This week was a particularly busy week. We continue to celebrate the triumph of our Lord over death, we had a Mega-SNS, a lock-in, and a trip to the escape room. This week was all about living it up because God gave us such a great life to live. We celebrate this gift by being the most of ourselves and seeking to glorify God in everything we do. Although my knees are not happy with me for the pain I put them through this week, it was definitely worth it.
We begin with the Mega-SNS where we enjoy our time together for two extra hours. We played a new game called consequence trivia where we had to do challenges to steal lost points. It was outrageously fun to play. A little gross, but mostly fun. I even wore an old suit to play the part of game show host. It was a great time playing basketball, hide and seek, and watching movies. We of course also enjoy our fair share of snacks.
Five days later we did it all over again, except this time we spent the night, thus having even more fun. I hope by now we all caught up on sleep because we certainly did not sleep from Friday into Saturday. We began the lock-in discussing how to move forward from the soul training we endured during Lent. We discussed our concerns and desires. In April we are focusing on moving forward and so we started out by laying the foundation with the help of Sacred Scripture and small group discussion. We enjoyed movies like The Greatest Showman and hit the basketball court again. After a few rounds of hide and seek we returned to the house to play video games and cards. We also ate more amazing food and had good conversations. The air hockey table was a spot for great competition. After watching the sunrise and realizing that sleep was necessary, the lock-in concluded.
This past Sunday we visited the escape room in North Olmsted to practice our team work and problem solving skills. The group in the Mad Scientist room made it out with slightly under ten minutes to spare, while the Sherlock room group ran out of time. They were very close to getting out. Afterward the teens enjoyed a stop at Malley's for some chocolate and milk shakes. It was a great Sunday. We are energized and excited to host the eighth graders at our first open house of the year. We look forward to sharing the greatness of StCYM with them.
As I continue to walk with this group, I am reminded of how awesome life can be. It is easy to get caught up in life taking care of the little things and lose site of the precious gift we have. The teens help me realize the beauty of this gift. St. Clarence is blessed with a great group of teens. I am continuing to learn about them and enjoy what I am learning from them as well. Teens today are in great need of support because they are living adult lives more and more. I don't remember being half as busy as society keeps them today. We should consider it our duty to pay attention to them and walk with them lest we lose them. Teens are a great asset to the Church and its mission.
Pax,
Johannes
Showing posts with label Easter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Easter. Show all posts
07 April 2016
Throwback Thursday: Sermon on Luke 24:36-48
While I was a prospective Lutheran seminarian and as a Lutheran seminarian, I was given opportunities to preach at my former church. I would be lying if these moments did not have a large impact on my faith journey. On this Throwback Thursday I would like to share my sermon on Luke 24:36-48 during the Easter season. My sermon outline is at the bottom.
Cringe worthy correction:
Easter is 50 days not 40
Some critiques:
1. While I do like that I am scripture heavy in this sermon, I can understand if some may view this sermon as being a little too heavy, because it easy to lose focus on the central theme of this sermon; being faithful fearless witnesses.
2. Sometimes my words tended to slur together and part of that particular statement could be lost. This is common when I get excited. A fix to this would be to write out the entire sermon or at least the critical key points so that I don't blur them when I get excited about them.
3. I speak with my hands! They are everywhere.
Thank you for checking this out. I welcome constructive criticism and encourage you to let me know how I did! There is one more sermon that I recorded and will share in another Throwback Thursday post. Happy Easter and God bless you!
Credo Domine!
------------------------
Sermon Notes:
Cringe worthy correction:
Easter is 50 days not 40
Some critiques:
1. While I do like that I am scripture heavy in this sermon, I can understand if some may view this sermon as being a little too heavy, because it easy to lose focus on the central theme of this sermon; being faithful fearless witnesses.
2. Sometimes my words tended to slur together and part of that particular statement could be lost. This is common when I get excited. A fix to this would be to write out the entire sermon or at least the critical key points so that I don't blur them when I get excited about them.
3. I speak with my hands! They are everywhere.
Thank you for checking this out. I welcome constructive criticism and encourage you to let me know how I did! There is one more sermon that I recorded and will share in another Throwback Thursday post. Happy Easter and God bless you!
Credo Domine!
------------------------
Sermon Notes:
Intro
- This Gospel reading is one of faith, excitement, and
challenge
- Context
- Luke 24: 13-36a
- 2 Disciples were walking to Emmaus
and encounter “stranger”
- Stranger tells them of
Hebrew prophecy.
- Disciples invite “stranger”
into their home to eat.
- “Stranger” breaks and blesses bread
and the Disciples’ eyes were opened and they realized it was Christ! He then
vanished.
- Were discussing these happenings
with the rest.
Explanation
- Jesus Appears
- 36b-37 (p. 92): “‘Peace be with you.’ They were startled and
terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost.”
