Intimacy & Doubt
“Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.”
The Maronite iconographer Fr. Abdo Badwi depicts Jesus’s appearance to Thomas, the theme of this Sunday’s Gospel lesson. Given that the Disciples are depicted identically (with the exception of John, who is beardless) and in identical garments, there is a surprising amount of pathos communicated in the image. The ten who had already encountered the risen Lord look on in pious and quiet wonder, as the embrace of Thomas is gentle and compassionate.
This is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.
— The Apostle John (1Jn 5:4)
Second Sunday of Easter
Texts for This Week
Prayer
Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Hallelujah!
Mortal lips can perhaps offer no response to the victory of Christ over sin and death and hell more suitable than that great, triumphant paean of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus. Quincy Jones’s extraordinary fusion of Handel’s masterwork with the tradition of Black Gospel and Soul music adds another dimension and depth to the experience; and in this video, it is performed by an extraordinary choral project in North Carolina that mixes thoughtfully and intentionally mixes choirs from different ethnic backgrounds and church traditions, Singin’ Black and White. It’s a little, beautiful taste of how the Spirit of God can work through the people of God to make manifest the reconciliation of the Gospel!
In gratitude to Jim McNeely for sharing the Quincy Jones Hallelujah Chorus, here is his blog post reflecting on it. And, as an added bonus, here is another energetic Hallelujah medley riffing on Handel’s classic from Nigeria, sung by the Lagos Gospel Choir.
