Readings:
Mark 11, 1-10, Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem, read as we process in
Isaiah 50, 4-7 I gave my back to those who beat me.
Psalm 22, My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?
Philippians 2, 6-11, God greatly exalted him.
Mark 14, The Passion in 4 parts.
Sorry, Everybody. Because of the length of the readings, especially the Passion, no homily this Sunday. Next Sunday, Easter.
Special Readings for Christ the King, Download Nov . 22 Special Readings for Christ the King
Zoe says, "Hi, Everybody, Welcome in."
Homily by Mike
Our two Readings and our hymn from Psalms reveal that God has sent to us his very son, the Messiah and King of Kings, who is robed in majesty and his kingdom will last forever. He has empowered us with the Holy Spirit to be Christ in the world to continue to bring about his kingdom. Metaphorically, we have been robed in majesty, in goodness and mercy, bearing with one another, and forgiving one another.
Genevieve, says, "Hi, Folks, So nice to see you here this beautiful Sunday.
Recall the story of the two prostitutes who stand before Solomon. The two of them had been living together and both had given birth to a son only days apart.
A terrible accident happened shortly after that. One of them rolled against her child in the middle of the night and her son was suffocated. She did a terrible thing. Getting up she placed her dead child in the arms of the other woman and took the living child back to her bed.
"Hi, Harper, So nice to see you back."
When it was nearing morning the mother of the living child realized that the child next to her was dead. Now it was she who began to weep. It was not until it was light that she realized it was not her child who had died. The king listened as the two woman began to argue with one another as to who was the mother of the living child.
Finally he said to his servants, ‘Bring me a sword so that I might divide the child. The real mother raised her voice to protect her son’s life, ‘Give her the child, certainly do not kill him.’ The other said, ‘divide him.’
The Candle Experts of the Week, Leo and Cole.
Of course the king now knew the real mother. Justice was served; however, it was done at the expense of mercy! After realizing in the morning that the dead child was not her child, she should have run to the other woman to embrace her lovingly, to kiss her tenderly, to cry with her, to listen to her, to comfort her, to take care for her, and to forgive her.
Think about the story about the prodigal son. After throwing away his inheritance in riotous living, one day ‘he hit bottom,’ he longed to eat the pods that the pigs were eating; but no one gave him anything.
The Team.
But unlike the woman whose son was dead, he took the initiative to seek help from what also seemed a hopeless situation. ‘I will go home and tell my father that I have sinned against God and against him.’
The prodigal son sought forgiveness, and his father welcomed him with mercy and a celebration with the fatted calf, begging the older son to join them. They had to rejoice and celebrate, and forgive, because his younger brother had been dead but was alive again. Mercy and forgiveness flow forth from the Law of Love of the kingdom of God.
The Best in Music, Shonda, Bethany, Ray.
Think about the example we received from Jesus when the woman caught in adultery was left standing before him. The scribes and Pharisees had left one after the other after Jesus had encouraged them to come to their senses, ‘The one of you who is without sin cast the first stone.
The word of our King of Kings is mercy. Is there no one left to condemn you? ‘Neither do I condemn you.’ After forgiving her, he sent her along the way to make her journey with him; for the journey of every disciple is a journey to Jerusalem. Next week begins our liturgical journey to Jerusalem. The intention of the Church is that we also make it a spiritual journey, for it is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.
Elevation of us all.
Readings:
Isaiah 62, 1-5, The Lord delights in you. (another excellent reading, this time from Isaiah III)
Psalm 96, Proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations.
1 Corinthians 12, 4-11, There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same spirit, different forms of service, but the same Lord. (a good selection)
John 2, 1-11, There was a wedding at Cana. ( a good story)
Harper says, "Hi, Everybody, Welcome in. It is so nice to be back after a long absence."
Isaiah observations:
When you see that today's selection is from the 62nd chapter, you may pretty easily guess that this is Isaiah III. The last 10 chapters of the work are from Isaiah III, that is, chapters 56-66.
Remember that Isaiah III talks consolation and comfort for the people, most of whom have now returned from the Babylonian Captivity to a destroyed Jerusalem.
"Yep, Welcome Back, Cathy."
What is your gift?
