Gamaliel

Hello! and happy TGIF to all of us, GUYS.  For our "food for the soul" this Friday:

THE GOOD NEWS (08 April 2016)

"But one of them, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law highly respected by the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin.  He ordered the men to be taken outside for a few minutes and then he spoke to the assembly.

'Fellow Israelites, consider well what you intend to do to these men.  For some time ago Theudas came forward, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men joined him.  But he was killed and all his followers were dispersed or disappeared.  After him, Judas the Galilean appeared at the time of the census and persuaded many people to follow him.  But he too perished and his whole following was scattered.  So, in this present case, I advise you to have nothing to do with these men.  Leave them alone.  If their project or activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself.  If, on the other hand, if it is from GOD, you will not be able to destroy it and you may indeed find yourselves fighting against GOD.'

The Council let themselves be persuaded.  They called in the apostles and had them whipped, and ordered them not to speak again of JESUS Savior.  Then they set them free.

The apostles went out from the Council rejoicing that they were considered worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of the Name.  Day after day, both in the Temple and in people's homes, they continued to teach and to proclaim that JESUS was the Messiah." - Acts 5:34-42

Gamaliel [called Beauty of the Law] 

(Gamaliel  was one of the most renowned among the masters of the Law.  Here we see the mind of this old Jewish teacher who knows that GOD's ways are not always ways of humans.

If their project or activity is of human origin.  JESUS had said something similar [Matthew 15:13].  Yet that does not seem evident.  Are we not aware of  many false doctrines that last?  If they have lasted for centuries, perhaps it is due to the fact that in spite of the error and the evil they sow, they contain useful or necessary principles for a given time, or for certain human groups.  Perhaps they make very important statements that the Church should proclaim but cannot or does not want to do.  Experience shows that the majority of humans are not ready to embrace the Christian faith: must GOD abandon them because of that?  Can we, who have CHRIST, say with certitude that such and such a one is not "the prophet."  Maybe GOD's will is that he be the prophet of a certain group and help them in their searching for GOD [Acts 17:27].

Gamaliel was Paul's teacher in Jerusalem for doubtless three or four years, a little after these events [Acts 22:3].  Paul's conversion will be providentially prepared through contact with this open and sincere man, and equally so through the death of Stephen [7:54-    60].)  

Always Faces The Justice Of GOD

Hello! and happy good Thursday to all of us, GUYS.  For our "food for the soul" today:

THE GOOD NEWS (07 April 2016)

"HE who comes from above is above all; he who comes from the earth belongs to the earth and his words, too, are earthly.  The One who comes from heaven speaks of the things HE has seen and heard; HE bears witness to this but no one accepts HIS testimony.  Whoever does receive HIS testimony acknowledges the truthfulness of GOD.

The one sent by GOD speaks GOD's words and gives the Spirit without measure.  For the FATHER loves the Son and has entrusted every thing into HIS hands.  Whoever believes in the Son lives with eternal life, but he who will not believe in the Son will never know life and always faces the justice of GOD." - John 3:31-36 

(Always faces the justice of GOD.  Those who do not recognize the Son of God remain in the situation humanity was in when expelled from Paradise.  If they are not able to receive the witness of "GOD the Son who is one with the FATHER," they will never solve the contradictions in their lives or in the world in which they live; and they cannot but mistrust GOD.)

The Apostles Arrested Again

 Hi! and happy good mid-week to all of us, GUYS.  Our "daily bread" this Wednesday:

THE GOOD NEWS (06 April 2016)

"The High Priest and all his supporters, that is the party of the Sadducees, became very jealous of the apostles; so they arrested them and had them thrown into the public jail.  But an angel of the LORD opened the door of the prison during the night, brought them out, and said to them, 'Go and stand in the Temple court and tell the people the whole of this living message.'  Accordingly they entered the Temple at dawn and resumed their teaching.

When the High Priest and his supporters arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin, that is the full Council of the elders of Israel.  They sent word to the jail to have the prisoners brought in.  But when the Temple guards arrived at the jail, they did not find them inside, so they returned with the news, 'We found the prison securely locked and the prison guards at their post outside the gate, but when we opened the gate, we found no one inside.'

Upon hearing these words, the captain of the Temple guard and the high priests were baffled, wondering where all of this would end.  Just then someone arrived with the report, 'Look, those men whom you put in prison are standing in the Temple, teaching the people.'  Then the captain went off with the guards and brought them back, but without any show of force, for fear of being stoned by the people." - Acts 5:17-26 

Angel Freed The Apostles From Prison

(Could this confrontation of the apostles with the rulers of the people be similar to what happens today in many countries when the Church denounces violations of human rights?

