Meanderings, 20 May 2023
Good morning, friends!
Photo by Lina Trochez on Unsplash
We join with the many who are mourning the news about Tim Keller.
(RNS)— Tim Keller, an influential Presbyterian Church in America minister who founded a network of evangelical Christian churches in New York City, has died.
He was 72.
Known for his brainy and winsome approach to evangelism, Keller founded Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan in 1989, and grew the congregation into a hub for a network of church across the city. His 2008 book, “The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism,” reached the New York Times bestseller list. His books have sold more than 3 million copies.
He had been under treatment for pancreatic cancer after announcing in June 2020 that he had the disease. On Thursday (May 18), Keller’s son, Michael, posted a message that his father had been released from the hospital and would receive hospice care at home.
“It is with a heavy heart that I write today to inform you that Redeemer Presbyterian Church founder and long-time senior pastor, Tim Keller, passed away this morning at age 72, trusting in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection,” Bruce Terrell, a leader of the Redeemer Leadership Network, wrote in an email announcing Keller’s death.
“We are forever grateful for his leadership, heart, and dedication to sharing the love of Christ with others. While we will miss his presence here, we know he is rejoicing with his Savior in heaven,” Terrell said.
Many will be sharing stories about Tim Keller. Here’s one.
Speaking of Tim Keller, resurrection hope, and, well, the ascension factors in with a strong post by Ian Paul.
What would you identify as the climax and completion of Jesus’ life and ministry? Surprisingly, this is not a trivial question. One of the key differences between John and the synoptic gospels is that, where the synoptics portray the crucifixion as a necessary but incomplete act on the way to the resurrection, John portrays it as the climax and completion of Jesus’ ministry in itself. In place of Jesus’ cry of despair (Matthew 27.46, Mark 15.34), John records a cry of triumph ‘It is finished!’ (John 19.30). The promise of ‘living water’ springing from the belly or side of the one who believed (John 7.38), best understood in reference to the Temple prophecy in Ezekiel 47, is fulfilled in the blood and water from Jesus’ side at his death (John 19.34). No wonder the true testimony of this leads to faith (John 19.35).
But most of the NT would point to the resurrection as the completion. Paul’s theological linking of Jesus’ death and resurrection to our movement into and out of the water of baptism (Romans 6.3–4) suggests that crucifixion and resurrection belong together, and this is evident all through the proclamation of what God has done. This Jesus, whom you crucified, God raised from the dead, Peter tells the Pentecost crowd in Acts 2, and we are witnesses of this. Paul, in Luke’s parallel depiction of his ministry, also talks of ‘Jesus and the resurrection (anastasis)’ (Acts 17.18), so much so that his hearers think that Anastasis is the female consort goddess to the male god Jesus. Paul’s summary of the gospel for the Corinthians is that ‘Christ died for our sins…was buried…and was raised on the third day’ (1 Cor 15.3–4).
Got a deal for you: Beth’s Substack Deal.
Good for Hope Church in Pilsen:
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson stopped by the 12th district police station Tuesday afternoon to meet with migrant families just one day after being inaugurated as efforts continue to find housing in the city.
“Do you like Chicago so far?” he asked one couple.
Hundreds of migrants arriving from Texas have been sleeping in the lobbies of police stations throughout the city waiting to be moved into temporary shelters as they await asylum hearings.
“We are grateful that you’re here and we’re going to do everything we can to make this place a real home for you,” he told them.
Hope Church in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood opened its doors last week to help.
“We’re making a difference in a time of crisis,” said Pastor Dawn Kooistra. “I understand that this is the largest migration of people in the last 100 years especially coming out of Venezuela.”
It’s one of two churches in the area now approved by the city to serve as a temporary shelter to house migrants.
THOMASTON, Conn. (NewsNation) — The Vatican is now investigating an extraordinary event that allegedly took place during a mass at a Roman Catholic Church in Thomaston back in March, leaving the faithful in awe.
Rev. Joseph Crowley, the head of the St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish, was leading Mass at St. Thomas Church in Thomaston when he reported the wafers distributed during Communion multiplied inside the ciborium, which is the container used to hold the wafers, also referred to as Communion host.
“God duplicated himself in this moment. Very powerful, very awesome, very real, very shocking. But also, it happens,” Crowley said.
A parishioner who was assisting with distributing the Communion wafers allegedly reported that there was a shortage of hosts. However, they then found there were plenty of wafers remaining.
Now, the alleged event is being investigated as a possible “miracle” by the Vatican.
Although the multiplication of communion wafers may seem relatively inconsequential, it holds great significance for Catholics.
In the 21st century, only four eucharistic miracles have been recognized throughout the world, according to Magis Center.
Thank you Scott .