27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 4, 2020

Deuteronomy 18: I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kin, and will put my words into his mouth; he shall tell them all that I  command him.

Mark 1:  The people were astonished at his teaching,  for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.

Readings:

1 Samuel 1, 20-22, 24-28, Hannah conceived a son, whom she called Samuel. 

Psalm 84,  Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord

Colossians 3, 12-21,  Wives, be subordinate to your husbands.

Luke 2, 41-52, Jesus left behind in the temple.

Says our dear Leo, "Happy New Year, Everybody.

Samuel observations: who, when, what, our passage with a story

Who:

          –about whom: Samuel, the last judge ruler of the Israelites and the first of the Big Three, that is, Samuel, Saul, and The Great King David, a fascinating Old Testament character. 

          –by whom: not written by Samuel, but a compilation of numerous sources.

When:  being familiar as you are with the Big Three Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, when they did their prophet job,  and the influence of the Babylonian Captivity, around 555, yes, you are right if you guess that the work apparently was assembled at this same time.  The Jewish leaders were attempting to preserve their community as a tribe-nation.

What:  a Jewish history lesson, fantasized greatly, and attempting to give a divinely chosen character to the Israelites’ heredity.  Originally there were two books, Samuel and Kings.  Now there are 4.  How come?  A simple answer.

Apparently originally Samuel was one scroll written in Hebrew.  It was translated into Greek.  Hebrew has no vowels and therefore takes up less space.  Greek has vowels.  Therefore, two scrolls were needed to write out the book of Samuel and thus it became Samuel I and II.   Sort of amusingly simple.

"And don't forget me," says our dear Genevieve, "Happy New Year to You All."

The Story: (chapter 1)

          The 4 characters: Samuel’s mom, Hannah; her husband Elkanah; Elkanah’s second wife, Peninnah; & the temple priest, Eli.

          There was this man, Elkanah, who lived with his two wives in Ramah.  He loved them both.  Over the years Peninnah had numerous children, but Hannah had none.  Despite this, Elkanah had a special love for Hannah.

Peninnah used to laugh at and mock Hannah, who became depressed, often would not eat, and cried a lot.

One day Hannah was in the temple crying over her inability to have children.  At one point she promised that if she had a son, she would dedicate him to God’s service.  She continued to pray, whispering her prayer quietly.

Eli, the priest, was sitting in the back of the temple watching Hannah.  He thinks she is drunk and scolds her, “Stop making a drunken spectacle of yourself.  Stop your drinking and sober up.”

Hannah, of course, is mortified and defends herself, saying she is not drunk, but has no children and is miserable.  Eli believes her and tells her to go in peace and may God give you what you ask.

Guess what happens….

Sources: Good News Bible, New Interpreter's Study Bible, Bible Gateway.com, Wikipedia

"She's crawling," Folks, "beware."  Leo shows Genevieve how he used to climb up the pole to see better.

Paradigms for Families

I remember way back when Rosemary and I had been married a while, I told her one day that I thought this special line from the Bible was my new favorite line.  “Wives, be subordinate to your husbands.”  Sounded good to me. 

You know what I got, the look, the dog kennel look, the look that said, ‘There is a vacancy in the dog kennel in the back yard, bubba.’  So much for my new favorite line. 

We have one of the classic lines in Scripture here this morning.  “Wives,be subordinate to your husbands.”  I have talked about this probably numerous times over the past 25 years, but the message deserves to be heard occasionally.   It is relevant today.

Genevieve on tour, visiting Ray.

For instance, I remember one afternoon I was in line to ride the roller coaster or something at 6 Flags.  Ahead of me was a family, husband and wife with maybe two or three kids.  The couple were discussing two sides of some decision.  Then I heard the husband tell the wife that she should follow his opinion, because….   You know what he said.  I almost passed out.  I did not realize that contemporary, educated, middle class folks followed this just because it says it in the Bible.

Let me offer some perspective, a little history and the 3 models of family dynamics.

Historically, remember that the writer of the line lived not in the Middle Ages, but way before that.  Women were not considered equal to men in any way.  I saw this in East Africa when I lived there.  The man was the head and the wife, kids, and farm animals were all more or less on the same level.

