Numbers 11, Would that all the people for the Lord were prophets.

Psalm 19, The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart. 

James 5,  Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder.

Mark 9,  If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.

 

 

Shonda & Ben bringing us together.

 

Thanks……

Music,    Ben & Shonda

Readers,  Beth & Rob & Buddy, our candle blesser 

Gospel,     John Cade

Homily,   John Stack

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,      Hue & Mike

Final Blessing, Rosemary

 

 

Beth reading the first reading from Numbers.

 

Readings: 

Download Readings 26th Ordinary time 09-26-21

 

Homily by John Stack,  

Download Homily 26th Sunday 9-26-2021

 

 

Rob reading from James.

 

Remember these special people:

For John & Karen Anderlick's unborn grandson;   For Rosemary's great niece, Rylie;  For Richard's grand daughter, Madeleine;   For Esparza's new great grandson  & Frank;  For all the medical personnel struggling to treat the tsunami of sick people, in particular, locally, Cindy's staff at Presby, Dallas, and at Frisco Presby, the mother of Harper and Betsy, Kendle, working in labor & delivery, and for Hue & Linda's daughter, Doctor Rosemary Beavers;   For Mary & Dave Hall's g-daughter Allison Keller working at St. Lukes, The Woodlands,   For Sir Charlie & Jan;  Shonda's mom & Cody &  Leo & all of Shonda's dear family; For Ursuline Sr. Mary Troy,

 

Jan & Charlie saying, "Hi, Everybody!"

Jackie's mom, sister, & friend, Lynn;  For Rick Turner searching for a kidney donor, Type O neg.; For Meredith, cancer free & John Schanot;    For John O'Donnell & Jean;   For Jean & Cliff Wright;  For Dee, and for her daughters, Lisa & Lauren  ;  For Anthony & Sabrina;    For a young man who is suffering from depression;  John Cade's mother in law, Kalliopi Piskiouli and Lambrini, plus John's daughter, Joey, with cancer; from Barbara, a little 12 month old baby boy named Ford recuperating from an operation & a nephew; for David McKeon's brother, Hugh; For Beth's friends & brother;   for the medical staffs, teachers, and coaches in our public & private schools.

 

 

Mary, Connie, & John singing the beautiful hymn "On Eagles' Wings."

 

Birthdays:   Ben's daughter, Sophia, 14 (yesterday), Judy Carol, Leo (11?), Jackie Johnson

Anniversaries:  

Fred & Patricia

Tom & Becky Good

Ron & Nancy Kovatis

 

 

Cathy, Fred, & Ron updating the news of the week.

 

Community Finances,   September 26, 2021

Expenses: $600.00 

Outreach: $5.00 

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

 

Rosemary sharing her beautiful Blessing of the Week.

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

“Rivers do not drink their own water;

trees do not eat their own fruit;

the sun does not shine on itself

and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves.

Living for others is a rule of nature.

We are born to help each other.

No matter how difficult it is.

Life is good when you are happy

but much better when others are happy because of you.

Let us remember that pain is a sign that we are alive,

problems are a sign that we are strong and

prayer is a sign that we are not alone.

If we can acknowledge these truths and

condition our hearts and minds, our lives will be more meaningful,

different and worthwhile.”

Pope Francis

 

 

Peace, Everyone!

 

 

Readings: 

Isaiah 35, 1-6,   Be Strong,  fear not.

 

Psalm 146,  Lord, come and save us.

James 5, 7-10,  Be patient until the coming of the Lord.

Matthew  11, 2-11, What did you go out to the desert to see?

 

 

Isaiah 35 observations: 

As you may remember, the book of Isaiah has three distinct writers.  Isaiah I covers the first 39 chapters, out of 66 chapters.  Isaiah I has a certain amount of condemnation typical of prophets. However, as you can see from this beautiful reading, Isaiah I can share a vision of a beautiful future.

Date: written before the Syrians destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel, around 700 years before Christ.  

 

 

Advent Wreaths, a reminder: This little liturgical practice came to the Catholic liturgy, believe it or not, from the German Lutherans in the 1500's, the time of Martin Luther.  It was more than just decoration.  The circle symbolized eternity.  The greens Christian life in a dead time of the year.  The candles represent each of the 4 weeks of Advent, each candle symbolizing the greater light brought by Christ.  Their color purple symbolized penance and purification for the Coming.  The Rose candle says, 'We are almost there!'  

All together the wreath represented and shed light in a dark world, a world with no electricity.

