Penta What?

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

I had no intentions of writing another entry so soon. Trust me, this won't be an everyday event, but these past two days, it is.

Today I had a pretty important test in my Pentateuch class. That's right, Pentateuch. If you're unsure, the Pentateuch is the first 5 books of the Bible. Tradition tells us Moses authored the entire Pentateuch, but their is pretty much no chance of this being factual. Unless, he was able to document his own death. Probably not, but then again, he did make water come from a rock, and he did part the red sea, and he did have a long flowing beard (possibly), which I will have one day (possibly). Anyways, I spent a solid hour hammering out exegesis on certain parts of the text, such as, Genesis (the binding of Isaac), Exodus (basically the entire book), and Numbers (umm...I forgot already). I then wrote a "well constructed essay" with all the joys of an intro, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, all in about 20 minutes. I defended the idea that God was in complete favor of the Israelites as his chosen people throughout their Exodus.

A few minutes after turning in my test I found myself sitting in the chapel on campus. We have adoration on Wednesday's. I went in and knelt down; I wasn't really praying, I wasn't really doing anything, and I had a thought...

God in the Old Testament seems kind of crazy, he just seems distant (to me at least). And I thought to myself, I just spent an hour trying to think about God, trying to write about God and all the craziness of the Exodus: Him inflicting plagues on the Egyptians, fighting for the Israelites, parting seas, and sending Manna from heaven for food. And if the Israelites actually saw God, they would die from his majesty...and here I am looking upon the same God, face-to-face. All that thinking and writing I just did to please my professor/GPA, and here is the fullness and complete answer to all those questions. I'm sitting with the same God that did all those crazy things. That same God that seems so ancient and confusing, is in the same room with me (well, I'm in the same room with him). That is crazy. Seriously, it's crazy. The Eucharist is crazy. We get to hang out with God. And when we go to Mass, the God that the universe can't contain, is in the palm of your hand, is resting on your tongue. It's crazy. We need and should want as much Eucharist as we can get because the Eucharist is Jesus himself, and Jesus himself provides the model for how we are meant to live. 

The Eucharist is a pledge of the glory to come and is meant to lead us into the next life.

Heaven and earth collide. (In the words of Howard Dean...BYAH!!!)

3 points if you read this one (keep track of your points - winner gets a prize). 

Welcome Keynote

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

I have a pretty big test tomorrow and another on Thursday. I have a 6 page paper due next Tuesday and a 10 page paper due next Wednesday...I figured now would be a good time to start a blog! I've wanted to do this for quite some time and I think now would a great time...

This first entry won't have anything too thrilling in it. I just figured I would kick things off with a welcome entry or a first keynote if you will (not really sure what that even means, it just sounds cool). I decided to start a blog for a couple of reasons:

1. W.W.J.D. (obviously - that's a given)
2. A good friend of mine/old youth minister has one and every time I read it, I feel inspired. If you don't know who I am talking about, his name is Jonathan Alexander and you should read his blog because it will always be better than mine. (http://jonamdg.blogspot.com/)
3. I always have these thoughts or ideas and I never write anything down and I eventually forget whatever it was. I want to use this to begin writing a few thoughts down.

Heaven and Earth Collide:
Their are also a couple reasons for the name of the blog...I think:

1. It's a lyric from a Hillsong United song and I was singing this song when I was asked for a title. The song is called "Father" - you should buy it...it's on iTunes
2. I like the idea of heaven and earth colliding. I don't completely know why, I just think it's really cool. The thought that at every Mass ordinary bread and wine is transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ and in this, heaven and earth literally collide. I think we can get so caught up in the world that we lose sight of the reality of heaven, and we begin to think that heaven is something that is so far away or something that is just out of reach. But that's not true, it's actually quite the opposite of that. 
3. I still might change it...

I have no idea where this thing might go. I don't even have any hints for you. We will just have to wait and see. If I have grammar issues, don't talk to me about it! If you actually read this, 2 points for you!