Readings:
Wisdom 9, 13-18, 28-29, Who can know God’s counsel?
Psalm 90, In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Philemon 1, 9-10, 12-17, I, Paul, an old man…
Luke 14, 25-33, If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother.
Sorry no Homily today.
We had a Communion Service and discussion of the readings today. Thanks to all who attended and contributed to our discussion.
Say Cindy & Dee, "Welcome in, Everybody."
Readings:
Acts of the Apostles, 5, 12-16, Peter said, "we are witnesses of all."
Psalm 118, Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his love is everlasting.
Revelation 1, 9-11, 12-13, 17-19, I, John, found myself on the Island of Patmos
John 20, 19-31, Jesus appears to the apostles in the upper room.
And guess who is also saying, "Come in, Folks," Tori & Harper.
Homily by Deacon Mike
The Father makes known to us, “He sent his Son into the world, not to condemn it; but rather, to redeem it; to grant it salvation through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
So, Jesus, in like manner, said to his disciples, “As the Father has sent me, I send you into the world, not to condemn the world but to grant it salvation through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Emma with her Magic Touch lighting our Easter Candles.
Two Sundays ago the Church welcomed and empowered with the Holy Spirit tens of thousands of the Elect from all over the world to become a part of the Body of Christ; not to condemn the world; but to redeem it, to join with us to bring forgiveness to the world.
So, we ask you, the Church, to redeem itself. You have hurt yourself and us; for we are part of you, and we suffer, but we know that we must forgive you.
The Blessing of the Easter Candles read by Buddy who knows it almost totally by heart.
So, we forgive you for allowing predators to abuse our children.
We want to assist you, so we ask that you do the following: Pray over your plan of action. Have you sought to realize that your plan must address predators who will seek to continue the abuse? You must address who you choose to send to your parishes. Your plan must replace them with ordained married men, and women who seek to be deacons, priests and bishops.
Our Great Offertory Team, Cathy, Sandra, and Judy.
The Apostle Paul placed no walls or barriers between those who have received and are living the gift of the Holy Spirit; we are Jew or Gentile, slave or free man, male or female. GOD HAS NO FAVORITES! We are one body in Christ.
Welcome Home, Grace, from your visit to Amsterdam, the home of your ancestors.
Readings:
Wisdom 18, 6-9, The night of the Passover was known.
Psalm 33, Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Hebrews 11, 1-2, 8-19, Faith is the realization of what is hoped for.
Luke 12, 32-48, You must be prepared for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.
(Less than amiable readings this week.)
Say Genevieve and John, "Welcome in Everybody."
Observations on the book of Wisdom:
What: Exploration of the meaning and value of wisdom. The author is the first to express a hope for immortality, a Greek concept.
Who: A Greek Jew who wrote probably in Alexandria, Egypt.
An observation on Hebrews: one of the most difficult books in the Bible.
Just watch how good I can walk.
Watch out for the Beauty
As you may imagine, I am not comfortable at all with the tenor of our readings this morning. Do you really think our God is a mean master sneaking around looking to snatch us when we have messed up?
No way. Instead, I would suggest our God is a God of gifts. We are challenged to be alert, yes, & watch out for the beautiful gift of the moment. And there are many each day.
Let me exemplify with three stories from Iowa and the Ragbrai bike rally.
If there is a candle lighting Olympic category, sign up our man, Cole.
Firstly, on the third or fourth night of our week we pulled into a scenic hilly town called Centerville. Our group of about 25 was invited by a couple to camp in their front and back yards.
I arrived about 4:00 and immediately went out to get something to eat. I returned and found the hosts, Terry and Kevin, had produced a huge spread in their driveway, hamburgers, brats, cookies, and two gallons of vanilla ice cream with, of course, chocolate sauce. I could not believe my eyes.
Camping in the shady yard of a beautiful Victorian two story.
I was most touched and thanked them over & over. This hospitality was a norm and it never ceased to catch me unaware and to touch me. Our God is a God of Gifts.
Secondly, the Air Force. Every year I see Air Force men & women in these marvelous blue & white bike outfits with big, upright wings on their back. I remember other years when we had 50 or 60. This year there were ca. 115, according to one guy I asked.
The Air Force, not only riding, all 120 plus of them, but helping anyone who came up with a flat, a dropped chain, or an accident. They were everywhere and I told them I was really proud of them. Sign up next year, Ryan, Chebino.
The men and women not only rode the 500 miles, they also stopped to help bikers who had a flat or who had dropped their chain. And, of course, they patched bikers up who had scratches & bruises. Likewise, they can phone in for an ambulance, of which I saw a bunch. I would see them all along the road. I am so proud of these Air Force people. Our God is a God of Gifts.
Likewise, David, himself stopped once and patched up a girl he saw fall down.
