My Thoughts on the Orlando Mass Shooting

We sing in church a hymn that says: "There's wideness in God’s mercy like the wideness of the sea." For me some days require much faith to believe this to be true, but who am I to question God's capabilities? Also, when I read 2 Samuel 12:14 and how God decided to kill David's son with Uriah's widow when the child had no fault, I have a hard time understanding God and doubt increases in me for brief a moment. However, I really believe that doubt is part of faith and not the opposite, as some claim.

Now, we look at the news of the Orlando shooting today which is the biggest mass shooting in US history, and I wonder where God’s mercy is? Of course, Texas Lt. Governor, Dan Patrick decided to tweet Galatians 6:7: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows,” as soon as the Orlando shooting news broke. This verse came across his mind before anything else because perhaps in Sola Scriptura Evangelicalism the belief is that the Scriptures can be fully understood by the reader, and perhaps he believed this event was God's judgment to all the victims and their families. The tweet was later deleted and a Psalm 37:39 tweet basically replaced it, apparently.

Of course, I don't know how Dan Patrick would apply this reaping what you sow concept to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting back on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut when Adam Lanza shot and killed 20 innocent children, including 6 adults and his own mother. I think about all the killings, and realize that humans are killing humans, and not God. Evil exists and it is manifested by humans, just ask all the Holocaust survivors that were victims of the Nazis during WWII? But, what can we do to stop evil? Well, I think Jesus had the solution when he said: "love God, and love your neighbor as yourself.” St. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:13: "So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."My thoughts on the answer to all the things happening today and how we should respond is that we need to just love, and show love to all increasingly. The Beatles were even saying it in a song years ago: “All you need is love….” Jesus said: “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out (Luke 19:40).” Don't be silent, speak out and manifest love, I don't think that rocks need to replace us in speaking the truth. I think I am done for now. Thank you for reading. Blessings!

Reference:

RSV Bible

Should a Church Close Down?

I hope and pray that all are well. I am writing on the subject dealing with the title's question because of a news article I just read about a church that closed down yesterday. The church was supposed to have closed 12 years ago. The parishioners fought to keep it open; however, they lost the long fought battle to do so. Why did the church close? The following excerpt from the article provides a good idea as to why it happened.

"...the parishioners tapped into a deep well of mistrust after the archdiocese, rocked by a sexual abuse scandal, moved to close dozens of parishes in 2004 — citing a decline in priests and congregants (nytimes.com)."

The full article is at the link below.

After 12 Years of Defiance, a Massachusetts Congregation Goes in Peace - The New York Times

Well, now we know more about the reasons why the church closed; however, that fact does not answer the question asked in the title: should a church close down? In Mathew 28:19, Jesus said:"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (RSV Bible)...." The foregoing is known as The Great Commission. In the early days of the church, Saint Paul planted many churches, and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ based on those very instructions by Jesus. And, this is well documented in Paul's Epistle writings, as well as in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. I recently I heard someone say that it is called The Book of Acts instead of the Book of Thoughts because the apostles, Saint Paul included, were doing something (spreading the Gospel). They were not just sitting around thinking. Saint Paul, also said more than once in his writings, “be imitators of me.” Why were they doing something? Basically, because of their faith in Jesus Christ, and faith is not just simply believing in something, it apparently requires action. James 2:20 basically covers this idea by saying that “faith without works is dead.” I think we should be able to get the idea based on these previous verses. A church is supposed to be doing what Jesus instructed in The Great Commission or it perhaps should close down. To close and also try to be brief, it appears to me that the church in the article was still doing what a church is supposed to do. I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Blessings!

References:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/30/us/after-12-years-of-defiance-a-massachusetts-congregation-goes-in-peace.html?_r=0.

RSV Bible

Ecumenism and the Armenian Genocide Remembered

I hope and pray that all are well. I am simply sharing some upcoming ecumenism news. Below is a quote that I extracted which should inform of the details.

“Following in the footsteps of St. John Paul II, who visited Armenia in 2001, Pope Francis will spend much of his time  in the country as the guest of the majority Armenian Apostolic Church and will attend a divine liturgy celebrated Catholicos Karekin II, the Orthodox patriarch, June 26 (www.thebostonpilot.com)."

Read the full article at the link below. Blessings!

http://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=176486.

Reference:

http://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=176486.

Bishop Angaelos and the Lambeth Cross

I hope everyone is doing well. I just wanted to share some important ecumenical news for this month. It is always good to get updates from different sources. Here is some good news below.

"The Lambeth Cross for Ecumenism was conferred upon His Grace Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend and Right Honourable Justin Welby, on 31 March 2016 at Lambeth Palace (www.indcatholicnews.com)."

Read the entire article at the link below. Blessings!

Coptic Bishop Angaelos receives major award for ecumenism - Independent Catholic News













Source:

http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=29773.

Arango's Apologetics Page: Happy Passover to All!

Happy Passover! Here is a post from the sibling blog which I think you might enjoy.


Arango's Apologetics Page: Happy Passover to All!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to all! He is risen!

Prayer and Ecumenism

At the core of ecumenism is prayer. After all, ecumenism really began and begins because of Jesus’ prayer in John 17:21 in which he prayed “that they may all be one.” The World Council of Churches is one of the organizations that acknowledge this fact with relevance to prayer. Moreover, the WCC has a prayer cycle on their website which in my opinion is a great idea for all to follow as prayer guide. The following is a statement from their website’s prayer section.

"At the very heart of the ecumenical movement is the reality of prayer. Jesus prayed that we may all be one, united in God in the mystery of the Trinity. That is the basis and the goal of our search for unity."

This is just a simple post on the importance of prayer in ecumenism, and I think this foregoing statement definitely hits the nail on the head. Perhaps one day soon we will all be praying the same prayer as Jesus, so that indeed we may all be one. Blessings and thank you for reading my blog!

Below is the link to the WCC’s prayer cycle, if you wish to visit the site and use it as a prayer guide, I think it would be a wonderful idea.  

In God's Hands: The Ecumenical Prayer Cycle — World Council of Churches







Source:

http://www.oikoumene.org/en.