Jesus Christ's Works Testify

 The Bible’s New Testament tells about Jesus Christ. The first four books, the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), were written by witnesses of His ministry on Earth, or at least investigated shortly thereafter. From the beginning, Jesus preached about His Kingdom of Heaven, and He also performed countless miracles. He became famous in Israel where He lived and even beyond. Hoards of people came to Him so they could learn from Him and be healed (cf. Matthew 4:23-25). 

[Note: my Bible links go to the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE), at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). They bring up the entire chapter of the reference, where the verses can be easily found. The exception is where, for some reason, the USCCB links don’t work, in which case I connect with BibleGateway, using the same version of the Bible.]

In one specific example, John Chapter 5 relates that Jesus Christ healed a man who had been unable to walk for 38 years. It is worthwhile to read the whole chapter. Some Jews, probably indicating leaders of the religious sects, saw the healing but criticized Christ for doing it on the Sabbath, since doing work on that day was against their religious laws. In response, Christ spoke about the prophet who came before Him, John the Baptist. John testified about the truth, meaning that of Christ being the Son of God. Then Jesus says, “But I have a greater testimony than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me” (John 5:36).

Backtracking in John 5 a bit, Christ had said, “My Father is at work until now, so I am at work” (John 5:17). The next verse relates, “For this reason, the Jews tried all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath but He called God His own Father, making Himself equal to God” (John 5:18). 

Christ’s use of the word “works” may go beyond “miracles,” perhaps also meant to include the suffering for which He was headed on behalf of humankind. But we can associate the healing miracles with His works since He used the word in this context. In these cases, affected people were cured instantly. They were not given pills or operated upon. 

 

So, some people saw physical wonders, yet squirmed out of directly considering the phenomena. They accused Jesus Christ of disobeying the religious laws, which they, in their own way, carried to the extreme.

 

Other people accepted the miracles for what they were. Certainly 2000 years ago, they did not understand medicine as we do today. But they knew that never otherwise would lepers spontaneously heal at a touch (Matthew 8:1-4), or crippled persons instantaneously walk with a few words (John 5:1-15). Never before had the blind been able to see with an application of mud (John 9), or the dead respond to commands to return to life (Mark 5:21-43; John 11:1-44).  

And the works went beyond healing humans. Storms ceased (Mark 4:35-41), food was replicated (Matthew 14:15-21), among many other things (John 21:25).

 

It is worth contemplating that in His particular time on Earth, Christ placed so much emphasis on these miracles, to the point of using them to prove He is God.

 

How did Christ mend the failed biological systems of human bodies so they could once again function? He had to have a fundamental understanding of what organs and circulatory systems are, down to the cells and their extremely intricate makeup. He obviously had to have the ability to re-build tissue which was damaged and destroyed by disease and aging, and do so immediately. How did he change the trajectory of the wind? He probably knew all about the Earth’s weather patterns and systems. But having information about these things and commanding them to change immediately are two different things.

 

God is way above our possible knowledge. Humanity has come a long way in understanding natural laws, but what the Bible describes about the miracles is at a supernatural level. To blame Christ for healing on the Sabbath is a poor excuse for denying the Divine.

Though the terms "supernatural," "mystical," and "spiritual," may all bring certain ideas to our minds, I admit I don't have the meanings completely in my grasp. The words represent realities beyond the natural plane and above full human comprehension. Some of the Church's great thinkers have speculated on the supernatural, including St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas. An interesting point that St. Thomas asserted was that an infinite power, referring to God the First Mover, "can move immediately any bodies whatever" (Summa Theologiae, I Q.105, A. 2). By "immediately," he means that no time passes in creative acts.

Atheists don't believe in God at all, and I don't think I'm exaggerating that many secular scientists hold that our intellects will use science to reveal all the physical properties of our universe. Some Christians seem to acknowledge God and yet not the supernatural in any sense that pertains to us. Many think our universe came about by purely natural causes, and they also refuse even the possibility that God may have created different living species directly.

 

Of course, Christians have become gun-shy about science relating to religion. Medicine changed when people realized that diseases are caused by natural agents instead of spirits or evil gods. We all know about the revolution of understanding of the universe since Copernicus and Galileo. St. Augustine warned in so many words that the Bible is not a science book (The Literal Meaning of Genesis). However, St. Thomas recognized that experts can disagree and "facts" be replaced. We know this to be true from progress in the understanding of scientists, such as from Newtonian gravity to the relativity of Einstein, and from determinism of atoms to the discoveries of quantum physics. St. Thomas advised to rely on what is taught about God from revelation (cf. Summa Theologiae II-II, Q. 2, AA. 3,4).

