Devotion
At the right hand of God
David Jacobs
Have you ever played the game 'telephone'? The game basically goes like this: I tell the person next to me a sentence that only they can hear. They then have to tell the person next to them so only they can hear. It goes on and on until it comes back to me, and then I relay what the final sentence sounds like. By the time it reaches the original person, what you end up with is usually completely inaccurate, with perhaps a lot of the same phonetic sounds but the meaning completely changed.
The reason I bring up this game is because of the gospels themselves: each gospel was written at different times and by different people. The style of each gospel is unique; Mark is more simple, John more fantastic and supernatural, Matthew more poetic, and Luke more detailed. Like the game of telephone, the more people that are playing, the farther that the message has to go, the more distorted it will become.
This is why Mark, in my opinion, is the most accurate depiction of the life of Christ. Christ is still the son of God; he performs miracles, healing the sick and preaching about love for all mankind; and finally, in these verses, he dies and rejoins his Father, and ours, sitting beside God.
Prayer
If you read the final chapter of each gospel, you will get a more clear idea of the style of each writer. The more fantastic the story, perhaps the more likely it was embellished due to the distance that the story had to travel. Mark's gospel lacks a lot of the flair and poetic beauty of the other gospels. That is why I feel it is the most accurate.
Devotion
Culpability
Frances Taylor
This is an interesting passage because, among other things, it talks about sin and who is considered guilty of sin. Paul is talking about how he has been forgiven, how God has been merciful to him because his actions were committed in unbelief. In order for sin to be committed, one needs to know he is committing it. No one can commit sin in retrospect. Sin is always a deliberate act. This can be hard for some to understand. Actions can be considered sinful, even though the person committing them may not be culpable. For example, lying is a sin. However, is the two year old hiding behind the curtains sinning when he or she claims not to have broken the vase? No, because the child has no understanding of the difference between truth and lie. Those who do not have a relationship with God, who do not know the commandments, who have never heard of Jesus, may commit sinful actions, but are not guilty of sin. This is what Paul claims is his situation. Paul ...
Morning Prayer
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, ) full of grace and truth.
Inspiration
When the Lord sent his only Son, he sent also his word. For his body was this very word made flesh. Importantly this was not simply a manifestation of God's word, but also rather an 'animation' of it (meant here in the original Latin as 'animare' –'to instill with life or spirit'), an instance of God's love and divine grace in action, among us.
Prayer
Lord, I am grateful for your mercy in showing us your word made flesh so that we may be redeemed. Further, I am grateful to you for showing us your love and grace through your only begotten son. Let his body not have been torn and broken for no avail, but feed us now in the Eucharist. Let not his blood have...