Want to take a trip to East Africa this morning, to my beloved Tanzania? I want to talk a moment about our gifts and forms of service like are mentioned in 1 Corinthians. To exemplify my thinking, I want to tell you a Christmas story that took place ca. 1980. I was tempted to tell you about a wedding I did on the slope of Kilimanjaro, but this is just as good and we have only finished with Christmas a few weeks back.
So, buckle your seat belts and let’s take off.
"Hi, Victoria, Hi, Buddy."
There is a town smack in the middle of Tanzania called Tabora. It was on the east west railroad from Dar es Salaam, the capital, to Lake Tanganyika. The Jesuits staffed a church in Tabora, not large, but with lots of people. It also had about 20 spokes out from the main church, outstation churches built when more expatriate priests were around to man them.
I was at one of these outstations for Advent and Christmas around 1980 to work on my Swahili. Two Maltese Jesuits interns were with me (from the island of Malta, off the island of Sicily). They were what were called scholastics, i.e., learning to be Jesuit priests. Good guys, Joe Xerri and Joe Pulicino.
Want to hear The Best? Shonda, Bethany, Ray, & David.
Later I visited Xerri at his home, not on Malta itself, but the island of Gozo, just off of Malta. He eventually left the Jesuits. Pulicino, got ordained, returned to TZ, worked with refugees, got captured by some Sudanese, and eventually was released.
So we three Jesuits are at this outstation, which was a fairly large, cinder block, rectangular building with a bell, a bell tower, and a corrugated tin roof. I often thought about the priests who built the church and then had to leave it empty somewhere along the way. It must have hurt.
Zoe & Cole at work on our major life problems.
The little town where this church was situated was tiny, just a few houses with tin roofs, maybe even mud walls. The church itself had an outstation, another little village even smaller. I did a funeral in this tiny village and fell into the grave. That scared everybody really good.
The people around the main church had not had a Christmas Mass in ages. They wanted a midnight Mass and we offered to put together a Nativity pageant. They jumped at it and we had a cast of dozens.
And More Problems being solved.
So the night comes. You got to picture the scene. No electricity. We had a few of the old kerosene lanterns. I spent many an evening with those kerosene lanterns. There was no heat other than campfires. Christmas in TZ comes in the middle of the warm & dry season, just opposite to us in the northern regions.
We rang the bell. People were literally camped out all over the place because many had walked for miles. The church filled up. There was plenty of music, basically drumming and shakers, and, of course, great rhythm.
A Cupcake of The Week to Georgie for being a Great Helper.
The one thing I never expected was the wave of June bugs. The church walls were not totally closed, but had sections where cinder blocks with holes were used. With the light in the church in the totally dark night, bugs came from everywhere. Nobody seemed to be bothered in the least.
The Mass lasted probably 2 hours. The Nativity pageant was super. Nobody wanted it to end.
Happy Birthday, Becky.
Why talk about this? Gifts. We had a gift and we shared it with everybody. They had gifts of music and excitement and gratitude. The kids pitched in with the pageant.
You can say that Jesus had a gift and he shared it. Mary, too, had a gift and she shared it, her son.
What gift do you have and how do you share it?
Cupcake of The Week to Cole for being The Candle Lighter of The Week.
Readings: Acts 12, 1-11; Psalm 34; 2 Timothy 4, 6-8, 17-18; John 21, 15-19.
Acts: this work is a continuation of Luke’s Gospel. It’s purpose is to tell how Jesus’ early followers spread news of him. Since this is the feast of Peter & Paul, the selection today focuses on a special event in Peter’s life.
Do you Love Me? More than These?
Since those days I have come to appreciate how a word in a passage can make a lot of difference depending upon how it is translated into English. We have a rather fun example in this morning’s selection from John.
Guess what the word is: love. It is used a lot in today’s reading. Three times Jesus asks Peter if he loves him, even more than the others. Three times Peter responds that he loves him. Looks simple. In fact, obviously there must be a play here on the fact that Peter denied Jesus three times.
Yet watch this. In Greek there are two words that may get translated into love. Agapo and phileo. The word agapo means I love you. Phileo means something slightly different, I care for you or I like you a lot. We have the same distinctions in English. If your girl friend tells you, I love you, wow, the world goes off like a Roman Candle. If she tells you, I like you & I care for you, yuk, disappointment, depression. “I don’t want you to just like me.” What a bummer.