When one speaks of balance, it is difficult to avoid the pull of the natural. Biology, physics, chemistry, are magnificent and continue to amaze. But a person needs to consider the supernatural, which goes beyond what many scientists have limited reality to be. To think everything is only natural is also an extreme. He or she does not have to believe in a young Earth to believe in Christ’s miracles. We must be careful against making false associations that bring “all or nothing” conclusions, but, at least for a time, consider separate fields of study separately and then, where appropriate, integrate them.

The denial of Christ performing supernatural works is one area where Christian theology has gone wrong in the last few centuries: the historical-critical method where miracles can be negated, primarily due to our progress in science and associated fields. Various theologians attributed the Biblical information to unreliable stories, contemporary misunderstandings, or downright fabrications. Alfred Loisy (1857-1940) is considered the father of the Catholic modern movement, but theologians from other denominations were already sharing these ideas before him.

To some degree there has been a backlash to the historical-critical method, with Pope Benedict XVI one of the most influential persons in re-establishing a balance of factual investigation and allowance for Divine reality. He addressed this need in several places, including the Foreword to his book, Jesus of Nazareth, Part II.

However, I think there is still a strong impression among many Christians that God made humans capable of knowing all physical properties and laws, and we must find the subsequent sequences of all causes that got us to our present state. Christ’s amazing miracles, for many, do not fit in the step-wise logic.

Where does anti-supernaturalism stop? Catholics should believe the hosts in Mass are changed to Christ’s body and blood, yet many do not. We are told in the Scriptures that the Holy Spirit is living within believers (1 Corinthians 6:19 is one example). The late Pope Francis, who initiated the Synods on Synodality, asked us to pray that the Holy Spirit guide us in these proceedings. Once again, we are talking about a supernatural level.

God uses His judgment to do what is best. It is not for us to tell Him what that is, but to accept and appreciate what He has done and ask Him to continue to work in our lives. There's nothing in that to stop us from learning all we can about His Divine actions and the physical laws around us, and seek discernment to get a better idea of each realm.

Jesus Christ performed miracles during His life on Earth, which did testify He is God. People who were there saw these demonstrations of Divine power. Many believed, and some wrote them down so that other people could know about them and believe too.

GOOD NEWS -- THE GOSPEL!

 Does everyone know the good news of Jesus Christ, which is called the Gospel?

Though I have referred to the Gospel previously in this blog, I want to give a condensed timeline of it in this post which will be linked to my home page. To clarify, the word “Gospels” can also refer to the first four books of the Holy Bible New Testament, which describe the life of Jesus.

The links to Bible references in this post are to the BibleGateway website, since they have the approved version of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB): the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE). The Bible references are from NABRE unless otherwise noted. For your information, the Vatican Archives have the New American Bible in five languages HERE and the USSCB books to the Bible webpage is HERE. You can probably find Bibles in paper copies almost everywhere. There are many other resources about theology, but the Bible is the best and most available start, and the New Testament Gospels get right into the life of Christ.

The reader may have questions arising from the events that took place concerning Jesus Christ. The mysteries surrounding Him have been debated by persons ever since He appeared on Earth in present-day Israel over 2000 years ago. Sometimes Church leaders had to meet in councils over periods of time to make sure they were understanding God correctly. But first, every person needs to hear about Him. Then I hope you will seek Him by going to a church and speaking with a Christian professional.

The Gospel Timeline:

First, God, Whom we also call the LORD, has always existed (many verses in the Bible express this, an example being Romans 1:19-20). God consists of One Essence and Three Persons. These Persons are the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit.

God created the Heavens and the Earth and all the types of living inhabitants of the Earth, and all that He created was good (Genesis 1).

God created humans in His likeness, meaning we have ability to think and reason more than other earthly animals, and we can make choices in what we do. God created us as companions (although He did not have to), and He allows us to choose because He did not want robot-like friends but those who would be capable of these features of thought, reason, and choice. He wanted relationship with us as intellectual creatures. However, with these abilities also came the inevitable link to free will. If humans are to choose, they must be free to choose right or wrong.

In the beginning, God made two humans, Adam and Eve, and they lived perfectly for a while, but then they both made a choice to disobey a command God had given them (Genesis 3). This was an act against God, which is known as sin, and because of the bad choice they made, all humans came under that burden of sin: “Therefore, just as through one person sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all, inasmuch as all sinned” (Romans 5:12).

