Christ Is Risen!
Dedicated to the bright memory of Huub Oosterhuis (
https://www.facebook.com/Oleksandr.S.Zhabenko/
) who these days (April 9), during the celebration of the Resurrection
of Christ, left this world in the hope of eternal life in Christ Jesus
according to the promise of the One who defeated death, Who is the
truth, the way and the life.
I did not know this man, I do not know his works, but I know (in absentia) his son Tjeerd Oosterhuis. I express my sincere condolences.
Readings from Easter begin their countdown again, that is, in fact, in terms of readings, Easter is the beginning of the new readings’ year. From Easter, the reading of the Gospel from John and the book of the Acts of the Holy Apostles begins again (they are read in their entirety from Easter to Pentecost), followed by others throughout the year. This is because the Resurrection of Christ as the Event of All Events, the Feast of All Feasts shows why and for what everything is written. The book of the Acts of the Holy Apostles shows how the faithful changed after the Resurrection of Christ and Pentecost. And the Gospel of John most clearly shows the Divinity of the resurrected Jesus Christ.
The story of the election of the 12th apostle on the day of the Ascension of the Lord to replace Judas Iscariot, the traitor who died. This 12th apostle was Saint Matthias, not to be confused with the apostle and evangelist Matthew, their names are different in the original. The memory of this newly elected apostle is on August, 9 (22).
The number 12 is important because there are so many tribes of Israel, and the number of apostles closest to Jesus corresponds to this number. Also, in Elijah’s sacrifice, we see that the number 12 is important, and this sacrifice is, in particular, a (proto)type of Pentecost.
The choice is made not by voting, but by lot, since the calling of the 12 apostles was done by the Lord Jesus Himself, God, and not by people, then the election of the 12th apostle had to happen by God Himself.
The Jews of that time believed that random events happen in such a way that the Lord can clearly reveal Himself to them. Therefore, the lot was a way to see the will of God.
It must be said that Christians since the time of Pentecost understand this idea more fully.
I will set forth my reasonings on this subject, in the bold hope that they are of God.
We believe that everything that happens happens either according to God’s will (and then it is good) or by God’s permission (and then God does not want it, but allows the freedom of creation to be fulfilled).
We believe that what we consider to be random is foreknown by God. Randomness as such is created by God, it is one of His creations, because God Himself does not act randomly, but always purposefully and consciously.
It can be argued that God’s freedom is not limited to chance (creation), but exists, and therefore God freely knows what will happen, even when randomness acts as a creation.
Moreover, God’s action can be completely secret and implicit to the creation, if the Lord wants it, and then there is no way to distinguish where it is purely creative (accidental, but the result of which is known to God in advance) and where He intervenes and provides one or the other result. It is impossible to say unless God reveals it Himself. It also sheds light on how the Lord can perform some of His miracles.
When the Church (here the gathering of the faithful, the apostles and the Mother of God) turns to the Lord, He answers the prayer in one way or another. Then, if there are no objections, one can think that the lot actually becomes God’s action (that is, it is no longer actually just a random event, but God Himself acts under its guise). And so Matthias was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot.
John I, 18 – literally he did not look carefully,
did not consider God in the face as a close person
(that is, the
Father, in most New Testament texts, the Father is meant by God
). Also
a continuation — literally showed the way, led to
the Father.
Jesus gave people the opportunity to look into the face of God as a
close Friend
, as His own, as well as the Father’s and the Spirit’s, and
He also showed the way in Himself.
See also another place where similar words are explained.
20022023.html
Generally speaking, these words do not primarily refer to Old Testament prohibitions against depicting God, but have a different original meaning. Therefore, attempts to use them against the veneration of holy icons are both not sufficient and not efficient.
John I, 23 – make straight
– that is, regarding the direction, not
the surface, that is, the road may be hilly or even mountaneous, but it
must lead directly to God. Prophecy of Isaiah XL, 3. A well-known place
where the absence of punctuation marks leads to a double meaning: it can
be both who calls: "Make straight the ways for the Lord in the desert!”
- and – who calls in the desert: "Make straight the ways for the Lord!"
. Historically, mainly the second happened in John, but the period of
cleansing a person from sin is sometimes like a desert, so the first
also has its meaning.
John I, 26-28 – John’s the Baptizer answer shows his personal humility – he sees himself as a servant, but one who is able to teach others and lead them to Christ, which, in fact, consisted of his service and direct activity. The Pharisees and scribes, who never believed in Christ, did not master such an ability, therefore John, although he does not call himself a prophet, leads people to God, which is the most important task of a prophet.
Christ Himself calls John a prophet and even greater than a prophet,
the greatest born of women (Christ Himself is not included here, since
he was born of a Virgin).
Glory be to Thee, our God, glory be to Thee!