Trinity Sunday, May 30, 2021

1 Kings, Elijah went a day's journey into the desert.

Psalm 34, Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Ephesians 4, Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another.

John 6, I am the bread of life.

 

 

Connie reading from Kings.

 

Thanks……

Music,    Ben & Shonda

Readers,  Connie, John, & Buddy, our candle blesser 

Gospel,     John Cade

Homily,   John Stack

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,     Richard, Hue, & Mike

Final Blessing, Rosemary

For hosting us at Legacy for all these years & will miss you enormously, Becky

 

 

John reading from Corinthians.

 

Readings:

Download Readings 19th Ordinary Time 8-8-21

 

Homily by John Stack

Download Homily by Stack 8-8-2021

 

 

The team.

 

Kings:  a review–

Subject: The kings of Israel.  The Big 3 kings were Saul, David, & his son Solomon.  The 2 Books of kings follows the 2 Books of Samuel, which describe the lives of the the kings up to the death of the Great King David, my favorite.  1 & 2 Kings takes up the life of Solomon, David's son, his building of the temple, his death, and the fate of the kingdom following his death, that is, it divides and is conquered. 

Time Period:  from ca. 900 – 555 before Christ, or from Solomon to Nebuchadnezzar & Cyrus.

 Authors: a compilation of many sources that was put together at the end of the Babylonian Captivity, ca. 555 before Christ. 

Our Selection: focus is on one man, the prophet Elijah.  The kingdom has already been split.  Our story takes place in the northern state, Israel.  Time of severe drought.  The king is Ahab; his queen, the famous Jezebel.  The prophet Elijah has scolded them for turning to false gods to end the drought.  

  There has been a contest in chapter 18: Elijah vs the 450 prophets of Baal, ultimately to see which side would be more effective in bringing rain.  2 bulls were slaughtered.  Naturally, Elijah wins when Yahweh answers his prayer, sends down fire, and consumes the bull Elijah has slaughtered.  When he wins, he slaughters the 450 prophets of Baal.   

We enter at a point where Jezebel is furious with Elijah for killing her favorite prophets and aims to kill Elijah.  He is going to run away all depressed.   

 

 

Peace, Everybody.

 

Remember these special people:

For John & Karen Anderlick's unborn grandson;  For Alan Stryker;   For Candice Taht, friend of Mary Hall;   For Rosemary's great niece, Rylie ;  For Richard's grand daughter, Madeleine;   For Esparza's new great grandson baby, son of Monique, & Frank with shingles;  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, and for Hue & Linda's daughter, Doctor Rosemary Beavers;   For Mary & Dave Hall's g-daughter Allison Keller working at St. Lukes, The Woodlands,   For Sir Charlie & Jan;  Shonda's mom & Cody &  Leo & all of Shonda's dear family; For Ursuline Sr. Mary Troy,   for John Simari

 

Peace for you, Marsha.

 

Jackie's mom, sister, & friend, Lynn;  For Rick Turner searching for a kidney donor, Type O neg.; For Meredith, cancer free & John Schanot;    For John O'Donnell & Jean;   For Jean & Cliff Wright;  For Dee, and for her daughters, Lisa & Lauren  ;  For Anthony & Sabrina;    For a young man who is suffering from depression;  John Cade's mother in law, Kalliopi Piskiouli and Lambrini, plus John's daughter, Joey, with cancer; from Barbara, a little 10 month old baby boy named Ford recuperating from an operation; for David McKeon's brother, Hugh; For Beth's friends & brother;   for the medical staffs, teachers, and coaches in our public & private schools.

 

Birthdays: Linda Beavers & Rose Banzhaf & Carrie Bieda.

Anniversaries:  Souls Harbor (1956),

Hugh & Linda, 46, 

Mike & Judy, 57

Mary Hall & Dave

 

Community Finances,   August 8, 2021

Expenses: $1615.00

Outreach: $325

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

 

 

Rosemary & her Blessing of the Week.

 

 

Rosemary's Blessing:

Come, O Dancing God,

Spirit of Life and Love,

of Beauty and Diversity,

stir up my soul,

bathe me in your light,

and unleash my own spirit

that I may dance with you

and be light for those around me

and reflect your love to all that I meet this week.

 

Edited and adapted from a blessing by Fr. Andrew M. Greeley

 

 

Richard with communion for Cathy.

 

 

 

 

 

Says Our Dear Emma, "Hi, Everybody, Welcome."

 

 

Readings:

Isaiah 56, 6-9,  Seek the Lord while he may be found. (Isaiah 2)

Psalm 145,   The Lord is near to all who call upon him

Phlippians 1, 20-24 &27,  Conduct yourself in a way worthy of the gospel.

Matthew 20, 1-16,  The vineyard owner and how he compensated his laborers, The last shall be first; the first last. 

 

 

And likewise from our dear Sophia, "Come in, Folks, it is fun here."

 

Isaiah 55  observations—

Who:  My favorite prophet.  In fact , Isaiah 2 is my favorite of the 3 composers of the Book of Isaiah, and our selection today is the very last chapter of Isaiah 2.

When: remember these 3 writers wrote more or less before, during, and after the Great Babylonian Captivity, ca. 555 before Christ.  So, we can guess that today’s selection from Isaiah 2 comes from the time during the Captivity.

What:  Isaiah 2 has some of the best and most beautifully consoling passages. Check out The Messiah. Unfortunately, our little selection today talks about scoundrels and the wicked, in other words, about us.   Maybe these people are mentioned in connection with the people who grumble in the Gospel today.  See what you think.  

 

 

And not to be outdone by her daughter and Sophia, our dear Beth says, "Better hurry up and get a seat before these two girls take over."

 

 

That is not Fair!

