Peace be with you.

 

 

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe." A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

John 20:19-31

 

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, 1603 by Caravaggio

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas

CARAVAGGIO

1601-1602

Sanssouci

Potsdam

Germany

 

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas is without any accessories or any indication of setting. It is tensely concentrated, compact within a solid Romanesque archway formed by the outline of the four figures clustered intimately together against a dark background. The focus is on Saint Thomas's right hand, firmly guided by Christ's, as the stolid doubter carefully prods the wound with his index finger. Tellingly, the hands of the other two apostles are concealed, although their curiosity is undisguised and scarcely less restrained than Thomas's. All three apostles are portrayed as rustic materialists without imagination or tact. They do not question Christ's identity but are fascinated by his wound as a tangible phenomenon, physical evidence of His existence as a man in their corporeal world, although no longer of it. Christ, who is understanding, indulgent rather than reproachful, is without a halo or any other sign of His divinity. His trim athletic torso contrasts with Thomas's burly form, and His physiognomy is more refined than the apostles'. But He comes to them as a man made of flesh and blood rather than as a disembodied spirit, so His resurrection is apprehended in their literal terms, and is all the more miraculous. The message is again one of faith; Christ's words were: "Because thou hast seen me, Thomas, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen and have believed"

 

The motif of the hands is an old one, the device of Saint Thomas's finger perhaps inspired by a  Dürer print. Surprisingly, only Malvasia, the propagandist for Bolognese painting, faulted the picture as indecorous. It was much copied, even while Caravaggio was still alive. Cardinal del Monte, Ciriaco Mattel, Prince Ludovisi, and the duke of Savoy all owned versions of it, so its lack of obvious mysticism and its psychological penetration must have struck a contemporary response.

https://www.caravaggio.org/the-incredulity-of-saint-thomas.jsp

 

 

 

 

 

Faith is to believe what we do not see

and the reward of this faith

is to see what we believe.

~ St. Augustine

 

 

 

 

The most important thing in communication

is to hear what isn’t being said.

~ Peter Drucker

 

 

 

 

 

 

The flower-laden cross at church on Easter Sunday.

 

 

Image result for the bistro evergreen logo

 

 

Kimra Perkins brought home-made treats to share after we finished Brunch at The Bistro.

 

She also brought a brood of chickies!

 

Marsha loved her one-eyed chick.

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday Evening Book Club

Lena Beauchamp and Ginny Boschen

 led our discussion and they also brought wonderful goodies!

 

 

 

 

 

When friendships are real,

they are not glass threads or frost work,

but the solidest things we can know.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 28, 2019  Second Sunday of Easter Year C    

 

Previous OPQs may be found at: 

     http://www.dotjack.com/opq.htm

 

 

John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Look! He is coming with the clouds;
every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
and on his account
all the tribes of the earth will wail.
So it is to be. Amen.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

Revelation 1:4-8

 

Also…

 

In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force. — Revelation 1:16

 

Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein

Agnus Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org

 

 

Cupolas of the Annunciation Cathedral

Masters of Pskov

1484 - 1849

Moscow

Russia

 

http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/diglib-fulldisplay.pl?SID=2019042761329228&code=ACT&RC=54328&Row=13

 

 

 

 

 

 

color_white_1.jpg

 

Acts 5:27-32
Psalm 118:14-29 or Psalm 150
Revelation 1:4-8
John 20:19-31

 

 

 

Acts 5:27-32

When they had brought them, they had them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them, saying, "We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man's blood on us." But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him."

Psalm 118:14-29

God is my strength
   and my might;
God has become my salvation.

There are glad songs 
   of victory
in the tents 
   of the righteous:
"The strong hand of God 
   does valiantly;
the mighty hand of God 
   is exalted;
the strong hand of God 
   does valiantly."

I shall not die, 
   but I shall live,
and recount the deeds 
   of God.
God has punished me 
   severely,
but God did not give me over 
   to death.

Open to me the gates 
   of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
   and give thanks to God.

This is the gate 
   of God;
the righteous shall enter 
   through it.

I thank you 
   that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.

The stone that the builders rejected
   has become the chief cornerstone.

This is God's doing;
   it is marvelous in our eyes.

This is the day 
   that God has made;
let us rejoice 
   and be glad in it.

Save us, we beseech you, 
   O God!
O God, we beseech you, 
   give us success!

Blessed is the one who comes 
   in the name of God.
We bless you 
   from the house of God.

The Sovereign is God,
   and God has given us light.
Bind the festal procession 
   with branches,
up to the horns 
   of the altar.

You are my God,
   and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God,
   I will extol you.

O give thanks to God,
   for God is good,
for God's steadfast love 
   endures forever.

or

Psalm 150

Praise be to God!

Praise God 
   in God's own sanctuary;
praise God 
   in the mighty firmament!

Praise God 
   for God's mighty deeds;
praise God 
   according to God's surpassing greatness!

Praise God 
   with trumpet sound;
praise God 
   with lute and harp!

Praise God 
   with tambourine and dance;
praise God 
   with strings and pipe!

Praise God 
   with clanging cymbals;
praise God 
   with loud clashing cymbals!

Let everything that breathes 
   praise God!
Praise be to God!

Revelation 1:4-8

John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Look! He is coming with the clouds;
every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
and on his account
all the tribes of the earth will wail.
So it is to be. Amen.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

John 20:19-31

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe." A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.