Readings:

Isaiah  45, 1, 4-6,  I have called you by your name.

Psalm 96,   Give the Lord glory and honor.

Thessalonians 1, 1-5,  Grace to you and peace.

Matthew 22, 15-21,  Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?  

Mary Ellen and Mary say, "Welcome in, Everybody."  Sadly for all of us, Thursday Mary Ellen moves back to CT.

Isaiah observations :

Who : Can you guess which Isaiah this is in chapter 45?  1, 2, or 3.  A little more difficult than the last two Sundays.  This is Isaiah 2, going from chapter 40 to 55.

Today’s selection:  this is not Isaiah 2 at his best.  I like the line, I have called you by your name.  Otherwise, the passage is mildly comforting to the people who are living in Babylonian slavery, around 555 before Christ.

Cyrus: So, who is Cyrus?          

 Cyrus the Great of Persia, modern Iran, built the first great empire, which extended as far as Athens in Greece.   He was a benevolent emperor of his people and the people he conquered, for instance, the Israelites.

Isaiah 2 is championing Cyrus because he hears of Cyrus coming and hopes Cyrus will defeat the Babylonians and set the Israelites free to return to Jerusalem.  This is exactly what Cyrus does.  Where is Babylon?  Try 50 miles south of Baghdad on the Euphrates River.  What is left?  Rubble. 

Rob & Beth still celebrating their 40th.

Thessalonians:

• Time written: ca. 50 A.D.   Considered Paul's first letter, and, in fact, the earliest written document in the N.T.
• Place: Paul was writing in Corinth, Greece to the town in northern Greece, Thessalonica, at the northern corner of the Aegean Sea.  He had founded a community there.
• Purpose of writing: to comfort and encourage the new Christians of Thessalonica, most of whom were Gentiles.    He sent Timothy to see how things were going.   The report Timothy brought back was largely favorable—hence the warm tone of the opening thanksgiving, which forms the main part of today’s reading. But there were also a few problems in Thessalonica; we will meet them on the thirty-second and thirty-third Sundays.

And we begin.

Resources: The New Interpreters Study Bible; St. Louis U. Liturgical @ Liturgical.slu.edu

The Best Line:  the Alleluia verse, Shine like lights in the world.  Guess what I would like to talk about.

Leo and Cole solving world problems.

Matthew observation:

Matthew lifts this story right out of Mark.  The story a game that was popular among the intellectuals in Jesus time, like a game of verbal chess.  The object was to confound your opponent so that choosing either one of two answers springs a trap.

Watch the smarmy language of the Pharisees and you can almost see them salivating at the impending kill. 

The trap: do you think it lawful to pay the tax to Caesar or not?  Jesus confounds them by choosing both.  Jesus wins the game.

Why do Mark & Matthew use this story?  To show how Jesus is superior and worthy of being followed and listened to.   

Offertory, Jerry & Shirley, Judy & Mike.

Me, a Light in the World? 

I want to talk about the alleluia verse, “Shine like lights in the world.”  I apologize again for talking about this reading in a way I have talked before. It is just so perfect a fit.  It comes to mind also because of the ebola focus these days.

After getting ordained at old St. Rita’s in June of 1971, I was sent to Miami to work as a chaplain in the big medical complex known as Jackson Memorial Hospital.  It was like Parkland, Southwestern Medical, and Presbyterian. 

The Jesuits of my southern province had a big parish right in the middle of downtown Miami, and part of the team worked the hospitals.  I was a summer helper and loved it.

Hey, who let that Witch in? You do that, Harper? Must be Halloween.

One day after I had been there about a week, a blond little girl of 10 or 11 was brought into the burn ward.  Ever been in a burn ward, a children’s burn ward?  Tough places.  I spent a lot of time in these wards.

The girl, Anna, had been with her family on a sail boat.  Somewhere along their trip the boat had passed under a bridge.  Anna was standing on the edge of the boat with her back leaning against one of the guy wires.  

As the boat went under the bridge, the mast touched an electrical line.  The electricity went down the mast and the guy wire.  Anna was electrocuted and burned.  Fortunately, she was hurled into the cool water which helped to stop her burns. 