The Best Music, Shonda, Bethany, & Ray.

You may see the same phenomenon today.  Where?  Try Afghanistan or among many Arab or Muslim countries.  Women have no rights and are certainly not considered equal to men.  Because of this, women can be beaten like a child or abused with hardly any consequence.  The old dictum held, ‘A good beating never hurt anyone.’

The writer of this letter saw this and spoke to it.  Not only does he speak to the wife, he also speaks to the husband, “Husbands, love your wives.”  Pretty unique stuff for those days.  Wives, in other words, are human beings, not property to be told how to dress and behave.

A Cupcake of the Week to Hanna & David, "Welcome Home." 

Finally, let me remind you of the 3 models of family dynamics.

First, you have the patriarchy.  The father is the head, which today’s writer is aware of.  And accepts.

Secondly, you have the matriarchy, the wife is the head of the family.  This model has been used over the centuries in various places.

Thirdly, you have equality.  This model has more traction today because women and men are equally educated and often equally talented.  In this family the husband and wife share responsibility and consult with each other.

Cupcake of The Week to Kevin for years of faithful service.  Happy New Year, Kevin.

It is not so much that one model is better than the other.  Which model works?  

Which model works for you?

Isaiah 45:  I am the Lord and there is no other, there is no God besides me.

1 Thessalonians 1: For our gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.

Matthew 22:  Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.

John and Aviana

Here are the links for Sunday:

For Zoom   ( the video conference, same as last week )

 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7428208829?pwd=VERncTBxaWdkaFpkTUZKL3RROW81UT09

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunset in St. Johns, Newfoundland

 

 

 

 

John Stack Ministries meets on Sunday for Mass at 9:30 at The ArtCentre of Plano, 902 E. 16th St, Plano, Texas.

 

 

 

 

JSM Mission-Faith Statement  

      Help create a Catholic Community that welcomes all God’s People, provides for & challenges spiritual & total growth.  

      Reaches out to help people who are disadvantaged & make the world we live in a better place to live.

Acts of the Apostles 2:  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

1 Corinthians 12:  There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there  are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone.

John 20:  Peace be with you.  As the Father has sent me, so I send you.

John Stack Ministries now meets at:  The ArtCentre of Plano, 902 E. 16th St, Plano

Here are the arrangements for Sandra Pratt:

Celebration of Life:  Thursday, 5/25,  6:30 PM to 8:00 PM

All Saints Catholic Church, Dallas, Fellowship Hall

5231 Meadowcreek Drive, Dallas, TX

LIVESTREAM INFORMATION for the Celebration of Life

The livestream will start about 5-10 minutes before it begins, and that is when the livestream will appear at the below links.

The livestream can be accessed at https://www.allsaintsdallas.org/livestream.  If you click on that link right now it will show that the next event is tomorrow’s 9 AM Mass (or today’s mass may still be on)… but that is the spot all livestreams can be found.

We simulcast to Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/asccdallas) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@asccdallas).

Christ the King Catholic Church, 

8017 Preston Road, Dallas, TX

The streaming info for the funeral Mass is not available yet.

Mass:  Plus coffee & donuts & specials on the house.  Welcome!

Place: Vines High School, Plano, 15th between Custer & Independence, west of Central Expressway.

Time: 9:30

Readings: Isaiah 60, 1-6; Psalm 72, Lord, Every Nation on Earth will adore You; Ephesians 3, 2-6; Matthew 2, 1-12

Santa visited the Christmas Eve Community:

Community Bulletin Board: 

Heritage Farm renovation:  On hold for a while

True?

One kind word can warm three winter months.
— Japanese Proverb 
 
 

 Picture 1:  Santa arrives

Picture 2:  Vivian's brother

Picture 3:  Vivian's sister

Picture 4:  Wendy, Shonda, Ray, & Celeste

  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

See you Sunday, January 3  

 J.S.   (214-783-0443) 

Acts of the Apostles 3:  The author of life you put to death, but God raised him from the dead; of this we are witnesses.

1 John 2:  But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him.

Luke 24:  . . . he asked them, "Have you anything here to eat?"  They gave him a piece of baked fish;  he took it and ate it in front of them".