4th Sunday in Lent March 19, 2023

1 Samuel 3: When Samuel went to sleep in his place, the Lord came and revealed his presence, calling out as before. "Samuel, Samuel!" Samuel answered, "Speak, for your servant is listening."

1 Corinthians 6:  Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?  But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one Spirit with him.

John 1:  Then he brought him to Jesus.  Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas" –which is translated Peter.

 

 

1 Kings 19:   Then Elisha left and followed Elijah as his attendant.

Galatians 5:  You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Luke 9:  I will follow you wherever you go.

           

 

Connie and John

Thanks…

Music,    Ben

Readers, Pat & Fred

Gospel,   John Cade

Homily,  John Stack & Community

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,      Richard & Kevin

Final Blessing, Rosemary

Rob and Beth, Paul and Carrie

 

Readings:  Download 06-26-22 – Readings – 13th Sunday Ord

Homily:  This is Jackie's contribution to the Homily 

                  Download 06-26-22 – Homily – 13th Sunday Ord

                                       

                                                     

 

Remember these special people:

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, with 2 broken vertebrae;  For Jackie;  For John's sister, Kathey in the hospital after 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; 

                           

Rick

 

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.

 

 

The Kiss of Peace, Frank and Mary

     

Birthdays:   

Anniversaries:   

      

Community Finances:   

Expenses: $  300.00 

Outreach: $  50.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

                    

             The Kiss of Peace, Brent, Meredith and Cheryl              

 

Rosemary's Blessing:  

Jeremiah 23:  In his time Judah will be secure again and Israel will live in safety. This is the name they'll give him: 'God-Who-Puts-Everything-Right.'

Ephesians 2:  The Messiah has made things up between us so that we're now together on this, both non-Jewish outsiders and Jewish insiders. He tore down the wall we used to keep each other at a distance.

Mark 6:  When Jesus arrived, he saw this huge crowd. At the sight of them, his heart broke – like sheep with no shepherd they were. He went right to work teaching them.

 

 

 

Mary Jane reading from Joshua

 

Thanks…     

Music,   Ben

Community Finances:   

  Expenses: $    620.00

  Outreach: $      50.00

 

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

Marlene

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

Dust If You Must

By Rose Milligan

Dust if you must, but wouldn’t it be better

To paint a picture, or write a letter,

Bake a cake, or plant a seed,

Ponder the difference between want and need?

 

Dust if you must, but there’s not much time,

With rivers to swim, and mountains to climb;

Music to hear, and books to read;

Friends to cherish and life to lead.

 

Dust if you must, but the world’s out there,

With the sun in your eyes and the wind in your hair,

A flutter of snow, a shower of rain,

This day will not come around again.

 

Dust if you must, but bear in mind,

Old age will come and it’s not kind,

And when you go(and go you must),

You yourself, will make more dust.

 

Readings:

Sirach 3, 17-18, 28-29,   Conduct your affairs with humility.

Psalm 68,  God, in your goodness, you have made a home for the poor.

Hebrews 12, 18-19, 22-24,  You have approached Mount Zion.

Luke 14, 1, 7-14, Invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind.

 

 

Sirach observations

Author :  The author is
Sirach or Joshua, a Jewish scribe.  The
book of 51 chapters is one of the “in between books,”  more or less 12 of them.  In other words, their genuiness is
questioned.  The Catholic Church accepts
them; the Protestants don’t. 

Date: 
about 200 years before Christ. 

Subject:   Ethics, norms for good Jewish living.  For example, “Do not compliment a person on
his good looks,” (11, 2), or “Never abandon an old friend; you will never find
a new one who can take his place,” (9, 10), or “Friendship is like wine, it
gets better as it gets older,” (9, 10), or Don’t prevent the poor from making a
living, or keep them waiting in their need,” (4,1).

Today’s subject:  Humility.

Sources: Good News Bible

 

 

Invite the
poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind.

I would like to speak on the line about inviting the poor and crippled rather
than my friends and wealthy neighbors. 
To give meaning to the idea, and in remembrance of 9/11, I would like to tell a true story about a
Delta flight. 

Some of you may have seen the story Friday in the blog.  It is quite touching.  For those who did not read the story, let me
fill you in.  It has a lot to say about inviting people and 9/11.

The day is 9/11.  Delta 15 is
about 5 hours out of Frankfurt, Germany on its homebound run to Atlanta.  A flight attendant is telling the story. 

 The plane is over the north Atlantic when the pilots tell her to come
straight to the flight deck.  She enters
and notices the team is all business. 
They tell her that they have been informed that all U.S. airports are
closed to commercial traffic.  Land as
quickly as possible wherever possible.

They turn back 400 miles and land at Gander, New Foundland.  About 20 other planes are already on the
ground.  Time is around 11:00 A.M.

They did not inform the passengers about the real reason for the odd landing
while in the air.  On the ground they
give them the real reason, though they only knew that some planes had been
hijacked. In an hour 53 planes are packed on the runway, 10 thousand people in
a town of 10 thousand.