Oh, my gosh, where did I put my bike? A typical scene in every town we entered.
Thirdly, on the second day coming out of Shenandoah and heading toward Creston, going up a hill, I spot a three wheel bike with two people. One person is a woman in, say, her thirties. Next to her was an older man, slender with white hair. She is pedaling.
On the back of the tricycle there was a hand written sign. “My father is 81 years old and he has stage 4 cancer. This is his first Ragbrai.” Wow. Talk about being moved.
Does life get better than this??
This was only part of the story. A guy had ridden past this dad & daughter, had dropped his bike up the hill, run back down, and was pushing the three wheeler up the hill. Further up the hill I saw another guy had dropped his bike on the shoulder, and he, too, was running down to help push.
Our God is a God of Gifts.
And you were hoping to get through this town in how many minutes? And you still have not reached the town square.
Because of many of these & many other similar moments, when I finally arrived at the marvelous, mighty Mississippi, I just had tears streaming down my cheeks.
Our God is a God of Gifts.
What are yours today?
Our God is a God of the Gift of cuddly grandmothers for lovely girls like Zoe.
Readings:
Jeremiah 1, 4-5, 17-19, Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.
Psalm 71, I will sing of your salvation.
1 Corinthians 13, 4-13, Love is patient, love is kind.
Luke 4, 21-30, No prophet is accepted in his own native place.
For those who don’t have a decent Bible or a book of the readings, here are two links that I use,
The Bible at Your Fingertips (http://st-luke-church.org/bible-at-finger-tips.php) and USCCB, The New American Bible (http://www.usccb.org/).
The difference? The first is Protestant more or less, and the second is officially Catholic and has the 12 little books in between the O.T. & N.T., called Deuterocanonical or Apocrypha.
Both are good translations.
Buying a bible? The Jerusalem Bible.
Jeremiah observations:
Who: One of the Big 3 and my second favorite behind Isaiah, whom we will hear from next Sunday. Why a favorite: because he shares his feelings with gusto.
Time: you can guess it, before and during the Babylonian Captivity. Notice how much prophetic energy is concentrated around this one event? Shows how big it was in Jewish history. Keep 500 before Christ as the beacon date.
What: you can guess this, too. Criticism of behavior, warning of punishment from God, and eventually a better day.
What today: Jeremiah’s call by God to be his man, really Everyperson’s call to be God’s special. This call theme carries through our next 2 readings, especially the next one, The Big One.
1 Corinthians, 13
Here it is: Paul’s famous treatise on what love is.
I used to get 1 Corinthians 13 fatigue, I heard it so often at weddings. Lately, however, I appreciate it more because I never cease to need to be reminded of what love involves.
The Greatest of these is love.
When I returned from East Africa in May of ’86, I decided to study Spanish because I wanted to stay in Texas. Plus, I discovered I had a gift for languages in East Africa learning Swahili. So I went to Cuernavaca, Mexico where I spent 2 five week periods.
The second 5 week period I stayed in the small house of a lady named Maria Luisa. She had a crippled daughter named Karina. Maria Luisa had two Mexican girls renting a little space in her house. One of these girls was one of our teachers at the language institute. I stayed in a little hut in the back and I stayed there because I wanted to live with people who spoke only Spanish.
When I returned to the States after running the Mexico City Marathon in September of ‘86, I continued to keep in contact with mother & daughter. A year or so later they lost their little house and had to move into the garage which had been an attached part of the house.
Year by year I used to visit them, usually around Christmas when Rosemary & I would take a break in Mexico. I think what started me helping the two women was when Karina fell down at some point, broke the apparatus she wears on her withered left leg, and did not have the money to buy a new one.
Each Christmas we would visit with hopefully enough money to help them get through the year. With the help of numerous people at St. Mark’s and then our community from 2004, I gave them as much as $2400 a year,$200 per month. This was especially true when Maria Luisa started coming down with what turned out to be 3 cases of cancer.
Six year ago, as Karina reminded me, we brought an extra thousand to help them establish a small shop. They did and we were able to back off the support. However, there were times when Maria Luisa was hospitalized and dependent upon Karina. These times the shop did not get opened and I would help them with maybe a thousand.
This past fall, after having survived 3 cases of cancer, Maria Luisa was killed in a car accident. Karina was panicked. In fact, she feared she was going to be kicked out of the garage. I sent her $600 and she seemed to level out.
Though I did not expect to get to visit Mexico again this year because of the rising cost of air fares, Rosemary & I decided I needed to check on the woman. And so I went last Monday, coming home Friday. Three points came up.
For my part, I told her I would consult about the money. I also suggested that now was the time in her life at 45 when she could put to use her considerable mental capabilities. I suggested, too, that she broaden her contacts, especially with a couple of influential women I personally know in Cuernavaca who would empathize with her.
