3rd Sunday of Advent, December 15, 2024

Christmas Eve Mass will be on December 24th at 4:oo PM.

 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.

Rosemary's Blessing:                                  

Next time.  Santa arrived. 

Want to read a good Christmas story:   Download A Christmas Story 12-26-14

Richard reading the beautiful Isaiah 9.

Our Special Thanks:  

•    For  the Readings:  The Froebes, Richard, Morgan, and Monica
•    For The Team:   Kevin & Georgie 
•    For the Communion Bread:  Claire
•    For the Wine & Cups:  Judy & Dick
•    For the Pictures & Video:   Rick &  Mike, John & Connie & Beth
•    For the coffee and extras:   none this day
•    For the altar & sound: Jackie & Hue
•    For the Music:  Ray & Shonda & Wendy
•    For all who helped with communion, all 20 of you

Morgan reading Titus 3.

Birthdays:   Diane Holcomb ( Sunday); Amanda Baack (Monday); T.J. Gleason (Wednesday); Robyn Pack (57, Thursday); Hugh Bivona (Friday)

Anniversaries:

Tom and Teresa Quinn (47^th, Tuesday)

Monica reading Luke's Nativity.

 Please Remember these special people:

For three of our greatest friends and supporters who died this year, Fred, Curtis, and Chuck, last year, for them and their families.

For Jamie Wilson in the hospital;  The Quinn’s granddaughter, Mikayla; For Fred, our buddy and supporter for years, who moved to the other side recently;    For Curtis, another buddy and longtime supporter, who  died recently, and for the family;    For Bethany & for the coming of her Little Visitor;    for Jackie Urbanczyk's continued recovery; for Beth's sister, Katy, in Baylor;  For Rita;  Mike & Dee Miller's daughter, Lisa, not doing well;    for Nina Tucker's dad;    Judy Thompson's dad in the hospital;  John Cade's mother in law, Kalliopi Piskiouli;  Charlie's brother in law with cancer;  Beth Dugan's dad struggling with prostate cancer;  from Rob, the brother of his business associate who has cancer;   For Diane Drescher with a bad back & hips;  

A U.T. fan? Yes, Ryan.

Frank’s sister, Grace Campos, 84, with stage one;   For Jackie;  Diane McClurg's mom having a hard time making the transition to assisted living;   Dee's friend, Don Fox, with cancer;   Dick Thompson's daughter, Teri Jill & her cousin Terri.  Barb & Warren's grandbabies, Leighton Elizabeth and Warren Phillip, & their friend Chris, plus Barb's dad & niece.

Good old friends & buddies, Gerald and Frank.

Bernadette Delgado's mom; Gilberto's mom and brother; Tom and Teresa Quinn's niece, Chawna, with cancer, plus Neva Flynn, Angel, and Diane Kreeitzer; Connie Doherty's mom and her sister, plus Kevin's cousin, Peter;  for Mary Ellen; for our friends, sons, and daughters in the military, including Cole Carey, Ryan McClurg, and Chebino; cure for autism from Laura Chollick; for our President that he have great success and someday hold his grandchildren in his lap.

Meals on Wheels, Christmas Day, a huge operation.

Your Finances, December 24

Expenses:   $6010.00

Outreach:   $2747.00

Thanks for your Generosity.

Video:  The Great Nativity Drama, 4 minutes,

Have a Good Week, J.S

(214-783-0443)

Meals on Wheels, volunteers loading cars of those delivering the meals.

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

Meals on Wheels, a car loader and cheer leader.

Acts of the Apostles 13:  I have made you a light to the Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth.

Revelation 7:  For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

John 10:  My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

   Buddy reading the prayer for the lighting of the candles  

Thanks…

Music,    Ben & Shonda

Readers,  Geri & Mike

Gospel,    John Cade

Homily,  John Cade

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,      Mike & Hue & Richard & Kevin

Final Blessing, Rosemary

Readings:  Download 5-8-22 – Readings – 4th Easter

Homily:  

Some of the Zoom Members

Remember these special people:

For John Stack having a hard time right now with a bad back;  For Sandra who has been diagnosed with Large B Cell Lymphoma;   For Lambrini, John Cade's wife who is dealing with cancer;  For Tom Good;  For a young man, 19 struggling with a brain tumor and cancer;    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 and for a friend Cadence still suffering from a serious medical condition;   For Sir Charlie & Jan;  All of Shonda's dear family;

The blessing of the Mothers

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 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 baby boy named Ford recuperating from an operation & friends, Annie, a mom of 3 kids and Michael ;    for the medical staffs, teachers, and coaches in our public & private schools.

Dave, sharing a thought

Birthdays:  Pat Jansky 5/8, Ron Senter 5/9, Barbara Senter 5/13

Anniversaries:   

Community Finances:   

Expenses: $  381.11

Outreach: $  850.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

and Margie, offering an insight
                                    

Rosemary's Blessing:  

May we be blessed with the gift of contemplation of the blessings we have received and then put this appreciation into action to help others.

And may there always be someone on our life’s journey to help us on your way.     

Are you guys laughing at me–again?  This is serious business, no?

Welcome: Catholic Mass with coffee & juice, and pastries, some bought, some home-made. 

Time: 9:30; Celebrate with the Community  & John Cade  

Place: Legacy Charter School,  601 Accent Drive, Plano, TX 75075

The next two weeks The Blog will take a bit of a vacation.

Sez Mike, "John, Want to buy a used bike?"

Readings: 

Acts of the Apostles, 15, 22-29,  Unless you are circumcised, you cannot be saved.

Psalm 67,  O God, Let all the nations praise you. 

Revelation 21, 10-14, 22-23, The Angel took me in spirit to a great, high mountain. 

John 13, 31-35, Whoever loves me will keep my word..

Healing Touch.

Community Activities:  

ROMEO MEET: Friday, May 24, Jason's Deli, Collin Creek Mall, west side of Central, 1:00.  Welcome all wakos, you will fit right in.   

Juliettes, June, TBA

Healing touch for Bill.

TRUE?

Only a biker knows why a dog sticks his head out a car window.

Our Father.

What's up in Ye Old Catholic Church?  Like…

2 steps forward & 1 step back won't cleanse the Catholic Church

http://corpus-blog.blogspot.com/2019/05/two-steps-forward-and-one-step-back.html

Our Father.

See you Sunday,

J.S., 214-783-0443

Peace, Everybody.

JSM Mission-Faith Statement: 

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

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

Music,   Ben & Shonda

Expenses: $   510.00

Outreach: $    85.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

The Kiss of Peace

Rosemary's Blessing:

May God’s love and mercy encircle you today

With living laughter that renews and saves

May bright hope lead you further on your way

And in your life may you celebrate his word

And be a witness to a gentle and gracious Lord.

A Book of Irish American Blessings & Prayers    Andrew Greeley