have you ever thought of…

I get random thoughts throughout the day. Some of them are just “out there” and have no connection to what I am thinking about at the time. Here are some of these thoughts.

Have you ever thought of Purgatory as something where humans are given a second chance to love others as Christ loved us? Second chances are for those whom God deems worthy of perpetual light because they did not have the opportunity to know, love, and serve God in this life.

Did you ever think of the book of Genesis or all of Scripture, for that matter, as being forged on the anvil of human experiences, one where written documentation was not dominant but rather oral tradition was standard? If God were to actually tell us who he is, as he is, we would not have the capacity nor the language to even grasp it. Because of his love for us, God sent his only son to show us what it means to be human and to prepare to receive our inheritance as adopted sons and daughters of the Father.

Did you ever think of why Scriptures were written down for us? John 20:30-31 suggests it was written so that we would come to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and Messiah and that believing we would have life in his name. “Conclusion.^*30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of [his] disciples that are not written in this book.^s31But these are written that you may [come to] believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.^t“ The phrase “that you may come to believe” might have several meanings. My own interpretation, with apologies to St. Jerome, is that it reminds me that I begin each day as a new creation, a day that the Lord has made, and that I must move from self to God once again. I come to believe each day that Jesus is the Messiah.

Have you ever thought about where all these stories about Christ come from? All Scriptures are stories, fables, parables, love letters from God, as Brother Michael, O.C.S.O. told us one time, to remind us just how much Christ loves me, the individual, me, as one who gathers with other in Christ to share the Holy Spirit, and me who is one leaf on the great oak tree of the Church Universal.

Have you ever thought about where the structure of the three Synoptic Gospels came from? Did they just pull this out of the sky? Or, was the prevalent Greek hero myth format known to them and transposed to Christ? John’s Gospel focuses not on Christ the hero, but Christ the Messiah, who fulfills the divine plan of salvation God created.

Have you ever thought about stopping time? What does time seem to march on, despite the powers that humans seem to think they have to control it? Does time have a direction, as in linear, from beginning to end, like everything in existence that we know about? What can you control in your life? Do you have power over death? Do you have the choice to accept Jesus as Savior or to reject Him? Do you have the power to live forever?

…more to come.