No one of us desires anything so eagerly as God
desires to bring us to the knowledge of Himself. God is always ready, but we are very unready. God is near us, but we are far from Him. God is within, and we are without. God is friendly — we are estranged.
… Meister Eckhart (Do you seek knowledge of God? How do you feel about growing closer to
God?)
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Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25; Psalm 138:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 7c-8 Matthew 7:7-12 Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find;
knock, and the door will be opened to you. For the one who asks always receives; the one who searches always finds; the one who knocks will always have the door opened to him. Is there a man among you who would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or would hand him a snake when he asked for a fish? If you, then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
‘So always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the Law and the Prophets.’
Reflection on the Scriptures
Today’s gospel is one of my favorites. I enjoy readings that are applicable to every day life. The Sermon on the Mount is full of lessons that teach us how to live a faith filled, moral, and
ultimately joy-filled life. Today’s lesson is one of persistence. This notion is double edge sword for this stubborn German girl. You see, if I am passionate about something, or really want something I set my mind to it and it’s difficult to stop me from achieving whatever it is that I’m working toward. This can be a valuable quality— at
least, this is what I’ve heard from my employers, patients and dear friends and family. I am a fierce advocate! The problem is that I lack patience. I often pray for patience. When I’m working on a project in my job as a nurse, caring for a patient with a complex situation or helping a friend or family member with something I often pray that the resolution come quickly. It’s really difficult for me when it doesn’t, this is when my inborn stubbornness or persistence
comes in. Jesus is telling us in today’s gospel to remain faithful and be persistent when we have a need. As I quietly reflect on today’s reading, I’m reminded of several occasions when Jesus’ plan actually ended up being better than my timetable. Ask and ask often. by Angeela Maynard
The Bodily Resurrection of Jesus, by James Arraj
https://innerexplorations.com/catchtheomor/resurrecion.htm Inner Growth Publications, 2007.
Chapter 4: The Resurrection of Jesus Archetypes and the Resurrection NLet’s return now to the criticisms raised about the resurrection appearances. While it is true that Communion and no doubt many other accounts of aliens can and ought to be given a psychological
explanation, when we turn to the resurrection narratives we see that they have a different atmosphere than the archetypal manifestations we have been seeing. The resurrection appearances simply don’t lend themselves to the same kind of interpretation. If Jesus had emerged out of the unconscious of the disciples, we would expect him to have come trailing clouds of archetypal material. This is not the same as saying there is no archetypal dimensions to the Gospels with their talk of life and
death, light and darkness, good and evil, but rather to say that the resurrection stories do not present themselves as primarily being the result of the eruption of unconscious material.
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