Special Reminder for Friday, March 6, 2015

2 Kings 4:  This time next year you will be fondling a baby son.

Romans 6:  …you too must think of yourselves as dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.

Matthew 10:  And whoever gives only a cup  of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because the little one is a disciple – amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.

Cody reading from 2nd Kings

Thanks…     

Music,    Shonda & Ben 

Readers,  Cody & Mary

Homily,   John Stack

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,   Kevin

Final Blessing, Rosemary

Mary reading from Paul's Letter to the Romans

Readings: Download 07-02-23 Readings -13th Ordinary

Homily: 

Jackie reading her homily

Remember these special people:

For Jan Keszler's Family; For Sandra Pratt's family;  For Cindy Cramer's family;  For the family of Ron Senter;   For Meredith  whose cancer has come back;  For Tom  Quinn who had back surgery on November 21st; For Lambrini, John Cade's wife, who is dealing with cancer ;  For Madeleine, Richard Eshelbrenner's granddaughter;  For Hue; For Jackie;  For John's sister, Kathey recovering from a fall;   For Tom Good;   For Mary Hall's friend Cadence still suffering from a serious medical condition;   For Sir Charlie;  For Ron ;  For Teresa Quinn's niece, Maddie who has a brain tumor;

Jackie's mom, sister, & friend, Lynn;  For Rick Turner searching for a kidney donor, Type O neg.;   For Jean & Cliff Wright;  For Dee, and for her daughters, Lisa & Lauren;  For a young man who is suffering from depression;  John Cade's daughter, Joey, with cancer; from Barbara, a little baby boy named Ford recuperating from an operation & the families of Annie and Michael ;    for the medical staffs, teachers, and coaches in our public & private schools.

Connie and John

Birthdays: Brent Burmaster 7/6, Paul Bieda 7/8

Anniversaries:  

Community Finances:   

Expenses: $  680.00

Outreach: $   360.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

Readings:

 Amos 7, 12-15  I was no prophet.  I was a shepherd.

Psalm 85,    Lord, let us see you kindness and grant us your salvation.

Ephesians 1, 3-14, In love he destined us for adoption

 Mark  6, 7-13, Take nothing for the journey but a walking stick

                      Says Kevin, "Welcome in, Everybody."

Amos  observations:

Author: Amos or his scribe.  He was a shepherd of sheep & tended sycamore trees.  One of the 12 minor prophets of the OT, minor because of smallness of the works.  Amos has only 9 chapters.  Usual pattern of prophets: 1. predictions of dire times for evil behavior; 2. predictions of better times in the future. 

Date: Ca. 777 (a memory help), after the kingships of David & Solomon, time of King Jeroboam of the northern kingdom, called Israel vs the southern kingdom, called Judah (where Jerusalem is).   

                          And from Harper, too, "Hi, Folks."

Geography: Note the two kingdoms, Judah in the south, Israel in the north.  Amos tended sheep in a little town called Tekoa, 10 miles south of Jerusalem, in Judah, the south.  He is sent by Yahweh to Bethel, a small but important town in the northern kingdom, 10 miles north of Jerusalem, to warn the people of Israel & their king Jeroboam that Yahweh was mad at them.  The wicked high priest of Bethel, Amaziah condemns Amos for his interference.

The Setting: a time of prosperity.  But Yahweh is mad at the greed of the wealthy and their oppression of the poor (which ties into our gospel talking about walking lightly through life).  We know the people of this kingdom of Israel are headed for annihilation by the Assyrian nation.  And they will disappear as a significant body.  

Our Selection, chapter 7:  Amos describes three visions or dreams he has.  Amaziah gives it to him for spreading these visions around.  Then, Amos responds and socks it to Amaziah with a hammer.

          And from Sienna, "From Brooklyn and me, Welcome."

Take Nothing for the Journey

I apologize this morning for telling you a story that some of you will probably remember.  However, the event so speaks to the gospel this morning that I can not pass it up.  Another African story.

One evening in Tanzania I boarded an overnight train in Dar es Salaam, the capital.  I would get off in the region near Kilimajaro where the Jesuit house was that I used as a base when I was not on the road giving seminars or retreats. 

       Some of The Cupcakes of The Week gang for this week.

I had bought my ticket just the afternoon of the trip.  No compartments were available, which were not much anyway.  Two shared the compartment and an upper bunk came down.  You had to be careful in the little stations, because thieves would look in the window and grab.  So, no big loss.