Don't mean to scare you, John, but you got a witch behind you.

However, her back and the insides of her thighs and legs were seriously burned.  She would stay in Jackson for 2 to 3 months, even after I had to move on.  

I got really close to Anna & her family.  I visited her first & last every day and I was privileged to be allowed by the doctors to hold her hand when her bandages had to be changed.  Her parents had to leave the room.  You know that this is such a high tension time.  It used to leave me shaken.  

Watch out, Harper, a witch is getting ready to touch you.

I talk about this because the alleluia verse tells us to be lights in the world.  I think this is what it means.  I was privileged to be with that little girl & her family in such a horrible experience.  It is reciprocal: she was a light in my world.

The good news is that Anna finally did leave the hospital all healed up.  I never had the opportunity again to see the family, but I corresponded for years with the mom.  Somewhere during my time in Africa, the connection got broken.  I know that maybe 15 years later her mom wrote me that Anna had married and had a little kid. 

In whose world are you a light today? 

Rosemary sharing her blessing, welcome after such crazy stuff.

Readings:

Genesis  9, 8-15,  The waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all mortal beings. 

Psalm 25,    Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.

1 Peter 3, 18-22,   Christ suffered for sins once.

 Mark 1, 12-15,   The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert.

Says Harper, "Welcome, Everyone, Come in out of the cold and rain."

Genesis:  observations–

What:  First book of the Bible, starts with creation & ends with the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob (Israel).

Author: Not Moses as was thought for centuries before people began to study the work.  At least 3 sources: 

• a Y (or J) source for the group that addressed God as Yahweh;
• an E for the group who addressed God as Elohim (Like two historians calling NYC The Big Apple or New York City, or Denver by its name or Mile High City);
• and a P group that focused on the priestly class, activities, & customs.

And Emma, too, says, "Hi, Everybody, It's warm in here, come in."

Time: compiled and put together from 950 to 500 BCE.

Today's Selection: the flood has just receded and Noah is receiving a promise (called covenant) from Yahweh that never again will people be wiped out by a flood.  Guess what the sign of the promise is.

And Leo says, "Yippee, I bet my dad gets a Cupcake for his birthday."

A Happy Lent

I want to talk this morning about having a happy Lent.  Why?  Because God created us to be happy. 

I admit again that this is my least favorite season of the year.  I always look for something positive to do and am never really satisfied with what I come up with.

Welcome to a happy Lent.

However, this past week I got something good.  During the week Diane McClurg sent me a facebook note that she had something.   Then she sent me another more insistent facebook saying she was waiting.  So I opened it up.  And am I grateful.

What she had sent was a copy of an article by a woman named Karen Ehman.  Karen Ehman says, ‘For this Lent don’t give something up; take something up.’  She has five ideas that are pretty good.  Here they are.

Cupcake of The Week to Diane for her birthday and for recommending the article on Lent.

1. Take up note writing to people with whom you don’t communicate that often, but who are friends.  She says she buys 40 cards, envelopes, and stamps.  Each morning she sends one out to a friend, just saying that she likes the person.
2. Take up the phone and call someone every day or once a week and tell them you are calling just to tell them thanks for being a good friend.  
3. Take up a simple gift for a friend or family member.  Like bring flowers to someone, bring a Starbucks, offer to wash the dishes, or clean or dust the house, mow the grass (welcome to Tulip Lane).  Invite someone to lunch.  This is a once a week or occasional take up.

23 years for Alison and John.

1. Take up a simple gift for a stranger.  Like the recycle men, the garbage men, the checkers at the grocery.  Compliment the checker on her finger nails, give $10 to each of the garbage men (watch out for their over the top gratitude). 
2. Take up visiting someone in retirement or in a hospital.  (This is my addition, not Karen’s)  We got lots of people you may choose from, starting with Rita. 

Brent and Meredith keeping warm.

As you can see, some of these suggestions are occasional or once a week ideas.  Plus, what we have here are only seeds.  Even while you were listening to the five I put forward, you may be been thinking about other possibilities.