There are many Christians who say: it is not the same, since the apostles in their time were persecuted for proclaiming JESUS, whereas now, only Christians involved in politics are punished.

This, however, is not true.  In JESUS day, the Jewish people were both dominated and divided.  JESUS spoke as a totally free man, teaching a way towards freedom, which today we would call non-violent action.  The authorities did away with HIM to defend the security of their nation [John 1:48] and their own political system.  For the disciples of JESUS, to be converted meant to acknowledge complicity with those who put JESUS to death and to take the path indicated by HIM.  Since they were living among oppressors and resentful people, this was a very dangerous road [Luke 21:12-16].)

Robed In Splendor, The LORD Rules!

Hello! and happy good Tuesday to all of us, GUYS.  Our "daily bread" for today:

THE GOOD NEWS (05 March 2016)

"The LORD reigns, robed in majesty;

 the LORD is girded with strength.

The world now is firm, it cannot be moved.

YOUR throne stands from long ago, O LORD,

from all eternity YOU are.

The floods have lifted up, O LORD,

the floods have lifted up their roaring,

the floods have lifted up their pounding waves.

Mightier than the thunder of great waters,

mightier than the breakers of the sea,

the LORD on high is mighty!

YOUR decrees can be trusted;

holiness dwells in your house

day after day without end, O LORD."

- Psalm 93:1-5

GOD Reigns In The Person Of CHRIST

(GOD rules as the Creator of the universe.  GOD reigns in the person of the risen CHRIST who already redirects the powers of history.)

GOD, Creator Of All Things Seen And Unseen

GOD-Is-With-Us

Hi! and happy good first day of the week to all of us, GUYS.  Our "food for the soul" this Monday:

THE GOOD NEWS (04 March 2016)

"Once again YAHWEH addressed Ahaz, 'Ask for a sign from YAHWEH your GOD, let it come either from the deepest depths or from the heights of heaven.'

But Ahaz answered, 'I will not ask, I will not put YAHWEH to the test.'

Then Isaiah said, 'Now listen, descendants of David.  Have you not been satisfied trying the patience of people, that you also try the patience of my GOD?  Therefore the LORD HIMSELF will give you a sign: The Virgin is with child and bears a son and calls HIS name Immanuel.

Devise a plan and it will be thwarted, make a resolve and it will not stand, for GOD-is-with-us." - Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10 

(The prophecy about the Virgin giving birth is one of the most important in the Bible even though it leaves some questions unanswered.

To support HIS warnings, Isaiah offers a miraculous sign to the king: Ask the LORD...  Ahaz piously refuses to hide his determination not to turn back.  Then, the prophet explodes in anger: these descendants of David whom GOD has always protected are useless: a descendant of David of another kind will be able to bring salvation to GOD's people.  YAHWEH is preparing to send HIM.  HIS mother [called here the Virgin]: gives HIM the name HE will deserve.  Before this future king may bring peace, HE will be raised humbly.  Before that Ahaz's and his followers absurd politics would certainly bring total ruin to the country.    

Immanuel means GOD-with-us.  This child not only gives us GOD's blessings, or miraculous and divine liberation, but through HIM, GOD becomes present among humankind and the promises heard so many  times come true: I will be their GOD and they will be my people [Hosea 2:25; Ezekiel 37:27; Revelation 21:3].)

It Is I, The First And The Last!

Hi! and happy holy and family day to all of us, GUYS.  Our first-thing-first this Sunday:

THE GOOD NEWS (03 April 2016)

"I John, your brother, who share with you, in JESUS, the sufferings, the kingdom and the patient  endurance, was on the island of Patmos, because of the Word of GOD and witnessing to JESUS.  On the LORD's day, the Spirit took possession of me and I heard a voice behind me which sounded like a trumpet, 'Write down all that you see, in a book, and send it to the seven Churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.'

I turned to see who was speaking to me; behind me were seven golden lampstands and, in the middle of these, I saw someone like a son of man, dressed in a long robe tied with a golden girdle.   

HIS head and HIS hair are white as wool or as snow and HIS eyes are like flames of fire.  HIS feet are like burnished bronze when it has been refined in a furnace.  HIS voice is like the roaring of the waves.

I saw seven stars in HIS right hand and a sharp, double-edged sword coming out of HIS mouth; HIS face shone like the sun in all its brilliance.

