Readings:

1 Kings 17, 10-16,  Please bring me a small cup of water to drink.

Psalm 146,    Praise the Lord, my soul.

Hebrews  9, 24-28, Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands.

Mark 12, 38-44,  The poor widow with the 2 small coins, The Widow's Mite.

 

            Genevieve & Mary say, "Good Morning, Everybody,                     Welcome in."                     

       

Kings:

     Author & date of composition: the work is a compilation of numerous sources put together near the end of the Babylonian Captivity, ca. 555.

    Subject Matter: 1 Kings is part of a 4 book work that includes 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings.  The 3 kings are Saul, David, and his son, Solomon.

 The work begins with Samuel, the last great judge, continues through the lives of the 3 kings, and finally shows how Solomon’s sons’ squabbles led to the division of the Jewish nation into two states, north & south, Israel & Judah.  Both states were defeated and the people of both were taken into captivity as slaves. 

The people of Israel never returned from Syria.  The people of Judah taken into the Babylonian Captivity maintained their tribal identify and came back to Jerusalem, which had been wrecked.   The Babylonian Captivity ended on a high note when Cyrus of Persia defeats Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, and allows the Jews to return to Jerusalem.

 

                    Cole, a Master Candle Lighter, at work.   

 

    The Theme: you be good, good things happen to you; you be bad, bad things happen to you.

    Our selection: 2 great prophets lived when the kingdom divided, Elijah & Elisha.  They criticized the bad ways of the sons of King Solomon.  In this selection, Elijah tells the king he is going to send a drought to the king's land.  Then Elijah goes away & meets a poor, starving widow with a son.  Watch what happens.  This is setting us up for the Widow's Mite story in the gospel.

 

            

               Another team of Master Helpers, Kevin & Georgina 

 

Today’s Widow’s Mite

This morning I would like to talk about the two ladies in our readings, the lady with her son getting ready to eat their last meal before dying and the famous Widow’s Mite.  Let's make it contemporary.

A story to exemplify. 

Ever hear about Nathan Bradley?

Narthan Bradley is a policeman.  In fact, he is a GA State Trooper.  He is young, 25 years old, and has been working as a trooper for a year and a half. 

 

           Is that an angel that I see?  Why, Yes, it is Victoria.

 

This past Halloween Saturday afternoon Nathan was on duty when he was called to cover a traffic accident.  He discovers when he arrives that a young couple have been killed.  Somehow he checks out where they live, which was not far away.  He decides to go to their house to report the deaths to whomever lives there.

He goes to the house and rings the bell.  The inside door is opened cautiously and Nathan discovers 4 children aged 13 to 6, all dressed in their Halloween costumes.  The kids tell him their parents have gone to buy some face paint at the corner.

 

             Is that another angel that I see?  Yep, it is Zoe

 

On the spot Nathan makes 2 decisions.  He cannot tell them about their parents’ deaths.  In fact, he decides he has got to make this Halloween special for them . 

So he bundles them into his squad car and takes them first to McDonald’s, hamburgers, milk shakes, the whole deal.  Then he takes them on a tour of the state trooper complex.  They play trick or treat.  Finally they have a sleep-over at the station. 

 

 

    Remember that nice little kid we talked about last Sunday…..

 

During this time a call has been made to a grandmother in Jacksonville.  She is driving up to take care of the kids. 

With the kids bedded down, Nathan is not finished.  To help pay for expenses, like the funerals, Nathan goes on line and sets up a fund on Go Fund Me, hoping to collect $7,000.   As of yesterday, Saturday, one week from Halloween and the accident, the fund had reached $400,000. 

Are there not sensitive and generous people everywhere around us? 

 

                Here he is, like a few years ago, Noah before.

 

3 quick observations on The Widow’s Mite.

Three observations.

First, this is a marvelous call to help and to contribute, not just money, but so much else, my time, my positive strokes of others, my efforts to help kids recover from deaths, like Nathan Bradley. 

 

                 
                  Cupcake of The Week to Mike & Dee.

 

Secondly, watch out.  A trap here.  See Mark’s use of infinite demand?  Am I supposed to likewise contribute all I have, my whole livelihood?  Not quite, which leads to my next point.

Thirdly, want to know why I did not want to take up a formal collection at our liturgies?  Because the churches I was part of as a young boy always pushed money.  These little stories guilted me.   I bet a lot of parishioners are hearing this morning how they should be donating to their parish.  Tithing is the norm, 10%.  It is a really literal approach to the story.

How are you helping others?

Source: I found this story on line, Outlook Express, Friday, 11/6/15.

   
       

Cupcake of The Week to Rosemary on her birthday, the 14th

Readings:

Revelation 7, 2-4, 9-14,  I, John, saw another angel.

Psalm 24,    Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.  

1 John  3, 1-3, See what love the Father has bestowed on us.   Instead of this reading, we will have a special poem for All Saints.

Matthew 5, 1-12,  Blessed are the poor in spirit. 

