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
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.
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:
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
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.