Daily pages of reflection...for knowledge, understanding, to wisdom
Section of The Last Supper, Leonardo Da Vinci Section of The Last Supper, Leonardo Da Vinci

Time Dimension

December 31, 2017
Year 2, Day 365 | No Comments
Section of Sistine Chapel ceiling, Michaelangelo, 1508-1512

There are several flashing lights in Scripture that ought to alert us as being far more important than they seem.  One of these signals is time.  Time is a dimension that God gave to nature.  We register it, as he appeared to do in the creation account, and in several score events in Scripture including time related to the crucifixion and resurrection.  The mysteries of time are played with by prophets relating to themes: When is the time of his coming?  We learn that Jesus came in the fullness of time.  This is to say that he came at the right moment, after a time for human readiness or preparation.  The prophets seem to have caught the meaning, even though… Read more

Contradictory Life

December 30, 2017
Year 2, Day 364 | No Comments
Section of Christ and the Woman of Samaria, Benedetto Luti, 1715-20

Commonly, there is a private spiritual warfare, especially for the young Christian, in the evangelical tradition.  It finds its place in the context of learning about faith, and the human condition.  It seems like a battle between sin and righteousness.  It is sometimes difficult to discuss partly because of the vicissitudes of language.  For the word sin there is so great connotation (something in the meaning of a word besides what it primarily denotes), that we may lose the denotation (indicative of what it is). The difference between the two is often seen as contradictory.  The term is the same, but the difference creates a problem in meaning, or acceptance of meaning.  In the Bible, sin is communicated as anything… Read more

Legacies

December 29, 2017
Year 2, Day 363 | No Comments
Section of Christ and the Adulteress, Lucas Cranach the Younger and Workshop, ca. 1545–50

During a number of months in the closing decade of the twentieth century, our nation was taken with the bizarre events of the trial of O. J. Simpson – tried for the murder of his former wife and her boyfriend.  Simpson was declared: Not Guilty.  Later he was found guilty (responsibility for a crime) by another court and the family was awarded millions of dollars which will not likely be collected.  Simpson was even later found guilty of a crime, and is serving in prison at this writing, about fifteen years following the first trial.  The leading lawyer defending Simpson is now deceased, and an eminent supporting lawyer was jailed for a time in another venue, and disbarred.  The lawyers… Read more

Change In Order

December 28, 2017
Year 2, Day 362 | No Comments

Humanly speaking, in the confines of nature, one factor that is for sure is that there will be change.  For the slogan that the only things we know for sure are death and taxes there ought to be added change.  Change is built into life, made necessary because of the imperfections found in mankind and the dynamics of nature – addressed by persons with shifting attempts to win benefit in the currents of change.  Sometimes mankind wins, and sometimes loses.  Often the loss is traced to the irascibility of human beings found often even in serious application to problems.  Sometimes the projected solutions not only do not succeed in solving problems, but may add new difficulties.  Even clear and wisely… Read more

History’s Jesus

December 27, 2017
Year 2, Day 361 | No Comments
Section of Christ and the Adulteress, Lucas Cranach the Younger and Workshop, ca. 1545–50

Writers interested in history of the West periodically take up the matter of the human experience of the life of Jesus.  Interest ebbs and flows, and seems to relate to whatever the current preoccupation may be for student/scholarly activity, perhaps engaged, in historical and/or religious contexts.  The interest seems not a major one in secular society, but tolerated and variously or broadly interpreted.  Interest rises when the concepts of the author have some mythical idea that leads to a novel – as was the case during the last few years when an author proposed that Jesus married, had children, and his physical descendants are present in modern society.  When objections to the fanciful book were lodged, the author pointed out… Read more

Perceptional Truth

December 26, 2017
Year 2, Day 360 | No Comments
Section of Christ and the Adulteress, Lucas Cranach the Younger and Workshop, ca. 1545–50

During the mid-1930s in Akron, Ohio I would walk through shanty town to go from one area of my paper route to another.  Most of the residents were African-Americans.  The people of shanty town could not afford the newspaper which cost twenty cents a week, including Sunday, or three cents for a single copy and ten cents for Sunday’s.  I received one cent for a single sale and six cents for weekly customers.  I felt deeply for these people, at the bottom of the culture of The Great Depression.  One day there was a ruckus.  I diverted my usual route to see what was happening.  One of the men was about to accost another man, not a resident, for taking… Read more

Customs

December 25, 2017
Year 2, Day 359 | No Comments
Section of Christ and the Adulteress, Lucas Cranach the Younger and Workshop, ca. 1545–50

Customs are important to a people for several reasons usually attached to some value system, either secular or sacred, but felt to be highly valued to practitioners of customs.  During my professional life I was briefed before entering some countries, relative to customs that were sensitive to the people, perhaps to the government.  (I remain embarrassed for many Americans who violate the customs of other nations they visit.)  The customs I was warned about were often protected by law even in what were declared to be pluralistic societies.  Because some customs are foreign to citizens in minority to the majority context, and they may imply error or even belligerency, there arises some tension for those who do not follow the… Read more

Visitation

December 24, 2017
Year 2, Day 358 | No Comments
Section of The Last Supper, Leonardo Da Vinci

Much of what the West includes in Christmas comes from fanciful extensions of what occurred in the biblically reported events surrounding the birth of Jesus.  The Advent has carried an influence that is perceived in history to have been great, but it is far greater than is commonly believed when the whole story of Jesus’ life and teachings, from birth to death and resurrection, is factored into the ongoing story of the human race.  At this writing, the two religions, with massive followings, are the Christian and Muslim faiths.  The Christian faith has no reliance on the Muslim, but the Muslim faith includes consideration of Christ in recitation of history; in inclusion in Muslim theology; and, in interpretation of it… Read more

Gifting

December 23, 2017
Year 2, Day 357 | No Comments
Section of Noli me Tangere by Hans Holbein the Younger

We do not understand God in his relationship with mankind without an understanding of gifting.  To help clarify the point we may take the relationship of a person with a pet dog.  There is no way that the master can communicate to satisfaction in the two contexts, canine and human, that would make the relationship ideal.  Nor can the dog gain access to the master for that he might like to know and understand fully about what the master expects of him.  There are some things clear enough, as a stop sign is clear to a driver, or a dark cloud may mean impending storm.  These responses are seldom related to reflective experiences even though they are learned.  They become… Read more

Epiphany Hints

December 22, 2017
Year 2, Day 356 | No Comments
Section of Adoration of the Magi, artist unknown

How would an intelligent creature from another planet, perhaps from another universe, communicate with mankind on earth?  Although official programs searching for other intelligent life have been closed down as futile effort, we can be rather certain that there are persons who continue to search for extra-terrestrial life that may be meaningful to earth.  There are varieties of relevant assumptions seeking for proofs.  In the meantime mankind continues with what is available for mystery about yonder reality, focused mainly on God.  There is general feeling that if there is life after death, there has to be an Intelligence that has the necessary competencies to offer and manage that life.  Without God there would be no life after death.  Someone with… Read more

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