Recently, I started exploring more of salvationhistory.com, Scott Hahn's site for Biblical literacy, and decided to poke through the "Audio Resources" page. I came across his lecture about "The Hour" that Scott had given to us on our Holy Land pilgrimage in May. I am so fascinated with this concept in John's Gospel about "the hour" that I feel called to explain it to not only myself but any of my followers on this blog. All of this information is not mine, but taken from Dr. Hahn's talk, but my logic is that if I can explain it, then I'll have a fuller understanding of the informaiton.
This theme about "the hour" that permeates throughout John's Gospel is saturated with eternity, as will be further explained throughout this essay. God is not under the rules of our space and time, and when Jesus speaks to us about time, we know it is God's time, eternal time. Even at the beginning of John's Gospel, we see John begin with God's eternality (In the beginning) rather than the literal beginning of his life as a human.
On several occasions throughout the Gospel, we hear Jesus referring to "the hour" when teaching in his book of signs. The first occurrance comes in Chapter 2 at the Wedding at Cana. We all know the story. Mary approaches Jesus and says, "We have no more wine," and Jesus famously responds in verse 4, "Woman, what does that have to do with me, my hour has not yet come."
Now, this is a very critical response that Jesus gives which we must read between the lines to reach a full understanding of his meaning. As Dr. Hahn so comically puts it, I can see the confusion that might have been on Mary's face. It seems that Mary is simply alerting everyone that the wine's just run out, and Jesus responds with this cryptic response about his hour. I can imagine Mary saying, "Jesus, what the hell are you talking about!? Boy, you have got a lot on your mind!!" :-)
But behind Jesus' assertion that, "My hour has not yet come," we can find an underlying assumption. Jesus' assumption is that when his hour does come, providing wine is something that He expects to do. And not only wine, but as we can see from the guest's response, "You have kept the best wine until now", Jesus will be providing the best wine when his hour comes.
An analogy that Dr. Hahn uses for us to better reinforce this concept is a couple engaged to be married. The (future) husband tells his (future) wife, "Hey, I want to show you some old yearbook pictures of myself, so come to my bedroom and let me show you," and she responds, "I have no problem with that request, but my hour has not yet come." We all know what the future bride is talking about when she speaks of coming to the the future husband's bedroom at the proper hour. Yes, husband, I will be ending up in your bedroom, but it is not the right time. In the same light, we see Jesus speaking to Mary about an underlying assumption about what to expect when his hour comes.
The next occurance of the hour comes in John chapter 4 when Jesus is speaking with the Samaritan woman. The woman is asking Jesus about worshipping in the temple (v 20f): "Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship", to which Jesus responds, "Woman, believe me, an hour is coming where neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the father." Jesus follows this by saying, "But an hour is coming, and now is upon us, where the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth".
From this example, we can conclude that another underlying assumption that Jesus has on his mind when the hour comes is that he expects people to worship in a whole new way (not just at the temple in Jerusalem). It is no longer where you worship, but how you worship--in spirit and in truth. And where do we know the Holy Spirit resides and where the Truth is safeguarded? The Catholic Church.
The third meaning of the hour comes in John 5:25, "Truly, truly, I say to you (this introductory phrase is God himself telling us, 'I swear that this is true'), an hour is coming and is now upon us when the (spiritually) dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live".
So we know that when the hour comes, those who are spiritually dead are going to hear the Word of God and come to new life in Him.
Finally, our fourth meaning of the hour in the book of signs comes in John 12. There are a group of Greeks who had heard of Jesus, and they ask Philip to arrange a meeting. For all Jesus knew, these were Greeks who just wanted to see him and say hello, but when Philip brings these Greeks to Jesus, he has on his mind the hour. "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit... "
Wow. So this was kind of a strange analogy, but if we look close enough, we can again see Jesus' underlying assumptions. When the hour comes, not just Jews but also foreigners (Greeks) will come to the Passover to see Jesus, and in addition to wine, there will be bread (the fruit of wheat) at the hour.
In John 13, nearing the climax of the hour theme, we see, "Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. " In this verse, we can see that the hour represents the fulfillment and completion of how God loves us to the very end.
So what is the physical/literal hour that Jesus talks about? The suspense must be killing you! We can see that on the surface level, the hour Jesus is talking about is the time where Jesus offers himself through his passion, death, and resurrection. But we can also see that the meaning of the hour goes beyond the historical period where He offers his life.
Finally, in Jn 17:1, the hour has finally come. "Father, the hour has come. Glorify you son, that the Son may glorify you," and a few verses later (to strengthen the connection between time and eternity), "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." Later in the chapter, we see Jesus asking the Father,
"Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. "
We can see here that the hour represents when the Father and Son glorify each other in their communion and in their oneness and share it with us so that we may be one in a manner that is identical to the bond shared by Father and Son (the Holy Spirit).