 

The Celebration

This past week has been momentous and touching for me and for many.  Twice we celebrated the life and vitality of Chuck Pratt, one of our most special friends in this community.  Wednesday evening was a memorial, and Thursday morning at All Saints, Pam’s husband’s brother, Joe, beautifully celebrated a Mass. 

I would like to talk about Chuck in January.  Today I would like to talk about the celebration.

 

 

At the memorial celebration Wednesday, Pam, Chuck & Sandra’s oldest child, told a story that comes from John Ruskin, a British academic and critic who lived until 1900.  The story has gone around, but is beautiful to hear it again. 

Picture this man.  He is sitting in his house one night with a friend, looking out a window.  He is an old man.  There is no electricity.  Many of you have been there.  Remember what it is like, no heat, no light.  He & his friend are looking across a valley. 

 

 

As they watch a light is going up the other side.  As the light goes, it lights other lights along the way.  The lamplighter.  They cannot see anybody, just the light moving and leaving light behind.

Ruskin says to his friend, “That is a good illustration of a Christian. People may never have known him.  They may never have met him.  They may never even have seen him.  But they know he passed through their world by the trail of lights he left behind him.”

At the celebrations there were an abundance of lights.  I want to tell you about two little lights who touched me. 

 

 

During the Mass I was seated in the second pew with the family on the right end.  At one point Amelia, Chris & Cecily’s 3 year old daughter crawled into the lap of the lady next to me.  For the rest of the Mass she played with the books and chatted. 

I’m sitting there with tears in my eyes half the time, but enchanted by Amelia’s happy spirit beside me.  She and her sister Olivia had also shared their light with us by bringing up the offertory.  I was most touched.

 

 

Which naturally made me reflect on the lights we have in our community, lights who chatter and clatter, walk around in the back, and occasionally walk shyly up here and put a toy on the altar. 

Chuck was a lamplighter.  He left lights behind him and they have become lamplighters in turn, two little ones and a bunch more.

Who are the lamplighters in your life?  For whom are you a lamplighter?

 

 

Readings: 1 Kings 17, 10-16; Psalm 146, Praise the Lord, My Soul; Hebrews 9, 24-28; Mark 12 38-44

 

Kings:

  

Author & date of composition: the work is a compilation of numerous sources put together near the end of the Babylonian Captivity, ca. 550.

 

Subject Matter: 1 Kings is part of a 4 book work that includes 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings.  The 3 kings are Saul, David, and his son, Solomon.

   

The work begins with Samuel, the last great judge, continues through the lives of the 3 kings, and finally shows how Solomon’s sons’ squabbles led to the division of the Jewish nation into two states, north & south, Israel & Judah.  Both states were defeated and the people of Judah taken into the Babylonian Captivity.  It ends on a high note when Cyrus of Persia defeats Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, and allows the Jews to return to Jerusalem.

  

 

The Theme: you be good, good things happen to you; you be bad, bad things happen to you.

   

Our selection: 2 great prophets lived when the kingdom divided, Elijah & Elisha.  They criticized the bad ways of the sons.  In this selection, Elijah tells the king he is going to send a drought to the king's land.  Then Elijah goes away & meets a poor, starving widow with a son.  Watch what happens.  This is setting us up for a little widow in the gospel.

   

Sources: Good News Bible, Wikipedia, Catholic Encyclopedia

 

The Widow's Mite

  

Occasionally these days, despite my persistent denial, I get the message that I may be getting older.  The latest happened on a DART train headed downtown.  A guy actually got up and offered me his seat.  I did not know whether to thank him or consider myself insulted. 

    

Rosemary & I were on the train going to the arts district and the opening of the Winspear, a glorious Sunday a couple of weeks ago.  The train was full with some people standing.  Rosemary got a seat next to a black guy in probably his twenties.  After about two stops he gets up, passes in front of Rosemary, and offers me his seat. 

   

I certainly was touched.  He, in fact, was embarrassed a bit.  I teased him about thinking that I was such an old geezer that he offered me his seat.  And I thanked him for his sensitivity.

  

I mention this black guy because to me he resembles the little widow who gave her last coins.  Not that he gave his last coin, but it cost him to get up and give me his seat.  The story of the widow & her two coins is one of my favorite little stories, as is the story of Elijah with the widow and her son.  Two comments.

 

 

First, Elijah & the starving widow.  The widow is treated pretty harshly by Elijah.  She & her son have enough flour to make a little cake before they die of starvation in the drought.  Elijah demands some of it for himself.  This is staged by the composer of the story. 

