Sunday Homily, June 29, 2014, Peter & Paul

Readings: Isaiah 6, 1-8; Psalm 138 (a favorite); 1 Corinthians 15, 1-11; Luke 5, 1-11 (Call Themes). 

Isaiah – Last week we heard the story of the prophet Jeremiah’s call by Yahweh.  This week we have Isaiah’s call.  These are the two biggest O.T. prophets. 

1 Corinthians 15 – In last week’s Corinthians’ reading Paul described his vision of love.  Today he continues talking to the people of his church in Corinth, focusing on how he was called by God.

My Call

Today I have a story just for you kids.  Parents and old folks can take a nap.

Ever hear of the story of Miss Rumphius?  Miss Alice Rumphius? 

A long time ago in the age of sailing ships, little Alice Rumphius used to visit her grandfather at his cottage in a village near the sea.  He was an artist and a carver who created figures to place on the prows of the sailing ships.

Alice loved to visit her grandfather because she got to help him carve the figures, some of which she later saw in front of cigar shops in the village.  Also she loved to hear her grandfather tell of the many adventures he had experienced in lands all over the world. 

One evening, Alice told her grandfather that what she wanted when she grew up was to be like her grandfather, sailing to far off exotic lands and to have a home near the sea. 

Her grandfather congratulated her and told her he was flattered that she wanted to be like him.  There was one more thing important to him that she might consider if she truly wanted to follow him. 

“I’ve always tried to make the world more beautiful.”

Alice liked this principle and promised her grandfather she would truly make her world more beautiful.

Soon her Grandfather passed away, Alice grew up, and she began to travel.  She roamed the world experiencing marvelous adventures. 

At one place, Egypt, I think it was, Alice hurt her back and had to return to the house she had built near the sea.  She had accomplished her first two goals.  Her third goal, the call her grandfather held most important, she had really forgotten in her adventures.

Until one spring day when she was gazing out of her kitchen window.  There she saw some flowers.  Beautiful, she thought, realizing she had done nothing to make the world more beautiful. 

Consequently, she walked to the nursery, bought some seeds she was told would grow next spring if she planted them now, and returned scattering seeds along the way.  This she did all over the hills and roadsides of the region. 

The next spring Miss Rumphius’ village and its environs were a riot of colorful flowers.  All the people were delighted.  Miss Rumphius, too, was delighted.  She had responded finally to her third and most important call to be like her beloved grandfather.

How come we talk about this?

Today we are focused on personal calls.  Miss Rumphius got one, and so did Isaiah, Paul, and the apostles on the lake. There are calls to help make the world more beautiful and calls to help make people more beautiful. 

What is your call? (Please feel free to post your call.)

Click here to download the homily as an mp3.

Readings:  Revelation 11, 19; 12, 1-6; Psalm 45, The Queen stands at your Right Hand, arrayed in Gold; 1Corinthians 15, 20-27; Luke 1, 39-56. 

 

 

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Intro to Readings

 

 

The Book of Revelation or the Apocalypse is one of those books of the Bible, which really needs careful study.  Written probably around the year 90 CE, its purpose was to offer encouragement to the early Christians who were undergoing brutal persecution under the Roman emperor Domitian. 

 

 

 

The style of writing is highly symbolic.  We find beasts representing evil and in this case the Roman Empire. 

 

 

In today’s reading we have a description of a woman, not Mary, giving birth to a child and the dragon is waiting to devour the child.  Our tendency is to immediately think the woman is Mary, but there were mythical stories from India to Rome about a goddess who would bring forth a savior-king, and this woman would be pursued by a horrible monster, a personification of evil. 

 

 

Our second reading is from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians.  This is the longest of the letters in the New Testament, and in fact is one of the longest surviving letters in Greek from that period.  The letter addresses specific issues within the community, which we are told in Acts 18:4 Paul visited.  Today’s reading focuses on the contrast between Adam and Christ, and the fact that Christ’s mission is to return the kingdom to God the Father. 

 

 

 

Homily

 

 

The church today is honoring Mary.  And for our reflection I would like to ask the question, who do you honor?  You will remember that the fourth commandment told us to honor our father and mother.  And quite a few folks use the old “love, honor and obey” in their marriage vows, but do we have others whom we honor?

 

 

This past Tuesday I got a phone call at about 8:30 AM from my 5-year-old grand daughter Alaina.  Usually on Tuesday I take her and her two sisters to dinner at Dennys, since Gayle is at Collin Co. clinic.  And on Tuesdays kids eat free at Dennys!!  She wondered if I would come early, like at about 10:00 AM!!  I was honored! 