 

'Welcome in, Everybody,' say Victoria, Michelle, and Cathy.

 

Intro: 3 feasts—

                    All Saints: (or All Hallowes) those who have achieved the beatific vision according to the Catholic Church.  Plus, saints are canonized  based on miracles.

                    All Souls: those who have not achieved the beatific vision and are considered paying for their sins in purgatory.  Limbo has been abandoned by the Catholic Church and purgatory is in question.

                    Hallowe’en: the vigil of All Hallowes, a Celtic-Irish harvest, end of summer celebration. 

 

               A Happy Birthday Cupcake of The Week to Karen.

 

The Western Catholic Church:

 4 significant dates, 300, 600, 700, & 800

Year 300: during this century the early Christians, reeling from persecution, celebrated feast of All Martyrs.  This is really the foundation of the feast.

Year 600: a Pope Boniface dedicated the Pantheon in Rome to Mary & All Martyrs.  May 13 was the celebration because it was also an ancient pagan day of celebration.

Year 700:  a Pope Gregory set up in St. Peter’s Basilica a side chapel dedicated to All Saints.

Year 800: Dec. 25, Charlemagne is crowned Emperor by the Pope on the red stone in St. Peter’s.  Charlemagne, an advocate of All Saints, established it on Nov. 1, coupling it with a Harvest Feast.

Sources: Practicing Catholic by James Carroll, Catholic Encyclopedia on line, Wikipedia.

 

                              Happy Birthday to you, Rob.     

 

 The Second Reading:

SMILE BECAUSE THEY LIVED 

You can shed tears because your love is gone

Or you can smile because your love  lived.

You can close your eyes and pray that your love will come back,

Or you can open your eyes and see all that your love has left.

Your heart can be empty, because you can’t see your love

Or you can be full of the love that you have shared.

You can turn your back on tomorrow

And live in yesterday,

Or you can be happy for tomorrow

Because of yesterday.

You can remember only that your love has gone

Or you can cherish the memory and let it live on.

You can weep, and close your mind,

Be empty and turn back,

Or you can do what your love would want –

Open your eyes, smile, love and go on.

 

For lighting the candles, Cole, A Cupcake of The Week.  Enjoy.

 

All of You, Saints

This morning I would like to talk about All Saints, and, in particular, some of our saints.  I have a group, an individual, and another group.  I would like to talk about all three.  These are the old geezer priest's observations.

First of all, the group.  This is the group Rosemary and I see every Monday evening at the Farmers Branch Senior Center.  Dance night.

 

            Our pet gorilla, dressed in holiday attire, also says,                             "Welcome, Folks."

 

Last Monday Rosemary & I discovered when we arrived that Halloween was being celebrated.  And talk about celebrating.  You would have been knocked out at the costumes some of these people put together.  I had not a clue who some of them were. 

One lady struck me.  Rosemary & I were dancing when I notice her coming in at the other end of the ballroom.  She was all dressed up and was pushing what I thought was a baby pram.  So maybe she has a doll or even a puppy in there.  But no, as we got closer I discovered that it was, in fact, a walker for her. 

 

                                                 Our Saints.

 

This really touched me.  She cannot dance, but she can dress up and join the party.  I last saw her talking to all sorts of people.

There are two other people who really touch me on dance night.  One lady, Janice, is blind, and has been blind for a dozen years, but can she dance!  I have danced with her a couple of times.  I always come in and tell her I want a Janice hug.  She knows me by my voice.

 

                                                     Our Saints.

 

The other person is a guy 96 years old.  He cannot dance, but he tries.  He flew heavy bombers during the Second W.W.  A line dance is scheduled every Monday evening at about the same time, 7:30, and I can see him lined up, getting behind the beat and even getting turned around.  But he always gets out there.

These folks, living life to the fullest, are saints for me.

 

                                                                     Our Saints.

 

Secondly, a good friend of mine, Jim Miller, whom many of you would recognize because he always joined us for Christmas Eve and Easter.   He loved the community.  Just could not get up for 9:30.

His wife, Jan, sent me a note Thursday night saying Jim wanted to see me and that he was not doing well.  We have a custom of sharing lunch every other month or so.  Because of that, I knew he was getting treatment for cancer.  He seemed pretty confident.

 

John, who is that masked person?  Are you not scared?

 

I did not get his wife’s message until late Thursday evening and waited to call her Friday after 8:00, thinking she would be up & active by then.  When I got her, she was in tears and said that Jim had just died.  He even told her he was disappointed I had not been contacted sooner so I could have visited him.

Jim, who was a proud graduate of the Naval Academy and a questioner, was a saint for me.   

                 Why, that's Leo.  Just in time to share your birthday                             cupcake, yes!  Happy Birthday.

 

Thirdly, I would say this group of people.  You people are saints to me.  After all, you put up with me every week, and even Rosemary.  The old geezer priest knows this stuff. 

So, how does it feel to be told you are a saint?

And who is your favorite saint?

 

                      The Best, Shonda, Bethany, & Ray.