Now for the passage. Both words are used in the three sets questions.
Set one. “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these other do?” “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” When Jesus says love, he uses agapo, meaning love. Peter, however, uses phileo, meaning “I care for you.” Interesting.
Set two. “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Guess what. Yes, Jesus uses agapo & Peter uses phileo. Same as set one. But note the significant absence. Nothing about “more than these others.”
Set three. “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” What do you think? Same as before? Nope. This time Jesus backs off and uses phileo. Peter, of course, sticks with phileo.
So what is going on here? What is the point? A couple of observations:
What can we take away from this story?
Ever had a fall in your life? How have you made yourself better because of it?
AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2008-06-29.mp3
In Memory of Our Beloved Bill, who moved to the other side this past Wednesday. This Sunday & next Sunday we will formally dedicate our celebration to Bill, Patty, and their beautiful family.
A number of people in our community have expressed interest in taking part in the ceremony for Bill at the military cemetery in Grand Prairie. I just talked with Patty & she says we are only allowed 10 participants and 10 minutes for the ceremony. There must be high volume. I've never had these restrictions in all the ceremonies I have done there.
Lynda Fleming is putting together a slide show of Bill's life.
Rosemary's Blessing:
People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.
Mother Teresa
Can music get any better, Ben & Shonda.
Readings:
1 Kings 3, 5, 7-12, God said to Solomon, "Ask something of me and I will give it to you
Psalm 119, Lord, I love your commands.
Romans 8, 28-30, All things work for good for those who love God
Matthew 13, 44-52, The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field.
Thanks to the Team
Music, Ben & Shonda
Readers, Brent & Mary, & Buddy, the candle blesser
Gospel & Homily, Doctor-Deacon Mike Carroll
Eucharistic Prayer A & B, Stack & John Cade
The Magic Zoom makers, Mike & Richard & Ben
Final Blessing, Rosemary
Mad scientists? Yes! Richard & Mike.
Please Remember these special people:
For our Bill & his family; For Cindy recuperating from a procedure 3-4 weeks ago; For Carrie Bieda's son; For Esparzas, Frank & Mary, who lost their son Jim to sepsis; 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 Joe Hogan with cancer; For Loretta's aunt Alicia; For Sydney; & For Sir Charlie & Jan; Shonda's mom & Cody & Ben & all of Shonda's dear family for Michelle;
For Jackie's mom; For a friend, a neighbor, & a doctor, Karen, with brain cancer; For Rick Turner searching for a kidney donor, Type O neg; For Meredith, cancer free.; For Hue; 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; for Virginia Mattingly.
Birthdays: Dawson Dinsmore, 23, Cindy Ekes
Anniversary: David & Donna Dinsmore, 34th
A Crazy Gallery? Yes!
A reading from the gospel of Matthew Jesus said to his disciples: “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,which a person finds and hides again,
and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.
The gospel of the Lord.
Homily by Mike Carroll
A summary of the gospel readings these past three weeks has been this: The Lord came to redeem the world by sowing upon us his Word, the good seed. Moreover, it was not his intention to leave us as orphans. Instead he bestowed the Holy Spirit upon people like Bill Hammond, who welcomed and lived his buried treasure.
Today, we seek to remember with tears of love all the times that Bill brought forth, to not just this community, but to others too, his hands filled with the hidden treasure of goodness and kindness that he had buried in his human heart.
When we heard today’s gospel reading about the hidden treasure, a much better translation of it is this:
“The kingdom of heaven is like adding to the store house within our hearts of what Jesus has revealed to us.”
I am going to give you five examples I put together that bind our hearts to one another. Each of them refers to the treasure of the Church. I will read each of them slowly; twice.
The Good News of Jesus Christ.
Community Finances, July 26, 2020
Expenses: $900.00
Outreach $100.00 (often for Souls Harbor, Legacy, etc.)
Thanks, Folks, for doing what you can.