 

Elijah is the prophet. But also for the purpose of the point he is symbolic of life or even God, demanding.  Responding positively to the demand wins reward.  Obedience, charity, hospitality toward others, all win rewards. 

   

This can set up false expectations of physical cures and raising from the dead.  A healthy understanding of the story could be that we receive by giving. 

  

Second, the little widow with two coins in the temple.  Look out for hyperbole here, infinite demand.  Is Jesus suggesting that we give away our last sheckle, our last quarter?  I doubt it.  Lots of pastors have abused this story to wring money out of church goers.  You are told you got to tithe, 10 per cent.  This is why five years ago when we started celebrating here, I did not want to have a formal collection.

     

The same lesson can come from this story as from the Elijah story.  We receive by giving.  What we receive is a by-product of our giving, not the goal.  The goal is helping the other person who has less.

     

The black guy on DART did not give me money or bread.  He gave me a seat which can be just as valuable.  He even had to overcome his embarrassment to offer the gift.  I hope my gratitude gave him something.

  

We, too, are faced with the challenge.  Perhaps even more at this time of year, Thanksgiving & Christmas.  As a community you people are already doing it.  I congratulate and thank you. 

   

How do you, how do we continue to share our seats with other old geezers?

 

 

Picture 1:  The Our Father with birthday & anniversary folks and Kevin

 

Picture 2:  Choir, Wendy, Ben, & Celeste

  

Picture 3:  The Donut Shoppe with Gavin, CC, CC's mom, Christy, & John Doherty in the back

  

Picture 4:  Jim & Diane Drescher

 

 

 

Jeremiah  33, 14-16, The days are coming.

 Psalm 25,    To you, Oh Lord, I lift up my soul

Pope Francis Letter “Laudato si”  (“Praise to you”)  –  “There is an inseparable bond between concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society, and interior peace.”

Luke  21,  25-28, 34-36,,  There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars.

 

Luke: Ch 21 –  “Up on your feet.  Help is on the way!”

Author: The gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles make up a two-volume work which scholars call Luke–Acts.  According to an early Church tradition, the author was the Luke named as a companion of Paul in three of Paul’s letters, but Scripture scholars say there is a problem with this. Though the author of Luke-Acts admired Paul, his theology was significantly different from Paul’s; there are countless contradictions between Acts and Paul’s letters. Bottom line: we don’t know who author of Luke-Acts is.

When written: The most probable date is around 80-100 AD, and there is evidence that it was still being revised well into the 2nd century.  The author takes as sources the Gospel of Mark, written around 70 AD, the sayings collection called the Q source, and a collection of material called the L source (L for Luke).

Audience: Luke was written to be read aloud to a group of Jesus’ followers gathered in a house to share the Lord's supper. The author assumes an educated Greek-speaking audience, but attends mainly to specifically Christian concerns rather than to the Greco-Roman world at large.

Today’s passage: A commonly held belief of the early Christian community was the return of Jesus; many thought this would happen within one generation. So it’s not surprising to read prophecies of that event attributed to Jesus in the Gospel writings.

 

Homily by John

  As a kid I attended school and church regularly.  I really liked the beginning of a new school year and the season of Advent at church.  Both of these were like a chance to start over again.  Another chance to start fresh and without judgment.  During my school years, we had summer fun times for 3 months and, remarkably, I was often ‘summered out’ and looking forward to a new school year with my classmates and most of my teachers.

We started over with new subjects, new books, new teachers – happy time for me.   At church we had finished that long ‘ordinary time’ without much happening, and had the scary sermons just before Advent about the ‘end of times’ and the ‘sheep and goats’ and judgment and punishment. 

Advent for the most part aimed us toward Christmas and the baby Jesus and the lights and happy thoughts and times.  I remember gathering a bunch of green fern moss to be the grass for the village I helped build around the manger scene.  Advent – happy time.

This week I’ve been thinking how happy it is for me to not actually ever hear hell and brimstone and judgment when we gather here; rather, acceptance and encouragement and challenge. 

I have so much to be thankful for.  I have a loving family who care for me in so many ways.  I have loving friends who show care and acceptance, including you guys.  I have a Pope with whom I feel a togetherness in thought and aspiration, and permission to express my thoughts, even my doubts, without judgment.  I have a Pope who encourages and challenges me to love and care for the world, for the environment, for my neighborhood, for my neighbors, for myself.  And I am grateful. 