So we're coming to the climax of our understanding of the hour theme in John's Gospel, but let's take a second to pause and review. Thorughout the Gospel, what does Jesus say will happen during the hour? It will be a time when:
- He gives us the best wine
- We will worship in spirit and in truth
- Those who hear the Word of God will come to new life
- Not just Jews but all will come to hear the Word of God
- The fruit of wheat will be involved
- It will show us God's love for us
- We will join God in the oneness that the Father and Son share.
We should also note that Jesus does not say, "the period of time" or "the day" or "the season" but each and every time specifically says, "the hour". It should also be noted that the physical meaning of the hour--where Jesus offers himself through his passion, death, and resurrection--takes place over the course of a few days rather than simply one hour.
So time to solve the puzzle that God, through St. John, has laid out for us. When is it in our lives on earth that we take an hour to listen to the Word of God, worship in spirit and in truth, with the best bread and wine, to commemorate the Passover Jesus celebrated at the end of his life, in order to come to new life in Him, in a sign of God's love for us, where we can join in the oneness of God, in communion with people all over the world?
You guessed it. THE MASS. The eternal culmination and fulfillment of Jesus' mission on earth comes to fruition in our Catholic worship service. And to think we take this for granted!?!?
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
The Break In
So a few days ago, I went with Fullmer to the firing range to shoot some pistols and handguns. I was able to shoot his .357, 9mm, and Colt 45. It was a really good time, first time I had ever shot before. After dinner with him and Dalene (tried the Sam Adams Cherry Wheat beer, I liked it, but Paul didn't. Maybe it had a little too much cherry flavoring...), Paul took me back to my place (the Buddens).
Earlier in the evening, Blake, Brett and Blair's younger brother, had stopped by the house to pick up Blair's car. Well, unfortunately, he locked the wrong lock to the house, the one that I didn't have a key to. So I had to figure out how to get in. After trying various ways, none being successful, I went around to check all the windows of their house, hoping that one would be unlocked and I'd crawl in. Mind you, it's about midnight at this point in the night.
So I get to the windows at the front of the house, facing the street, and, low and behold, the first one I get to is unlocked! Score! Now, these windows are huge windows facing the street, I'd say 8' high by 4' across, and they sit about 7 1/2 to 8' high (I had to claim a railing to be able to access the window). So here I am, I've just climbed this outer railing in front of the window, I've pulled the window up, I have my right arm and leg inside the house while the rest of my body not quite in, and uh oh, trouble comes around the corner. Just my luck that the Tulane police suburban turns down my street and is heading straight for me. I was so shocked that I just froze. I didn't even want to start thinking of the possibilities. What if they stopped me? I don't have any proof that I live here. This is clearly breaking and entering. Frozen with panic, I stand motionless, in the window with half my body inside and half out as the cop driving about 10 mph....drives right past me!
WHAT!?!?! What if I didn't live there and I was actually breaking and entering? Thanks Tulane police department for being so alert and cognizant of your surroundings! Ah well, I guess I should just be thankful that I avoided a much more complicated mess...
Earlier in the evening, Blake, Brett and Blair's younger brother, had stopped by the house to pick up Blair's car. Well, unfortunately, he locked the wrong lock to the house, the one that I didn't have a key to. So I had to figure out how to get in. After trying various ways, none being successful, I went around to check all the windows of their house, hoping that one would be unlocked and I'd crawl in. Mind you, it's about midnight at this point in the night.
So I get to the windows at the front of the house, facing the street, and, low and behold, the first one I get to is unlocked! Score! Now, these windows are huge windows facing the street, I'd say 8' high by 4' across, and they sit about 7 1/2 to 8' high (I had to claim a railing to be able to access the window). So here I am, I've just climbed this outer railing in front of the window, I've pulled the window up, I have my right arm and leg inside the house while the rest of my body not quite in, and uh oh, trouble comes around the corner. Just my luck that the Tulane police suburban turns down my street and is heading straight for me. I was so shocked that I just froze. I didn't even want to start thinking of the possibilities. What if they stopped me? I don't have any proof that I live here. This is clearly breaking and entering. Frozen with panic, I stand motionless, in the window with half my body inside and half out as the cop driving about 10 mph....drives right past me!
WHAT!?!?! What if I didn't live there and I was actually breaking and entering? Thanks Tulane police department for being so alert and cognizant of your surroundings! Ah well, I guess I should just be thankful that I avoided a much more complicated mess...
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Back in Nola after great time at Pecan Island
When I was younger, my family and I would go to Applebee's to eat dinner every Sunday after mass. I can just remember going there weekend after weekend usually never changing locations. Not sure why we stuck with it, but that will always be a fond memory of mine. This is what I was thinking of when my mom and my sister went to Zea's this past Sunday after Church to go see my brother in action! (He's a servers asst there).
