Reminder for 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 10, 2024

Readings: 

Isaiah 2, 1-5, They shall beat their swords into plow shares.

Psalm 122,  Let us go rejoicing to house of the Lord.

Romans 13, 11-14,  It is the hour now for you to awake from sleep.

Matthew  24, 37-44, Stay awake.

 

Sorry, no homily this week. 

 

 

Here are the links for Sunday:

 

Readings:

Wisdom, 6, 12-16, Resplendent and unfading is wisdom.

Psalm 6, my soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

1 Thessalonians  4, 13-18, We shall always be with the Lord

Matthew 25, 1-13, The kingdom of heaven will be like 10 virgins, 5 wise, 5 foolish.  Stay awake (not for fear of being kicked out, but to catch the blessing.  No one is kicked out!)

 

 

 

 

Thanks to the Team

Music,  Ben & Shonda's  

Readers,  Beth & Rob & Buddy, the candle blesser

Gospel,  Deacon Mike 

Homily,  John Cade 

Eucharistic Prayer A & B, Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,  Richard & Hue & Mike

Final Blessing, Rosemary

For hosting us at Legacy, Becky

 

 

Download Readings Week 32

 

 (A personal comment on the acclamation and the Matthew reading on the 10 virgins, 5 wise, 5 foolish.

I really hate fear based spirituality.  This is a fear focused story about girls being girls.   Are we all not foolish in our lives, maybe even daily?  Is God waiting to catch us so that we all end up in hell?  On the contrary, Our God loves and treasures each of us.  Could the Jewish leaders & rabbis been attempting to scare the people into conforming & behaving.)

 

Homily by John Stack

Well, Folks, I think that because of the stress this week it is time for a Stack homily light.   I know.  I can hear Hammond saying, “What do you mean, John, all your homilies are light homilies.”  See, Folks, I can get away with this because Bill is not here to defend himself.   Yes, I know.  You just watch.  I’ll get an ear ache before I finish.  Hang on, here we go.

Last Sunday we celebrated the Feast of All Saints, one of my favorite feasts.  Remember how we used to put together a picture gallery of family saints, mothers, fathers, grand mothers, grand fathers, and special friends?  May we do it again next year.

 

The Brain Trust

 

Mike, in his homily had one line that struck me.  “The feast of All Saints teaches that holiness comes in all sizes and shapes.”  Almost immediately I began to think of numerous people who teach me or have taught me to be more whole, more appreciative, and more accepting of peoples’ uniqueness.   That does not apply to you, Ben (our dear guitar player).  Want to guess my top five 2020 winners?  Here they are.

Yep, Hammond is numero uno, the guy who introduced me to biking after I had to get new hips because of all the running I did, like especially the years in East Africa.  I think Bill tried to kill me because I first got on a bike (his son’s bike) to ride the Hotter ‘N Hell 100, like in 100 miles and 100 degree temp.   I think Bill almost fainted when I crossed that finish line.   We went on to do so much more together, biking, camping, charity & relief work.  So it is Saint Bill for me.

 

Shonda & Ben, The Best!

 

During the last 30 days, more or less, there has been call for an enormous number of volunteers to man a gazillion voting stations.  These places were open 7 to 7.  Rosemary & I ran into a bunch of these volunteers at our Fretz Park voting station.  They were so charming and so efficient.  For me our volunteer is now called Saint Richard.  Carol, your man did great work.

Folks, we also have in our midst almost every Sunday another saint in my estimation, Saint Becky.  Becky not only guides this marvelous charter school with all of its creativity. But she also guides another even larger school east of Dallas.  She has been broadcasting on Sunday mornings a program on education in this time of corona.  On top of all that, St. Becky hosts every Sunday morning our delightful community.

Yesterday Rosemary & I got invited to a birthday by Jackie Turner.  It was my first since the beginning of the covid.  I wanted to go just to see some of our good friends from the community.  But, I was also scared.  I asked Jackie how she was going to keep us all safe and germ free, and knowing Jackie she had everything well arranged.  For example, only about 7 of us would come together and we would all be spread out in the front yard, 6 feet apart, the whole business.   St. Jackie did a great job and it was delightful to see friends we have not seen in months.