 

 

But don’t get too excited, this same lass can run past me like I’m chopped liver if Gayle and I pull up and she sees Gayle!  But Tuesday I felt honored!  The more I think about the word honor, there are many examples of people getting honored in society:  the honor roll, the military has an 'honorable discharge’ etc. 

 

 

In the end, when one is honored, one feels “special”.  And I am sure there are people in your life who are special, but do they know it??  When was the last time you told them.

 

 

We all of us have people around us who are special, but it may be some time since they were told it!  This week, lets try to remember to honor those people.  Neither they, nor us, will be around for ever, and wouldn’t it be a shame if we failed to tell them just how special they were. 

 

 

Who is special in your life?

 

Picture 1:   Mass begins with Kevin helping

 

Picture 2:   Wendy, Shonda, & Ray

 

Picture 3:   What happens when priests marry: granddaughter Eleanor with mom, Roshene, & grandparents, Gayle & Fr. Tony

 

Picture 4:   Sienna with her mom & dad, Erin & Payton

 

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

 

 

Thanks to the Team

Music, Shonda & Ben

Readers, Richard & Brent, Deacon Mike, & Buddy, the candle blessing

Eucharistic Prayer, John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers, Mike & Ben & Becky 

Final Blessing, Rosemary

 

 

Readings:

Acts of the Apostles, 1, 12-14, All devoted themselves to prayer

Psalm 27, I believe I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.

1 Peter  4, 13-16,   Rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ.

John 17, 1-11, I pray for them. 

 

 

Remembering……….        This was taken in Yosemite ca. 2003-2004.   A bunch of convicts on a week parole.   The good old days.  Quality went south after this trip: we went co-ed.  We were invaded by sorts like Rose, like Beth, & Nicole.

 

See pix of new rectory at bottom of blog.

 

 Reading 1

A Reading from the Acts of the Apostles       

When they were together for the last time they asked, “Master, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now?  Is this the time?”  He told them, “You don’t get to know the time.  Timing is the Father’s business.  What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit.  And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.”  These were his last words.  As they watched, he was taken up and disappeared in a cloud.

So they left the mountain called Olives and returned to Jerusalem.  It was a little over half a mile.  They went to the upper room they had been using as a meeting place.  All of them agreed they were in this for good, completely together in prayer, the men and women alike.

Our word for today.

 

 

Across Camellia from our house on Tulip Lane 3 homes have been bulldozed including the big one owned by the hockey player, Tyler Sagan.  We should be out of our house in two months and into our new house (see below).  Our old house will be visited by the bulldozer.

 

Reading 2

A Reading from the First Letter of Peter

Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job.  Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced.  This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner. 

If you’re abused because of Christ, count yourself fortunate.  It’s the Spirit of God and his glory in you, that brought you to the notice of others.  If they’re on you because you broke the law or disturbed the peace, that’s a different matter.  But if it’s because you’re a Christian, don’t give it a second thought.  Be proud of the distinguished status reflected in that name!

Our word for today.

 

 

3 homes demolished on this one corner of Tulip Lane & Camellia.

 

 

The Lord be with you.       A Reading from the Gospel of John  

Raising his eyes in prayer, Jesus said: 

Father, it’s time; display the bright splendor of your Son,

So the Son in turn may show your bright splendor.

You put him in charge of everything human,

So he might give real and eternal life to all in his charge.

And this is the real and eternal life:

That they know you,

The one and only true God,

And Jesus Christ, whom you sent.

I glorified you on earth, by completing down to the last detail,

what you assigned me to do.

And now, Father, glorify me with your very own splendor,

The very splendor I had in your presence

Before there was a world.

I spelled out your character in detail

To the men and women you gave me.

They were yours in the first place; then you gave them to me,

And they have now done what you said.

They know now, beyond the shadow of a doubt,

That everything you gave me is firsthand from you,

For the message you gave me, I gave them;

And they took it, and were convinced that I came from you.

They believed that you sent me.

I pray for them, not for the God-rejecting world;

They’ll continue in the world, while I return to you.

Holy Father, guard them as they pursue this life

That you conferred as a gift through me,

So they can be one heart and mind, as we are one heart and mind.

The Good News of John.

 

 

 

 

Observations by Deacon Mike

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the words and actions of Jesus Christ come alive to us within the written gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

It is there that we become aware that the gift of the Holy Spirit, who dwells within our hearts, calls us to forgive others as we have been forgiven; to bring love to others as we have been loved.

