Posts Tagged ‘Engagement’

Br. Todd Blackham

1 Cor. 15:1-11
Luke 7:36-50

There’s a big river right outside the monastery.  I’m frequently reminded of its beauty when I greet guests and show them around for the first time.  There are plenty of ways we interact with it, whether trying to get across it to go into the city of Boston or dealing with the inevitable noise of rowing teams and their coaches shouting over loud-speakers.  The river is a constant part of our life, but engaging with it on its own terms takes more effort.  Getting close to it is a completely different experience.  Walking along the banks you begin to notice all of the life that it supports.  Getting into a kayak or canoe you really get a sense for the smell, and temperature of the water, its size, and power.  It really comes alive in ways that a passing glance from the monastery window fails to offers.

It’s the same with Jesus and our spiritual lives.  Proximity doesn’t guarantee engagement.  The apostle Paul give the church in Corinth some very basic but vital reminders about the reality of person of Jesus.  Handing on of first importance what he had received, Paul reminds them, “That Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time… Then to James, the other apostles,” and finally to Paul himself. Read More