 

The Birthday Party.

 

Finally, there was a quote in the newspaper that said, “Hey, kids have only so many years when they can appreciate the magic of Halloween.  It is too sad to make them miss one of these special years.”   I agree and am touched at how this resonated with me and how the person managed to have Halloween at her house.   It involved a length of pvc tubing.  I guess the candy was slipped into the tube at the top of the steps into the house.  It then came out below to the waiting little hands of the kids.  I also miss St. Cathy’s dramatic Sunday arrivals in costume bringing along her grandkids, Harper & Betsy.

 

 

The Great Halloween Tube

 

Those are my 5 special people who give me life.  Who are the special people in your life?

 

 

 

Please Remember these special people:

For Alan Stryker;  For John Doherty recuperating from an operation for his back pain;   For David Dinsmore's bad shoulder from a biking accident;  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;   For Mary & Dave Hall's g-daughter Allison Keller working at St. Lukes, The Woodlands,   For Loretta's aunt Alicia;  For Sir Charlie & Jan;  Shonda's mom & Cody & Ben & Leo & all of Shonda's dear family;  

For Jackie's mom, sister, & friend, Lynn;  For both Jean & Cliff Wright;  For Rick Turner searching for a kidney donor, Type O neg; For Meredith, cancer free;    For John O'Donnell;   For Dee, and for her daughter, Lisa; For John Schanot's continued health;  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,  For the students, teachers, and coaches in our public & private schools.

 

 

Birthdays: David McKeon & Rosemary 

Anniversary:   John & Connie Bresson

  

 

Community Finances, November 8, 2020

Expenses: $2360.00

Outreach   $180.00    (often for Souls Harbor, Legacy, etc.)

Thanks, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

One more marvelous baby of the Braun family to baptize.

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

 

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead: Short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved: and now we lie
In Flanders fields!

 

Taken from IN FLANDERS FIELDS
By Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae

Composed at the battlefront on May 3, 1915 
during the second battle of Ypres, Belgium

 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.

 

 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.

 

 

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.

 

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?

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? 

 

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.

 

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.

 

Know anybody like that Samaritan?  How about you?     

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

 

                                                                                                                                                     

 

Sirach 50:  May he grant you a wise heart and abide with you in peace;

1 Corinthians 1:  Every time I think of you – and I think of you often! –

Luke 7:  One of them, when he realized that he was healed, turned around and came back, shouting his gratitude, glorifying God.

 

 

Another Reminder for the Sunday before Thanksgiving, November 247, 2024

Isaiah 66:   They shall bring all your brothers and sisters from all the nations as an offering to the Lord …

Hebrews 12:  So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees.  Make straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be disjointed but healed.

Luke 13:  For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.

                           

John asking us to recall our blessings of the past week

 

 

 

Thanks…

Music,    Ben & Shonda

Readers,  Connie & John

Gospel,   John Cade

Homily,  John Cade

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,      Hue & Richard & Kevin

Final Blessing, Rosemary

                                             

Connie reading from Isaiah
                 

                

Readings:  Download 08-21-22- Readings – 21st Sunday Ord

Homily:  

                  

                       

John reading from Paul's letter to the Hebrews

 

 

 

 

Remember these special people:

For Jan; For Sandra who has been diagnosed with Large B Cell Lymphoma;   For Lambrini, John Cade's wife, who is dealing with cancer and Kaliope, John Cade's Mother-in-law;  For Hue; For Jackie;  For John's sister, Kathey recovering from a fall;    For Tom Good;  For a young man, 19 struggling with a brain tumor and cancer;     For Mary Hall's friend Cadence still suffering from a serious medical condition;   For Sir Charlie & Jan; 

                           

Linda

 

 

Jackie's mom, 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 & friends, Annie, a mom of 3 kids and Michael ;    for the medical staffs, teachers, and coaches in our public & private schools.

 

 

Connie and John

   

Birthdays:   Marilyn Ackerman 8/26

Anniversaries:   

      

Community Finances:   

Expenses: $   2,370.00

Outreach: $   125.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

                 

The Kiss of Peace, Ben, Cody, Richard and Aggie

 

 

Rosemary's Blessing: