Thoughts for Contemplation What Would It Have Been Like to Be A Companion of Jesus?

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1 June 6, 2015 Barbara Clarihew Announcements: Call to Worship: Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Opening Song: Gather Us In #302 Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet, 1934 Thoughts for Contemplation What Would It Have Been Like to Be A Companion of Jesus? (Excerpted from Marcus Borg s Blog) Jesus was a peasant, which tells us about his social class. Clearly, he was brilliant. His use of language was remarkable and poetic, filled with images and stories. He had a metaphoric mind. He was not an ascetic, but world-affirming, with a zest for life. There was a sociopolitical passion to him like a Gandhi or a Martin Luther King, he challenged the domination system of his day. He was a religious ecstatic, a Jewish mystic, for whom God was an experiential reality. As such, Jesus was also a healer. And there seems to have been a spiritual presence around him, like that reported of St. Francis or the Dalai Lama. And I suggest that, as a figure of history, Jesus was an ambiguous figure you could experience him and conclude that he was insane, as some of his family did; or that he was simply eccentric or that he was a dangerous threat; or that he was filled with the Spirit of God. A Letter About Jesus (Marcus Borg 300 Comments, 6/30/2014) A very few days ago, I received by a letter about Jesus from a person who is reading one of my books. His thoughts and questions struck 1.

2 me as being of interest to many people. I quote small parts of the letter and then share my response. The Letter Your book has persuaded me that much of the language of the Bible and theology is metaphorical and should not be taken literally. Granted that, at what point do you think one reaches a gray area as to whether Jesus was even divine?....what has convinced you that Jesus is worthy of being worshiped? Is it the stories of the unshakable belief and devotion by the apostles after his death? And are many of these even credible? My (Borg s) Response To say the obvious, the core of your letter concerns the divinity of Jesus. About that there s more than one thing to say. 1. Was Jesus God? No. Not even the New Testament says that. It speaks of him as the Word of God, the Son of God, the Messiah, and so forth, but never simply identifies him with or equates him with God. As John s gospel puts it, he is the Word become flesh that is, he reveals what can be seen of God in a finite human life. To say, I believe Jesus was God (as some Christians do, or think they are supposed to) goes beyond what the New Testament affirms and is thus more than biblical. He is the Word incarnate not the disembodied Word. 2. Did some of his followers experience Jesus as a divine reality after his death, and have some Christians had such experiences in the centuries since, including into the present? Yes. These experiences led to the conviction that Jesus was one with God, at the right hand of God, and ultimately to the doctrine of the Trinity: that God is one (monotheism) and yet known/experienced in three primary ways (as God, the Son, and the Spirit). This is the context in which it makes sense to praise and pray to Jesus. But this doesn t mean that Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus during his historical life, was God. 3. Jesus of Nazareth was completely human. He did not have a divine component that made him different in kind from the rest of us. That s what it means to say he was true man, fully human. He didn t have a divine supercharger. 2.

3 4. Does that make him ordinary? No. I think he is one of the two most remarkable human beings who ever lived. I don t really care who the other one was my point is that what we see in Jesus is a human possibility. That s what makes him so remarkable. If he was also divine, then he s not all that remarkable. If he had the knowledge and power of God, he could have done so much more. 5. Christian language about the exalted status of Jesus as the Word of God, the Son of God, the Messiah, and so forth, is testimony, witness: this is who Jesus became and who he is in Christian experience, life, and thought. This is who he is for those of us who are Christians. Best wishes, Marcus Borg First Reading: 21 COR 10:16-17 Brothers and sisters: The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf. Second Reading: Origin of the Feast of the Holy Eucharist (exerps from Gregory Johnson) Many centuries had passed over the Church of Christ before there was any distinct feast of the Blessed Sacrament. And in the 13th century when Our Lord chose that it should be instituted, He had recourse to (Saint) Juliana of Liege, a 13th century Norbertine nun who was with a group of women devoted to Eucharastic worship. She had a vision that she was to be the instrument of this devotion in His Church. St. Thomas Aquinas was living then, and so was King St. Louis, but God chose neither the learning of the one nor the royal power of the other to be the means of executing His desire. 3.

4 After hiding her desire for some 40 years, Juliana imparted the mission to her confessor, and with her leave he consulted others, especially Father James de Threzis, Archdeacon at the Cathedral of Liège. This priest was afterwards elected Bishop of Verdun, then Patriarch of Jerusalem and, at last, Pontiff of Rome, called Urban IV. The Pope commissioned St. Thomas Aquinas to compose the Proper for a Mass and an Office for the feast day. (Today, we know two of the hymns from that Mass, Pange Lingua and its last two stanzas Tantum Ergo ). One year later, in August of 1264, Urban IV, by means of the papal bull Transiturus, instituted the feast of Corpus Christi for the universal Church. At the same time the Pope granted many indulgences to the faithful for attendance at Mass and the Office. t The Corpus Christi feast and processions entered the Church calendar in the 13th century. Third Reading: To the present The weakening of faith in the real presence of the Risen Christ in the Eucharist is one of the most significant aspects of the current spiritual crisis. Jesus wants to strengthen our faith in His Eucharistic presence. That is why from time to time in the history of the Catholic Church He gives us signs Eucharistic miracles that clearly underscore the fact that He, the Risen Lord Himself in the mystery of His Divinity and glorified humanity, is truly present in the Eucharist. The most recent Eucharistic miracle recognized by the Church authorities occurred in 1996 in the capital of Argentina Buenos Aires. (Gregory Johnson) 4.