My question is: What are you grateful for at this start of the new church year?  Or for the entire last year?  

Readings:  Sirach 3, 17-29; Psalm 68, God, in Your Goodness, You have made a Home for the Poor;  Hebrews 12, 18-24; Luke 14, 1-14

 

 

Introduction to the Readings

 

 

 

The first reading today is from the Book Sirach, which used to be better known as Ecclesiasticus.  It was written about the year 180 BCE by Jesus, son of Elcazar, son of Sira, and later translated by his grandson into Greek.

 

 

Sirach was a highly respected scribe and teacher, a person who traveled quite a bit, may even have been a diplomat to foreign courts.  Later in his life he started a school in Jerusalem where he tried to pass on to the young people the great love he had of the Scriptures combined with what he had learned from his own experiences about life. 

 

 

 

The book is part of the Wisdom literature and the reason for its older title, Ecclesiasticus is that in the past it was one of the most used and quoted books by the Church!   Our reading today fits well with the topic in the gospels, humility.

 

 

 

The second reading is from the Letter to the Hebrews.  The author is unknown, although for a long period of time it was assumed to be Paul.  But today most scholars agree that the style is too different and the Greek used is the best in the New Testament. 

 

 

 

The overall message of the letter is one of encouragement to hang in and not get too complacent with the faith.  Probably written late in the first century, the main theme is the priesthood and sacrifice of Jesus.  This is the letter where we come across the many references to Jesus as the High Priest. 

 

 

 

I sometimes wonder if this focus was due to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (ca. 70 C.E.) and the end of the priesthood as the Jewish people would have known it, and so to fill the void the author holds up Jesus and his sacrifice as the one true sacrifice. 

 

 

 

Another important theme is the pilgrimage of the people of God to the heavenly Jerusalem, and it is on this topic that our reading is taken from for today.

 

 

Homily

 

 

The theme of the readings today is humility.   From a careful reading of the gospel, I am left a little confused because it seems to me that the main point Jesus could be making is how to get more recognition by being humble.  That said, since I have nothing good to say about it, I want instead to take advantage of the fact that today we are going to be baptizing Emma and welcoming her into our community, and so would like to offer some thoughts about baptism. 

 

 

 

If we go right back to the earliest days of Christianity, we find baptism!  Early in Mark’s gospel Jesus is baptized by John in the Jordan.  In Matthew’s gospel the apostles are instructed by Jesus just before his ascension to “go teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit”.   And through out the Acts of the Apostles it becomes clear that baptism was the way to join this community. 

 

 

 

It was the Rite of Entry!  And all of the people who were being baptized did so after hearing the message or the teaching as Matthew puts it.  If kids were baptized, it was only because the family was joining. 

 

 

 

It wasn’t until the fifth century when St. Augustine stated that only the baptized could get into heaven that the focus and practice shifted.  This of course created a huge pastoral problem for those who died before being baptized.  It was only in the 12^th century that Peter Abelard came up with the notion of Limbo, for those who had died unbaptized. 

 

 

 

One of the consequences of all of this was that religion was taught to kids, and not to adults!!  When was the last time any of you were at a formal class or session on your faith, outside of mass?  Think about it! 

The catholic faith as most of us have it was given at a kid level.  This might have been fine at a time when most adults were not educated beyond the 6^th grade, if even that, but today most adults have at least completed high school and a large number even college. 

 

 

 

Let me be clear, when I take about “faith” I am specifically referring to our personal response to God, our relationship with God.  Our acceptance of the invitation from God, to love God.  The information stuff, the doctrines, etc., are secondary.  When we were baptized as infants, someone else made that decision for us.  Today while Emma is being baptized, can we take a moment to reflect on the decision made for us, and make it for ourselves!  What does it mean in your life today, that you are baptized?

 

 

Picture 1:   Emma's welcome into the community baptism

 

Picture 2:   Emma's family, godparents Bobby & Tanya, parents Tom & Beth

 

Picture 3:   Sisters, Megan & Emely Kite.  Megan off to teach in Spain for a year.

 

Picture 4:  Chloe

 

Picture 5:  Jackie & Cathy accepting from Mike our monthly $2000 donation to the CCAC

 

Readings: Acts of the Apostles 1, 12-14 (post Ascension, Wednesday), Psalm 27  (good), I believe that I shall see the Good Things of the Lord in the Land of the Living;

also verse 4, One thing I ask of the Lord, to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, that I may gaze on the loveliness of the Lord and contemplate his temple.  