This morning, Folks, I would like to talk about these workers hired by the vineyard owner.  We hear how the workers who worked all day got the same wages as those who worked one hour and we want to yell, “Hey!  That is not fair!” 

Want to know what this parable is basically saying?  Two things.  First, it is all Gift.  Everything is Gift.  Secondly, negative comparison is poison.  “How come he got this and I did not?”  “How come I got sick and he did not?”  Our lives are all Gift.  Comparing myself with others poisons my spirit.

 

 

 

The Best Music, plus with good news.

 

A story about one of my best long time friends to illustrate. 

I think I asked this last week.  Anybody remember Myron & Chris Hubble from St. Mark’s? 

I first met Myron around 1995.  In those days I had a men’s group.  We met probably every other Wednesday or Thursday evening for an hour or two.  The question: what has been your blessing or gift since our last meeting?  Or whatever a person wanted to talk about. 

 

 

Sez Buddy, "Okay, let's get to the fun part (cupcakes)."

 

We had maybe 20 guys plus or minus.  Everybody sat on the carpeted floor of my little office in the Jesuit residence at Jesuit.   Myron was one of the first members.

I remember Myron as a really nice looking guy, soft spoken, very emphatic and  tuned into everyone who spoke.  He had a beautiful wife in Chris and two beautiful kids, Jon and Emily.  I did Emily’s wedding some years back, to a marvelous boy, who is Jewish. 

The family had a nice home in Plano and Myron had worked at TI.  He was probably in his 40’s.  He was retired. 

 

 

 

Our Candle Lighter of The Week in action.

 

 

Want to know why he was retired?  He had hepatitis C.

Want to know where he got it?  Maybe connected with Viet Nam.  Myron had been a medic during Viet Nam.  He worked with the wounded coming back when they arrived in Tacoma.  Want to know what it was like in Viet Nam?  Check out Ken Burns’ epic now half way through the two week event.  Tonight features the Tet Offensive of 1969 more or less.  Burns’ project is mind numbing & shocking. 

Let me tell you, Myron’s hepatitis ruined his beautiful life.  Not only could he not work.  But every morning he would painfully roll out of bed and throw up.  This went on for years.

 

 

 

Welcome in, Jim Shropshire.  You got a lot of courage to come visit your old teacher from Jesuit.  And this guy used to be a great athlete, a football player.

 

Recently Myron fell down on the front stairs of his house and broke numerous bones.  He went to the hospital where the bones cannot be dealt with because of the hepatitis.  He asked for me.  Chris called me and I went right away.  Myron tells me his liver is gone and his kidneys are going fast.  He will follow. 

Why not me instead of Myron?  I could have ended up in Viet Nam, if not for being in the Jesuits.  I’ll say it again.  It is all gift.  Gratitude is the response.

What are you grateful for?

 

 

 

Hey, Mike, this cupcake is guaranteed to help you heal your knee, your foot, your elbow, and all the other places you are falling apart.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

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;

 

 

 

Another Mad Man?  Yes!

 

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!

 

Download Readings Week 7-26

 

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.

• Where our treasure is, our hearts will be there also.
• We are to carefully guard the treasure that lives within our hearts for from them we give life to others.
• The treasure of the Church is the Good News of Jesus Christ; moreover, it has been freely given to the whole world.
• The treasure given to us of the Holy Spirit empowers us to forgive others.
• The treasure we yearn for should be our daily bread, for the Word and the Eucharist are incapable of being separated.

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: 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

 

 

 

 

 

"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.

 

 

Sez Betsy, "Hi, Everybody, welcome in."

 

Readings:

Isaiah 2, 1-5, They shall beat their swords into plowshares (Peace based spirituality?)

Psalm 122,  Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord

Romans 13, 11-14  Let us throw off the works of darkness

Matthew 24, 37-44,  Stay awake!   You do not know on which day the Lord will come.  (Fear based spirituality?)

 

 

Wake up, John!

 

Homily by Deacon Mike

I think that John Stack has challenged all of us this Thanksgiving to visualize the abundance of the blessings that each of us have received. Today it’s my turn to share such a blessing that I received; it was a gift to me some time ago, but not forgotten.

 

 

What a Team!

 

But first, I am going to begin by having us recall the blessing that the Samaritan man had received in our gospel reading today. After he realized that his sins had been forgiven, he returned to give glory to God. Jesus then praises his faith, raises him up to newness of life, and gives him, and us, an invitation to follow him. A blessing doesn’t get any better than that!  

 

 

Bill, from now on you will be called "Candle Bill."

 

If you think about it; when we came through those doors this morning, each of us received an abundance of blessings; a smile, a welcome, a hug, or kiss. Some times those blessings are unexpected, and we smile and allow them to linger in our hearts.

 

 

In the spirit still of Thanksgiving, Mike homilizes an event he takes gratitude in being a part of.

 

45 years ago, one morning, when I was still in a discernment process to become a deacon; I was driving south down Greenville, and had just passed over LBJ.  Immediately I realized that on this particular day the stop and go lights were not working. It was then that I saw three young school boys, looking back and forth unprepared. I pulled off to the right, rolled up my windows and ran ahead down to where they were standing.  When I got a chance I held up my arms to the traffic coming both ways, and then led them arm in arm to the other side.

 

 

Offertory time with Rich, Cody, Tom, and Denni.

 

The slightly older boy said, ‘Thank you!’ And, they stayed there until I got back to the other side, then they shouted again, “Thank you!” When I finally got back to my car, it took me a while to ease back into the traffic. When I finally got back to where I had led the boys across, to my surprise they were standing beside each other eagerly waiting for me to drive by. I read their lips as they shouted, for the third time, ‘Thank you!’  I had been blind-sided by the unexpected gift; the boys had taken my breath away.

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving, John & Connie.