The Differences Between Jesus and Me
Jesus, fully human, fully divine. I, only human
Jesus never: I never:
Ate an ice cream cone Saw the Jordan River
Wore sneakers Walked on water
Committed a sin Had Jewish parents
Played a video game Called anyone a white washed tomb
Watched a movie Lived in the desert for 40 days
Went to an amusement park Got crucified for the sake of the world
Made a phone call Turned water into wine
Spoke English Spoke Aramaic
Had a twitter account Payed taxes with money out of a fish
Took a selfie Talked to a Samaritan woman at a well
Read Harry Potter Read from a Scroll in the Temple
Went snow tubing Calmed a raging storm with a word
Played the Piano Had angels sing to shepherds at my birth
Edited a blog post on Patheos Catholic Started a church
Which is more important?
Is it recognizing what we have in common with other cultures and faiths or is it sticking with the familiar and staying with our own kind?
It is easy to stay with the people you meet in your own church all the time, who have similar interests, jobs, and even nationalities.
If you do that you are missing out on how much you have in common with those who are different from you. Mark and I went to a different Catholic church a few times. Although it was still a Catholic church it was a different Rite. A Saint Thomas Syro -Malabar Catholic Church. We were the only ones there who were not from India, or of Indian decent. Mark and I both have light skin so we really stood out. They were very friendly and welcoming. The dresses and scarfs worn by the woman are quite beautiful. Some children dress up in Indian frocks but many of the teens wore jeans like the teens in our own parish. It occurred to me that the teens are Americanized and the adults prefer the traditional clothing of their homeland. I wondered if there were arguments about clothes before the families left for church regarding what the teens could, and could not wear. Oh, wait that was when our daughter lived with us and wanted to buy pre-ripped jeans.
People travel for hours, from different states, to go there each Sunday. Qurbana is the word they use instead of Mass. It is nice to see people who are so dedicated to coming to the Qurbana (Mass) when I am used to seeing a half empty church on a Sunday even though they have already closed or combined a number of parishes in my area.
They give out the Eucharist using intinction. This is where the consecrated host is dipped into the chalice by the priest or Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist while it is being passed out. Really, that is probably more hygienic especially in this age of coronovirus.
They do the sign of peace differently also. Two altar servers come to the pews and pass their hands to the person on the ends of each pew. That person turns to the person next to them and does the same. So, it goes until everyone has been given the sign of peace, much like when candles are used by the people in the pews on high holy nights, such as Christmas eve and Holy Saturday night.
The order of the liturgy is different also. They say the Lord’s prayer early on during the service and then again later on during that same service. It is a beautiful experience to go to a different Catholic Rite other than what you are used to attending. I think anyone who has the means to do so, should try it. It is not that anyone or any rite is better than another. They all contain the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. It is that exposing yourself to other cultures can teach you a lot about your brothers and sisters in Christ. When you see a different level of devotion in the people who drove for hours to get to Qurbana (mass) , for example, you might be inspired to participate more fully in your own liturgy.
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