how to tell if it is a ghost - 3rd sunday of easter B
What other proofs that what one is seeing is a ghost or not? According to Tertulian you have to check the extremities, check specifically his hands and his feet. This time you have to touch them – do his hands and feet have bones. Can you feel the bones in them? In ancient beliefs ghosts have no bones.
Lastly, another proof according to the anceints that one is indeed seeing a ghost is that it does not have any teeth. Ghosts have not teeth.
This is probably what Jesus had in mind when he argued before the apostles his presence before them. Jesus is showing proof that he is not a ghost. He shows them his feet to tell them that unlike ghosts his feet touch the very ground on which he stands and walks, that he has footprints.
Jesus also presents his feet and hands telling them to touch him, that he has real flesh, that unlike ghosts he has real bones.
Jesus also asked for something to eat because he wants to show them that he has teeth, that he can eat and chew his food because he is not a ghost but real.
Jesus is thus telling his disciples that he is not a spiritual presence, that he is not a mere apparition, but he is a flesh and bones Jesus, that he is truly risen and his presence before them is physical.
Do you know that in the book we are using to celebrate the mass, in that part of the mass which we call the Eucharistic Prayers, you will see there a capital letter N before the words our Pope and before the words our Bishop. So it says, N our pope and N our bishop. The capital letter N stands for Name, the name of a real person, the name of a living person, the name of an actual person made of flesh and blood and bones, a person whose feet touches the ground. Why mention them by name? Because our allegiance to Jesus is not just an idea or an abstraction. Our allegiance to Jesus is expressed in the concrete through our oneness in the faith of Pope Francis and through our oneness in the faith of Bishop Angel Lagdameo. Our unity with the Lord and with one another is not just a concept or an idea. It is real, it is actual, it is concrete in the person of Pope Francis, and in Archdiocese of Jaro, in the person of Angel Lagdameo. Indi ako makasiling nga catoliko ako kon ang akon pagtuo wala nagasantu kag wala naga-angot sa pagtuo ni Pope Francis kag ni Bishop Angel. Indi ako makasiling nahiusa ako sa bug-os nga santa iglesya katolika sa bug-os nga kalibutan, indi ako makasiling nahiusa ako sa isa kag isa, kon ang akon pagtuo wala naga-angot kag wala nagasantu sa pagtuo ni Pope Francis kag ni Bishop Angel.
The catholic church is a visible church. It is not a ghost just as Jesus is not a ghost. Indi lang ni sia spiritual church unlike many protestant churches nga lain diri, lain didto, lain pa gid didto. As a universal church it is gathered around a real person Pope Francis. As a local church it is gathered around an actual person Bishop Angel Lagdameo.
Jesus is a real person both human and divine, he is flesh and blood as much as he is spirit and divine. Jesus did not just give us the bible and left us to ourselves. No. Jesus founded an actual church, with actual leaders, with real structures and sacraments. Jesus called actual men to be his actual apostles, actual men like Simon Peter to unite and strengthen the apostles and all the faithful gathered in them. And even today the actual church Jesus founded still stands, and it is served by actual successors to the apostles with an actual Pope, Pope Francis, and an actual bishop, Bishop Angel.
Beginning Tuesday, the letter N attached to the bishop will be changed after 18 years. Bishop Angel Lagdameo will be succeeded by Bishop Jose Romeo Lazo and from then on Bishop Jose Romeo shall become the source, the visible manifestation of our unity as catholics in the Archdiocese of Jaro. I am inviting you to participate in this event beginning tomorrow at 4 pm with the liturgical reception and evening prayer in the cathedral. And on Tuesday April 17 with the installation mass at 9 am in the cathedral.
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