- Mr. Bill bible study example; Arch Stevenson appears
- Shock, second-guessing
- Look at it from Disciples perspective
- Processing death and
resurrection of Jesus
- Jesus Asks A
Question
- 38: “He said to them, ‘Why are you
frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?’”
- Human perspective
- Why did they doubt?
- Because it was so incredible they
could not, as humans, comprehend it?
- Was it a rhetorical question?
- Did Jesus know why they doubted? Is
the asking of the question a statement of how, God is so amazing that Jesus
defeated death and that is how he is appearing?
- Do we believe in God? (Meaning trust)
- Why do we doubt?
- Because we cannot grasp God’s infinite power?
- Because we are afraid of what we cannot
comprehend?
- Jesus Teaches
- 44 (p. 93): Then he said to them,
These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that
everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms
must be fulfilled.’”
- Jesus told them this three times in
Luke (9: 21-27, 43-45; 18: 31-34)
45-48: “Then he opened their minds to
understand the scriptures, and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the
Messiah is to suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and that
repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all
nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.’”
- We must not fear! (Referring to
questions above) Easter is celebrating Christ’s resurrection
- But also celebrating God’s
fulfilled promises
- Also because He set us free
from death
- We are witnesses
- Colossians 3: 12, 16 (p. 215): “As
God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion,
kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Let the word of Christ dwell in you
richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and gratitude in your
hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in
word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God
the Father through him.”
- Let us not celebrate blindly. We
are to celebrate but be wise and have the Word dwell richly within us.
Conclusion
- Let us not doubt, but when we do, ask ourselves why.
- Are we afraid? Are we
scared?
- Let us not be afraid and celebrate boldly, the resurrection
of Christ Jesus!
- Let us celebrate it
knowing why we celebrate it
- Let us be witnesses to Christ’s resurrection!
- Let us clothe ourselves with compassion,
kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit
imparts the Word of Christ in us so that we can teach. Let us show our
gratitude to God, this Easter, with great song and praise!
Final Greetings from 2 Corinthians 13: 11
- “Finally, brothers and sisters… Put things in order, listen
to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and
peace will be with you.” Christ is risen. He is risen
indeed. Alleluia!
01 May 2014
Easter, Race, Ukraine
It has been a while since I last posted. I thought I would be more committed to blogging during Lent. I had many ideas, but it seems my Lent needed to be a quiet one. Lent was challenging, but also rewarding. It was nice to do a lot of contemplation and self reflection, because it was certainly needed, but now that it is Easter it is time to be alive. Many things happened during Lent and some have spilled over into Easter. Easter is my favorite time of the year which had me celebrating, Russia is surrounding eastern Ukraine, and an NBA owner is being essentially exiled, picking at the racism scab all over again.
Easter is a time of renewal; a time to celebrate the victory we share in Christ! It was great to celebrate this blessed season with our Orthodox brothers and sisters in Christ! Knowing how I lived in college, I certainly enjoy this season. I don't even want to imagine what my life would be like without Christ. I have absolutely fallen in love with the Easter Vigil. To be in total darkness amidst a great flame and then to process in as the light of Christ spreads from candle to candle is a magical moment. I am honored to be part of the RCIA team, helping people come in or back to the Church is truly rewarding. I remember my reentry very fondly. I was wide eyed with eyes filled with tears of joy, because of the incredible journey I was on. The journey continues, and hopefully it continues at St. Mary's Seminary on my way to becoming a Priest. Please pray for me. Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed, alleluia!
Earlier this week the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, Donald Sterling, was banned from the NBA for life. This race stuff is really getting annoying. There will always be people who are racist. Always. What he said is wrong, absolutely. However, why aren't we also discussing comments made by former NBA star Larry Johnson? He wants an all black league? Why is it OK to say that? Isn't that the exact opposite of what Martin Luther King Jr. wanted? Yes, it is. His dream was for all races to be able to work together and judge each other by their "character". How does the rhetoric by Mr. Johnson help King's cause? It doesn't. I have a proposal similar to King's; actually it is the same. Why don't we all just get along. King is remembered for his demonstrations of peace. He did not seek vengeance, he simply sought equal opportunity. We ought to work toward the same. We should not work for an all black league, or forced affirmative action. We should work for solidarity and opportunity. Enough of this vengeance seeking! It only fuels the fire of racists. It divides, not unites.
The Catholic Church is a shining example of how people of all walks of life work together for the glory of the Kingdom of God. The Universal Church is global, covering all races and cultures. The Catholic faith is applicable to every nation and tribe. It is absolutely beautiful. I can go into a Catholic Church in any country and celebrate the Eucharist with a multitude of people. I encourage you to look up footage from World Youth Day, where Copa Cabana Beach is filled with three million people from all over the world celebrating Mass. It is an amazing site.