On Monday morning, I went with Mom up to the Mother Theresa's sisters of charity house to volunteer at a summer camp. The sister in charge was from Brooklyn, NY and was tough as nails! It was great to see her in action! I spent most of my time there helping the older boys with their carpentry project (they were building these santuaries dedicated to Mary). I had so much fun helping them out, and I really think they enjoyed the male interaction/bonding. I let them do everything on their own. All I did was simply instruct them on what they should do, give advice, etc, but I usually let them figure it out on their own. My appoval seemed to mean so much to them. I think they just need to be validated for being masculine (i.e. a similar message to Wild at Heart).
That afternoon, Dad, Matt, and I headed to Pecan Island. Got there and went right out to the boat and headed to the marsh. Overall, the fishing was pretty bad. Didn't catch too much while we were out there, but man did we catch a variety of things (low quanitity). We caught redfish, croakers, crabs, mullet, and who else knows. We had the hardest time getting the fish into our boat! All three of us at some point or another had a fish on the line, but just lost it before we could get it in. First time fisherman I guess! Another funny moment was when I caught probably the tiniest fish that we'd caught yet (about 4-6 inches), and Matt took a picture of me "fighting and struggling" with it. We ate trout the first night and Chicken and Deer Sausage Gumbo the next. Great eating. Ate all our meals at the dinner table, TVs off, just talking about religion, fishing, pop culure, and whatever else came up. Good times. Hope us boys can do it again sometime!
Just got back to Nola and headed over to Ben Clapper's house for Bible study. Maccabees was tonight and we got into a great discussion afterwards about the characteristics of purgatory (or if there even is one). So Maccabees is in the Catholic Canon but is not in Martin Luther's reformed canon. Maccabees clearly talks about the existence of purgatory, so the question is, "Is Maccabees truly inspired text (in which purgatory is very real), or is it on the same plan as, let's say, Ben Hur or Huck Finn (in which lesser evidence of purgatory would be available)? Really got into some good stuff. Similar to the end of Matthew when Jesus is talking about the man entering Jesus' temple with a dirty cloak, would we really want to face our God when we are not perfected or purified? Purgatory exists not out of punishment but due to the grace of God and His loving mercy.
We also got into a discussion about Descartes. Descartes is a landmark philosopher because he signals a dramatic change in philosophical thinking during his time. His dramatic shift turned from thinking of human existance in terms of a collective element (being one with all humanity) to a very individualistic one ("I think, therefore I am"). In this same light, one of the hallmarks of the Protestant Reformation was this turn to your personal relationship with Christ, and that all you needed to do to be saved is to personally accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. This, inevitably, disregarded or at least made less manifest the family aspect which defines the Trinity and the Catholic Church.
Just got back from a late-night jog, and feel the blood flowing!
On Monday morning, I went with Mom up to the Mother Theresa's sisters of charity house to volunteer at a summer camp. The sister in charge was from Brooklyn, NY and was tough as nails! It was great to see her in action! I spent most of my time there helping the older boys with their carpentry project (they were building these santuaries dedicated to Mary). I had so much fun helping them out, and I really think they enjoyed the male interaction/bonding. I let them do everything on their own. All I did was simply instruct them on what they should do, give advice, etc, but I usually let them figure it out on their own. My appoval seemed to mean so much to them. I think they just need to be validated for being masculine (i.e. a similar message to Wild at Heart).
That afternoon, Dad, Matt, and I headed to Pecan Island. Got there and went right out to the boat and headed to the marsh. Overall, the fishing was pretty bad. Didn't catch too much while we were out there, but man did we catch a variety of things (low quanitity). We caught redfish, croakers, crabs, mullet, and who else knows. We had the hardest time getting the fish into our boat! All three of us at some point or another had a fish on the line, but just lost it before we could get it in. First time fisherman I guess! Another funny moment was when I caught probably the tiniest fish that we'd caught yet (about 4-6 inches), and Matt took a picture of me "fighting and struggling" with it. We ate trout the first night and Chicken and Deer Sausage Gumbo the next. Great eating. Ate all our meals at the dinner table, TVs off, just talking about religion, fishing, pop culure, and whatever else came up. Good times. Hope us boys can do it again sometime!
