“Grant me, O Lord, to desire only what is lawful and right, and afford me calmness of mind, and steadiness of purpose, that I may so do Thy will in this short life, as to obtain happiness
in the world to come, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
… Samuel Johnson (Take some time to reflect on the different part of this prayer, considering your own needs and circumstances.)
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Hebrews 10:19-25; Psalm 24:1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6 Mark 4:21-25 Jesus said to the crowd, ‘Would you bring in a lamp to put it under a tub or under the bed? Surely you will
put it on the lamp-stand? For there is nothing hidden but it must be disclosed, nothing kept secret except to be brought to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to this.’
He also said to them, ‘Take notice of what you are hearing. The amount you measure out is the amount you will be given – and more besides; for the man who has will be given more; from the man who has not, even what
he has will be taken away.’
Reflection on the Scriptures
Today’s image is a lamp, a light which, when lit, is not meant to be hidden in a tub or under a bed. Simple and clear enough in the hearing, but, what if we want more, a better lamp, light!
Jesus tells His disciples that, what is hidden will be revealed and what is secret will be disclosed. To this we respond, “ah good, God is going to give us more, clearer, enough!” We will never have enough to complete Him on earth, one cookie, such as yourself, myself, is what He asks us to be and to share and not from under a tub or bed. Two cookies are always better than one and yet the one, limited, seems to be enough for Jesus to
share with us. Early in Mark’s Gospel four fishermen were called out of their boats and away from their nets. These cookies were being formed by their listening to Jesus, to be distributed, shared. They hear many things, are given much and more is coming, but only depending on how they reveal outwardly all they have inwardly received.
Jesus’ relationship with them, and of course, with the readers or listeners to this Gospel, is oriented for display, for showing up and out and not showing off. His giving is for their living and the more will be given depending on its being lived. In short, nothing of His, is mine! I am finishing this
Reflection, because I do not have anything more or better to say and of course, I wish there were more. He gives the increase, I offer this one cookie-worth for you to munch. If it is good then it is from Him and for His sisters and brothers through you. Go! Let the secret out in the simplicity and crumbliness and goodness of your good-enough life. -by Larry Gillick, S.J.
The Bodily Resurrection of Jesus, by James Arraj
https://innerexplorations.com/catchtheomor/resurrecion.htm Inner Growth Publications, 2007.
Chapter 4: The Resurrection of Jesus The Relationship of Body to Soul Now let’s look at the relationship between the body and the soul again. The spiritual soul is, indeed, spiritual. It cannot cease to exist. Our bodies, on the other hand, are material and they can and do cease to
function and disintegrate. In death the body is separated from the spiritual soul and loses, as well, the elevation it enjoyed because of its union with the soul. This view of the relationship of the body to the soul demands that we avoid imagining that the body is somehow an extension or projection of the spiritual soul, itself, into space and time as if the essence of the body is actually a dimension of the soul so that at death this essential dimension of bodiliness is still within the soul
while the material body is left behind. Such a view risks confusing the very real potency of the human spirit which is united to the body in order to actualize itself, with the potency to substantial existence which is matter, itself. The spiritual soul is not the body, for it is spiritual and not material, and material beings have their own existence and action. And while the spiritual soul represents a flowering of the evolution of the universe, the rest of the universe is very real and
concrete and material, and not a projection of the spiritual soul. At death we do lose our bodies, and so it is hard to understand how we could say that the body is resurrected at the time of death. Certainly what the soul did in this life while united to
the body is somehow carried on with it, but the body, itself, which is material and which is rooted in the entire universe is, in fact, left behind.
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