 

They are treated well, but have to spend the night on the plane and are finally informed they may deplane at
11:00.  Promptly at
11:00 a convoy of school buses arrives and everyone exits and is passed through
immigration. 

At this point the crew gets taken to a hotel in Gander and the
passengers disappear.  That evening they
discover the reality.  They remain in
Gander two days.

At the end of the two days, everyone is reunited and they board Delta
15.  It turns out the passengers are actually
in a really congenial mood, calling each other by first names, sharing their
experiences, exchanging phone numbers, and even crying over the hospitality.

What happen?  All of Gander and
the neighboring villages welcomed them with open arms.  They cleared space, housing, school buildings, auditoriums,
everything.  Schools were closed and the
students were told to play host.  Food
was provided, hiking trips took place, boat trips, visits to cafes and
bakeries. 

The passengers had been put up by the inhabitants of a little village
called Lewisporte. 

 

Once airborne again, a passenger approached this flight attendant and
asked if he might use the mike.  Normally
prohibited, but because of the spirit and the uniqueness of the experience she
said, “Of course.” 

The man, a doctor from Virginia, says to everybody that because of the
extraordinary hospitality of the people he would like to propose that a college
fund for the students be set up.  He
would be willing to establish it and he said he would match the amount.  After passing the hat, $14,000 was collected,
which he matched.

As of today a million and a half has been raised and over 100 kids have
received help with college.

What do you think?  Hospitality?   Yes, over the
top. 

 

Gratitude?  Yes, over the top.

Rare?   No.  I
saw it this summer in Des Moines, Iowa. 
I saw it a week ago in Wichita Falls. 

You, where do you see hospitality and gratitude?  When do you show it?

 

Source: 
Download Delta 15 & 9-11, 8-30-13

 

 

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

…and life is still a constant surprise to me.  We never know what will happen next, what we will see, and what  important person will come into our life, or what important person we will lose.  Life is change, constant change, and unless we are lucky enough to find comedy in it, change is nearly always drama, if not tragedy.  But after everything, and even when the skies turn scarlet and threatening, I still believe that if we are lucky enough to be alive, we must give thanks for the miracle of every moment of every day, no matter how flawed.  And we must have faith in God, and in the Universe, and in a better tomorrow even if that faith is not always deserved.

Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan

Rosemary missed our celebration this morning because Aviana had gotten sick overnight and Rosemary took her to our vet.  Both are okay now.

 

Thanks to the Team

Music, Shonda & Ben

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

Eucharistic Prayer, John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers, Mike & Ben & Becky

Final Blessing, Rosemary

 

 

Community Finances, May 17, 2020

Expenses: $350.00

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

Thanks, Everybody.  Your generosity is humbling.

I am both humbled and proud to announce that we put together two of our monthly contributions to Souls Harbor, i.e., $2000 & $1500, and donated them on the Giving Tuesday recently.  Yes, the amount was matched.  Thanks again, Everybody.

 

A Special Gift:

The Ask Dr. B. Good radio show can be located on 1160 am at 8 am Sundays. Why should you listen? Everyone needs to understand what is happening in public education, especially right now during COVID. Public education must become something different than what it’s been for the last 100 years. Stay up and stay tuned to what’s happening in public education! 

 

 

 

Readings:

Acts of the Apostles, 8, 5-8, 14-17,  They laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 66, Let all earth cry out to God with joy.  (Beautiful Psalm)

1 Peter  3, 15-18, Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts.

John 14, 15-21, I will  not leave you orphans. 

 

 

 

Reading 1

A Reading from the Acts of the Apostles

         Going down to Samaritan city, Philip proclaimed the Message of the Messiah.  When the people heard what he had to say and saw the miracles, the clear signs of God’s action, they hung on his every word.  Many who could neither stand nor walk were healed that day.  The evil spirits protested loudly as they were sent on their way.  And what joy in the city!

        When the apostles in Jerusalem received the report that Samaria had accepted God’s Message, they sent Peter and John down to pray for them to receive the Holy Spirit.  Up to this point they had been baptized in the name of the Master Jesus; the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen on them.  Then the apostles laid their hands on them, and they did receive the Holy Spirit.

Our word for today.

 

 

The cheese factory.

 

 

Reading 2

A Reading from the First Letter of Peter     

Sisters and brothers: Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention before Christ, your Master.  Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks, why you’re living the way you are, and always do it with the utmost courtesy.  Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick.  They’ll end up realizing that they’re the ones who need a bath. It’s better to suffer for doing good, than to be punished for doing bad.  That’s what Christ did: he went through it all—was put to death and then made alive—to bring us to God.

Our word for today

 

 

 

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

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 with 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, doesn’t even know what to look for.  But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will be in you!  I will not leave you orphaned.  I’m coming back.  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. 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 of 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:  Sr. Mary Troy, 87, Rick Froebe, Debbie Ekes