The life of holiness is the life of faith in
which the believer, with a deepening knowledge of his own sin and helplessness apart from Christ, increasingly casts himself upon the Lord, and seeks the power of the Spirit and the wisdom and comfort of the Bible to battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil.
- Edmund P. Clowney (1917-2005) ("I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me." Phil. 4:13)
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Jeremiah 7:23-28; Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 Luke 11:14-23 Jesus was casting out a devil and it was dumb; but when the devil had gone out the dumb man spoke, and the
people were amazed. But some of them said, ‘It is through Beelzebul, the prince of devils, that he casts out devils.’ Others asked him, as a test, for a sign from heaven; but, knowing what they were thinking, he said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is heading for ruin, and a household divided against itself collapses. So too with Satan: if he is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? – since you assert that it is through Beelzebul that I cast out devils. Now if it is
through Beelzebul that I cast out devils, through whom do your own experts cast them out? Let them be your judges then. But if it is through the finger of God that I cast out devils, then know that the kingdom of God has overtaken you. So long as a strong man fully armed guards his own palace, his goods are undisturbed; but when someone stronger than he is attacks and defeats him, the stronger man takes away all the weapons he relied on and shares out his spoil.
‘He who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me scatters.’
Reflection on the Scriptures
The world continues to be divided and angry, with retribution after retribution being exacted; the US (my nation) has been re-dividing for a long time and today, with truly reckless abuse of power; everywhere we
turn religious factions are finding deeper chasms and more ways to villainize and oppress those whose faith varies from their own. Today, as I watch all of the political goings-on that are causing very real pain across our precious at-risk common home - from well-intentioned workers losing their jobs to children starving for want of Aid that is sitting unused in warehouses - my spirit and my heart are divided, too. Both readings today struck me, in this state of mind, as reminding me of how we all fall short. Whether we are not Listening to the voice that calls us beloved, or we are not loving our neighbors: "...house will fall against house", or we are hardening our hearts in fear (as I fear that I am), we are falling short of God's
desires for us. So the best I can do is to first, heed the gentle command of the Responsorial Psalm:" If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts", and then second, to trust in God's invitation of the listed Verse: "...return to me with your whole heart, for I am gracious and merciful." I pray today that my frustrations,
anger, broken heart and anguished spirit can be softened and healed by our loving God, if I but stop and listen, and allow my God to enter in. May we each find space amid the madness for God's presence and peace, today and every day. Amen. -by Kimberly Grassmeyer
The Bodily Resurrection of Jesus, by James Arraj
https://innerexplorations.com/catchtheomor/resurrecion.htm Inner Growth Publications, 2007.
Chapter 4: The Resurrection of Jesus Visions and the Resurrection Let’s look at seven cases in more detail in which outer effects noticed by
others were said to be present. Case #1. The recipient falls unconscious and has a vision of Jesus in a heavenly city. She reports that the smell of wine came from her mouth and was noticed by other church members. Case #2. A visionary falls asleep and is battling an evil creature with the help of Jesus whom he never sees above the level of the shoulder. His wife reports that he levitated during this struggle. In neither case do the bystanders see Jesus. In case #25 the recipient has a vision of Jesus outside in snow 18” deep. The spot
where Jesus stood, which was about 3’ in diameter, was bare ground, but no tracks led to the spot. The person receiving the vision was unsure if the body was transparent or not. Case #26. The visionary was the victim of a ski accident which injured his neck vertebrae. Jesus appears to him in the hospital and he makes a miraculous recovery. He could not see the details of Jesus’ face. It was as if there was a hollow with hair draped around it. Case #27. The recipient sees Jesus standing over the bed of
a sick friend, but facing and looking at him. Jesus touches his friend and disappears. His friend jumps up, healed, and had felt something touch his head but had not seen anything. The recipient felt that this encounter was like an encounter with an ordinary person, although the fact that Jesus is looking at him and he recognizes Jesus spontaneously might be taken as pointing to its subjective character. None of these cases are particularly convincing that Jesus was present in other than an intrapsychic way. By far the most challenging case is #28 in which a Pentecostal minister reports numerous extraordinary experiences including two appearances of Jesus to a group of church members. In the first, Jesus opens the door to the church and walks down the aisle, and when he reaches the pulpit, walks through it. Then Jesus places his left hand
on the minister’s shoulder who falls to the ground, and Jesus speaks to him in another language. Fifty people were present on this occasion.38
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