Readings: Isaiah 60, 1-6; Psalm 72; Ephesians 3, 2-6; Matthew 2, 1-12
Isaiah 60: 3 observations–
1. This is Isaiah III who seems to have lived around the time of the Babylonian Captivity, i.e., 575 BCE., not at the time of Isaiah I (chapters 1-39) who lived ca. 800. (& Is. II, chapters 40-50)
2. Therefore, our passage from chapter 60 is addressed to Jerusalem which is in total destruction.
3. Isaiah is saying that your day is coming, Jerusalem, when you will return to being the most splendid city of all. See the double meaning? Jerusalem is a city & also a symbol of the Jewish people.
Psalm 72: 3 observations–
1. King David is considered the author or at least the editor of the psalms.
2. When written and sung the Jewish people were asking Yahweh to endow and bless their current king, i.e., Saul or David or later kings.
3. The image of king over the years becomes a symbol, a symbol of the savior. The expectation of the Jews was that a mighty King David type was coming. Post Jesus the attributes of the king in this psalm are applied to Jesus.
Epiphany, The Coming of the Wise Men on January 6:
3 observations–
1. The word means an enlightenment, a WOW moment.
2. Celebrated since ca. 300 & Constantine on January 6, 12 days from the birth, the 12 Days of Christmas.
3. Considered a second Christmas, to the Gentiles, personified by the Wise Men, who were not Jews, but Gentiles.
The Epiphany, a Cornucopia of Symbols
Where to begin, folks. There is so much symbolism in this liturgy, in Matthew, for sure, and in the combination of Matthew with Isaiah and Psalm 72. I'll touch five points & end with a story.
1. The Wise Men. Matthew uses them to symbolize every man's search for truth & meaning in life. They were like astrologers, searching the skies for meaning. The search theme permeates this whole presentation and is Matthew saying, "Go, and do the same search." You can sense in this story Matthew's esteem for how the Gentiles search and discover the savior, unlike his fellow Jews.
The Wise Men have a double & triple significance because they are Gentiles and they come from the east. Where does the sun rise? Where do stars rise? A new son has been born and like the sun in the east he will bring new light. Remember Matthew speaks to two audiences, his fellow Israelites, whom he is chastising in this presentation, and the Gentiles.
2. The Jews are getting put down for their blindness. Here in the city of David, Bethlehem, another symbol because this ties Jesus up with the lineage of King David, here in this special city the chosen people do not have a clue about what a monumental event is taking place. Even in the great city, the city of pilgrimage, Jerusalem, the people are blind.
3. The star. It is mentioned as rising. Where do stars rise? Another symbol for the rising in the east.
4. The O.T. quote. Even though the chief priests and scribes in Jerusalem knew their scripture, they don't go to Bethlehem. They quote chapter 5 of the prophet Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah III, who says, "Bethlehem, a ruler is going to come from you." Micah thought of a ruler who would lift the Jewish people out of bondage, but Matthew turns it around, the ruler coming from Bethlehem being Jesus, not a powerful king, but a servant. This is one of Matthew's most common tools of convincing his listeners. He quotes O.T. passages to say that the passage is being fulfilled by this man Jesus, or baby in this case. He is like a debater or attorney carefully crafting arguments for his case.
5. The 3 gifts. Gold is given because it signifies royalty. Frankincense, or incense, signifies divinity. And myrra signifies being human. Myrra is medicinal. It comes from a bush like tree that has a yellow, sticky sap on its bark. The sap was good for skin infections and acne, asthma, colds, and flu, and even herpes. It is found in Saudi Arabia & Somalia.
The story. A week ago today Rosemary and I had the privilege to bring gifts to the mother & daughter we have been supporting since I first met them in '86, when I studied Spanish in Cuernavaca. We did not bring gold, but about $450 to help them with their little shop.
Carina, the daughter, proudly informed us that this March they have been open for business two years. Their merchandise is candles of all types, colors, aromas, and decorations, most of which they provide themselves. They sell incense and herbs for coughs and colds. They are both so grateful to everyone who has helped them out.
We took them out to a simple restaurant twice and it was probably last year with us the last time they went out to eat. Carina rides the local buses an hour to work and is open from 8:00-6:00. It is a strenuous trip for her because of her being crippled. In fact, she fell in the street earlier this year and is saving up enough money to either fix or get a new apparatus for her leg. The old one, which we gave her some years ago, broke in the fall.