Seeing HIM, I fell at HIS feet like one dead but HE touched me with HIS right hand and said, 'Do not be afraid.  It is I, the First and the Last.  I AM the living one; I was dead and now I AM alive for ever and ever; and mine are the keys of death and the netherworld.  Now write what you have seen, both what is and what is yet to come'." - Revelation 1:9-19 

John, The Evangelist, In Exile On Patmos, Greece

(John had been condemned on account of his faith and was living in exile on Patmos.  It was around the year 95.

John had this vision on the LORD's day, that is, on Sunday, or the day of the resurrection.   So this vision will be enlivened by the triumphant breath of the resurrection.

I saw someone like a son of man.  This is a symbolic vision of CHRIST dressed as a priest, and with a golden sash as a king.  HIS white hair is a symbol of HIS eternity.  HIS feet like bronze means that no one will defeat HIM.  CHRIST appears in the same way as Daniel represents GOD as the universal judge [see 7:9].

It is I, the First and the Last.  By these words, CHRIST identifies with GOD HIMSELF.  In the Bible, this is characteristic of GOD's way of speaking [see Isaiah 44:6 and 12].  The double-edged sword coming out of HIS mouth is the word of GOD that irresistibly penetrates the heart and is always fulfilled in events.  It deals death as effectively as it saves.

There were more than seven churches in Asia.  Seven represents fullness, and the seven churches, then, represent all the Christian communities.  Seven is the perfect number and this is why in the book of Revelation, CHRIST's name is mentioned seven times, JESUS fourteen times, and the Lamb [who is CHRIST] twenty-eight times.  There are seven prophecies of CHRIST's victory with HIS people and seven beatitudes like those of the Gospel: "Happy those..."

The stars, the angels, and the lampstands: these three images may complement one another to designate a church, its bishops and believers together.)

CHRIST, The Alpha And The Omega

Short Conclusion Of Mark's Gospel

Hello! and happy good weekend to all of us, GUYS.  Our today's "food for the soul":

"After JESUS rose early on the first day of the week, HE appeared first to Mary of Magdala from whom HE had driven out seven demons.  She went and reported the news to HIS followers, who were now mourning and weeping.  But when they heard that HE lived and had been seen by her, they would not believe it. 

JESUS And Mary Of Magdala At The Tomb

After that HE showed HIMSELF in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country.  These men too went back and told the others, but they did not believe them.

Later JESUS showed HIMSELF to the Eleven while they were at table.  HE reproached them for their unbelief and stubbornness in refusing to believe those who had seen HIM after HE had risen.

Then HE told them, 'Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation'." - Mark 16:9-15

Proclaim The GOOD NEWS

(We were looking forward to the meeting between JESUS and the apostles in Galilee, but it does not take place.  Why?  We do not know.  We find only a series of brief references to JESUS' appearances after HIS resurrection.

The GOOD NEWS

Proclaim the Good News to all creation.  The Good News is the seed that will be planted in the world and will flourish, in its proper time, in every field of human endeavor.  Salvation is not a matter of saving isolated souls or individual beings.  The Gospel is to be proclaimed to all creation in all activities and acts of those who have been renewed by baptism.  They are to be the yeast that transforms human history.)  

Peter And John Are Arrested

Hello! and happy good first day of April, the income taxation month, and TGIF to all of us, GUYS.  For our first-thing-first today:

THE GOOD NEWS (01 April 2016)

"While Peter and John were still speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them.  They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming that resurrection from the dead had been proved in the case of JESUS.  Since it was already evening, they arrested them and put them in custody until the following day.  But  despite this, many of those who heard the Message believed and their number increased to about five thousand.

The next day, the Jewish leaders, elders and teachers of the law assembled in Jerusalem.  Annas, the High Priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all who were of the high priestly class were there.  They brought Peter and John before them and began to question them, 'How did you do this?  Whose name did you use?'

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke up, 'Leaders of the people!  Elders!  It is a fact that we are being examined today for a good deed done to a cripple.  How was he healed?  You and all the people of Israel must know that this man stands before you cured through the Name of JESUS CHRIST the Nazarean.  You had HIM crucified , but GOD raised HIM from the dead.  JESUS is the stone rejected by you the builders which has become the cornerstone.  There is no salvation in anyone else, for there is no other Name given to humankind all over the world by which we may be saved'." - Acts 4:1-12 

Peter And John Arrested

 

(The Jewish leaders judge Peter and John.  The Holy Spirit judges the leaders of the Jews.

These leaders believe they possess the truth because they are learned and have authority.  It is impossible for them to back down before ordinary men who refute their statements.  Meanwhile Peter points out how strange it is to be arrested for having healed a sick man.

These leaders were Sadducees and they did not believe in the resurrection of the dead: Acts 23:6.