Later, God gave laws to the Jewish people, including the Ten Commandments, described in the Old Testament of the Bible (starting at Exodus 19, through Exodus 24). He told them if they kept these laws, they would flourish, but if they didn’t, they would suffer severe consequences (Deuteronomy 29). Unfortunately, time and again they failed to follow the rules.

So even though humans were made good, we can and do make some bad choices. Because of this, we are incapable of living a perfect life with a perfect God in Heaven, which is truly a forever home. Included in God’s perfection is justice, and as we do with criminals in our surroundings, He applies justice as deserved. Unfortunately, all humans (except for Christ) sin and deserve judgment.

That is why Jesus Christ came to Earth. He took on human nature in all but sin, also keeping divine nature (one Person, two natures). He lived a perfect life and pleased God the Father. As God and Son, He could live a perfect life in Heaven forever. But He came down to save us from the punishment we deserve. Jesus Himself said, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life” (John 3:16).

In God’s love for us, Jesus took on punishment in our place by dying on a cross. God the Father accepted this act as a sacrifice in atonement for our sins (Romans 3:21-26, NIV). But not only did He die, but He rose from the dead and eventually ascended into Heaven (Matthew 28). He showed us that He is the hope for life with God after death.

Jesus Christ, as already quoted above in John 3:16, tells us that we are to believe in Him in order to benefit from His redemptive (saving) act. We are to believe He is God (a Person of the Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit), that He died for our sins and then rose from the dead.

This is called the New Covenant. Since humans failed with the old one, God has supplied the new one. On our part, God requires us to believe in Him. It is the least we can do, to give credence for Who Jesus is and credit for what He has done for us.

Time to Write!

When, at the end of February, I saw “Merry Christmas” on my last blog post, my first thought was that I am behind again. My life has almost always seemed that way, at least as I remember it. There is more in it than I can keep up with, and I’m not sure if that’s true for everyone or just some of us.

I won’t go into details, as all of us know how it is to grow up in an age where there is much to learn in school, much going on with relationships, much to cope with at work. I think some roll with situations quickly, where others want to reflect on them, which takes time.

I have been very blessed to have the necessities of life, although sometimes I had to work for them harder than other times. Even in the times I haven’t had a conventional type of job, there are many things I’d like to say (and write), and to read, and to do, but can’t do them all. 

I repeatedly go to the Lord to ask for discernment to put things in order of importance so that I can tackle what I can without being totally bogged down. Discernment itself can be difficult, but it involves faith that Jesus hears and helps. I believe He keeps me going even though my rate seems slower, most of the time, than I think it should be or that others have. Then I must develop the confidence that I am falling in step with God and not really behind at all.

God can provide the sturdy footing for each of us to find our best pace.

Have a Blessed 2021 Christmas

Christmas is only a few days away, so I thought I'd say Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

To my regret, I don't think I'll be going to mass on Christmas because of the repeat in COVID number spikes. I'm in the susceptible category, though I am grateful to have avoided it so far. I missed Easter mass last year in the shut-downs. I will watch a service on EWTN from Rome at 4:30 am. I'm an early bird and will be up anyway. I hope that next year will be more normal and we can all attend all the masses and church services we desire.

God is with us, at home, work and church. We can celebrate the coming of Christ no matter where we are, although Catholics desire the communion which comes when we attend mass. Of course, many Christians get together with food and presents in celebration of Christ's entry to Earth. Sometimes, though, it seems the celebrations don't spell out all that Christ's appearance implies. Don't get me wrong--it is commemoration of a joyous occasion (Luke 2:8-11). However, this year, with increased quiet time to reflect, I see Christmas more as the beginning of the most important battle of good versus evil happening on our planet. This war was going on before, but in the critical battle, Christ came to die for us, and also agreed to live a perfect life so He could take our place in the atonement of sins. Neither of these could have been easy even though He is God. 

And the war continues now in our world, but in a different way after Christ's victory. Satan knows he is defeated but tries to fool people away from the Lord. Unfortunately this enemy with his minions has been winning in the US in the last decades. A recent Pew Survey shows the numbers of decreasing Christianity and increasing "nones," people unaffiliated with religion (article HERE).

The battleground for Christians is in the realm of faith. If we believe in Jesus as our Savior, that He died for our sins to satisfy justice, and that He is God as part of the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we can abide with Him forever. This is our benefit of His great triumph. But for those who don't believe, the future, in this world and beyond, is very bleak. The challenge is to get non-believers to realize the truth and recognize the Truth.