And then we get to Russia and Ukraine. Putin is asserting his power during a time of US weakness. The United States has been drained by over a decade of war (three years of which there were two concurrent wars), and continues to build up trillions of dollars of debt. The United States is tired. It shows by our political climate. Each side continues to grow farther and farther apart, and the same can be said for the people of America. So while America continues to fight within, Russia is making moves. I also wonder what China is doing. We need to pay attention to the crisis in Ukraine. We are seeing incredible witness by Catholic and Orthodox Priests who are standing up for peace. Let us focus on this issue. Instead we are focused on what some old racist man said, and it is quite disappointing. I couldn't care less about the race "issue". Did Mr. Sterling's racism hurt anyone? Did his players get paid? Yes. Was his team all white? No. Is he wrong for being racist? Yes! However, instead of moving on and moving forward we let that bog us down. While this all happens Putin continues to move. We need to be paying attention, before China surpasses us as the world's largest economy. Yeah, that may happen in a decade as well. Did you hear of that? Probably not.
America needs to drastically discern its priorities. We are very concerned about social issues, but what about the economy and national security? How good are our arguments about social issues, if we can't keep our people employed and safe? They will all be for not. There is a solution. The solution is simple and many people know the solution, but choose the wide gate because it's easy. Let us choose the narrow gate. Let us choose Christ and seek to live by His commandments. If we all did this, the world would be a much better place. Well, at least it would have a better chance of being a better place. Credo Domine.
Easter is a time of renewal; a time to celebrate the victory we share in Christ! It was great to celebrate this blessed season with our Orthodox brothers and sisters in Christ! Knowing how I lived in college, I certainly enjoy this season. I don't even want to imagine what my life would be like without Christ. I have absolutely fallen in love with the Easter Vigil. To be in total darkness amidst a great flame and then to process in as the light of Christ spreads from candle to candle is a magical moment. I am honored to be part of the RCIA team, helping people come in or back to the Church is truly rewarding. I remember my reentry very fondly. I was wide eyed with eyes filled with tears of joy, because of the incredible journey I was on. The journey continues, and hopefully it continues at St. Mary's Seminary on my way to becoming a Priest. Please pray for me. Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed, alleluia!
Earlier this week the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, Donald Sterling, was banned from the NBA for life. This race stuff is really getting annoying. There will always be people who are racist. Always. What he said is wrong, absolutely. However, why aren't we also discussing comments made by former NBA star Larry Johnson? He wants an all black league? Why is it OK to say that? Isn't that the exact opposite of what Martin Luther King Jr. wanted? Yes, it is. His dream was for all races to be able to work together and judge each other by their "character". How does the rhetoric by Mr. Johnson help King's cause? It doesn't. I have a proposal similar to King's; actually it is the same. Why don't we all just get along. King is remembered for his demonstrations of peace. He did not seek vengeance, he simply sought equal opportunity. We ought to work toward the same. We should not work for an all black league, or forced affirmative action. We should work for solidarity and opportunity. Enough of this vengeance seeking! It only fuels the fire of racists. It divides, not unites.
The Catholic Church is a shining example of how people of all walks of life work together for the glory of the Kingdom of God. The Universal Church is global, covering all races and cultures. The Catholic faith is applicable to every nation and tribe. It is absolutely beautiful. I can go into a Catholic Church in any country and celebrate the Eucharist with a multitude of people. I encourage you to look up footage from World Youth Day, where Copa Cabana Beach is filled with three million people from all over the world celebrating Mass. It is an amazing site.
And then we get to Russia and Ukraine. Putin is asserting his power during a time of US weakness. The United States has been drained by over a decade of war (three years of which there were two concurrent wars), and continues to build up trillions of dollars of debt. The United States is tired. It shows by our political climate. Each side continues to grow farther and farther apart, and the same can be said for the people of America. So while America continues to fight within, Russia is making moves. I also wonder what China is doing. We need to pay attention to the crisis in Ukraine. We are seeing incredible witness by Catholic and Orthodox Priests who are standing up for peace. Let us focus on this issue. Instead we are focused on what some old racist man said, and it is quite disappointing. I couldn't care less about the race "issue". Did Mr. Sterling's racism hurt anyone? Did his players get paid? Yes. Was his team all white? No. Is he wrong for being racist? Yes! However, instead of moving on and moving forward we let that bog us down. While this all happens Putin continues to move. We need to be paying attention, before China surpasses us as the world's largest economy. Yeah, that may happen in a decade as well. Did you hear of that? Probably not.
America needs to drastically discern its priorities. We are very concerned about social issues, but what about the economy and national security? How good are our arguments about social issues, if we can't keep our people employed and safe? They will all be for not. There is a solution. The solution is simple and many people know the solution, but choose the wide gate because it's easy. Let us choose the narrow gate. Let us choose Christ and seek to live by His commandments. If we all did this, the world would be a much better place. Well, at least it would have a better chance of being a better place. Credo Domine.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)