Why do this? Why not work to alleviate the suffering of the thousands running from Syria or even poverty in Mexico? Mostly I have never known how. But I do know I can help a person here or there whom I care for. I can show my love for one. I don’t know how to do it for thousands.
“The greatest of these is love,” says Paul. You people in this community are good at this. But I will ask anyway, ‘To whom are you showing your love?’
Readings: Isaiah 43, 16-21; Psalm 126; Philippians 3, 8-14; John 8, 1-11.
Isaiah – The scene: the Jewish people are captives in Babylon ca. 550 years before Christ. Isaiah the great prophet had warned the people that their bad ways were going to lead to this.
In this chapter 43 Yahweh reminds them of how much he has done for them in the past and lets them know that they are still his people. Their lives will get better.
The first 5 verses of this chapter are some of the best in the Bible, telling the people to not be afraid because he is with them.
Philippians – Philippi was the first church Paul set up on European soil. He is in prison. He is basically saying that for him nothing has any importance beyond his relationship with Jesus.
Judging
Our recent trip to East Africa was divided into two parts. The first half we spent in Tanzania visiting some of the world’s most marvelous game parks, like Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater.
The second half we spent time at place called Elsamere on the southern shore of a lake called Naivasha in the bottom of the Great Rift Valley. The place is somewhat famous because it was here that Joy & George Adamson made their home and where they raised a baby lioness named Elsa. Joy & George eventually let Elsa return to the wild, but while together they were the subject of the famous film Born Free, the story of Elsa.
The place is delightful, accepting at most 16 guests with three cottages spread out from the main house which is used as a dining room. It is here at Elsamere where we could not leave our cottage at night because hippos are grazing, one night right outside our window.
When we arrived, there were already 8 visitors, all Brits, 6 women in a group and a couple. Since they had already been eating meals together for a couple of days, we ended up seated at the second table with one of the Kenyan assistant managers.
As time went on, despite our efforts to get to know the Brits, nothing developed and I began to feel the ladies were ignoring us Americans. A couple of the ladies I had greeted seemed pretty disinterested in chatting. We had a good time with the couple. However, I was, as they say, put off by these women.
I know what it was that put me off. They never initiated a greeting and in the evening before dinner when we arrived with our guard from the cottage, they were all seated around the fire place. No welcome. In fact, they seemed totally involved in their own conversations.
Until the last night. Thirty minutes before dinner, snacks were served and we all made a big circle in front of the fireplace. All were departing the next morning. We three were split up around the circle.
Now they talked with us, especially a couple of them who had hilarious personalities. It was in this circle that we heard the story of the calendar (the women all belonged to the same organization that put out the famous calendar that was the subject of the movie "Calendar Girls"). We spent the time in hysterics.
The next morning I told them that my only disappointment at Elsamere was not having the opportunity to get to know them better.
I came close to judging and condemning these 6 Brit women, of judging the book by the cover.
Who is the Brit that you are condemning?
Readings:
Exodus 32, 7-11, 13-14, I see how stiff necked this people is.
Psalm 51, I will rise and go to my father.
1 Timothy 1, 11-17, I am grateful to him who has strengthened me.
Luke 15, 1-32, The Prodigal Son (The Best).
Exodus observations :
What : a story, a long parable. It has 2 parts, the exodus or exit from Egypt
and the years wandering in the desert.
Who: the work is all about Moses, but he
did not compose it. Rather, it was put
together by a committee during the Babylonian Captivity, 555 before Christ.
Subject: it appears that the purpose of the
work was to encourage the people during the Babylonian Captivity. It is not history and borrows stories from
other cultures. For instance, the
parting of the Red Sea comes from a Mesopotamian creation myth and the 10
Commandments resemble the Code of Hammurabi.
Our Subject: The people have been bad, God is
mad at them, and Moses defends the people.
Sources: Good News Bible,
The New Interpreter’s Study Bible, Wikipedia
The Prodigal Son: A Work of Art
This story is my favorite parable of the whole Bible. Note one thing: this is story, not
history. The author carefully crafts
his work of art to show how much God loves us unconditionally. Let me give you three observations about the
son, three about the father, and an extra three to show you how astounding this
story is.
First, the younger son:
1. He has no right to ask for inheritance. None.
By asking he is saying he wishes the father and the older son dead. A symbolic murder. Father can kill him for this.
2. He works feeding pigs instead of asking for
help from the temple. This means he
rejects the religious tradition and is considered a traitor not only to the
family, but to the religion.
3. So, as a horrible failure as a son of the
family and a son of the religious tradition, he decides to return. He makes up his little speech and heads
home. He is hungry to the point of
dying. Do this or die. Many listening Jews would say, Die.
The Father: he actually commits as many crimes and sins as
the son.
1.
He runs down the road to
the son when he sees him coming. A very
undignified action. Outrageous. People who emphasize conditional love point
out that the son at least came back.
