Monday ADDENDUM!!

NO, I CORRECT MYSELF: THE BURNED OUT BOAT IS INDEED LEAKING FUEL INTO THE BAY, AN OIL SLICK COMING ASHORE.

Seldom a second blogpost in one day, but this is Monday in Holy Week, and exciting things happened last night and continue this morning,

and we had a fun Time in our adult Sunday School class yesterday that finished with an unanswered question ("what is 'paradise'?") which I will respond to now.

First, obviously the Coast Guard is taking an interest in last evening's fire, which burned literally all night long, was still aflame when I woke up this morning, and have come to have a look. The Bay is not really that lovely blue green, of course, I lightened the picture so we could confirm by sight that it really is a USCG craft coming to have a look. I took that pic just now, at 10:49 a.m. They came, looked, then circled around and left. Probably the start of their investigation, including whether there's diesel fuel leaking into the Bay. . That's right where our "mullet hatchery" was until Hurricane Michael arrived 10 October 2018, right in the middle of their season and washed it all away; sadly, have seen no sign of little mullet since them.

The other thing was, Sunday School yesterday morning. We worked on two topics.

First, the Holy Week adventure that year when Jesus was in Jerusalem for Passover, and Time and Life turned into disaster for him; looking at how the four gospel writers present that week, some of the idiosyncratic differences among them; and the idea that, considering all the differences, "what REALLY happened" that an acceptable answer is that it depends on whose gospel story you are reading. Each gospel written with full integrity and hoping to tell people about Jesus the Messiah the Son of Man the King the Lamb of God.

Our other topic was taking off at the end of the gospel for the day, the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke, where Luke reports a conversation between Jesus and one of the criminals being crucified with him, history calls him the Repentant Thief; who says "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom" and Jesus responds "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise" and the question was "what is paradise?"

So, how to answer, what to do? I didn't have my computer with me in class, otherwise I'd have done what I did this morning: google "Bible Hub" and go to Luke 23:43 and choose Interlinear and select Paradise, select and click the Greek word Παραδείσῳ, and look at the definition:

paradeisos: a park, a garden, a paradise

Original Word: παράδεισος, ου, ὁ

Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine

Transliteration: paradeisos

Phonetic Spelling: (par-ad'-i-sos)

Definition: a park, a garden, a paradise

Usage: Paradise.

3857 parádeisos – an ancient Persian word meaning "enclosure, garden, park"

So, clearly, at least in my mind, what Luke has in mind when he has Jesus say "today you will be with me in Paradise" is heaven, the garden, park, abode of God.

Pursuing our topic then: does Luke intend us to understand that Jesus believed we go immediately to Heaven Paradise when we die? And isn't that quite different from Paul's notion of our sleeping (dead) in Jesus until the End of Time, when the trumpet will sound, &c? And, perhaps most interesting for our class discussion, what does each of us personally believe?

Someone said "Purgatory", which sent us to the BCP historical documents, Articles of Religion no 22 (BCP page 872)

XXII. Of Purgatory.

The Romish Doctrine concerning Purgatory, Pardons, Worshipping and Adoration, as well of Images as of Relics, and also Invocation of Saints, is a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God.

and our question was "did they have to be so wishy-washy about it?"

Discussion ensued, pretty much concluding that this is The Episcopal Church, where you can come to your own belief or question, and nobody is going to kick you out of the church because you believe different from others; but one suggestion of our theology (lex orandi lex credendi) that might be of comfort and assurance may be found in words of our liturgy for Burial of the Dead (Rite One) (BCP page 481):

Give courage and faith to those who are bereaved, that they may have strength to meet the days ahead in the comfort of a reasonable and holy hope, in the joyful expectation of eternal life with those they love. Amen.

So, there being faith and belief, but no certainty, perhaps one wishes to choose a way that offers hope, comfort, assurance?

RSF&PTL