tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7318545864976505075.post3344665460264060695..comments2024-01-31T07:50:49.705-06:00Comments on Gentle Reign: Mystagogia for Dummies (like me) - 1 (A2E)Rorycooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11234523272768439816noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7318545864976505075.post-10475756359539822512013-04-08T21:08:10.579-05:002013-04-08T21:08:10.579-05:00Denise, I really like that. I guess the "God ...Denise, I really like that. I guess the "God who hides" thing is a little alien to me. There may be something about our expectations that allows God to "hide" in plain sight, but the idea of God trying _not_ to be seen goes against my instinct about agape and revelation. I think God wants to be found - but our expectations are such that we're looking for (my metaphor) Charlemagne, and it's actually the beggar outside the palace. But the progress is really cool, and I love that you took the time to share it. What do you think about the "hiding God" thing?Rorycooneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11234523272768439816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7318545864976505075.post-18044480534647309472013-04-08T19:03:54.108-05:002013-04-08T19:03:54.108-05:00It seems to me that this past Sunday unfolded the ...It seems to me that this past Sunday unfolded the fourfold experience of God who comes in God's own time and initiative (Jesus appears without any preparation to everyone except Thomas), the God who leads us to peace (Jesus' greeting), the God who freely and abundantly lives among us (Jesus comes and stands before and among them in full personhood) and the God who hides and asks us to believe without seeing (Thomas waits a week before Jesus returns to them). For me, this captures the essence of baptismal progression into the mystery of faith as the body of Christ and as individual members of that body on a daily basis as we try to access that mystery through each human experience. Just my two cents. Denise Morency Gannonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05695775762590510210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7318545864976505075.post-32718935940056454062013-04-08T15:03:59.078-05:002013-04-08T15:03:59.078-05:00Hi Fran, when I read your comment, it made me thin...Hi Fran, when I read your comment, it made me think all the way into work on my drive, What's the difference between a leap of faith and a leap of doubt? It's still a leap! Something must drive the doubt besides doubt itself. Maybe hope?Rorycooneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11234523272768439816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7318545864976505075.post-86587210502148802792013-04-08T15:02:26.860-05:002013-04-08T15:02:26.860-05:00Thanks for that. It was interesting when the visit...Thanks for that. It was interesting when the visitor (Wayne Watts) last night pointed out that a week intervened (in the John story) between the appearance on the night of Easter in the upper room (Jesus appeared, though the doors were locked, and spoke to them), and the appearance to Thomas, and yet they were all still locked in the upper room. It does make you wonder about the nature of risen life, or exactly what John was trying to say. If it's such a big deal to see someone come back from the dead, why were they still locked in the upper room? And why do we blame Thomas? :-) <br /><br />I suspect there's something about God's presence and absence, and whether there's any difference, other than in us. God, to be God, has to be so utterly other. How would we even know? Rorycooneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11234523272768439816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7318545864976505075.post-31325296946541502142013-04-08T13:48:20.888-05:002013-04-08T13:48:20.888-05:00I love this post... you had me at mystagogia!
On...I love this post... you had me at mystagogia! <br /><br />On a more serious note, I think that what hit me this Sunday was that for me, the light of the paschal mystery is much more about taking a "leap of doubt," than a leap of faith. My doubt is my own, faith is a gift, that I come into. Then, and only then do we rise. Franhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11848864171813782695noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7318545864976505075.post-22348218403648563132013-04-08T11:50:54.257-05:002013-04-08T11:50:54.257-05:00I am just a “seeker”, with only my experience and ...I am just a “seeker”, with only my experience and personal journey to go on, so these thoughts are just a reflection of where I am right now. It was truly Thomas who jumped out at me, but not in the traditional sense of needing to see and touch, but the idea of his absence or presence. Where was he when he missed out? One of the biggies in my journey, in my lifelong initiation, is the idea of “constant conscious communion”. I can’t remember where I heard it, but it was a HUGE awakening, the idea that God is ALWAYS with me, so how can I not constantly be aware of that presence? I mean, if you and I were working in the same space, no matter how intently I might lose myself in my work I would probably not completely forget you were there. How often do I miss out on what God has to say to me because I am not present and listening? Thomas missed out because he wasn’t present. And even the others required wind and flames before they heard what God had to say to them. So it IS a matter of faith, but even before that, a matter of awareness. I need to be present so that I don’t miss out, and then to trust and have faith when I DO hear what God has to say to me.Vickihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15768909547665578258noreply@blogger.com