth.
Ramesh Ramanathan is the founder of Bangalore based NGO Janagraha. Studied in US with his wife. Cycling at night from class to pick up his wife working at a McDonald's. They both resigned the jobs to come and work for people.
The Messianic hope of those in the Jewish community who held such a belief was that the Chosen One would reestablish the supremacy of Israel among the great nations of the world. The assumption was that this would be accomplished in a violent and vengeful manner, with the forceful overthrow and total destruction of the current ruling powers. But before this happened, the prophet Elijah would return to herald the coming of the Chosen One. As a result of these hopes, Jesus had to somehow communicate to his disciples and others who had such high hopes for him that what he was offering was something completely different from what they expected.
***********
Irom Sharmila of Imphal India fasting last 14 years and force fed through tubes by the Govt fighting for a cause - against extra ordinary powers to the military.
Lata Tare of Baramati, MH, India ran at a marathon beating all experienced and well clad young runners. She was 61, grand mother, wearing a Maharashtrian 9 yard saree, no shoes or sandals. She needed the money for her husband's surgery. She didn't care for the trophy.
Yellavva from Yadgir Dt of Karnataka-400 Km north of Bangalore was 9 nine pregnant with her first child. Her village was totally marooned by flood waters. No ferries, no road connections. She tied pumpkin and other gourd pods on her body for floatation and buoyancy and swam 1 km across 14 feet deep waters and reached a hospital to give birth.
Ramesh Ramanathan is the founder of Bangalore based NGO Janagraha. Studied in US with his wife. Cycling at night from class to pick up his wife working at a McDonald's. They both resigned the jobs to come and work for people.