In our gospel from last Sunday, Jesus invited his disciples, and us, to follow his way, his truth and his life; so that we can come to be in him as he is in his Father. 

We celebrate the Holy Spirit coming upon the Church

In the Feast of Pentecost; to begin the Church’s mission to the whole world; to Jew or gentile, slave or freeman, male or female, Catholic or Methodist, Baptist or Lutheran.

The Church today places a different emphasis in its selection of readings; they will now begin to come from primarily Luke’s Acts of the Apostles.

So we end our readings this morning that we have taken from primarily the John gospel during this past Easter season this way: “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent me so I send you.

Jesus said to his disciples: “If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you. 

I will talk to the Father, and he will provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone who dwells with you and in you.  This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. 

The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him; but you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will continue to do so! 

Then, Jesus said to his disciples, “I will not leave you orphaned.  I’m coming back for you.  In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you’re going to see me, because I am alive and you are about to come alive with me.

At that moment you will know absolutely that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.  

The Good News according to John

 

 

 

 

Please Remember these special people:

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 Frank having hernia surgery this week;  For Joe Hogan with cancer,  For Loretta's aunt Alicia;   For Ryan, Rosemary's nephew, who had surgery; For Bill Hammond,    For Sydney;  & For Sir Charlie;  Shonda's mom;   For Gilberto:  for Michelle;  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; 

 

Birthdays: Ray (80), Christi Occhipinti (45), Zaile Ekes, Shonda, Brent (13, AA), & Mabel (88!)

 

Community Finances, May 24, 2020

Expenses: $230.00

Outreach:  $120.00  (often for Souls Harbor, Legacy, etc.)

Thanks, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

 

Welcome!  Our New Home, the New Rectory

Address 7017 Helsem Lane, same zip code, 75230,  Hillcrest Villas,

2.2 miles from 6107 Tulip Lane (to be bulldozed by the present owner, a former SMU student & basket ball player), S. of LBJ, north of Churchill, rustic motif in the whole subdivision (ca. 120 homes), car ports rather than garages. 

We are blessed with a corner lot, slab vs pier & beam, ca. 2000 sq. ft. (1900 at Tulip Lane, & so much for downsizing). 

The couple selling us their house said that Rosemary' personal letters letting people know we were interested in buying their house really decided them to call us.  A very  nice couple with 3 grown kids.

 

 

Happy Memorial Day from Helsem Way!

 

 Readings:

Matthew 21, 1-11, Jesus enters Jerusalem

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,  Because of this God greatly exalted him.

Matthew  27,, 11-54,  The passion & death.

 

Sorry, Everybody, because of the extraordinary length of so many readings, especially the Matthew Passion, we don't have a homily.  Tune in for a good one this Sunday, Easter.  Welcome, also.  You might find an Easter Bunny attending.

 

 

 

 

"Welcome in" says Georgie.

 

Readings:  

 Deuteronomy 6, 2-6,  You shall love your God.

 Psalm 18,  I love you Lord, my strength

 Hebrews 7, 23-28,  The law appoints men subject to weakness to be priests.

 Mark 12, 28-34,   Which is the first of all the commandments?

 

 

 

Jan our special hostess at her welcome to communion table.

 

 

Deuteronomy observations:

1.  The work is the last of the 5 books of the Pentateuch, following Genesis,  Exodus, Leviticus, & Numbers.

2.  The work is organized as a series of addresses given by Moses to the people of Israel in the land of Moab, where they had stopped at the end of the long wilderness journey and were about to enter and occupy the land of the Canaanites.

3.  The theme of the book is that God has saved and blessed his chosen people, whom he loves.  They are to remember this, and love and obey him.

4. Joshua is commissioned as the next leader of the people, i.e., God's (Yahweh's) people 

 

 

 

Buddy reads our Blessing of The Candles.

  

Pittsburgh

Jerry Rabinowitz, 66, worked as a primary care physician, was deeply active with HIV victims especially when it started, infamous for his bow ties.

Cecil Rosenthal, 59, and his brother David, 54.  Cecil was outgoing & gregarious while David was more self contained.

Richard Gottfried, 65 neighborhood dentist, married with a Catholic wife.

 

 

 

While her brother reads The Blessing, Zoe lights our candles.

 

Irving Youger, 69, when you walked into the synagogue, Irving was the first person who would welcome you and help you find your seat.  He had been a little league coach and a real estate agent.

Daniel Stein, 71, and retired.

