Announcements

 Readings:

 Deuteronomy  30, 10-14,  If only you would heed the voice of the Lord.

Psalm 69,  Turn to the Lord in your need and you will live.

Colossians 1, 15-20,  He is before all things.

Luke 10, 25-37,  A Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight.

Bailey sharing her marvelous smile.

 Deuteronomy observations:

The Scene: the desert outside the promised land.  Moses is talking to the people about all that has happened to them since he led them out of Israel and through the desert for many years.  Now, as they prepare to enter, Moses is dying.  He is simply exhorting them to love Yahweh and obey his laws. 

The Author:  not Moses.  A compilation put into three discourses.

Date:  guess when?  Yes, after the Babylonian Captivity, ca. 555 before Christ.

Subject today:  Moses talks about a command, but never mentions exactly what it is.  Watch for the answer in today's gospel.  The Great Command.

Ray and Bethany with her marvelous smile.

The Good Samaritan

I would like to talk a bit about the Good Samaritan parable this morning.

There may have been two meanings.  Initially this parable looks like simply an encouragement to help others, which it is.
 

However, there is a second meaning, perhaps more profound, especially for the Jews who are listening. It has to do with prejudice.

Beginning with Georgie (and Kevin).

The setting. A Jewish lawyer is asking a question about his justification. Where does one draw the line in helping a person? Who is my neighbor? Some observations.

First, the road from Jerusalem to Jericho was notoriously dangerous and plagued with thieves. That this man was alone is significant.  People would travel in groups for safety. Was he an outcast?  Friendless?  Not too
intelligent or not so innocent?

Can you believe it, rain. Chris and Nancy, Chris my riding partner next week in Iowa, 7 days, ca. 500 miles.

Second, the man was stripped. For the lawyer this would signify that the man was without identity, of no identifiable class. In other words, he might not be anything, not even a Jew. He was Every Person.  A human being.

Thirdly, the priest & the Levite (a priestly class). The lawyer would know why they did not stop to help. The Law. They would have been on the way to the temple and they could not cause themselves to be ritually impure or dirty.  In the temple they had to be pure, no contact with dirty people or they could not offer their sacrifice.   Organized religion still follows this practice? 

Brandon and Leo.

Then, fourth, along comes the Samaritan. To the Jewish lawyer & the Jewish listeners Samaritans were considered scum.  Samaritans were Jews from Israel thought to have intermarried with pagans, i.e., people who did not recognize Yahweh as the name of their God, probably Assyrians after 700.    They did not get swept up in the Babylonian Captivity. They would defile the temple just by entering. In sum, they were vile and dirty, certainly not capable of performing an act of love.

Renee accepting our $1000 for our Habitat group, where she is working as a summer intern before returning to K State in the fall.

But, to the surprise of the lawyer & the audience, it is the Samaritan who performs the act of love.  He even risks his own life by rescuing the man. Jesus further twists the knife by showing how the Samaritan goes beyond the call by setting the man up in an inn and promising to cover all his expenses.

The composer of the parable goes further and plays with two elements used in the temple sacrifice: oil and water.  The Samaritan employs these elements to clean (purify?) the victim.  The author knows what he is suggesting in using these items.

Jesus is responding to the lawyer's question, "Who is my neighbor," by saying "Everybody."  No prejudice.

The Cupcake of The Week to Beth for her birthday. 2 weeks in a row for a cupcake.

Know anybody like that Samaritan?  How about you?     

Sources, Francis Vanderwall, Jesus, The Parable of God (Francis will speak here September 28-29)

Guess who? Emma with her buddy.

Denni reading from 1 Samuel

Music,   Ben & Shonda

The Kiss of Peace

Expenses: $   550.00

Outreach: $    110.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

Rosemary's Blessing:

Dear Lord, please give me

 A few friends who understand me and remain my friends;

A work to do which has real value,
     without which the world would be the poorer;

A mind unafraid to travel, even though the trail be not blazed; 

A sense of humor;

Time for quiet, silent meditation;

The patience to wait for the coming of these things,

Amen.

Anonymous

Revelation 7:  Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.

1 John 3:  Beloved: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God.  Yet so we are.

Matthew 22: When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him, He began to teach them, saying: Blessed are the …

Claire reading from Revelations

Thanks…     

Music,    Shonda & Ben 

Readers,  Claire and Brent

Homily,   John Stack

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,   Hue & Kevin

Final Blessing, Rosemary

John reading from the Gospel of Matthew

Remember these special people:

For the family of Ron Senter;   For Meredith  whose cancer has come back;  For Tom Good;  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 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.

John sharing his Homily

Birthdays:   

Anniversaries:  

Denni, Becky, Carrie and Ben commenting on the Homily
        

Community Finances:   

Expenses:  $ 4,320.00

Outreach:  $  160.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

The Kiss of Peace

Wisdom 6:  Resplendent and unfading is wisdom, and she is readily perceived by those who love her, and found by those who seek her.

1 Thessalonians 4:  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through  Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

Matthew 25:  At midnight, there was a cry, "Behold, the bridegroom!  Come out to meet him!" Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.

John getting ready to start Mass

Thanks…     

Music,    Shonda & Ben 

Readers,  Tom & Jackie

Homily,   John Cade

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,   Hue & Kevin

Final Blessing, Rosemary

John reading from the gospel of Matthew

Remember these special people:

For the family of Ron Senter;   For Meredith  whose cancer has come back;  For Tom Good;  For Tom  Quinn who had back surgery on November 21st; For Lambrini, John Cade's wife, who is dealing with cancer ;  For Allen Stryker;   For Mike and Judy Carrell ; 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 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.

Paula

Birthdays:   John Anderlick 11/14, Diane McMahon 11/17, Frank Esparza 11/18

Anniversaries:  Connie & John Bresson 11/14

Community Finances:   

Expenses: $  480.00

Outreach: $  155.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

Richard sharing about the Love For Kids Picnic

We will celebrate the Mass for  Ash Wednesday on Sunday.

Joel 2:  For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment.

2 Corinthians 5:  We are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us.

Matthew 6:  But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

Another Reminder for the 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time, March 2, 2025

Dear Church Community:

Here is the initial list of our neediest families. Please send me who you would like to adopt. I will try to be timely in letting you know if a child/family has been taken by another church member.

We would appreciate getting the items back for the families by Monday, Dec. 14th.

Thank you so much ahead of time!

Becky

Download Families (1)