How can you have a happy Lent?

Source: Karen Ehman, on line.

Life for Cowboy Cole and Emma.

Genesis 22, 1-2, 9-13, 15-18, Take your son Isaac.  You shall offer him up as a holocaust; Psalm 116, I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living; Romans 8, 31-34; Mark 9, 2-10, He was transfigured before them.

Introduction to Genesis 22

 The concept of a covenant between God and His people is one of the central themes of the Bible. The First Reading last week was the covenant God made with Noah. This week it is the covenant God made with Abraham, and next week it is the covenant God made with Moses.  Of course, as Christians, our belief is that we have a covenant with God through Jesus Christ. 

God, with infinite love for us brings salvation to the Table in the covenant won for us by Christ.  What are we to bring?  We are to live the spoken Word in our lives with gratitude!

 Before Bill Poncik gives the first reading, I want to share a story he emailed me a couple of weeks ago.  The mother of a young boy knowing that he had a terminal disease and only a few weeks to live asked him what he wanted to do that day. He replied that he would like to go to the Fire station for maybe he would have been a fireman.  She called the neighborhood fire station in Phoenix where they lived, told the chief there the situation and asked if her son could come for a visit. The chief asked for his height and weight and told her to bring him at 9:00 AM and plan to stay awhile. They were greeted by the morning shift of 16 men who made him a fellow fireman for a day, gave him a fitting safety helmet, yellow protective coat and boots. He and his mother began a wonderful tour; but he was told that if he heard the bell ringing that one of the 16 firemen would escort him to one of the trucks. Three times that day the young boy lived his dream.  A few weeks later his mother called the station once again to tell them that the angels would be coming for her son, that he was still awake but not for long. She was told to open the window of his bedroom when she heard the siren. That day 16 firemen climbed the ladder and entered his window fully dressed in their yellow and red. They were there, when the boy left them, dressed like the angels who had come to carry him to paradise.  16 men were living Christ’s words with gratitude in answer to God’s gift of salvation.

Mass Begins

Homily from Mark 9:2-10

Candle lighting, Mike & Jenny

 Again, to better understand a reading, one must consider the context in which it has been placed.  So, in the teaching that precedes this transfiguration event, a man is seeking to be in a covenant relationship with God through Christ.  In this process of coming to faith he observes those around Jesus to be ‘like trees that are walking.’ 

What does this mean?  Christ’s disciples have to commit themselves to Christ’s words. The seed has been planted; but they have no roots, no foundation. They have failed to understand that he is the Messiah. That teaching does end with Peter coming to the realization that the Messiah has come to them; however, he misunderstands Christ’s mission and the disciples’ responsibility in response to God’s plan of salvation.

The Dembneys, Kate, Chris, Susan, & Nancy

 Secondly, let’s look at the purpose of Christ’s mission in the very first verses of this Mark gospel realizing that since they are in the summary of the gospel we will find them somewhere in the later text of the Mark gospel.  When the Mark gospel begins we find that when Jesus comes forth from the waters where John was baptizing, the Holy Spirit comes upon him with the voice from heaven saying, ‘This is my son the beloved.’  These words are present twice in the Mark gospel. Here in the beginning of the summary of the Mark gospel—the second time, of course, is in today’s gospel. 

 Thirdly, we need to look at the very beginning of the Bible in the covenant God made with Abraham in the Book of the Law.  When Moses came up from the waters of the Red Sea leading the Israelites to freedom the Spirit came upon him.  Later, when Moses went up the mountain, by himself, the second time to receive the 10 commandments, Moses face continued to give off some light for he had been close to the radiance of God when the covenant had been made with him.

Leo joins the choir

  In today’s reading, Jesus takes his inner circle of Peter, James and John up the mountain where Christ’s divinity is revealed to them. Streams of light come forth Him, for he was dazzling bright. When Moses and Elijah appear Peter is still in the dark, for he wants Jesus to abide in the presence of Moses and Elijah.  It is then we hear, with Peter, the voice from heaven, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, Listen to Him!’ (Exclamation point) No one is there but Jesus. The words of Moses and Elijah are to be understood as an expectation of the Law and the Prophets for the coming of the Messiah. When one listens to, and puts into practice, the words of Christ with all their mind and heart and soul, they enter into the new covenant with God through Christ through grace.  The words of Christ fulfill the covenants that required circumcision and obedience to the Mosaic Law.

