So let's talk about today's readings 5/3/09

[cheeto1]

usccb.org/nab/readings/050309.shtml

it was in the NAME of Jesus Christ the Nazorean…
in his NAME this man stands before you healed…
nor is there any other NAME under heaven
given to the human race by which we are to be saved."

Three times “the Name” is mentioned in the first reading. There is no reason
why they couldn’t say the man was healed by the power of Jesus instead.
There is no reason why they couldn’t say there is no other Person in the human
race by which we are saved. Or is there?

“what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like Him,
for we shall see Him as He is.”

These words from the second reading are mysterious. What will we be like?
What will Jesus be like? Haven’t we already “seen” Him as He is?

In the gospel, Jesus says He will lay down His life for His sheep.
So now I wonder what would have happened if Judas was born later like us,
when Jesus had already died, and already rose from the dead. Maybe he
would have understood Jesus like we do and not be lost. Sometimes people
seem to shake their heads at the apostles’ lack of faith and understanding,
but they are the most faithful people who ever lived. They didn’t have the
information that we do now, they didn’t even know what it means to rise from
the dead. Yet they had faith. Judas is a mystery. He is the Lost of the lost
sheep, the one who Satan entered. Jesus cast out demons all the time, but
He didn’t cast out Satan from Judas. He let His sheep Judas be lost…or did
He?

So what struck you about today’s readings? :bible1::twocents:

 

[prodigalson12]

usccb.org/nab/readings/050309.shtml

it was in the NAME of Jesus Christ the Nazorean…
in his NAME this man stands before you healed…
nor is there any other NAME under heaven
given to the human race by which we are to be saved."

Three times “the Name” is mentioned in the first reading. There is no reason
why they couldn’t say the man was healed by the power of Jesus instead.
There is no reason why they couldn’t say there is no other Person in the human
race by which we are saved. Or is there?

“what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like Him,
for we shall see Him as He is.”

These words from the second reading are mysterious. What will we be like?
What will Jesus be like? Haven’t we already “seen” Him as He is?

In the gospel, Jesus says He will lay down His life for His sheep.
So now I wonder what would have happened if Judas was born later like us,
when Jesus had already died, and already rose from the dead. Maybe he
would have understood Jesus like we do and not be lost. Sometimes people
seem to shake their heads at the apostles’ lack of faith and understanding,
but they are the most faithful people who ever lived. They didn’t have the
information that we do now, they didn’t even know what it means to rise from
the dead. Yet they had faith. Judas is a mystery. He is the Lost of the lost
sheep, the one who Satan entered. Jesus cast out demons all the time, but
He didn’t cast out Satan from Judas. He let His sheep Judas be lost…or did
He?

So what struck you about today’s readings? :bible1::twocents:

in the NAME, as in they were doing an act themselves, but only able to do so through the power Christ gave them, and in fact were calling upon his grace and power to do so in the first place.

Along we shall be like him and see him as he truly is, means we as finite creatures lack the ability to discern through our senses themselves along both points. It’s like a fish contemplating what it would be like to fly through the sky. The creature lacks the capacity to fathom it all, much less be able to relate to it directly in those regards.

Judas, there was a job that had to be done to fulfill scripture. Then again, his character was flawed by stealing from the coffer, you would think he never got the messages Jesus taught when it comes down to it.

I hope this helps.

That said, this stands out with me: It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.

It’s precisely the lesson I’ve been learning this year, people promising me vital things, then pulling out with little to no notice. I’m treading deep waters these days in that regards, learning how to be much more portable due to it, long story, but it’s been trusting people that don’t keep their word and knowing full well, I have to trust in the Lord to take care of things for me, for he does.

 

[cheeto1]

people promising me vital things, then pulling out with little to no notice.

Making a promise is actually evil in a way, since we are not God and do not have
the power to make anything come true. Never ask someone to promise something.

I do know how it feels when people let you down. Years ago, I went to confession
on being angry over it, and this was my advice: I was to write down on a piece of
paper each one who had let me down, then thank God for 3 good things about that
person. Not only was I surprised about being able to think of 3 good things, I was
surprise by how many people were on my list! The whole front of the paper, and
half of the back!

Of course you can trust people, we trust them every day not to go over their line
and crash into us. When we buy a box of cereal, we trust that when we open it,
someone will have put cereal in there. We trust the bank people to hold onto our money for us. We would like to trust everyone to love us as God does, but that’s
one thing we can’t trust them for. We can’t even trust ourselves to do that.

Thank you for your observations on “the Name”, Judas, and seeing Jesus as He is.

Blessings on your day!!!

 

[Nita]

Reading II
1 Jn 3:1-2

Beloved:
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
**The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him.**Beloved, we are God’s children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.

The bolded sentence puzzled me when I heard and read it at Mass. What does “the world does not know us” mean? Context regarding “us” seems to be us as children of God. Does it mean that they don’t acknowledge us as children of God; respect us as children of God? Would appreciate any insights.

The Navarre Bible connects it to Our Lord’s words at the Last Supper:
They will put you out of the synagogues; indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do this because they have not known the Father, nor me." It then notes that being a child of God “brings with it communion and a mysterious identification between Christ and the Christian”.

 

[cheeto1]

What does “the world does not know us” mean?

It means the world did not know Jesus as the Son of God or Messiah.
So if they didn’t know Jesus as Messiah, how could they know His followers as
followers of the Messiah, the Son of God? Instead, the followers are known as blasphemers, following a false teacher who merely claims to be Son of God.

Does that help?

 

[Nita]

Thanks.