1 Peter 4, 13-16; John 17, 1-11

 

Acts:

Observations & a final review—(Author, Date, Place, Subject)

 Author: This is Luke, the physician, the companion of Paul, the Gentile writing for Gentile Christians, and the same Luke who wrote the Gospel of Luke.

 Date: Around 65 years after Christ.  Probably just before the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple (70 C.E., a big date in Jewish history), or Luke would have probably mentioned it. 

Place: probably Ephesus, today a ruin on the west coast of Turkey south of Constantinople.  Once this town was a major Christian center.

 Subject: the material works like in concentric, expanding circles, beginning in Jerusalem and ending in Rome after touching Judea, Syria, Ephesus, & Europe.  It treats activities in the early Christian community, some of which may describe they way they wished things were.

Today's selection in chapter 1 takes place just after the Ascension of Jesus, which was officially celebrated this past Thursday.   

 Sources: Good News Bible, New Interpreter’s Study Bible, St. Louis U. Jesuits’ Liturgical web

 

That I may gaze on the loveliness of the Lord

 It may have been a year ago when I talked about Rosemary having a breakdown on her bike riding around White Rock Lake.  To refresh your memory, she had ridden around about half of the lake.  She is down at the south end near the dam.  Her chain fell off and she did not know how to fix it. 

 So she starts walking it in.  She may have phoned me, but I did not answer because I was riding.  People go by.  She walks.  Finally a guy asks if she needs help.  She says yes, he stops, and he puts her chain back on.  Simple.  But significant.

 I was so touched by this guy’s action, that I had decided that I would always ask people if they need help when I see them stuck beside the road.  I talked about it here and somebody special in our community actually assisted a woman whose car had broken down.

 This stopping can be hard, folks, especially for us obsessive compulsive bike riders.  I got to maintain my 16 or 17 or 18 miles per hour average.  Or I have to finish up and run home.  Whatever, for the past year I have pretty faithfully checked with people as I pass, often hoping they don’t need help.  And they did not.

 
 

Until this past Wednesday morning about 7:00.  We had already gone around the lake and were heading north on the White Rock Trail, which runs from the Lake all the way up to Valley View and Hillcrest.  I was passing just north of the Greenville Avenue bridge, going behind a building on Royal Lane, when I come around a bend and see a guy working on his bike in the grass. 

 I yell out, “Need any help?”  And he responds, “You got any air?”

Yes, I did have my emergency air pump and I knew how to work it.  So I stopped. 

 He had repaired a front flat tire with a new tube, but had no air pump.  So we pumped it up.  I took off the pump.   The tire went back down.  Whoa, bad news.  I think he pinched his tube when he put it and the tire back on the rim of the wheel.  The tubes are so skinny & fragile. 

 So I had to leave him.  He said he could call his wife and she would pick him up.  His car was at Valley View & Hillcrest.

 Folks, even though my efforts did not get the guy going again, I was so happy I had had enough resolution to stop.

 I talk about this because of the line in Psalm 27, which says, “One thing I ask of the Lord, to dwell in his house all the days of my life, to gaze on the loveliness of the Lord, and to contemplate his temple.

 
 

Two comments:

          1.  To be aware that we are dwelling in the house of the Lord, we are challenged to do what is mentioned in the last line, contemplate.  We are invited to be contemplative people, that is, to reflect, to stop and look, to appreciate.  I think this is what I was doing when I appreciated what the guy did for Rosemary.

 Contemplation focuses on the loveliness of people as well as the loveliness of the lake, the mountain, the flower. 

          2.  Secondly, when I was a Jesuit we were educated to be contemplatives in action, that is, appreciating the loveliness of the Lord and helping others to do likewise.  Comptemplation of my blessings leads to gratitude.  Gratitude leads to sharing.

 We are invited to appreciate the beauty of the lake and the bike ride, and to help others do the same.  It may mean simply stopping to fix a chain or pump up an inner tube.  

 

 When was the last time you contemplated the beauty of the Lord?  And helped someone do likewise? 

Picture 1:   Beginning, with Leo in Jackie McGrath's arms, Shonda & Ray

 Picture 2:   Offertory, Tom & Lynda

 Picture 3:   Leo joining the music team

 Picture 4:   Tom & Theresa Quinn with their daughter, Colleen & her kids, Quinn and Shannon

 Picture 5:   Alison is back!  With her husband John and Cliff