Leo resigned from the choir with Lynda

 Some might be saying, ‘Well, yes, I understand; but be more specific about that to which we are to listen.”  Well, now we know why the inspired writers of the Matthew Gospel have a Sermon on the Mount! That sermon is to enlighten us. Not only is it a summary of how we are to live our lives; but it informs us that it is how we are to illuminate others to come to glorify God. During Lent I would recommend that we all reread it. It begins at Matthew’s Chapter 5.  How are you going to remember where it is in the Matthew gospel? Just look at one of your hands—five fingers—Chapter five.

 If you read the Letter of James written to the Jewish Christians its inspired writers tell us that in the New Covenant there is one perfect law.  Since in that letter there are many references to the John gospel, it’s not hard to realize what those inspired writers meant.  In the John gospel Jesus presents his disciples with one commandment.   We are to love one another as Christ loves us!  When we do that we are truly living the entirety of Christ’s words—the perfect response to the covenant God has made with us in Christ Jesus.

Georgie with her dad, Randolph, and her friend, Meghan

 Reflect for a moment on something you plan to do this coming week. How will you illuminate those moments to those who around you by your words and actions?  Remember, we show our gratitude to God only to the degree we show our love toward others!

John, Kevin, & Mike

Welcome, Our Dearest Michelle.

Readings:

Isaiah 25,, 6-10,  On this mountain  the Lord will provide for all peoples.

Psalm 23,  I shall live iin the house of the Lord all the days of my life.

Phlippians 4, 12-14, 19-20,  I know how to llive in humble circumstances.

Matthew 22, 1-14,  The king throws a wedding feast for his son. 

Welcome in, say our Dearest Tori & Zoe, and The Great Gilbert.

Two beautiful readings this morning, Isaiah 25, and Psalm 23, The Lord is my Shepherd.

Our Dearest Candle Lighter of The Week, Emma.

Isaiah observations:

Who:  Any idea which Isaiah this is, 1, 2, or 3?   We had Isaiah 1 last week talking about the vineyard.  That was chapter 5.  Pretty easy to guess, Isaiah 1.  But, this is chapter 25.

It seems out of character for Isaiah 1, who criticizes the people.  More like Isaiah 2, which John Cade loves and which we will read this Advent. 

Remember Isaiah 1 is pre-Babylonian Captivity, around 555 before Christ.  This selection is a marvelous vision of peace and sensual satisfaction, one of my favorites.

Yep, it is still Isaiah 1, all the way to chapter 39.  Basically he is saying that a great day will come, after you people have paid for your sinful, selfish ways. 

Does it get more beautiful than this, Beautiful Scene, Beautiful Couple.

On this mountain the Lord will provide for all peoples, the Lord will wipe away the tears from every face.

This morning, Folks, I would like to talk about this line in the context of our lives.

Last week after having been privileged to take part in the beautiful wedding of Paul and Carrie on the very edge of the South Rim of Grand Canyon.  And after having the joy of sleeping in for a couple of mornings when the temperature was in the 30’s both outside and inside through our wide open glass door.  And after having spent one whole day just walking around and doing nothing, a very rare event in our lives. 

After being moved by all this, we turned on the radio in our rental car early Saturday morning to begin our 3 hour drive back to the  airport in Phoenix.  Just catching up on current news.  I was immediately depressed and even angry, which is pretty rare for me. 

Communion on the South Rim.
 

I have caught myself here a few times lately and have decided I do not want to be here.  So I returned to a decision I made to simply turn it off and focus on the beauty and how the Lord provides. 

Let me give you 4 little examples on which I am still dwelling here at home.

