Sunday Homily for August 12, 2018, 19th Ordinary Time, B cycle
Welcome, Everybody.
Readings:
1 Kings 19:4-8, Elijah went a day’s journey into the desert.
Psalm 34, Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Ephesians 4:30-5,2, Be kind to one another
John 6: 41-51, I am the bread of life
Emma doing her Candle Magic.
Kings: a review–
Subject: The kings of Israel. The Big 3 kings were Saul, David, & his son Solomon. The 2 Books of kings follows the 2 Books of Samuel, which describe the lives of the the kings up to the death of the Great King David, my favorite. 1 & 2 Kings takes up the life of Solomon, David's son, his building of the temple, his death, and the fate of the kingdom following his death, that is, it divides and is conquered.
Time Period: from ca. 900 – 555 before Christ, or from Solomon to Nebuchadnezzar & Cyrus.
Hue reading our Blessing of the Summer Candles.
Authors: a compilation of many sources that was put together at the end of the Babylonian Captivity, ca. 555 before Christ.
Our Selection: focus is on one man, the prophet Elijah. The kingdom has already been split. Our story takes place in the northern state, Israel. Time of severe drought. The king is Ahab; his queen, the famous Jezebel. The prophet Elijah has scolded them for turning to false gods to end the drought.
Welcome, Dear Sandra.
There has been a contest in chapter 18: Elijah vs the 450 prophets of Baal, ultimately to see which side would be more effective in bringing rain. 2 bulls were slaughtered. Naturally, Elijah wins when Yahweh answers his prayer, sends down fire, and consumes the bull Elijah has slaughtered. When he wins, he slaughters the 450 prophets of Baal.
We enter at a point where Jezebel is furious with Elijah for killing her favorite prophets and aims to kill Elijah. He is going to run away all depressed.
What a Team! It don't get no better.
Taste & See the Goodness of the Lord
I want to talk this morning about one of my favorite themes, namely that we can see, hear, and be touched by the presence of the Lord every day. As the Psalm says & I believe, we can taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Two examples.
Our Special Ekes' Offertory Team, Cindy, Bill, & Marlene.
As you all know Rosemary with her buddy, Barbara, delivers Meals on Wheels every Thursday. They visit 15 to 20 clients every week in the general area of Spring Valley east of Coit. Among their clients, whom they love, is a elderly Vietnamese.
While the apartment complex in which he lives is somewhat worn down, he is scrupulously neat and clean. He has planted flowers and grass outside his door. In fact, he trims the grass with scissors.
Elevation time.
The man heard about rental bikes and thought it would make his trips to the grocery store much easier. A good idea until he discovered that a credit card was needed.
There must be a Vietnamese radio station in town. So he calls up to voice his disappointment.
Thursday when Rosemary & Barbara bring him his food for the day, what do they find in the living room? A new bike, complete with a lock, an air pump, and bike stuff all from some family that was listening to the radio station.
Taste and See the Goodness of the Lord.
Play Station #1.
One final story from this year’s Ragbrai. This story comes from David.
On Monday, the second day of riding, we rode from the overnight town of Dennison to Jefferson, a ride of 70 miles or so. Along the route there are always vendors, both in the lovely little towns we pass through and just on the shoulder of the road or in a big field. My favorite, of course, is the Amish site with ice cream & pie.
Another favorite, as you may imagine, is the craft beer garden. There will be 3-4 scattered along the road and the crowds are enormous. You have to be really careful riding by because of all the off going and in coming bikers.
Play Station #1 revisited.
Somewhere along the road to Jefferson David stops. He gets a beer and is talking to a couple of guys from Grinnell College, just east of Des Moines (French for monks). One of the guys is looking for a potty seat for his kid.
Why a potty seat on a bike ride of 70 miles. From David: " Both guys had their families riding. One of the families had a 2-3 year old girl who rode in a compartment on her mom's handle bar. The little girl was potty training and the parents did not want to confuse her and loose ground. They had a potty seat but it had gotten lost in their sag wagon pick up truck." (Homily by committee.)
Our Special Welcoming Committee: Jan can do it all.
So they go on down the road and end up at the Catholic Church in Jefferson, our overnight town. Guess why. Lasagna! I stopped, too, but later.
One of the Church volunteers, a guy, hears that the Grinnell guy is looking for a potty seat. He has one & it is not being used. He can go get it. “Be back in an hour & a half,” he says. He lives 35 miles away.
When did you last Taste & See the Goodness of the Lord?
Our Beloved Music Team, Shonda, Ben, & David.