Friday, July 23, 2010

Answer to Bible in the Bubble, First Edition! Limited Awards.




My goodness, I am impressed. Nicely done, Bubble-dwellers! I like the quick responses and enthusiasm I see. :)
The question was (and yes, now I realize that it wasn't actually a question):
There are only TWO times in the entire Bible when God breathes on man. Name them. (And, if you can tell why the events are significant, extra points for you!)

Now, some of you made this more sophisticated than my little pea brain can take (there is a lot of wind blowing and receiving of breath in the Bible), so I am going to go with the active voice, God actively breathing directly onto man. 
The answer is:
The first time was when God breathed on Adam, giving him life. The second time was when the Resurrected Jesus breathed on the Apostles, giving them the power and authority to forgive sins.
"Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)
"Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.' And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." (John 20:21-23).
We are supposed to pay close attention if we see dramatic parallels in Scripture. God breathing directly on a human is remarkable and rare. In the first example from Genesis, the breath of God was life itself.
So when we see this happening again in the second example (the only time Jesus Christ breathes on someone) we should sit up and take notice. As Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit upon His Apostles, He delegates His own authority to them, empowering them to forgive sins, or even not to forgive them. Pretty astounding, as only God can pardon or retain sins! Yet here Christ authorizes mere men to do so. In fact, we are seeing the establishment of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. 

To sum up the two events: The first time, God gives life to the human soul. The second time, God delegates the power to restore life to the human soul. 
Beautiful!
Now, to the awards...
First, I am only giving four awards this time, as I was reminded during the last Doctrinal Quiz Show that only liberals give awards to everyone. As Mr. Incredible said so insightfully: “If everyone is special then no one is.” But let me tell you, I must be a closet liberal, because I am dying to give everyone an award!! I guess I'm just a "compassionate conservative."
Second, we have had an infusion of husbands into the Bubble. Men, you are welcome here. We are not leftist feminists, and we like you. And you have proven yourselves to be wise and worthy, honorable and brave. That’s how we like our men.


Third, to Sew, I can't give you the special Sew Award unless you at least show up to play, so just know that I didn't forget you!
And the Bubble Awards go to....

The Your Answer Made Me Chuckle Out Loud And That Doesn’t Happen Often Award goes to Faith Makes Things Possible!
The Um, How Would You Know If Ken Were Cheating When You Weren't Supposed To Read Others' Answers Before You Gave Your Own, So That Means YOU Were Cheating, But I Forgive You Award goes to aka The Mom!


The Going the Extra Mile Award (for trying to send in an answer while recovering in a hospital bed) goes to Megan! Now, that is what I call enthusiasm! 
The Oh Man, He Said That Better Than I Did Award goes to Ann’s husband, R! Although a few other contestants were very close and some even had the right answer, R's was the closest to what I was looking for. And therefore, R wins the GRAND PRIZE!!!! 






Yeah, don't worry, I have a few more, too. Which should motivate everyone for next time!!

See you then, and thanks for playing!

25 comments:

  1. Beth we get the 'didn't have a good enough answer to get an award' award! He he! But yay for R getting the grand prize... it's his birthday. I bet soap is exactly what he was hoping for. Leila... how many of those did you take from the hotel?? :)

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  2. Jenny, I was wondering when someone would ask that question, ha ha! No comment.

    It's his birthday?? Awesome!

    Jenny, I almost gave you an award for "What in the world is with that Bible verse you love?" Explain yourself.

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  3. Lol... love the awards. Who doesn't want one of thost fantastic, eco-friendly soaps???

    And YAY it WAS related to Confession! These posts are good mental work-outs, haha.

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  4. I was wondering the same thing!

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  5. That soap is ridiculous!! So, I'm not terribly sad to not win the grand prize, however, I feel quite honored to have won an award though! Thanks!! :)

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  6. Leila... it really should have been Tobit 8:4b-8...

    On their wedding night, Tobiah arose from bed and said to his wife, "My love, get up. Let us pray and beg our Lord to have mercy on us and to grant us deliverance."