5 A consecrated Host becomes flesh and blood In the evening on August 18, 1996, Fr. Alejandro Pezet was saying Mass at a Catholic church in the commercial center of Buenos Aires. As he was finishing distributing Holy Communion, a woman came up to tell him that she had found a discarded host at the back of the church. Going to the spot indicated, Fr. Alejandro saw the defiled Host, placed it in a container of water and put it in the tabernacle of the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament. On August 24 the Host had turned into a bloody substance. He informed Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, who gave instructions that the Host be professionally photographed. The photos were taken on September 6. They clearly show that the Host, which had become a fragment of bloodied flesh, had grown significantly in size. For several years the Host remained in the tabernacle, being kept a strict secret. Since the Host suffered no visible decomposition, Cardinal Bergoglio decided to have it scientifically analyzed. On October 5, 1999, in the presence of the Cardinal s representatives, Dr. Castanon took a sample of the bloody fragment and sent it to New York for analysis. Since he did not wish to prejudice the study, he purposely did not inform the team of scientists of its provenance. One of these scientists was Dr. Frederic Zugiba, the well-known cardiologist and forensic pathologist. He determined that the analyzed substance was real flesh and blood containing human DNA. Zugiba testified, the analyzed material is a fragment of the heart muscle found in the wall of the left ventricle close to the valves. This muscle is responsible for the contraction of the heart. The left cardiac ventricle pumps blood to all parts of the body. The heart muscle is in an inflammatory condition and contains a large number of white blood cells. This indicates that the heart was alive at the time the sample was taken. It is my contention that the heart was alive, since white blood cells die outside a living organism. They require a living organism to sustain them. Thus, their presence indicates that the heart was alive when the sample was taken. What is more, these white blood cells had penetrated the tissue, which further indicates that the heart had been under severe stress, as if the owner had been beaten severely about the chest. 5.

6 Gospel Acclamation Gospel: John: 6: God be with you. And also with you. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John. Glory to you, O God. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat? Jesus said to them, Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever. Listen to what the Spirit is telling us. Glory and praise! Silent reflection and dialogue Intercessions The Eucharist is the seal of God s covenant, uniting Christians and giving them the strength to bring God s love to others, even when faith carries a high price, Pope Francis said, celebrating the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ with an evening Mass outside Rome s Basilica of St. John Lateran June 4. He said the church and its members will never cease being in awe of the Eucharist. As the sun began to set, the Mass was followed by a traditional Corpus Christi procession from St. John Lateran to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, one mile away. Tomorrow Pope Francis will lead another Corpus Christi procession in Rome. With them, we echo the Holy Father s prayers: Let us remember our many brothers and sisters who do not have the freedom to express their faith in the Lord Jesus. Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament,have mercy on us. 6.

7 Let us be united with them; let us sing with them, praise with them, adore with them, he said. And, in our hearts, let us venerate those brothers and sisters who were asked to sacrifice their lives out of fidelity to Christ. May their blood, united to the Lord s, be a pledge of peace and reconciliation for the whole world. Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, have mercy on us. The Eucharist sanctifies us, purifies us and unites us in a marvelous communion with God. In that way we learn that the Eucharist is not a prize for the good, but strength for the weak; for sinners it is pardon; it helps us move forward, to walk. Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, have mercy on us. We scatter when we are not docile to the Lord s word, when we do not live in brotherhood...when we are unable to offer hope. Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, have mercy on us. Christ, present among us under the sign of bread and wine, demands that power of love overcome every fracture and, at the same time, become communion with the poor, support for the weak and fraternal concern for those who struggle to bear the weight of daily life and are in danger of losing their faith, Pope Francis said. Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, have mercy on us. Being competitive, thinking that arrogance is a charming personal quality or that you are never wrong are other symptoms, the pope said. All of this devalues us, makes us mediocre, tepid, insipid Christians, pagans. Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, have mercy on us. Please add your personal intentions here. R. Not by our own merits and with sincere humility, we can bring our brothers and sisters the love of our lord and savior, Pope Francis said. We will be his eyes searching out Zacchaeus and Mary Magdalene; we will be his hands that help those sick in body and spirit; we will be his heart that loves those in need of mercy, reconciliation and understanding. 7.

8 Bread Breaking Prayer We bring bread to our table today -- a symbol of hope for newness and regeneration. It calls us to be still, to be mindful of the richness and diversity of human expressions of relationship to the Holy One. It is one of many breads of resurrection. Let us pray together: Blessed are you, spirit of the resurrection, for continually bringing new life out of weary roots. Keep us rising. Our cup is also a cup of liberation. The gospel stories challenge us to liberate ourselves from injustice. Our own stories connect us with all of humanity. We know that no person is truly free until all people are free. Our cup celebrates our vision of a fully liberated people of God and of a fully liberated world. It celebrates too our solidarity with all who work for liberation, so let us pray together Blessed are you, Nurturer, who creates the fruit of the vine and shows us the way to liberation. When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim your death and resurrection, Christ Jesus, until you come again. Bread Breaking Song: Let Us Break Bread Together # Closing Prayer Go now, to serve Christ and follow him. Let your old life fall like a grain of wheat into the earth so that you may bear much fruit as you allow God to reshape your heart and live in obedience to the law written within you. And may God centre you in truth and steady your spirit. May Christ renew your joy and strengthen your will. And may the Spirit teach you God s hidden wisdom...and fill you with songs of rejoicing. We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,...In the name of Christ. Amen. Closing Song: Lord of the Dance #