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Block Print by Mike Newman
Projects
Beginning Nov. 12 for 4 Sundays in the Parish House ! (no class Nov. 26). Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol and the Bible.
A Christmas Carol has delighted audiences since it publication in 1843 in its book form and through the many movies made from its story. Few people know of Dickens’ connection with religion. A Christmas Carol has many Biblical references, some cleverly hidden within the story. The regeneration of Scrooge mirrors the regeneration of mankind in the Bible. Even with the title, “A Christmas Carol”, Dickens is using the meaning of “carol” familiar to him: a song celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Dickens each chapter of his book a stave, a stanza of a song. We will discuss Chapter 1 of the book on the first Sunday. Where to find it ?
2 The book and audio are available free at Project Gutenberg on the web. It is available in plain text, formatted text, Kindle for book readers (with or with images). It is available in in audio in mp3 format and itunes audiobook
3 If you want a hardcopy, it is available on Amazon. Look for Dover Thrift edition for as little as $3 plus shipping.
Link to the reports from Jan 15 Annual Meeting
3-Minute Retreats invite you to take a short prayer break right at your computer. Spend some quiet time reflecting on a Scripture passage.
Knowing that not everyone prays at the same pace, you have control over the pace of the retreat. After each screen, a Continue button will appear. Click it when you are ready to move on. If you are new to online prayer, the basic timing of the screens will guide you through the experience.
Daily meditations in words and music.
Your daily prayer online, since 1999
"We invite you to make a ‘Sacred Space’ in your day, praying here and now, as you visit our website, with the help of scripture chosen every day and on-screen guidance."
Saints of the Week, Oct. 8 -15
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8
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[William Dwight Porter Bliss, Priest, 1926, and Richard Theodore Ely, Economist, 1943] |
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9
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[Wilfred Thomason Grenfell, Medical Missionary, 1940] |
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10
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Vida Dutton Scudder, Educator and Witness for Peace, 1954 |
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11
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Philip, Deacon and Evangelist |
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12
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13
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14
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Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereschewsky, Bishop of Shanghai, 1906 |
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15
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Teresa of Avila, Nun, 1582 |
October 8, 2017 – Pentecost 18
From top left – Sycamore shows its color, children painted rocks, our enthusiastic greeters, getting to the top, communion, our youngest member this morning.
The Week Ahead…
Oct. 11 – 10:00am – Ecumenical Bible Study
Oct. 12 – 8:30am – ECW Fall Meeting, Christ Church, Richmond
Oct. 15 – 10:00am – Godly Play for Adults
Oct. 15 – 10:00am – Children’s Christian Ed with Becky
Oct. 15 – 11:00am – Holy Eucharist, Rite II
Sunday, Oct. 15, Readings and Servers
We need these items:
1. For the Village Harvest – by Oct. 15
Toilet paper, paper towels, Kleenex and other paper products are greatly appreciated by the people who come to the distribution and we can’t get them from the Northern Neck Food Bank. The next Village Harvest is Oct. 18.
2. For the "Buzzing Bees", ongoing 
a. Granulated sugar, in any amount, so that Andrew Huffman, the beekeeper, can prepare it for the bees for food.
b. Mason jars, preferably pint size 16oz, for the bumper crop of honey that the bees will provide for harvesting next year
Lectionary, Oct. 15, 2017, Pentecost 19
I.Theme – Preparing for the banquet to come.
"Parable of the Great Banquet"– Brunswick Monogrammist, 1525, Netherlands
The lectionary readings are here or individually:
Old Testament – Isaiah 25:1-9
Psalm – Psalm 23 Page 612, BCP
Epistle –Philippians 4:1-9
Gospel – Matthew 22:1-14
The texts today speak of a universal banquet. Only those who exclude themselves are left out. The people of ancient Israel were on their way out of the banquet through their fashioning of idols.
Isaiah 25 is a hymn of thanksgiving praising God for his redeeming acts (verses 1-5) is followed by vision of the eschatological banquet to which ‘all peoples’ are invited. All who come to the banquet will find fullness of life. Death will be swallowed up (a dramatic reversal for death is frequently portrayed as swallowing up people and God will wipe away the tears from all faces.
