7th Sunday of Easter, May 24, 2020, & Memorial Day Monday
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!