This text suggests that all of us can be the witnesses of CHRIST and of the truth, if we are determined to be involved.  Oftentimes, because we only rely on our own strength instead of counting on the Spirit of CHRIST, we remain silent before our co-workers or our leaders.)

Last Instructions

Hi! and happy good Thursday to all of GUYS.  Today's "food for the soul" for all of us:

THE GOOD NEWS (31 March 2016)

"Then JESUS said to them, 'Remember the words I spoke to you when I was still with you: Everything written about ME in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms had to be fulfilled.'  Then HE opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

And HE went on, 'You see what was written: the Messiah had to suffer and on the third day rise from the dead.  Then repentance and forgiveness in HIS name would be proclaimed to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  Now you shall be witnesses to this.  And this is why I will send you what MY FATHER promised.  So remain in the city until you are invested with power from above.'

JESUS led them almost as far as Bethany; then HE lifted up HIS hands and blessed them.  And as HE blessed them, HE withdrew (and was taken to heaven. They worshipped HIM).  They returned to Jerusalem full of joy and were continually in the Temple praising GOD." - Luke 24:44-53

JESUS' Last Appearance To The Apostles After Resurrection

(JESUS uses these encounters to clarify the meaning of HIS brief and intense mission for HIS apostles.  HE saves us from sin, which means nothing less than reordering history to resurrect humankind.

Everything written about ME in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms had to be fulfilled.  What the prophets announced, about a savior who would be rejected by HIS people and take the sin of HIS people upon HIMSELF, had to be fulfilled.  What sin?  Everyone's sins, of course, but also the violence of the whole Jewish society at the time of JESUS.  This was the sin that brought HIM to the cross.

As a matter of fact, this way of death and resurrection was not reserved only for JESUS, but for HIS people also.  In that precise period, Israel, subject to the Roman Empire, had to accept the death of its earthly ambitions: autonomy, national pride, the religious superiority of the Jews over other people... in order to rise as the people of GOD scattered among nations and to become the agent of salvation.  A minority took the way JESUS pointed out and this was the beginning of the Church.

Repentance and forgiveness.  Christian conversion is not passing from one party to another, from one religious group to another: it is a recasting of  the person.  Persons are part of a society, a world, a history.  Therefore the preaching to the nations means also the education of the nations and even international society.  This is something that takes longer then ten or a hundred years.

You shall be witnesses to this.  JESUS calls HIS apostles to be the official witnesses of  HIS Gospel and those who judge authentic faith.

Remain in the city.  The apostles are not able to begin immediately missionary work.  They will first dedicate themselves to strengthening fellowship and the fervor of the community of the disciples, as they wait for the time chosen by the FATHER to give them the power coming from above.

I will send you what my FATHER promised.  JESUS could not affirm HIS divine authority and the unity of the three divine persons more powerfully.

HE withdrew: this was the last of JESUS appearances to the group of disciples.

And so concludes Luke's first book.  His second book, The Acts of the Apostles, follows the Gospels and it begins exactly where the Gospel ends.)

Holy Spirit Descends Upon The Apostles

Peter And John Cure A Lame Man

Hi! and happy good mid-week to all of us, GUYS.  For our "daily bread" today:

THE GOOD NEWS (30 March 2016)

"Once when Peter and John were going up to the Temple at three in the afternoon, the hour of prayer, a man crippled from birth was being carried in.  Every day they would bring him and put him at the temple gate called 'Beautiful'; there he begged from those who entered the Temple.

When he saw Peter and John on their way into the Temple, he asked for alms.   Then Peter with John at his side looked straight at him and said, 'Look  at us.'  So he looked at them, expecting to receive something from them.  But Peter said, 'I have neither silver nor gold, but what I have I give you:  In the name of JESUS of Nazareth, the Messiah, walk!'

Then he took the beggar by his right hand and helped him up.  At once his feet and ankles became firm, and jumping up he stood on his feet and began to walk.  And he went with them into the Temple walking and leaping and praising GOD.

All the people saw him walking and praising GOD; they recognized him as the one who used to sit begging at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, and they were all astonished and amazed at what had happened to him." - Acts 3:1-10 

(We might sometimes think that JESUS cured all the sick.  This is not true, since HE did not heal this cripple who was in the Temple every day.  This new sign brings about another proclamation.

Why are you amazed at this?  The miracle was done in the Name of JESUS, that is, by the Power over every creature that JESUS received from the FATHER at the time of HIS resurrection.  JESUS was in their midst as the servant of the LORD [Isaiah 42:1; 52:13], but speaking of HIS Name was a way of stating HIS divinity [Mark 16:17; Philippians 2:9].)