"Peace be with you."

 

 

19When 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.” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

24But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So 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.”

26A 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.” 27Then 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.” 28Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31But 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, Michelangelo Merisi da

1601-1602

Neues Palais in Sanssouci (Museum)

Potsdam

Germany

 

 

Notes:

"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!" -- John 20:26-28

"Caravaggio offers us a profound theology of innocence through the Beauty of his art. Known for his gritty realism, Caravaggio has Jesus grasping the hand of the apostle Thomas and thrusting it deep within the wound at his side, powerfully aligning Jesus' and St. Thomas" hands to form a lance. St. Thomas" face expresses profound surprise as his finger thrusts deep into Jesus' wound. Perhaps, the surprise has to do with his unbelief. It could also be surprise at the realization that he, too, is also pierced. Indeed, St. Thomas appears to clutch his side as if he becomes aware of a wound at his side as well. And we who wince at this gritty depiction feel a wound at our side as well." (Aponte, 104)


https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/diglib-fulldisplay.pl?SID=20230414974751144&code=ACT&RC=54170&Row=2

SEE:
https://medium.com/museio/the-story-behind-incredulity-f0444f887598

 

 

 

 

 

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things 

who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

~ Wendell Berry *

 

 

 

 

The beginning of wisdom is found in doubting;

by doubting we come to the question,

and by seeking we may come upon the truth.

~ Pierre Abelard

 

 

 

 

 

Easter Sunday

 

 

Easter Brunch at Kimra and Randy's

Carolyn Alexander, Randy Sackerson, Curt Harris, Todd Bastian

 

The Easter Bonnet Contest

 

Mande Moore Mischler, Mary McGhee

Wonderful pancakes!

 

Kimra Perkins 

 

A number of Evergreen Rotarians attended Sam Smith’s Celebration of Life

in Boulder on Saturday.

 

Such a dear and kind and upright man.

Sam Smith

1945 - 2023

 

The female contingent

 

Some of us stopped and toasted Sam before going home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are no perfect answers, 

but to accept the unacceptable must never be acceptable. 

~ Dan Rather

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 9, 2023  Second Sunday of Easter Year A

 

Previous OPQs may be found at:

     http://www.dotjack.com/opq.htm

 

* Wendell Berry, reading, “Peace of Wild Things,”  written in 1968,

            https://onbeing.org/poetry/the-peace-of-wild-things/

 

 

 

14aBut Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them,

22“You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know — 23this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. 24But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. 25For David says concerning him, 
     ‘I saw the Lord always before me, 
          for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken; 
26  therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; 
          moreover my flesh will live in hope. 
27  For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, 
          or let your Holy One experience corruption. 
28  You have made known to me the ways of life; 
          you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

29“Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. 31Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying, 
     ‘He was not abandoned to Hades, 
          nor did his flesh experience corruption.’ 
32This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. 

Acts 2:14a, 22-32

 

Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

LECTIONARY

Acts 2:14a, 22–32 

Psalm 16 

1 Peter 1:3–9 

John 20:19–31

 

“Peace be with you.  As the Father has sent me, so I send you.  And when he said this he breathed upon them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit . . . ”

Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
John 20: 19-31

THE WORD:

The Gospel for the Second Sunday of Easter (for all three years of the Lectionary cycle) is Act 2 of John’s Easter drama.
    
Scene 1 takes place on Easter night.  The terrified disciples are huddled together, realizing that they are marked men because of their association with the criminal Jesus.  The Risen Jesus appears in their midst with his greeting of “peace.”  John clearly has the Genesis story in mind when the evangelist describes Jesus as “breathing” the Holy Spirit on his disciples:  Just as God created man and woman by breathing life into them (Genesis 2: 7), the Risen Christ re-creates humankind by breathing the new life of the Holy Spirit upon the eleven.

In scene 2, the disciples excitedly tell the just-returned Thomas of what they had seen.  Thomas responds to the news with understandable skepticism.  Thomas had expected the cross (see John 11: 16 and 14: 5) – and no more.

The climactic third scene takes place one week later, with Jesus’ second appearance to the assembled community – this time with Thomas present.  He invites Thomas to examine his wounds and to “believe.”  Christ’s blessing in response to Thomas’ profession of faith exalts the faith of every Christian of every age who “believes without seeing”; all Christians who embrace the Spirit of the Risen One possess a faith that is in no way different less than that of the first disciples.  The power of the Resurrection transcends time and place.

https://connectionsmediaworks.com/sundaygospel.html#apr16

 

 

 

First Reading Acts 2:14a, 22-32

14aBut Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them,

22“You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know — 23this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. 24But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. 25For David says concerning him, 
     ‘I saw the Lord always before me, 
          for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken; 
26  therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; 
          moreover my flesh will live in hope. 
27  For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, 
          or let your Holy One experience corruption. 
28  You have made known to me the ways of life; 
          you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

29“Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. 31Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying, 
     ‘He was not abandoned to Hades, 
          nor did his flesh experience corruption.’ 
32This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. 

Psalm 16:1-11

1   Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge. 
2   I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; 
          I have no good apart from you.”

3   As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble, 
          in whom is all my delight.

4   Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows; 
          their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out 
          or take their names upon my lips.

5   The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; 
          you hold my lot. 
6   The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; 
          I have a goodly heritage.

7   I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; 
          in the night also my heart instructs me. 
8   I keep the LORD always before me; 
          because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

9   Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; 
          my body also rests secure. 
10  For you do not give me up to Sheol, 
          or let your faithful one see the Pit.

11  You show me the path of life. 
          In your presence there is fullness of joy; 
          in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Second Reading 1 Peter 1:3-9

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,4and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,5who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.6In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials,7so that the genuineness of your faith — being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire — may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.8Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,9for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Gospel John 20:19-31

19When 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.” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

24But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So 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.”

26A 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.” 27Then 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.” 28Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31But 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.