The 23rd Psalm has God preparing a banquet in the presence of enemies, a reference to ancient desert wisdom where a strong leader prepares a meal for those quarrelling in the hope of averting war. Only those who exclude themselves are left out.
In the Epistle, Paul exhorts the Christian community to seek peace and unity in the Lord. Above all he urges them to rejoice. Even in their suffering, they can rejoice because the Lord is near. The Christian life is grounded in thanksgiving for what God has done in Christ.
Matthew’s gospel contains the third parable in Jesus’ reply to the question of his authority (21:23-27). The first (21:28-32), the Parable of the Two Sons dealt with the rejection of John’s ministry. The second, Parable of the Tenant (21:33-46) dealt with the rejection of his own ministry. This parable deals with the rejection of the ministry of the disciples and the dire consequences for Israel and Jerusalem.
The parables of the two sons, the wicked tenants, and the king who gave a marriage feast exhibit a progression from John the Baptist to the rejection of Jesus and punishment of those who rejected him through the final judgment, when those without a wedding garment will be cast out.
The target is the legitimacy of the Jewish leadership. They all expose Matthew’s ideology of the true Israel demonstrating the claims of the Pharisees to be false and those of the church true
Who is who ? We recognize the king as God. The king’s son was Jesus. The first guests are those who are hostile to Jesus – the Jewish leaders; the one without the wedding robe represents those who do not count the cost in becoming disciples.
God’s servants were the prophets of Israel and the Christian missionaries
The first part of the parable narrates jumps off immediately from the opening lines: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who had a banquet for his son". This is the first and last time that the son is mentioned. Throughout the rest of the parable until verse 10, the one who acts is the king, the servants and the invited guests.
Invitations are sent to the chosen invitees, but few respond, and some even mistreat and kill the servants (slaves) of the king giving the banquet. God has invited all into relationship with God but few respond–some laugh, some seem to busy, and some react violently. So therefore God has gone out and invited everyone off of the streets and fill the hall with guests. God has opened the invitation to everyone! Yet one guest gets in without wearing a wedding robe, and he is thrown out. God has extended this invitation into relationship to all people–but some think just because the invitation was sent, they don’t need to change their lives.
In Matthew Isaiah’s promise is fulfilled in Jesus, – through Jesus all are invited to the banquet feast of the Kingdom. But the invitation must be accepted. As a wedding guest is expected to dress appropriately, so with the guest at the banquet of which Holy Communion is a foretaste: and as Paul reminds us the appropriate dress for the Christian is to be clothed with love.
In the Gospel we have the same principle of self-exclusion. The lack of adequate preparation on the part of the guest that comes without the proper attire to the wedding banquet should be seen in that light. God invites all, we have the opportunity to go to the feast but our own actions set us apart and against that universal call.
Read more about the Lectionary…
Gospel Reflection
Edward Gomez
“What are you going to do with this?”
—Matthew 22:1-14
Many years ago, when I was studying for the priesthood, we were called to help on Sundays at some of the local parishes. That semester I was called to serve at St. Thomas More Church. New to the area, I was unaware that this church was one of the most affluent churches in the diocese. I entered the sacristy that Sunday and met the rector. He turned to me impeccably dressed in a black suit and with an extended hand and a broad welcoming smile, introduced himself saying, “Hi! Welcome to our church!” Then, almost immediately, from behind came another priest who did not fit the dress code of this marble-laden English castle, who gave me a surprising I’ve known you all my life embrace! I smiled — actually laughed — and said, Hi! He was a missionary in Africa and the guest preacher that day.
His sermon was moving as he shared his experience with the poor. I felt like I got hit in the chest with God asking me, “So what are you going to do with this?” The collection that day was for the missions. After the service I was invited to lunch with the rector, the missionary preacher and other guests of the ector. During lunch, a man entered handed a small envelope to the rector saying, “What shall I do with this?” The envelope contained a set of earrings and a note saying, “Take these and have them appraised, and whatever that amount is, I will sell them and give the money to the missions.” We were all taken aback by this act of giving. But it was not until almost a month later that we learned the earrings were valued at $175,000!
When you encounter God’s call, the almost immediate reaction is to let go of everything you thought important so that you can be free to love. Giving generously becomes easy because at some level you realize that what you have is not yours — but God’s. And if wealth or privilege has been entrusted to you, then you know — with certainty — that you must share it.
