The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite contemplation of the role of witnesses and works in our journey as followers of Christ.
Witness and Works
In the reading from the First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul presents witnesses to the Resurrection of Christ.
* [15:1–58] Some consider this chapter an earlier Pauline composition inserted into the present letter. The problem that Paul treats is clear to a degree: some of the Corinthians are denying the resurrection of the dead (1 Cor 15:12), apparently because of their inability to imagine how any kind of bodily existence could be possible after death (1 Cor 15:35). It is plausibly supposed that their attitude stems from Greek anthropology, which looks with contempt upon matter and would be content with the survival of the soul, and perhaps also from an overrealized eschatology of gnostic coloration, such as that reflected in 2 Tm 2:18, which considers the resurrection a purely spiritual experience already achieved in baptism and in the forgiveness of sins. Paul, on the other hand, will affirm both the essential corporeity of the resurrection and its futurity. His response moves through three steps: a recall of the basic kerygma about Jesus’ resurrection (1 Cor 15:1–11), an assertion of the logical inconsistencies involved in denial of the resurrection (1 Cor 15:12–34), and an attempt to perceive theologically what the properties of the resurrected body must be (1 Cor 15:35–58).1
Psalm 19 praises God’s Glory in Creation and the Law.
* [Psalm 19] The heavenly elements of the world, now beautifully arranged, bespeak the power and wisdom of their creator (Ps 19:2–7). The creator’s wisdom is available to human beings in the law (Ps 19:8–11), toward which the psalmist prays to be open (Ps 19:12–14). The themes of light and speech unify the poem.2
In the Gospel of John, Philip said to Jesus, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’
* [14:6] The truth: in John, the divinely revealed reality of the Father manifested in the person and works of Jesus. The possession of truth confers knowledge and liberation from sin (Jn 8:32).3
Angela Maynard comments If we know Jesus and follow him, we will be in favor with the Father. Here’s the important thing…EVERYBODY has this opportunity to know Jesus!
And since we know how forgiving our Father is, we can also presume that if we don’t figure that out right away, likely we will receive some grace as we learn how to follow Jesus. Even his closest friends question HIS statement. Let’s learn from this interaction between Jesus and his friends and discern the best way to friend Jesus and allow him to serve as a model as we live our lives. “Only let a little Divine Love into their hearts, and then you may leave them to themselves.” St Philip4
Don Schwager quotes “God is pleased to dwell in us,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"God is not too grand to come, he is not too fussy or shy, he is not too proud - on the contrary he is pleased to come if you do not displease him. Listen to the promise he makes. Listen to him indeed promising with pleasure, not threatening in displeasure, "We shall come to him," he says, "I and the Father." To the one he had earlier called his friend, the one who obeys his precepts, the keeper of his commandment, the lover of God, the lover of his neighbor, he says, "We shall come to him and make our abode with him." (excerpt from Sermon 23,6)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 comments that we live two thousand years after Jesus. How can we have this same confidence in the Lord and assurance of eternal life? As it did for Philip and James, it begins with an encounter with the risen Jesus.
We will recognize his presence as he calms our hearts and fills us with peace. We will become convinced that he is risen as we experience him helping us overcome habits of sin and teaching us to love our neighbors. We will be assured that he knows and loves us as he answers our prayers or reminds us of just the right Scripture passage to help us face our circumstances. Jesus longs for every believer to say, “He appeared to me” (1 Corinthians 15:8). Today, let him reveal himself to you. “Jesus, help me to see you today.”6
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Claude AnShin Thomas who suffered for years from the trauma of war as a Vietnam combat veteran.
You can face your own sorrow, your own wounds. You can stop wanting some other life, some other past, some other reality. You can stop fighting against the truth of yourself and, breathing in and breathing out, open to your own experience. You can just feel whatever is there, exploring it, until you also discover the liberation that comes with stopping the struggle and becoming fully present in your own life. This is the real path to peace and freedom.7
Our life journey contains the experience we have of Jesus Presence to guide us.
References
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