Easter is about belief. It has a lot to believe in, perhaps more than any other Season. Advent is easy. It is all about John the Baptist preparing the way. Then comes Christmas containing a difficult concept for many: the virgin birth. It is a short season, one and sometimes two weeks, and we are rushed into Epiphany. Yes, there are the Wise men, but there are only three and they do not last too long. The rest of the season is rather uneventful. There is the Lenten Season and Passion week. Passion week is difficult. It does not necessarily threaten our belief. However, the more we become involved in it, the gorier it becomes. Crucifixion is a bloody scene and there is the finality of death. Then here comes Easter and the Resurrection. The stories last some three weeks and then we are into the Good Shepherd stories. We can work our way through them with a bit of a relief. The problem is we keep coming back to that empty tomb and the impact it has on those who loved Him. Read more
Fourth Sunday of Easter
Posted by Paul Edwards (Fr. Paul) on Apr 11, 2013
Fourth Sunday of Easter. I have told you, and you do not believe. Belief is not a matter of facts. Belief is a reality that we create when we see the facts. The religious leaders did not believe who Jesus was, not because of the evidence but because of what they thought about the evidence. They were both on different pages. Read more
Pentecost V Mark 5:21-43
Posted by Paul Edwards (Fr. Paul) on Jun 21, 2012
The rational looks at what is seen, the spiritual looks at what is unseen. The rational is thinking what happened and the spiritual is thinking how it happened. Spiritual understanding knows when we are in the Presence, we will see things differently than when we are out of the Presence. That is the main part of the teaching. We never really understand what the difference is until we actually experience both the rational and the spiritual. Read more
Pentecost IV Mark 4:35-41
Posted by Paul Edwards (Fr. Paul) on Jun 14, 2012
Rational thinking can lead to a dead end. There are numerous rational details. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion, and his disciples had to wake him up. Where has rational thinking taken us? Was Jesus telling them to calm their own storms next time? Perhaps Mark wrote it for us to feel guilty because we have such little faith when the storms of life hit us. Rationally, that is about it. Read more
Faith and Belief
Posted by Paul Edwards (Fr. Paul) on Jan 27, 2011
The Apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith”. Jesus replied, “If you had the faith the size of a mustard see, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'be uprooted and planted in the sea. and it would obey you." The Apostles were thinking about their belief and Jesus was speaking to their faith. Read more
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