I am so humbled by this young woman's responsibility, her cleanliness in the little shop, her do diligence with the humble products she is selling. While we were with her & Maria Luisa in the shop one afternoon, I saw how Carina graciously welcomed and chatted with a half dozen customers she had. Among other things, I watched her sell 4 three foot long white bees wax candles that she had decorated with a brown ribbon & bow & some decorations embedded in the wax. She sold each for ca. $5.00.
She had to take out two loans of about $500 each to buy up her merchandise and she is diligently paying it back step by step. The $450 we brought will help with either the loans or her leg apparatus. Her mother is her buyer and they bring in the candles from the region around Acapulco.
In a quiet moment I asked Carina how has she planned for when Maria Luisa dies. She has already had three cases of cancer & is 66. Carina told me she is more vulnerable than she looks and is sick often. She also told me she has no special plans for when her mother dies. She can continue to live in the garage they live in now. And she can maintain herself with the candle shop. Thanks to you all. It may be impossible to save the world, but you have helped two people to survive.
What will we do next?
AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2009-01-04.mp3
Picture 1: Birthdays & Anniversaries–Tom Fleming, Rich & Carol Eshelbrenner, and Roy Strom
Picture 2: Carina & Rosemary & Maria Luisa in Cuernavaca, Mexico
Picture 3: Carina's Candle & Herb Shop
Picture 4: Carina & John & Maria Luisa
Readings:
2 Kings 4, 42-44, “They not only ate, but had leftovers.”
Psalm 145, The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.
Ephesians 4, 1-6, “Pour yourselves out in acts of love; and be quick to mend fences.”
Alleluia – “A great prophet has risen in our midst.”
John 6:1-15 (also in Matt 14:13-21, Mark 6:31-44, Luke 9:10-17) – “Jesus took the bread, and having given thanks, gave it to them.”
Genevieve says, "Hi, Everybody, Welcome."
Introduction to the readings:
The Jewish people wanted to have a king like other nations had. Wasn’t God’s idea; the people kept demanding a king; he let them have a king. The idea was that the kings, starting with Solomon, would represent the sovereignty of God by being good kings.
For 500 years there were 40 or so kings, and of course they were mostly rather pitiful, a few were pretty good. Today’s reading is from the second book of kings, so during the time when kings ruled the Jewish people, starting with Saul about 1000 years before Jesus, and ending about 500 years later with the Babylonian captivity (555).
Leo & Shonda, too, say, "Good Morning, Folks, Welcome."
There were prophets and holy men before there were kings. They are the ones who kept tabs on the kings and represented God’s take on issues.
Today’s reading introduces Elisha, a holy man respected by Joram, king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. This little story of Elisha feeding a crowd of 100 with 20 loaves of bread was chosen to connect with the story of the multiplication of loaves in the today’s Gospel story. And the letter to the Ephesians teaches what sharing in the meal should signify and bring about in one’s behavior.
Emma, too, says that she and her buddy welcome everyone.
HOMILY:
We have heard many times the reading about the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fish. This is the only miracle story repeated in all four Gospels.
How appropriate that feeding those needing food was the best miracle story known; it could be told today with equal impact. I forget the stats, but it’s millions of people, including children, who are hungry every day and without food (who knows the number or percent).
Harper says she thinks it is fun being here.
Also in each of these four repetitions of the story, there is a formula or ritual stated: “Jesus raised his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to his disciples.”
So first, the story is a story about Jesus performing a miracle, which is how writers in those days made someone ‘famously big’ or a ‘god to be reckoned with’.
Secondly, this story was well known, since all four Gospel writers or compilers used it.
And thirdly, one line in the story became part of the shared meal starting with early Christians all the way down to today.
Victoria having just too much fun with her mom.
The reading from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, liturgically, seems to teach what flows from sharing in this ritual meal. And his answer is unity, recognizing that we are called to be one body, united in love. Paul describes our call from God as pouring yourself out for each other in acts of love, accepting other’s differences and being quick to forgive.
Three questions to mull over:
In your family (at home, here, friends group) how do you see acts of love being shared, and differences accepted?
How quick are you to mend fences and forgive one another?
Do you make the connection between sharing bread here at Mass, and experiencing connection and oneness with others in your everyday life?
Genevieve, who has learned already from previous Sundays how to turn it off, says, "Wake me up when the fun begins."