About Me...what is an 'evangelical-catholic?'

Elk Grove Village, IL, United States
I was born & raised in rural mid-Michigan (M-go blue!). Life & work have taken me to many different places. God has too, as I've come to learn that faith is a pilgrimage. I very much resonate with the label 'EVANGELICAL-CATHOLIC.' I was raised Baptist, but found myself drawn to the Sacraments & Liturgy of the Church. I appreciate very much the words of the Augsburg Confession: "...nothing has been received among us, in doctrine or in ceremonies, that is contrary to Scripture or to the church catholic." Evangelical-catholic is a term of self-designation used by Christians coming from a broad spectrum of theological perspectives and commitments, ranging from Lutherans, Anglicans, and various Evangelicals yearning for greater catholicity .....to faithful Roman Catholics longing for an evangelical renewal of the Church. Perhaps beneath the apparent denominational differences there lies a common...groaning of the Spirit of God, who is seeking to draw the members of Christ’s mystical body into a communal life that is both fully catholic and fully evangelical. One can always hope and pray!

Monday, January 19, 2009

Morning after thoughts, 2nd after Epiphany

Well, perhaps the biggest thing still percolating around in my mind from yesterday's text comes from the last 2 verses (Jn 1:50-51):

50 Jesus answered, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these." 51 And he said to him, "Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." (NRSV)

I didn't really touch on these verses in my sermon, as to do so would've doubled its length. There are, however, a couple of interesting details. For one, Jesus begins by addressing only Nathanael, but he ends by broadening his focus and addressing whoever else is there. This is seen most clearly in the King James & Amplified versions of the Bible. Check this out:

v51 KJV: Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter **ye** (archaic plural) shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

v51 Amp: Then He said to him, I assure you, most solemnly I tell **you all**, you shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.

The point being that WHATEVER it is that Jesus is talking about, it will be witnessed by MORE than just Nathanael. And that brings me to my second point...

The mention of angels ascending & descending appears to be a clear elusion to the OT account of "Jacob's Ladder." From Gen 28:12: "And he (Jacob) dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it."

Jacob was convinced that he was at the very gate or doorstep of heaven.....the PLACE where divisions and boundaries between heaven and earth are blurred.

Perhaps this was Jesus' point....that *HE* is that PLACE. The angels ascend/descend on HIM because he is the ladder or connecting point between heaven and earth.....Divine and mortal in ONE. What's more, our understanding of the Eucharist would continue this thinking. The *reason* we can say that "angels, archangels, and all the Saints of heaven" are **present** with us in our Eucharistic liturgy is because of the Real Presence of Christ in the sacrament.

Cheers,

TM
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