8th Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 27, 2022

2 Kings 4:  This time next year you will be fondling a baby son.

Romans 6:  …you too must think of yourselves as dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.

Matthew 10:  And whoever gives only a cup  of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because the little one is a disciple – amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.

    

Happy 4th of July

 

John Cade's Homily from last Sunday: Download 06-25-23 Homily -12th Ordinary

 

 

John Stack Ministries now meets at:  The ArtCentre of Plano, 902 E. 16th St, Plano

 

 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)

 

                                                                                                                                                     

 

Dear Church Community:

Here is the initial list of our neediest families. Please send me who you would like to adopt. I will try to be timely in letting you know if a child/family has been taken by another church member.

We would appreciate getting the items back for the families by Monday, Dec. 14th.

Thank you so much ahead of time!

Becky

 

Download Families (1)

                                                                                           

 

 

 

The Great Candle Team at work, Marilyn & Ron.

 

 

Welcome this Sunday: Catholic Mass with coffee & juice, and pastries, some bought, some home-made. 

Time: 9:30; Celebrate with the Community  & Stack  & John Cade

Place: Legacy Charter School,  601 Accent Drive, Plano, TX 75075

 

 

Happy 56th, My Dear Marilyn & Ron.

 

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,  Christ is the first born of all creation.

Luke 10, 27-37, What must I do to inherit eternal life.

 

 

Consult time with Allen.

 

Community Activities:  

ROMEO MEET: Friday, July 12, Jason's Deli, Collin Creek Mall, west side of Central, 1:00.  Welcome all wakos, you will fit right in.   

 

Juliets, July, TBA

 

 

 

Communion Team with Patricia & Mike, Lynda & Tom.

 

TRUE?

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.

 

Confucius,   ancient Chinese philosopher

 

 

Our Father.

 

What's up in Ye Old Catholic Church?  Like…

Bishops, Where are you?,  http://corpus-blog.blogspot.com/2019/07/editorial-our-children-are-dying-at.html

 

 

Break Time.

 

See you Sunday,

J.S., 214-783-0443

 

 

Peace!

 

JSM Mission-Faith Statement: 

 Help create a Catholic Community that welcomes all God’s People, provides for and challenges spiritual and total growth.

Reaches out to help people who are disadvantaged and make the world we live in a better place to live.

 

 

 Somebody please help poor Ben.

 

 

Isaiah 11:  On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.

Romans 15:  Therefore, I will praise you among the Gentiles and sign praises to your name.

Matthew 3:  A voice of one crying out in the desert, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.

 

     

Meredith and Brent get a cookie for their anniversary

 

 

Advent Opportunities

1.  December 11, 2022 We are collecting sweatshirts and hoodies for the men at Soul's Harbor.

2.  From Lynda Fleming:

Shonda and Cody (home sick) get a cookie for their anniversary

 

 

Thanks…     

Music,    Ben & Shonda

Readers,  Mary Jane and John

Gospel,   John Cade

Homily,  John Stack

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,   Hue & Richard & Kevin

Final Blessing, Rosemary

         

                           

Tom and Denni have an anniversary too.

               

                                                                  

Readings:  Download 12-04-22- Readings – 2nd Sunday of Advent

Homily:  

 

 

Richard gives out communion

 

 

 

Remember these special people:

For Jan;  For Tom  Quinn who is having back surgery on November 21st;  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 Madeleine, Richard Eshelbrenner's granddaughter;  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; 

       

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 gives out communion

 

 

Birthdays:  Mike Moran 12/2, Grace LeBlanc 12/4, Cathy Bambenek 12/4

Anniversaries:   Brent and Meredith 12/1, Shonda and Cody 12/3

 

Community Finances:   

Expenses: $  1,995.00 

Outreach: $   515.00

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

                 

Lynda tells us about the Angel Tree

 

 

Rosemary's Blessing:  

 

Sometimes readings in Advent focus mainly on repentance and on waiting for the Savior and Messiah to redeem us from our sins.  Yet, the Jewish people of the Hebrew Scriptures and the early Christians had much broader expectations.  The Savior is the one who comforts and heals us, rescues and unbinds us, enlightens us and lifts us up as well as wipes away our sins.  The earthly life of Jesus was filled with his healing and compassionate acts; his treating outcasts and women with inclusivity, dignity and love; his breaking down cultural, religious and social walls that separate people; and his not only forgiving sinners, but also eating with them.   This is what Jesus wants to do for us.  Advent is a time of becoming more whole, a time of becoming all we want to be and all God wants us to be.

Advent Reflection by S. Jean Amore, CSJ, VP for Mission and Academics, Sacred Heart Academy, Hempstead, N.Y.

Job 7: Job spoke, saying: Is not man's life on earth a drudgery?  Are not his days those of hirelings?

1 Corinthians 9: I have become all things to all, to save at lease some.  All this I do for the sake of the gospel, so that I too may have a share in it.

Mark 1:  He told them, "Let us go to the nearby villages that I may preach there also.  For this purpose have I come."