    She got up, and they started to pray and beg that deliverance might be theirs. They began with these words: "Blessed are you, O God of our fathers; praised be your name forever and ever. Let the heavens and all your creation praise you forever.

    You made Adam and you gave him his wife Eve to be his help and support; and from these two the human race descended. You said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone; let us make him a partner like himself.'

    Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine not because of lust, but for a noble purpose. Call down your mercy on me and on her, and allow us to live together to a happy old age."

    They said together, "Amen, amen."

    LOVE IT!! We used it as the first reading at our wedding. I love Tobit... one of my favorite books. :)

    You could give an award to whoever guesses how many of those soaps ended up in your suitcase! He He!

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  7. Aw, that reminds me of one of my favorite weddings EVER! John Paul wasn't as big of a fan of that wedding ;)

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  8. Poor Sew, she's probably laid up on the couch watching Big Brother:)

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  9. Jenny, that makes sense now, and how beautiful!! I was confused for reasons that are too confusing to relate here, but I love that verse for a wedding! Wish I could have been there. :(

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  10. I was too busy to play this time, but I'm seriously eyeing that soap...next time :)

    Oh, and this question totally speaks to the amazing power of the sacraments of baptism and confirmation. Not to be taken lightly! Awesome work Leila!

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  11. Leila, besides my own wedding (haha), it was the most BEAUTIFUL wedding I've EVER seen! We processed in to the Litany of the Saints, it was pretty amazing. Jenny was absolutely stunning. The whole wedding was awesome and the reception too!

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  12. Ahh.. thanks Beth. You were a great bridesmaid! :) We need to start working on those I heart Leila shirts!

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  13. I am not very knowledgeable about bible verse specifics, but I do know my animated films. I believe that it was Syndrome (aka Buddy) who spoke the line you attributed to Mr. Incredible. I know this is nothing important but I value clarity much like yourself. :)

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  14. http://www.suite101.com/blog/lexiwrites/if_everyone_is_special_nobody_is

    Okay, Doug, I googled the heck out of this, and it appears we are both wrong. It was Dash! You were not far off regarding Syndrome, but he was speaking of "super" not "special," echoing Dash.

    Once again, truth and clarity is proclaimed from the Bubble! ;)

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  15. Brenda, ha ha!

    Sarah and SC, you need to fight hard for the next bar of soap! I only have a limited number left! :)

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  16. Congrats R!

    Jenny, we used that reading to at our wedding Mass! We love it too!!!

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  17. I'm learning so much following your blog!! Thanks!

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  18. ahhh man! I should get the first right answer award... :)

    Jenny- I LOVE that Scripture adn we read it together before our wedding night... :) But I don't get how it fits here. ???

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  19. Lauren... It doesn't fit at all here! I just answered the question with a random scripture... Since I didn't know the right one! ;)

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  20. Weird eco-friendly soap is exactly what R wanted for his b’day!!! I’m so proud.

    Haha! Sew didn’t even show up! I hope this means she’s out enjoying an extra boost of energy.

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  21. ACtually I was unavailable since I was gone from 7am until 130pm hanging out with my girlfriends and doing things that NORMAL people do!!!!!!!!!!

    First time in a long time I actually wasn't laid up on the couch! And I also made dinner and cleaned the kitchen!!!!!!!!!

    Wheres my award for that??????!!!!

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  22. Shoot, I'll have to polish up for the next time. Would love to win me some holy soap! I didn't even try because I could only think of the New Testament time. Alas, another cradle Catholic bites the dust on Bible trivia. ;) What's worse is that I even taught Old Testament history; one would think I could remember at least Genesis. Hmm...I don't think I had any business teaching that course.

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  23. Thanks Leila. Just want I always wanted! Glad you didn't count off for spelling. Not used to using the comments and realized after my answer that I need to check for errors a little more closely.

    Thanks for doing these - its a lot of fun and a great learning experience (and humbling).

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  24. haha, I'll treasure my imaginary holey soap. The blogs were a great source of entertainment when I was in the hospital especially at night after Bill took the girls home. It was just me and my urine bag. awesome.

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