2008

[4-1-13]

Today I begin the 2^nd quarterly journal of 2013.

When I did the first- I had no idea that this might be a new format from now on.

As of today- I’m not dead set on it- but I think the format  is beneficial.

Okay- I went to Easter service yesterday- I visited a Catholic church in the area that I never went to before [I attend both Catholic and Protestant churches on and off- but I have been making the Mass pretty regularly the last few weeks].

I also watched a few of the services from Rome- being its Holy Week.

It would be too much to try and cover each chapter that was referenced- but maybe I can hit a few high points.

About a month ago I read Zechariah chapter 12.

It’s what we call a Messianic prophecy- which speaks of Christ.

A famous line ‘they shall look upon him whom they have pierced’.

The apostle Paul alludes to this in his letter to the Romans- chapters 11-12.

He speaks about the Jewish nation- and how at the return of Christ they will mourn for Jesus- they will recognize that he was the Messiah they were waiting for.

Now- as I also read the book of Luke this past month- I focused in on the Passion chapters during Holy Week.

Out of the 4 gospels the church has- 3 are fairly similar- but the gospel of John stands alone.

The majority of John’s gospel focuses in on the last week of Christ’s earthly life- the others cover a broader time period.

In the crucifixion accounts we see Jesus realizing that what’s happening is the fore ordained hand of God.

It’s sort of like he’s  ‘in charge’ [well- he is!] but in a way that even confounds the authorities.

Pilate says ‘don’t you know I have the power to take your life’?

Jesus  ‘you have no power- except what God gave you’.

You see this ‘in between the lines’ sense of Jesus saying ‘do what you have to do- lets get this thing over with’.

He knew it had to happen.

In one of the Masses from Rome- the English interpreter used a word I though was strange.

I’m not sure if she was using the right word- even though it ‘fit’.

The new Pope- Francis- was speaking Latin.

And the interpreter was saying ‘immolation’.

Talking about Christ’s passion.

Now- the word immolation means burning- if you remember my political posts of a couple years back.

When I covered the Arab Spring- the first nation to rebel was Tunisia.

In the streets of Tunis a merchant ‘self immolated’- burned himself to death- as a sign of protest against oppressive govt.

This sparked the Arab Spring.

So- how cold this fit in with the Passion of Christ?

In the Old Testament we have a system of sacrifices- animals being sacrificed- as a sign of the future sacrifice of Christ.

One of the notable ones is the Burnt Offering.

Jesus- according to the book of Hebrews- fulfilled the sacrificial system by his death on the Cross.

During his earthly ministry he spoke about fire- baptism.

He says to the disciples one time ‘can you be baptized with my baptism’?

They answer yes.

Jesus says they will indeed be baptized with it- but not in the way they think.

He was talking about the ‘baptism of fire’.

The suffering they would have to face in the coming days.

He in essence was saying ‘you too must pass thru the fire- like me’.

Jesus said at one time ‘I have come to set fire on the earth- and how I wish it were already started’.

Huh?

Fire?

Self immolation- what’s your point.

Jesus was talking about himself- he was going to be the ‘brunt offering’ the ‘self immolation’ that would spark the ‘Kingdom spring’- see?

In Zechariah 12 it speaks about those who fight- war against Jerusalem- Gods people.

One of the images is those who set themselves against it will get burned.

That the governors of Judah [the elders]- they are like ‘sheaf’s of fire’ In the midst of the wood- all who lay hold of it get burned.

Yes- Jesus was the ultimate sheaf- they lit he torch- so to speak- at Calvary.

They did not realize what they were doing.

They started a fire that they could not put out.

www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com

Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to scroll down on the timeline [Face- book] - I have posted lots.