Just got back to Nola and headed over to Ben Clapper's house for Bible study. Maccabees was tonight and we got into a great discussion afterwards about the characteristics of purgatory (or if there even is one). So Maccabees is in the Catholic Canon but is not in Martin Luther's reformed canon. Maccabees clearly talks about the existence of purgatory, so the question is, "Is Maccabees truly inspired text (in which purgatory is very real), or is it on the same plan as, let's say, Ben Hur or Huck Finn (in which lesser evidence of purgatory would be available)? Really got into some good stuff. Similar to the end of Matthew when Jesus is talking about the man entering Jesus' temple with a dirty cloak, would we really want to face our God when we are not perfected or purified? Purgatory exists not out of punishment but due to the grace of God and His loving mercy.
We also got into a discussion about Descartes. Descartes is a landmark philosopher because he signals a dramatic change in philosophical thinking during his time. His dramatic shift turned from thinking of human existance in terms of a collective element (being one with all humanity) to a very individualistic one ("I think, therefore I am"). In this same light, one of the hallmarks of the Protestant Reformation was this turn to your personal relationship with Christ, and that all you needed to do to be saved is to personally accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. This, inevitably, disregarded or at least made less manifest the family aspect which defines the Trinity and the Catholic Church.
Just got back from a late-night jog, and feel the blood flowing!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Fishing for the Weekend!
Went up to the Budden's camp on Friday afternoon to fish on Saturday. His old roommate Nick Maxoux and one of his fraternity brothers came with us. When we got there around 6pm on Friday, we immediately took the boat to go fishing for live bait for us to use on our trip. We made it up to this pier and started casting out our net and caught some croakers. Alligators would come right up to us. Humans were not scared of alligators, and vice versa.
Went to bed around midnight and woke up at 4:45am to head out. Traveled around 10 - 15 miles offshore and started fishing around 8:00am. I caught two trout, one hard-head catfish, and 3 sharks. Yes, THREE sharks! We couldn't keep 'em, but it was a devil of a time to reel 'em in! Overall, I had a great time, but it wasn't too successful of a trip. 7 Trout altogether. Got back in, cleaned the boat and the fish, and Brett showed me how to use the boat and some good marsh fishing spots.
I felt so alive out on the water in the marsh this weekend. It was exactly what I needed! 3-day Men's retreat with my dad and little brother starting tomorrow. Should be fun!
Went to bed around midnight and woke up at 4:45am to head out. Traveled around 10 - 15 miles offshore and started fishing around 8:00am. I caught two trout, one hard-head catfish, and 3 sharks. Yes, THREE sharks! We couldn't keep 'em, but it was a devil of a time to reel 'em in! Overall, I had a great time, but it wasn't too successful of a trip. 7 Trout altogether. Got back in, cleaned the boat and the fish, and Brett showed me how to use the boat and some good marsh fishing spots.
I felt so alive out on the water in the marsh this weekend. It was exactly what I needed! 3-day Men's retreat with my dad and little brother starting tomorrow. Should be fun!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Entertainment for any age or size! Thanks, Michael Scott!
So, in order to let my grandmother get out of the house, I volunteered to watch my grandfather for the morning. There was not much going on, as I figured, so I brought over Season 2 of "The Office" to watch. I asked "Grand-dad" if I could watch it, and he said, "Sure, go right ahead, son".
Well, I think he ended up really liking it! (even though I don't think he could see what was going on...) I definitely heard some pretty good laughs coming from his belly! We were watching the episode where Michael burnt his foot on his George Foreman grill, and Grand-dad just got a kick out of it! (Michael wants breakfast in bed, but he's single, so he puts the grill right next to his bed, wakes up, puts bacon on the grill, falls back asleep, awakes to go to the bathroom, forgets its there, burns his foot).
Grandmother came in at around noon and we ate Whataburger with extra Jalepenos! Thanks Grandmother, how'd you know I liked jalepenos??
Well, I think he ended up really liking it! (even though I don't think he could see what was going on...) I definitely heard some pretty good laughs coming from his belly! We were watching the episode where Michael burnt his foot on his George Foreman grill, and Grand-dad just got a kick out of it! (Michael wants breakfast in bed, but he's single, so he puts the grill right next to his bed, wakes up, puts bacon on the grill, falls back asleep, awakes to go to the bathroom, forgets its there, burns his foot).
Grandmother came in at around noon and we ate Whataburger with extra Jalepenos! Thanks Grandmother, how'd you know I liked jalepenos??
Welcome!
Hello all! Welcome to my daily blog! In here, you will be able to read and see short blips from me about fun and exciting things that might have happened to me, to possibly philosophical inquiries that go on throughout the day.
In order for my and your own sanity, I will keep the blogs short. Consider this...like Twitter, but I can't stand Twitter. Just the idea of it (and NFL players Tweeting in-game to their fans) makes me worry about America...
In order for my and your own sanity, I will keep the blogs short. Consider this...like Twitter, but I can't stand Twitter. Just the idea of it (and NFL players Tweeting in-game to their fans) makes me worry about America...
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