Holy Week Day #1 – Reflections on the death and resurrection of Jesus’ friend Lazarus (John 11) and the question: “Do you believe this?”;
Song “At Their Father’s Knee” by Ian Anderson; Cover: Dali-e
Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for ePostle.net
If you’ve ever looked up at the illuminated moon, or studied close pictures of its surface, you can’t help but notice its pock-marked surface. Craters, large and small, are the witnesses to eons of bombardment by meteors, chunks of planets, debris, rocks, and ice slamming into its surface. Everywhere you look on the moon’s surface, there are craters. There’s no escaping the destruction of space-stuff on that surface.
The moon is our closest astronomical neighbor. It belongs to planet Earth, circling around us as Earth’s largest natural satellite. And yet, the surface of the Earth and the surface of the Moon have no resemblance.
The Earth is traveling around the Sun in its orbit, along with other planets and an assortment of debris, rocks, ice and space-stuff. Once these small bodies of matter enter the Earth’s atmosphere, they light up and we conveniently label them as meteors. They streak across the sky and we call them shooting-stars. Actually, they are merely matter becoming incandescent as a result of the friction. Thanks to our atmosphere, most of these objects burn away or slow down so much that their destruction is minimal. Thanks to our atmosphere, the surface of the Earth differs from the surface of the moon quite dramatically. Not only do we not have craters, but we have lush forests, vegetation, oceans, water and therefore, we have life! Of course, the atmosphere is also responsible for our weather patterns, which include beautiful moderate to fair weather, as well as hurricanes and tornadoes. Storms and monsoons cause floods and sometimes there is loss of life because of the harsh conditions. The atmosphere is responsible for life, as well as for the loss of life.
Natural disasters are built into the design of life. An earthquake happens because the tectonic plates, deep below the Earth’s surface, upon which we build our civilizations, settle and shift. Much like the atmosphere that saves us from meteors, the earth below our feet gives us an environment to build and create life.
We end today, with a short reading from the Gospel of St. Luke, chapter 13, where our Lord Jesus Christ explains that natural disasters are not based on our guilt, our sins nor the sins of our fathers.
“Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”
Next Step #760: Solutions: Write a letter? Or move mountains? Take your pick of the solution and the means. Time to get a life and take on responsibility for life. Opting for spiritual power and choice at the end of the year. Archbishop Vatché Hovsepian, laid to rest: the funeral and burial. Leveraging Love
The Parable of Archbishop Vatche – Next Step #759
Ian Anderson: A Week of Moments www.jethrotull.com
Cover Roller Coaster: Envato Elements
Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for Epostle.net Subscribe and listen on demand on your favorite pod-catcher!
We’re on Stitcher, Pandora, Spotify and Apple Podcasts
Next Step #739: A “star” shoots from one side of the sky to the other, from brightness to fizzle, at a speed that beckons slomo. A look at the speed of life, the expectations for tomorrow and reflections. Nurture vs. Nature, the case for goodness in people. Innocence lost. The greatness of children in the words of Jesus. The clergy prop. Imagination: the gift of God to exploit.
Epostle.net – https://epostle.net Next Step #423 – A second listen Matthew 18:1-14 Harry Chapin
Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for InHisShoes.org Listen via Stitcher Radio on demand! Listen on Apple Podcasts
https://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/NS739_cover-1024x819-1.jpg8191024Vazken Movsesianhttps://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/final_logo_large_for_epostle_web-300x189.pngVazken Movsesian2022-08-04 08:00:192023-05-22 13:29:48Shooting Star
Next Step #713: Bridges between bitterness and sweetness: how to build them and how to cross them, in this episode. A series of coincidences or blessings that lead to “Lessons from Grandma.” Celebrating a miracle bigger than the one at the Red Sea! A quick first look at “The Zealot Gene.” St. Sarkis, San Diego Consecration St. Sarkis – photographed
Armenian America online – Priest of the People The Zealot Gene
Cover: Bittersweet, thecapturedgarden.com
Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for InHisShoes.org Listen via Stitcher Radio on demand! Listen on Apple Podcasts
https://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image.jpeg10051494Vazken Movsesianhttps://epostle.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/final_logo_large_for_epostle_web-300x189.pngVazken Movsesian2021-01-28 18:51:112022-08-26 19:32:21McKenzie and the Lonely People
Next Step #603: Christmas and Christmas Eve: Finding the light of the Christ Child at the manger and in the darkness of life today. (From Christmas Eve homily.) Other topics: St. Stephen, really? New life of old tech. Solstice to Christmas: The Sun/Son experience. Armenian-Hawaiian experience for in-laws. Pentatonix “Hark the Herald Angels” Armenian Christmas vs American Christmas AC101: Christmas
Cover: Coke Reset Blue Screen – 2015 Fr. Vazken
Engineered by Ken Nalik
Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for InHisShoes.org Look for The Next Step on blubrry.com Listen via Stitcher Radio on demand!