Most of the day yesterday, I had been working on a story that I am trying to write. This writing project is way harder than any that I had ever taken on so far. I guess you could say that this torment is self inflicted. Mr. Sandman was late. My butt was in the chair but my head was in the make-believe world of my story that I am writing.
“Close it off and go to sleep! Tomorrow is trash day and I have to get breakfast ready by 7:30.” I told myself. Writer’s block and old man insomnia were double teaming me. I didn’t want to look at the door because there are other projects that could walk in too. It doesn’t help worrying about how Mr. Albertson wasn’t giving me enough hours to enable us to buy groceries with. I am always thinking of my dooms day prepping plans on top of that.
When it gets late like this, and I can’t stop thinking about stuff, I think back to a time when a friend of mine and I would talk until 2:00 in the morning on the Minyard parking lot after work. I was in high school at the time. I had very little education or understanding of the deep theological things he wanted to talk about. Thing is, it never kept me from having an opinion and I was more than happy to share my ignorance with anyone who would listen. Looking back, I think my friend knew only a little more than I did. We had lots to add to the other’s misconceptions on a variety of subjects that neither one of us actually understood.
Often, on a night like this I would check my phone, charging on the lamp stand to my left. For some reason I had the though that I shouldn’t do that. What’s the deal!?! I just want to check the temperature outside. I was a bit cold so I wanted to check the weather.
I clicked the button and shined that light so that I could find my glasses. “There they are.” I put them on as the light faded away. With my glasses on, I can focus better. I push the button and the screen shown very bright in my face. The blinding illumination of my phone was like the high beams of an on coming semi. The light slammed the back of my skull from the inside. “What is this?” The first thing I see is messages from friends in Face Book. “Oh man! I hadn’t heard from this guy in a long time. I had wondered how he was doing. What is his question? He wants to talk Transubstantiation at about 11:30pm?” I squinted at the clock across the room to see if it was 2:00 yet.
He said, “pondering: about 2 wks ago (4 the intellectual stimulation) i engaged a seminary friend on the possibility of transubstantiation in communion; to learn whether i could defend the idea. look at all the life forms on earth. look at pics of the 'local' universe.....if the lord can do that, transub is no big deal. since then, have taken communion (twice) assuming that transub was true....any thoughts?? (my friend--being a good baptist--freaked out.”
I responded, “Remembering our late night discussions on the Minyard parking lot back in the 70s, I'll have to get back with you on this tomorrow.”
This morning I see that my old boss, a Catholic, was interested in what I might say as well. With great respect for him, I didn’t want to get this wrong.
What in the world is the doctrine of Transubstantiation? Is that what he wanted to know? I asked Mr. Google for a few websites with the answers I don’t have. If my friend wants to know about the doctrine, where it came from or what the Bible says about it, here is what I have found.
“Hold on Paw-Paw!” I told myself “What was he really asking?” Reading and rereading what he posed I zeroed in one this, “if the lord CAN do that.”
If we are talking about the doctrine of the omnipotence of God, that is something totally different.
Jeremiah 32:27(KJV)
“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?”
He can do anything He pleases. If the question is about what God can do, that is easy to answer. He made everything there is in all of its complexity. He could strip me down to my fruit of the looms and paint me bright pink with green freckles. I may question if that was of God but He could do that. It is fun to speculate about what all He can do. I can get really goofy on that but the thing is this. The only thing He cannot do is lie.
Lazarus was dead 4 days and Jesus brought him back to life. Everyone was so freaked out that Jesus had to tell the folks there to unwrap the dude. What He can do is interesting. What is more important is knowing what He has done in the past and what He will do in the future.
PAST
1 Corinthians 15:1-6 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;
PRESENT
Romans 10:13 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
“Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
FUTURE
Revelation 20: 11-15 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
No comments:
Post a Comment