I pray for everyone's safety and health. I hope you will give time to reflect on Christmas. It is a joyous celebration, but it is also a sober reminder of the circumstances under which Christ was born, what He came to do and then accomplished.

A Blessed Easter to Everyone

I was surprised when I recently looked at the date on my last post at how long ago it was. It’s almost Easter, so I’ll take this opportunity to say that I hope everyone may have a blessed Easter. That would mean two different “everyone’s.”

First, for those who believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and came to Earth, lived as fully human and fully God, was killed by crucifixion on a cross and then rose from the dead, this is a holiday to celebrate His life and that very resurrection with joy. He told us that if we believe in Him, we can live forever with Him in Heaven even after our own Earthly passing. The fact that He rose from the dead shows us that life after death is possible.

Second, for those who don’t believe in Jesus, Who is part of the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I hope you have a blessed Easter by realizing that Jesus is true and your whole life can be changed by believing in Him. I hope you will recognize Him as your Savior who lived a perfect life so that His sacrifice could be offered in atonement for the sins of all humans. In other words, because of Jesus, God the Father will accept you into heaven if you believe in His Son.

You in the second group, don’t let the evils of this world keep you from believing in God. As is repeated constantly, God did not make robots. He made people with free will, and that can result in bad choices which hurt others. Also, the sins of the first parents brought on fallen nature, so natural disasters are bound to happen. But Jesus is perfect. He doesn’t cheat on you, like a spouse might have done. He doesn’t abandon you, like a parent might have done. He doesn’t introduce you to destructive drugs, like so-called friends might have done. Yet He leaves you to decide whether to accept or reject His offer to come to Him. If you reject Him, you will find that after you die, it is you who have made the choice to be alone (or in bad company at any rate).

It is good for all of us to once in a while think about what happens when we die. There are no guarantees how long we will live, which should be very apparent considering these past 12 months. What do you really want to happen when you die? God Himself has come and told us what to expect. It is as simple and yet critical for each of us to make a commitment to the Lord.

Easter is the wonderful reminder that we can live in joy even after death, as long as we believe in the One who rose.

Cookie Evolution

Often, people who misunderstand how the theory of evolution is supposed to work do not realize the vast complexity of biological mechanisms. They look, for example, at fish and land animals and imagine changes in environment are all it takes to bring about transformation from one species to another. All you have to do is invoke small steps.

To those who know more about biology, the formulation sounds a little like this:

“Cookie Evolution.”

• a. One of my cupboards has a baking goods storage environment and therefore wheat randomly became flour and cane syrup by chance transformed into sugar to fill this space.
• b. There was an empty and therefore potential environment in my cookie jar.
• c. By chance, my flour and sugar randomly combined with butter and eggs from my refrigerator environment.
• d. The combined features evolved when they passed through an oven environment.
• e. My cookie jar environment got filled by nature alone!

The same could be said for birthday party environments being filled by birthday cakes, etc., but you get the picture. These are called “just so” stories because they state in part what is there but do not explain anything in a truly scientific way. You can use your imagination to make up a scenario, but that does not mean it actually happened that way!

Researchers, university professors and other so-called science promoters say things and show their videos that look good to the public on the surface but are often theory instead of fact, or at most partial facts without showing what is missing.

Does it stop science to think that God supernaturally created some animals and plants directly? Looking at my “Cookie Evolution” above, it is much more logical to assume that thinking people were behind the making of flour, sugar, and butter, bringing the ingredients together in a beneficial proportion and cooking them optimally for the best outcome. New discoveries about wheat or sugar cane, for example, would never replace the need for the involvement of living agents. I believe there is a point at which we can say that new discoveries about science will not displace the need for a Creator.

Even if feedback mechanisms seem to help organisms adapt to the environment, the proteins and other physiological systems must be there to make it work. With every species, new proteins, called ORFans, are found, at the rate of about 1 in 10^70 being functional (see my previous post for further info HERE). This is what so many evolutionists skip over completely without any attempt at explanation.

What can a layperson do about false information? Try to look at the raw facts. The word "evolution" is inserted into a great deal of published scientific papers whether it is proven or not. Just skip over the word and see what was really discovered about genes, proteins, molecular mechanisms or whatever the focus of the experiment. 

And you also have to consider what is not proven. Give a fair hearing to Creationists because they are the ones who are willing to look at this side. Do not discount what they say just because they belong to a certain group. Look at credentials—there are more and more Intelligent Design advocates and Special Creationists coming from the most prestigious learning institutions of our day.

Most importantly, be honest with yourself. This can be painful, as I know from experience. But I also know that a change in perspective can be very, very liberating.

