Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full. (Psalm 17)
In today's first reading, Saint Paul assures his distressed disciples in Corinth that those who believe in Jesus will be raised up as he has been raised up. We can speculate on what heaven might be like while skeptics scoff at our fantasies, but with our memory of his rising, and the Spirit that drives us, our hope is unsinkable.
In today's Gospel Saint Luke describes what Americans, many centuries later, would call a Utopian society. Under his pleasantly demanding authority, men and women walked the dusty roads of Palestine together with only the occasional quarrel about who was the most important.
Last month, as I read Leszek Kołakowski's book Is God Happy? and shared some thoughts with readers, I railed against the ideology of Determinism which predicts the future and would direct us toward it. With a religious fervor they denounce traditional religions as abusive and violent, even as they engineer the mass extermination of millions of people.
Christians cannot predict the future; we cannot imagine the Kingdom of God. It is often very difficult to imagine how the present crises might be resolved. But we sing nonetheless, "Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full." We have, as Saint Paul said, the first fruits of the Holy Spirit, those marvelous virtues include: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." (Galatians 5)
Paul describes the Holy Spirit as a down payment toward the satisfaction we are promised. It is "the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory." (Ephesians 1:14)
Martyrs like Cornelius and Cyprian demonstrate the joy we should practice and the way we should walk. Where some self-styled martyrs cause enormous suffering as they would create their Utopian society, true martyrs take up the cross of Christ and endure the violence. In their spirit, which is the Spirit of God, we joyfully offer our sacrificial lives.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.