image-i-nations trésor

7th Sunday of Easter, Year C – 2022

Some people delight in finding unusual things, they marvel at extraordinary events.
And, in this day and age, there is plenty to satisfy their search for what is special and exceptional!
The landing of a human being on the moon ranks among such happenings.

The astronaut, Neil Armstrong, is quoted as saying:
« That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. » 

The discoveries in the different fields of science,
the wonderful achievements in medicine,
the sensational realizations of engineering,
the amazing feats of technology –
all this, and more, give sufficient reasons for astonishment.

Personally, I found another reason for astonishment…
It is recorded in the gospel text of today (John 17:20:26).
We find there the words of Jesus’ prayer at the Last Supper with the apostles on the eve of his death.

Addressing his Father, Jesus says:
“I have loved them even as you have loved me”.

And he asks the Father:
“That the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

Who could have imagined such a… reality?
For it is REAL!

To think that a god – no, THE God revealed to us by Jesus as the Father – loves us
with the same love as he loves Jesus, the beloved Son!

Unimaginable! Unbelievable! Unfathomable!…
but TRUE!
Of course… we must believe it…

Belief in science?… Yes.
Belief in human beings?… Yes.
Belief in God?………………

 

Note: Another reflection, on a different theme, is available in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/7e-dimanche-de-paques-annee-c-2022/ 

Source: Images: NASA    thebottomofabottle.WordPress.com

6th Sunday of Easter, Year B

Whether we like it or not, Facebook is one of the most popular social media.
It has taken on the ‘mission’ of ‘connecting’ us, of linking together the inhabitants Planet Earth.
To achieve this task, it makes use of all kinds of clever ways one of which is the ’FRIENDS’ feature.

It is interesting to listen to people telling one another how many ‘friends’ they have on Facebook.
Some will boast of having thousands of friendly followers who faithfully check, daily of course, what is happening to them.

Today, I ask myself: How many people have in their personal list the name of… GOD?!
Strange to say, I have never heard anyone make such a claim!

Reading the gospel of this Sunday (6th Sunday of Easter, Year B – Jn.15:9-17)
I find the words of Jesus who says clearly:

”I shall not call you servants any more…
I call you friends
because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father.”
 
An amazing statement indeed and for more than one reason.
Each one of us can say, in all truth: ‘I am a friend of God’.
This does NOT require any qualification, social status, privileged background or exceptional experience.
The only requirement is that… we accept his friendship!

By definition becoming the friend of someone is a free decision.
It is no different with friendship with God.
He has created us free beings and will not force us into anything –
surely not into accepting him as a personal friend in our lives.
Coercion would destroy the beauty and value of friendship.

The second aspect of Jesus’ words that I find amazing is that he claims that
he has made known to us all that he, himself, has learned from his Father.

I personally feel that… I have still to make an inventory of all of this…
I am convinced that I am bound to make astonishing discoveries when I seriously get down to it!…
The same may happen to you . . .

Note: Another reflection is available in French on a different theme at: https://image-i-nations.com/6e-dimanche-de-paques-annee-b/

Source: Image: Alan Kraft

Sun Day – 3 May

Sun Day (May 3, 1978) was designated by Jimmy Carter President of United States of America  specifically devoted to advocacy for solar power, following a joint resolution by Congress. It was modeled on the highly successful Earth Day of April 22, 1970.

International Sun day has been celebrated over the past seven years on May 3, 2008. The day is sponsored and celebrated by NASA. Its Sun-Earth connection education forum organizes and coordinates events to highlight NASA Sun-Earth Connection research and discoveries. Sun-Earth Day is during the March equinox.

The celebration on the day is marked by the celestial events, such as total solar eclipses and the Transit of Venus, and Sun-Earth Day during the March Equinox. They participate in space science activities, demonstrations, and various interactive sessions and quiz with space scientists.

One of main goals of the day is to help scientists understand the interactions between the Sun and the Earth’s environment, which will definitely facilitate them to predict the Sun’s activity and motion, and thus, space weather conditions.

Source: Text: IDEA  Image: Clipart Library