“Jesus died.”

The statement is a historical fact verifiable by the five senses (for the people who were there).

“Jesus died for our sins.”

This statement introduces a theological and spiritual element that is not verifiable by the five senses. We can verify that Jesus died. We can also verify that people commit exploitative acts toward one another characterized by the term sin.

But the relation between Jesus’ death and humanity’s offenses cannot be verified by the five senses.

Today’s investigators seek physical evidence measurable by the five senses. Forensic tools extend the capabilities of the senses to penetrate into the physical world telescoping or microscoping objects into view.

Analogy provides another tool investigators use to extend beyond repeatable experience accessible to the five senses. For one-time events, analogies to other prior provide frameworks against which to compare bodies of evidence and “visualize” results.

Missing links, however, manifest the vastness of human experience across space and time. Present sensory investigation may re-assemble the puzzle pieces. But there always seems to be pieces that will not fit or pieces that are just missing.

Sensory experience can not and will not conceive of any new pieces outside of existing discoveries.

Indeed, the introduction of new pieces changes the puzzle in a way that exacerbates measurement and control. Spiritual perception does not come with its own bounds.

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** “Faith is the organ of perception for the pneumatic world.” A quote by Otto Procksch via the article “The History of Israelite-Jewish Religion and Old Testament Theology” by Otto Eissfeldt in Ben Ollenburger, Old Testament Theology: Flowering and Future, 2004, p. 15.

30 days after the election of Pope Francis, a CNN blogger made this observation, “Whenever given the choice between clerical privilege and everyday human experience, he opts for the human.”**

It is a curious implication for one of Jesus’ followers, the gap between “clerical privilege” and “everyday human experience.”

“Clerical privilege” isn’t new. The culture of the ancient temple cultivated it, even the one in Jesus’ experience.

Jesus even told a story about loving one’s neighbor that contrasted the temple hierarchy with a looked-down-on foreigner (Luke 10).

Jesus himself: he rejected the choice and embraced everyday human experience. Yet clerical privilege persists.

Become better acquainted with Jesus’ everyday human experience. We invite you to follow this year to Easter withJesus.

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** Michael D’Antonio, “One month in, Pope Francis is on the right track” <http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/13/opinion/dantonio-pope-francis-first-month/index.html?hpt=op_t1>, Date Accessed: April 13, 2013.