Despite this point, all the other elements of the parable point to a
father with unconditional love.
2. He embraced and kissed the son. Huge violation of Jewish religious custom and
law. By doing this the father positions
himself outside of the religious & cultural community. He is a reject like the son.
3. He cuts the son’s speech off before he can finish, eliminating the last sentence, “treat me as you would one of your
hired workers.” And to make it worse, he
orders the servants to bring the finest robe, ring, and sandals.
The robe, the ring, and the sandals:
1. The robe: restores the son’s dignity.
2. The ring: gives authority to the son, even
equal to the father and certainly more than before he left.
3. The sandals: gives the son freedom. Slaves were not given sandals so they would
not run away. The father is doubling the
message he gave when he cut the son’s speech off before he could say the third
part about being treated as a servant.
A word about the older son, because we so often identify
with him. Two additional and final
points.
1. That he tells his father how he feels. Great.
In those days, it meant the father can kill him. Today: communication.
2. What is his challenge: acceptance of his
brother, his father, and himself; focus on gratitude for all he has; move from
trying to be a good boy to loving? Any
one of these? Or all? All.
I apologize for so much data. There is even more. The point is that the story is a carefully
crafted literary work of art that attempts to describe how totally unconditionally
loving our God is.
How does this image of God reflect your image of God?
Source: The
Liberating Stories of Jesus, Francis Vanderwall (Dallas’ Open Window will
present Francis Saturday, September 28, for an all day seminar. Welcome.
More info below. Sunday he will
be with us at Vines. He is an ex-Jesuit
and one of my best old Jesuit buddies.)
Download Fall 2013 Conference 9-20-13
Christmas Eve Readings: Isaiah 9, 1-6; Psalm 96, Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord; Titus 2, 11-14; Luke 2, 1-14
A Review of Isaiah:
Author: there are 3 writers of this work of 66 chapters. Our writer today is Isaiah I.
Date of Writing & of Composing: the work was put together probably after the Babylonian Captivity around 550, a time when the Babylonians with King Nebuchadnezzar defeated the two tribes of the southern kingdom of Judah, where Jerusalem is.
Isaiah I wrote much earlier, like around 700, before the Syrians annihilated the northern kingdom and led the 10 lost tribes off into captivity where they vanished in the DNA of the middle east with intermarriage. He was warning them their evil ways were going to bring Yahweh's wrath down upon them.
Our Selection: a prediction of an optimistic & hopeful future when the people will be freed from walking in darkness and gloom because a child will be born who is a God-Hero and The Prince of Peace.
Where is He? Who is He?
Rosemary & I have a love of riding our bikes. In particular, we love to ride around White Rock Lake, which is about 10 miles around. We can access it close to our house where the White Rock Trail runs north crossing Royal Lane near Central and heading up past Medical City to Valley View.
One sunny day we were riding as usual. Most likely Bernadette & Gilberto and maybe Chris Phipps were with us. We all go at different speeds and we meet half way at a boat house on the south end of the lake near Garland Road.
On this particular day, I had arrived at the boat house and was waiting as people came in. No sign of Rosemary. I was beginning to get concerned when I see her approaching.
She is fine, but says she was delayed because her chain fell off and she did not know how to replace it. So she started walking. As she walked numerous people passed her both riding bikes and walking or running.
Suddenly out of the stream of people a guy asks her if she needs help. When she tells him her problem, he says, "No problem." He can fix it, which he did.
She got back on her bike and continued on to the boat house.
We are in the process this Christmas season of looking around and searching, searching for this God- Hero, this Prince of Peace. Where is he? What does he look like?
I would propose that the man who helped Rosemary is that person. That is what he looks like. That is what he does.
There is another example of this person's presence in the story by our friend Steve Blow in this morning's Dallas Morning News. A repo man was so touched by the plight of a woman whose car he was repossessing that he got his buddies together & they bought her another car.. A good story. Read it.
I was so impressed with what the man did for Rosemary that it has made a small but significant difference in my own life. I have resolved to ask people if they need help when they are broken down, especially on my bike, when I can get hooked often into an obsession with maintaining my average speed or whatever.
This evening as we look around, this room is full of people who are like our God. This is what he looks like, like the man who helped Rosemary.
Who is the Prince of Peace in your life?
How are you a Prince of Peace to others?
Picture 1: Charlie lighting the Advent & Christmas candles
Picture 2: 4 of the 5 Bambini, Sienna with her dad, Payton; Leo with his mom, Shonda; Buddy & Torri with their mom, Michelle; Beth
Picture 3: All but Emma on the right
Picture 4: Angels
Picture 5: Joseph, Dillon, & Shepherd, Hunter
Picture 6: Angels, Chloe, & Shepherd with Mary, Georgie, & Joseph, Dillon