Readings:

Jeremiah 31, 7-9,   Shout for joy, the Lord has delivered his people.

Psalm 126,    The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Hebrews  5, 1-6, Every high priest is taken from among people.

Mark 10, 46-52,  Bartimaeus, a blind man, sat by the road begging.   

 

           Grace says, "Welcome in, Everybody, Good to see you."

 

Jeremiah observations:

Who:  one of the Big 3 Prophets, 52 chapters, the “broken hearted prophet,” because he hated being so unpopular and having to condemn so much. 

Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe seems to be who put down the prophet’s message.   Jeremiah probably died in Egypt.

When: put together before & during the B.C., Babylonian Captivity, say 555 before Christ  (reminder, Babylon is near present day Bagdad, Iraq).

Remember, too, that time before Christ is counting downward or backwards.

 

                And, of course, Genevieve says, "Hi, Everybody."

 

Interesting Side Note: (another reminder) can you guess when the Genesis story of creation in 7 days was composed?  Biblical research reveals that the creation story was put together during the Captivity, this same time, i.e. ca. 555.

Why?  The priests & prophets (e.g., Ezekiel) of the Jews in captivity determined that the people would not be assimilated into the local gene pool as their cousins in the northern kingdom had done when made to live with the Assyrians.  They decided they would establish customs & religious practices that would make the Jews so different they would not intermarry.  Three special laws were established: 1.  male circumcision; 2. dietary laws and laws about not touching menstruating women; and 3. the Sabbath.

 

            There he is, our most proficient camera man, usually just                  inside the entrance, Rick.

 

The priests put together the 7 day creation story to suggest that Yahweh approved of their Sabbath law.  They had Yahweh rest on the 7th day to bolster their demand that all Jews take a day off every 7 days.  Before the Babylonian Captivity there was no legislated Sabbath and no myth of Yahweh creating the world in 7 days with the 7th being a day of rest.  So, now you know when the story was created & by whom, the priests, and why, to keep the Jews united vs the Babylonians.  It worked, even down to today.

Subject of the work: the usual prophet message—condemn, pay, peace.

Today's subject: Beautiful message of peace and consolation.  It is coming.

Sources: Bishop John Shelby Spong, The sins of Scripture; Wikipedia

 

 

     We caught you, Shonda, hugging our pet gorilla.  He loves it.
 

What, Shout for Joy ?

The consoling readings today are summed up in that first line from Jeremiah, ‘Shout for Joy.’  Unless you are blind as Brartamaeus or as I am so often, you can get behind this shouting pretty easily. 

Let me propose 4 reasons why I shout for joy today and see if you can spot some of your own. 

First, the rain.  We just endured 3 months or more of drought.  The ground was dust.  I was sitting on our back porch Thursday night when it started.  At first I thought we were really going to get missed, despite all the weather reports to the contrary.

 

          The Best, Shonda (doing Air Force today), Bethany, & Ray.

 

However, we got 3 ½ inches that night.  Then 3 more on Friday and 3 again on Friday night, total 9 ½.  

The only negative for Rosemary & me was that an old roof leak that comes into our kitchen showed up again, even with the work we put into fixing it in the May rains.  Nevertheless, I shout for joy over the rain.

Secondly, Romeos on Friday.  Actually, a week ago I had a most interesting lunch.  None of the bums showed up.  I was alone.  ‘Out of town,’ they all said.  However this past Friday, wow, Mike and Bill and Ray all showed up.  Don’t tell them, but I was shouting for joy.

 

         The Team says, "We miss you, Georgie (at a swim meet).

 

Thirdly, I see every Sunday a bunch of no fear kids.  I love it when Leo or Emma or Harper walk around up here.  Let these kids know they have a cupcake waiting up here for them, and they come running, or dancing, as in the case of Leo. 

Yes, I’ve been told that when I put on the white alb, the kids think I am God.  My hope is that because I will not get mad at them and will welcome them, they will know that God does not get mad at them and welcomes them.  This was not the message that I and many of you got when we were little kids going to church. 

I shout for joy that these kids are here with us.

 

                                 "Hi, Tori, Keeping busy?"

 

Finally, picking up on the message in Hebrews about the priest, I shout for joy that I have lived the majority of my life as a priest.  I have always felt called to this vocation and I love it.   For me it has not been prestige but opportunity, like to do what we do here with the kids. 

I shout doubly because just when I might have had to put the opportunity on the shelf, you people invited me to carry on, what we have done together now for 11 years this Thanksgiving.

 

                                 Ace candle lighter, Cole.

 

There is so much I love, like doing weddings.  For example, the big, fun Lebanese wedding last Saturday.  It is a privilege to visit people who are sick and to give some peace to people getting ready to move to the other side, like Joan & Rita, Chuck & Curtis, and Fred. 

For this I shout for joy.

 

                                Fall has arrived in Dallas.

 

And You?  If you are not shouting for joy, are you deaf, or blind like Bartamaeus or me? 

For what do you shout for joy?