Catholics believe in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. Right there we are looking at a supernatural genetic occurrence: the change of two X chromosomes to one X and one Y in one generation.

Personally, I think there may have been some cases in which one species may parent another that is not that far removed from it. On the other hand, I do not believe an ape of any kind gave birth to a human, either with intermediates or without. I think God created humans directly in a supernatural way. This is called Special Creationism (SC).

Jesus Christ knew human nature. He warned followers that we would be insulted for our faith in Him but He also said we would be rewarded for that very persecution (Matthew 5:11-12 NABRE). This is not to say we should promote SC for rewards alone. It is to say that if we believe in SC, we should have the courage to say so, to help others see what is true.

I find that the more I learn about biology, the more I think that what stops science is the unwillingness of many individuals to look at it straight in the face.

A Blessed Christmas 2018 to All

I pray for everyone who believes in Jesus Christ as God our Savior to have a wonderful celebration of His birth. And for those who don't believe, I pray even harder that you come to realize He is the way, the truth, the light for your life.

Just a little technical note, I discovered my books here on PDF files can be viewed better on my phone and nook than on my laptop (where they can be seen but are quite large). The EPUB was not supported on my phone and didn't come out well on the laptop but looked good on my nook (sigh--technology). I am glad they can still be read reasonably well at least on some devices although I realize they suffer from the shortcomings of an amateur.

Books can be accessed on their pages which can be reached on the top line and on the right column. I had a mobile design selected for a while but it didn't work well with my blog so I switched back to web version. I hope you can read it well enough if you want on a phone. If you have any suggestions I'd be happy to hear them. I hope any of you who are interested in reading one or more of my books and booklets will find the version best suited for you.

Year Marker

Tomorrow will mark one year since my husband, Tom, died of advanced Parkinson's disease. We did not have cemetery plots at the time, so I had to go quickly to our Church's cemetery office to purchase two. I was surprised to find that there were some available close to his family, in an older part of the cemetery. They had a large family gravestone, but the plots directly around it were all taken. Still, there were 3 right next to them, so I decided on two of these rather than in the new area. Whenever Tom and I went to the cemetery we went there, so I figured the location would be familiar for me to visit. I will go tomorrow and spend a little time. I will wait to put flowers until is is warmer. There are three urns there and I put flowers in close to Memorial Day.

I thought writing this post would help me get through today and tomorrow. I am OK, but it just weighs heavy, as anyone knows who goes through grief. That is, anyone who is old enough to survive a loved one.  I admired many things about my departed husband who was very kind and patient. But another is that his love brought to me a new appreciation of Christ's love. I had strayed away from the Christianity I was brought up with, going from atheist to agnostic. But in all that time I was trying to find meaning through externals such as personal appearance and accomplishments. With Tom I felt loved and accepted as I truly was, much more than when I was young and felt the competition of getting into a good school and then through those dark days of disbelief. And when he brought me to his Catholic church, that feeling of acceptance was reinforced. I believe God drew me near to Him then, perhaps directly but also through these people.

It is nice to have a blog at times such as now to express myself in ways it would be hard face to face with someone. My comfort is in the same God and people who love me and in believing I will be together with Jesus and Tom "in person" someday.

Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Today is the first Friday of June, the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  I had posted the devotion for the Sacred Heart HERE. If you would like a detailed description of the meaning and history of the Sacred Heart Devotion, you can go HERE to the New Advent website.  It holds a 1917 version of the Catholic Encyclopedia which is still beneficial for historical information and accessible free online.

The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus started about 1000 years ago.  It was associated with the piercing of Christ’s side on the cross, and the wounding of His heart was considered as representing God’s love.

by Rjcastillo

Then in the 1600’s, a nun named Margaret Mary Alacoque reported visions in which she saw and heard Jesus Christ. He talked of His love for mankind and encouraged the renewal of the devotion to His Sacred Heart. She took the request to the superior of a Jesuit house, Father de la Colombière.  Through his efforts the devotion grew in popularity and eventually popes got involved in approving and promoting it.

Margaret Mary was a Visitandine, from an order established by Saint Francis de Sales.  It was originally intended that the members of this order would visit the poor.  But due to local circumstances, they became an enclosed cloister.  Eventually, they moved in the direction of education and exist as such today. 

The founder, St. Francis de Sales, is a doctor of the church and considered the patron saint of writers.  I include this information because a prayer said along with the devotion supplicates for those who disdain the Christian faith, seeking that they may be converted to the Truth.  The New Evangelization depends greatly on education and communication as well as prayer.