I had to take general booking.  This entitled me to a place on the train, not necessarily a seat.  It is not air conditioned and can be a bit warm. 

           Offertory with Mike and Judy, Sydney and Hugh.

I started out sitting on a suitcase I traveled with.  There were mothers with little kids and a few chickens all around my area at the end of a train car.   I expected it would be a long night, but I would get where I wanted to go and then sleep extra.

About midnight the train stopped, like in the middle of nowhere.  We sit there.  No explanation, nothing.   I finally join others getting off.  I lie down on the rocks on the edge of the track, my case under my head so no one would snatch it, and wait.  And wait.  We sit there with no explanation until about 7:00 the next evening. 

                      Wendy and Collin providing The Best.

Just like Mark recommends in the gospel today, I had boarded that train with nothing to drink or eat.  Looking back, I cannot believe I was so stupid.  Normally I would never have set out without water. 

Why did I not ask the Tanzanian ladies for a drink?  I could easily talk Swahili with them.  Trouble was, they did not often purify their water and I was afraid of it.   So there I sat, now in the shade.  I look around.  Everyone on that train is Tanzanian.  I am the only white guy, which by then I am at home with.

                                             Elevation.

Suddenly I see up the track maybe 4 or 5 cars ahead of me a white couple.  They have extra water.  Hooray.  They are Germans, but speak English with no problem.

We hang out.  They saved me, and let me tell you a quickie about how I saved them.

We were seated in the shade of a Frangipani tree I can still clearly remember.  All the passengers were seated along the train in the shade.  Next to us was a momma with her baby.  At one point the momma gets up and goes into the train.

                          Emma and Beth solving the World's problems.

The German guy who was about 6 foot 4 inches gets up and takes a picture of the baby.  Bad move.  Someone on the train sees him, tells the momma, she tells her husband, and he comes out yelling with a bunch of people.  He wants the camera.  He wants to take the German to the police, wherever that might be.

So, I stepped in.  We all sat down under the trees and I talked.   I finally got the father to allow the German to go to his compartment, cut off the baby’s picture, and give it to the man. 

                         Emma with one of her Best Buddies.

He cuts off just the end of the film, brings it back, and gives it to the man.  The crisis comes to an end. 

I ended up climbing Kilimanjaro with the couple, which ended up being amusing.  He was an Alpine Mountain rescue expert, like a 4 on a 5 scale.  He could crawl across your ceiling holding on with his fingernails.  When we got to the top of Kilimanjaro he got altitude sickness and I carried his back pack.  Of course, I teased him mercilessly. 

                                 Harper dancing to the music.

I never saw them again, although they were begging me to come to Germany on one of my homeward trips.  I wanted to see the Berlin wall and never did.  She was East German, he West.

The story simply tries to show how literal reading of the Bible can get you into bad places. 

What  would you suggest is a positive in this story about traveling with nothing? Could this be what Francis is emphasizing when he talks about Less is Better? 

How is Less Better for you?

Jonah 3: The word of the Lord came to Jonah, saying "Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and announce to it the message that I will tell you."

1 Corinthians 29:  For the world in its present form is passing away.

Mark 1:  "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."

Readings:  

Ezekiel 17, 22-24, Birds of every kind shall dwell beneath it.

Psalm 92, Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.

2 Corinthians 5, 6-10, We are always courageous.  

Mark 4, 26-34, Through it all the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how.

Leo & his momma, Shonda

Observations on Ezekiel

Who:  Ezekiel is one of the Big 3 prophets.  Why?  48 chapters.  The other 2: Isaiah & Jeremiah.  Lots of chapters.

Ezekiel was born into the priest class.  He later was considered a prophet.  When he was about 25 he was swept up in the Babylonian captivity, around 590. 

Emma wiating for the cookies

When: It covers the period of the Captivity, but it is composed toward the end of the Captivity, around 550, before Christ.  This is Ezekiel’s material, but it has been saved and edited by his fellow priests.

Brooklyn ready to roll

Message:

1.  Ezekiel warns the people that they will be punished for their bad ways, for example, the Captivity.
2. He promises comfort and a brighter future for the captive, especially envisioning a restored temple (which was done until when?  The year 70, when the Romans finally destroyed the temple & the priestly cast ceased to function, to this day).
3. An amusing vision: The Dry Bones, chapter 37.

Today’s selection: Consolation.  Watch for a comforting message about a cedar tree.