First, I was touched by the example of lots of the tourists around the South Rim.   There is a shuttle bus system on the South Rim, three routes, one east, one west, and one in the center.  The west bus and the center bus are new for me since I came here in the ‘90’s.

The South Rim Wedding.

Rosemary & I took them all and occasionally they were full, especially the west bus.  One time I am seated and the aisle is full of standing people.  So I get up and offer my seat to somebody.  After I stand up I happen to look toward the back of the bus.  What do I see?  A half dozen other guys were all getting up.  Many of them were Japanese. 

Rosemary even was bummed later in the day because some guy got up and offered her his seat.  “He must think I’m an old lady,” she grumps to me later.

The Stack Wedding Tree

Two more neat events took place on our flight experience.  First, at our SWST gate there was a special desk with 3 ladies.  We were at the end of a long corridor and probably 200 passengers were waiting for flights to Dallas, San Francisco, & two others. 

One of the girls started talking to the mass of people and then asked, “Anybody celebrating a birthday today?”  Across from us Isabella, a shy girl about 11 put up her hand.  The SWST girl got the whole gang to sing to her and then gave her a $25 gift certificate.  Then the SWST girl went through about a dozen trivia question with $25 certificates for the winners.  It was delightful.

The Best Team, Georgie, Buddy, & Leo.

Then on the plane which had come in from somewhere like Jackson Hole, guess whom we saw, Patricia & Fred.   Guess what, the whole plane gave them a rousing round of applause for their 7^th anniversary.  Patricia must have told the flight attendants.  Who else?

Besides these events, blowing me away most of all, the wedding.  Beautiful place and beautiful people.  It was The Best.

And just to show Paul & Carrie how appreciative I am and we are for the memories, and that I told them that I would give them a special gift when we got home, I have The Gift.  A young Shumard Red Oak, a Stack Wedding Tree. 

Only One Cupcake today??   Yep.

Let me remind them, because they have probably already forgotten, the little tree says two things when you look at it.  First, are you having fun together?  From my experience, if you are having fun in your marriage, you won’t end up in my office. 

Secondly, it says that this old geezer truly loves you.

Thanks for The Memories.

Number 1 of 2 elevations.

Readings: Isaiah 2, 1-5; Psalm 122, Let us go Rejoicing to the House of the Lord; Romans 13, 11-14; Matthew 24, 37-44

First Sunday in Advent – Intro to Readings

With the start of a new Church year we begin a new cycle of readings, this year is Cycle A and the gospel readings will focus on Matthew’s Gospel.  It was written about the year 85-90 CE and used Mark’s Gospel, a source now referred to as “Q” and some material unique to Matthew.  The audience had knowledge of the Old Testament and is presumed to have been Jewish. 

A familiar phrase occurring some 41 times in the gospel is “this was to fulfill….”.  In Luke’s Gospel the major theme centered on Jesus journeying up to Jerusalem.  Matthew’s Gospel had five major sections, each ending with a great discourse, the most well known being the Sermon on the Mount.  Matthew’s Gospel is one of the two gospels to tell us about Jesus’ birth.  Joseph is the focus in this gospel and Mary is the focus in Luke’s Gospel. 

The trigger event for Matthew’s Gospel was the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.  Since the temple was central to the Jewish faith – what was to become of Judaism?  For Matthew it was Jesus, he is the fulfillment of the Old Testament, he is the way forward.

Homily 

The last line of our first reading from Isaiah was “let us walk in the light of the Lord” and I would like to use that line as our starting point for a few ideas on the Sacrament of Baptism.  In the rite of infant baptism, the priest hands the parents and godparents a lighted candle and says “receive the light of Christ”.  By our baptism we are put on a well lit spiritual highway.    

We know that in the gospels, Jesus begins his public ministry by being baptized by John in the Jordan River.  This baptism of John’s was a baptism of repentance.  The next time baptism is mentioned in the gospels is in Matthew’s gospel at the very end of the gospel “go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”. 

The Acts of the Apostles and Paul’s letters make clear that this command of Jesus was very quickly identified as the method of joining this group of followers of Jesus.  It became a ‘Rite of Initiation’.  Remember that for this early group, they were Jews first and then baptism made them different.  We have a clear disagreement between Paul and the other apostles over whether gentiles who were baptized needed to be circumcised also.  Paul won that argument. 

