Reflection for Friday, May 11, 2001: 4th week in Easter.
No Thumbnail Available
Authors
Selk, Gene
Issue Date
2001-05-11
Volume
Issue
Type
Essay
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Albrecht Durer "Resurrection" - 1510||Today's selection from the Acts of the Apostles is a continuation of yesterday's reading of Luke's account of a long speech which Paul gives in a synagogue in Antioch (present day Antakya, Turkey). Today's reading ends with Paul declaring, "We ourselves announce to you the good news that what God promised our fathers he has fulfilled for us, our children, in raising up Jesus, according to what is written in the second psalm, 'You are my son: this day I have begotten you.'" For Paul and for all Christians, the coming of Jesus at a particular historical time is a turning point in history. After the Christ-event, everything is different. Human history and the cosmos are transformed.|This theme is also expressed in the closing lines of today's Gospel reading from John. "'Lord,' said Thomas, 'we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?' Jesus told him: 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life . . .'" This famous proclamation, often used on billboards and samplers, is rich in possible interpretations.|Here is one way to reflect on this passage. Part of our humanness seems to be the need for meaning and purpose. But for so many, life is meaningless; it is just one event after another with no direction or growth. The characters in Seinfeld are good examples of this form of life. The physicist Stephen Weinberg expresses this purposelessness about the cosmos as whole: "The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless."1 But for us, after Jesus' resurrection, all has meaning, both the cosmos and each one of our lives. And it is Jesus - the way, the truth, and the life - who gives it this meaning. This is an immense gift for which we should praise God everyday.|1. (The First Three Minutes [Basic Books, 1977],
Description
Citation
Publisher
University Ministry, Creighton University.
License
These reflections may not be sold or used commercially without permission. Personal or parish use is permitted.
Journal
Volume
Issue
PubMed ID
DOI
Identifier
Lectionary number: 283