As Sienna escapes across the stage, Brian climbs the stairs two at a time in hot pursuit. Who won?

Sources: Good News Bible, New Interpreter’s Study Bible, Wikipedia

All males in the community receiving a special community Father's Day Blessing

Father’s Day

In honor of Father’s Day I want to tell you 4 vignettes that I saw this weekend at a wedding Rosemary & I celebrated in Marshall, TX.  Two of the fathers are the couple’s dads.  The other two are guys I saw in action.

The community blesses

The wedding was for Kyle Dansby, a boy whom I have known and loved since way back in the nineties when he & often his two younger brothers helped me as altar servers at St. Mark’s.  Ashli Marie Acker was Kyle’s fiancé’.

Robyn & Erin offer their blessings

The first time I noticed something special was at breakfast yesterday morning in our motel, Comfort Suites.  Rosemary & I were seated at a table in the dining room about 9:00.  In comes a young couple with a girl about 3 and a boy who was placed in a high chair. 

This little boy fell immediately in love with Rosemary.  To see her he had to turn around left in his chair.  Despite dad’s efforts to interest him in eating, the little boy just watched Rosemary.  Food went uneaten and even on the floor.

The Dansby Family, Clark, Charlie, Kyle, Janet, & Randy. The Marshall Court House is where Kyle works as an Assistant D.A.

We talked with the little boy who never spoke, just watched.  Despite dad’s plans and despite the mess, dad never lost his cool.  When it was time for them to leave, he simply cleaned up, held out his arms, and the little boy put up his arms to be held.  I was touched, especially by his not placing project over people.

Later at the wedding, which was outdoors across the plaza from the pretty Marshall courthouse in a small park with a gazebo attached to a building.  So there was a stage effect.  We had two little flower girls, Lily & Abby.    Kids are always a delight at a wedding and these little girls were no exception. 

Ashli & Kyle Married

First, they got lost trying to choose which access to get up on the gazebo stage.  So I went and helped them up.  Then, as the wedding progressed, they were everywhere.  They went up and down, they went to pick up their flower baskets, and they were chatting with the bride’s maids.  Dad never got flustered.  Nor did anyone on the stage.  Instead of being seen as distractions, they were celebrated as delights.

Another example of people over project.

Then there was Ashli’s father.  Nice guy, congenial, probably in his fifties.  Then I discover he has recently obtained his doctorate and is teaching at a college maybe in Beaumont.  I am most impressed because I was trained as a Jesuit and still believe it that we never stop learning.  Life is an adventure in learning.  And here is an example.

Our very entertaining flower girls

Finally, Kyle’s dad.  I discovered that when Kyle was about 2 or 3 his mom died of cancer.  She was only about 34.  I cannot imagine how difficult this must have been.  I talked with him just a little bit about the event and he admitted that it was really, really tough. 

Later, fortunately, he met his present wife and has two more sons.  Faithfulness.

Technology to the rescue. The Bible was left in the girls' dressing room. So Kyle's brother, Charlie, brings up the Corinthians reading on his iPhone

These four guys touched me each in their own special way.  The two fathers of the little kids reminded me of my own struggle with placing projects over people.  Ashli’s dad exemplifies the ideal that learning is a lifelong adventure.  And Kyle’s dad, faithfulness.

How are you blessed by the dads in your life?

How are you dads blessing our world?

Here are the links for Sunday:

which is on a different link every week, has been to publish the link in the blog,

and this week ( June 7 ) it will be

https://youtu.be/Xuyd8vgT-8I

 

The new way to find the you tube broadcast will be as follows :

1. in your browser, go to   youtube.com

2. search for "john stack ministries"

That's it !   You will see a list of stack's broadcasts,

including the one(s) scheduled in the future.

Just click on the one you want.

 

Both methods work now.   A couple weeks ago I changed the broadcast attributes from Private to Public.

To see a private broadcast you had to know the link, but you can find a public broadcast just by searching for it.  You can even Subscribe to Stack's channel.

 

If anybody thinks this is not a good idea, please let us know.

 

 

 

 Samuel 26: But David said to Abishai, “Do not harm him, for who can lay hands on the LORD’s anointed and remain unpunished?”  So David took the spear and the water jug from their place at Saul’s head, and they got away without anyone’s seeing or knowing or awakening. 

1 Corinthians 15:  Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.

Luke 6: To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Another Reminder for the 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 23, 2025