Within a couple of centuries we find a big change when the church declares that only those who are baptized can enter heaven and so we have Original Sin invented and baptism was the only way that could be forgiven.  This later let to the invention of Limbo.  It wasn’t until the Second Vatican Council that the focus on baptism shifted back to its being a sacrament of initiation or joining. 

 The point I would like to have us consider this morning is this:  what does being baptized mean to me today?  It may have happened when I was two or three days old, or maybe when I was an adult.  It was a one-time event, but I believe that has an effect in my life every day.  By being a member of the Christian community I am part of a group which focuses on living life according to a set of ideals, has a faith in a God who loves me and who wants me to love my neighbor.  

Just a few words about water, as the main symbol used in baptism.  Water is one of those primal elements, necessary for life.  Our experience of water is fairly simple, great for washing things, essential to keep a lawn alive here in Texas, wonderfully refreshing on a hot day for quenching thirst.  But for the Old Testament people it also reminded them of the escape thru the Red Sea from a life of slavery in Egypt, it was there at the beginning of time at the creation,

 and the waters of the flood destroyed all of the evil in the world.

Even though my baptism was a once only event, each time I come here to the community to celebrate the liturgy, each time I try to follow God’s way I am reaffirming what my parents had done to me when I was three days old. 

Picture 1:   Tony beginning with Advent Candles

Picture 2:   Sacrament of the Sick with Curtis

Picture 3:   Curtis' daughters, Marlene & Cindy

Picture 4:   Ryan with mom & dad, Jim & Michelle

Readings: Acts 7, 55-60; Psalm 97; Revelation 22, 12-20; John 17, 20-26.

"That They May All be One

Last Wednesday I took the Dart train downtown.  I got on the 12:44 at Forest Lane and exited 22 minutes later at Akard & Pacific.  I love to ride this train.  I sit in the first seat of the first car so I can watch the road ahead through the conductor’s cubicle.  On this Wednesday I was going to have lunch at Miguel’s Cantina and spend an hour talking Spanish with a good friend of mine.

After lunch and a great hour of Spanish conversation I caught 2:14 north bound, Parker Road train for Forest Lane & home.  We passed through the underground station of City Place and then arrived at Lover’s Lane.  At this station I watch the conductor come out of his cubicle and lock the door.  I am thinking, Is he taking a coffee break?

What he does, however, is go to the exit door, flip down a metal ramp, and extend part of it out of the train onto the raised platform.  Immediately in comes a young girl in a well used electric wheel chair.  She wheels over to the space right in front of me, spins diagonally, and parks. The conductor picks up the metal plank, unlocks the cubicle, settles himself inside, and off we fly.

The ambience in that train car does a 180 degree turn from casual indiference to awe struck reverence.  The girl was about 15, cute with an auburn pony tail, nice features with light freckles, and a trim upper body with a purple T shirt.  She was talking on the phone.  I never determined what the trouble was with her legs, or if she had any.  All I know is that she had the confidence in manuvering that wheel chair that came only from a lot of practice.

At Walnut Hill the conductor emerged from his cubicle again, did the arrangement with the door, and the girl wheeled out, saying a sweet, "Thank you," as she passed the conductor.  When the conductor came back in, the man across the aisle from me said to him, "Makes you grateful for what you got."  The conductor agreed. 

That young girl did two things in that Dart car just by getting on in her grateful and courageous way.  We were all more grateful for what we have.  Secondly, for a while we were one.  There was a felt difference in each of us, black, white, brown, young, and old. 

Jesus says he wants "That they may all be one."  Wow, do we blow this one!

Nevertheless, despite the past, today we are again called to help others: 1. appreciate, and 2. unite.  Granted, to enable others, I got to be in myself appreciative and united.  A subject for future homilies. 

This young, pony tailed girl touched us all just by her simple presence. 

How do you touch others into appreciation and unity?

Download the homily as an mp3 file.