Joyce Fienberg, 75, a research specialist at the U. of Pittsburgh, petite with huge personality.

 

 

 

The Offertory Team, Marlene, Bill, & Cindy, all Ekes family.

 

 

Bernice Simon, 84, and her husband Sylvan, 86, considered the sweetest couple who, 62 years ago, wedded in this same synagogue.

Melvin Wax, 88, full of jokes, a passionate Pittsburgh Pirates fan, was always in a good mood.

 

 

 

Sez Leo, "Welcome in, Folks."

 

Rose Mallinger, 97, spry, vibrant, full of life, sharpest wit, with her family being everything in her life.

Judah Samet, 80, Hungarian, was in the parking lot, saw the shooter.  He survived the Nazi holocaust as a child of 6.

 

 

 

 Even with the massacre of Pittsburgh, we will give thanks this month.

 

Readings: Joshua 5, 9-12; Psalm 34, Taste and see the goodness of the Lord; 2 Corinthians 5, 17-21; Luke 15, 1-32

 

 

The Fourth Sunday in Lent – Reflection on the Readings

The first reading today is from the Book of Joshua.  Just to put this book in the context of the Old Testament, it comes immediately after the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament.  It is the account of how the Israelites took possession of the “Promised Land”.  It would be similar I suppose to the landings of the early pilgrims and how we celebrate that event with Thanksgiving.

 

 

  

The book has been edited by the same folks who worked on the Pentateuch, namely those folks whom we know as J, E, P and D.  Our reading today comes just before the famous battle to take Jericho.  The Israelites are making their transition from being feed with Manna to harvesting food from the land.  One continuing concern, which comes up time and again, is the influence of the Canaanites on the relationship of the Israelites with their God. 

 

 

The Fourth Sunday in Lent – Homily

The gospel is a very familiar one.  I know that we have traditionally looked at it from the point of view of forgiveness, but today I want to continue with the topic of selfishness and see how much of that is in this familiar story. 

 

I have said this before, but it bears repeating.  The entire might of Madison Avenue is focused on telling us that if we buy some product we will be happy, in other words the focus is on me doing something for me, when my experience is that when I shift that focus from me to you, only then am I truly happy!  I want to repeat this, when I shift the focus of my attention from me to you, then I am truly happy. 

 

 

Let’s take a look at the story.  The younger son wants out of the place, wants his share of the inheritance and heads off to greener pastures!  The money goes and before we know it he is feeding pigs.  Remember the Jewish view of pigs, unclean.  He could not have ended up in a worse state and he sure is feeling sorry for himself, so he makes up a plan.  Focus is on himself and how to get out of the fix he is in.  He rehearses his story and heads off home.

The older brother goes nuts when he finds out what happens.  No joy that the brother is home, in fact he uses the phrase “your son” not “my brother” and throws in some additional details on how he believes his brother has been sinning.  Then he gives the whole game away when he says “I have slaved all these years”, this is how he has viewed his life at home with dad.  He is the “good boy”  “I never once disobeyed your orders”  Can you imagine how nice it must have been to have him around the house.  His whole attitude was focused on how tough it was for him, and also thinking about the younger brother and what he must have been up to.

   

Certainly the focus has always been on the generosity of the father, but can you imagine how he must have felt.  His youngest son leaves home and goes off to a foreign land, and they never hear from him again.  The older son just sulks around the place and from the sound of him, was not fun to have around.  No wonder the father spent his days looking for the younger son to return.  No wonder he was happy to see him!

 

The story is told along with two other stories about things lost and found; the lost sheep and the lost coin.  There is much rejoicing when each is found, as there is when the lost son returns home. 

 

 

The Dutch priest Henri Nouwen wrote a wonderful little book on a painting of the prodigal son by Rembrandt in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg in Russia.  In the book he buts himself in each of the characters places and reflects on what they saw and how they felt, including the servant.  As a parent, it is easy for me to understand how the father reacted.  But for the Pharisees and scribes, they were too bound by the rules.  How would you react?

  

On the second reading from Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians we have that amazing phrase which Paul uses to say we are “ambassadors for Christ”.  Remember that an ambassador represents the one who has sent them.  Christ’s focus was always on the underprivileged, the poor and the outcasts of society. 

 

Picture 1:  The Mass begins at Wilson Middle School

 

Picture 2:  Bob & John, Marilyn and her guest from Germany, Richard

 

Picture 3:  The patio at Wilson with Loretta & Gayle

 

Picture 4:  The Donut Shoppe, Rosemary & Ray