I don’t know who this woman was, or her life circumstances. I just know that when she ripped off those earrings, she responded to God’s question, “So now what are you going to do with this?” She acted and gave far more than expensive earrings; she gave of herself honestly, freely and out of pure love.
Edward Gomez is Vicar of St. Paul’s/San Pablo Episcopal Church in Houston. His ministry has led him from the Lancandonan jungle of Mexico to the Peruvian province of Madre de Dios as a missionary, to the nonprofit world, where he has served in various leadership roles, including as the Executive Director of El Buen Samaritano Episcopal Mission in Austin. He is married to Denise Trevino-Gomez; they have three children and one adorable granddaughter.
Background on the Gospel – Wedding Feasts
Pieter Brughel, Pieter Brueghel the Younger, The Wedding Dance in a Barn, c. 1616
From John Pilch’s article on the Sunday website of Saint Louis University
"Some background knowledge of meals in antiquity sheds light on today’s parable. Meals reproduce in miniature the everyday social relations of a society. Who eats with whom at a given table reflects who can associate with whom in the larger society.
The Insults of the First Group
"In today’s story, a king is arranging a wedding banquet for his son. In any society, commoners will not likely be invited. Royalty associate almost exclusively with royalty or at least with VIPs. Among the king’s invited guests are a landowner and a business person (Mt 22:5), definitely members of the elite class.
"Notice also the double invitation: “The king sent his slaves to call those who had been invited. … Again he sent other slaves, saying … ‘Come!’” (Mt 22:3-5).
"This was a common practice in antiquity. After the first invitation, the guests checked out who was invited or not invited, what kind of preparations were being made or not being made, and who was planning to attend as well as who was planning to stay away. This last point was particularly important. If key people decided to stay away, so would others.
"The refusal of the invited guests to attend the king’s wedding party shames him. For some reason the guests disapproved of the arrangements the king was making. They offer flimsy and insulting excuses, implying that tending the farm or the business is much more important than the wedding of the king’s son. This is the traditional and indirect or face-saving method of turning down an invitation.
"Other invited guests challenge the king’s honor in a more direct fashion. They seize his slaves who bring the invitation, beat, and kill them. Clearly this action demands redress, and the king obliges (see Mt 22:7).
What’s so “Domestic” About Violence? (Philippians 4:1-9)
Editor’s Note – Since 1987, October has been designated Domestic Violence Awareness Month in the United States. This October, domestic violence was already in the public eye due to a series of incidents involving professional football players. According to statistics compiled by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), one in three women has experienced physical violence at the hands of an intimate partner. For 3.2 million women, that violence is “severe.” Less frequently, but no less seriously, men are victims: One in ten has been stalked, physically harmed, or raped by an intimate partner. Domestic violence constitutes 15 percent of all violent crimes.
This Odyssey Networks story takes issues of public and private wrangling evident with the Philippians in our Epistle this week and links them to issues of bullying and domestic violence in our time.
Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder
"I carry a purple purse. I actually bought it three years ago to treat myself to something new. Many women have complimented it, honestly to my surprise. Not that the purse is atrocious, but it does not carry a Gucci, Michael Kors, Coach, Chanel or any other tony label. It is just a purple purse that fits me and holds my essentials, and sometimes those of my children. Until recently I had not given any second thought to having a purse the color of Barney. Sorry I could not resist.
"While reading all of the commentary about professional athletes and abuse, as if they are the only people who offend, I came across a public service announcement for the Purple Purse Campaign. What an a-ha moment. Finally someone gets it. It is one thing to give all of the stats blasting that one out of four women experience domestic violence or that twenty people per minute, men and women, are victims of physical violence at the hands of an intimate partner. It is astoundingly painful to know an estimated three women die each day because a “loved one” could not control himself. The facts are. The truth is.
"However, as the Purple Purse Campaign purports, domestic violence is also withholding money or limiting financial freedom. It is verbal assault. Domestic violence is hindering access to family and social circles. Intimacy partner violence involves humiliating the victim. It is harassing people via social media, texting, phone calls or emails. Domestic violence or intimate partner violence can be a physical, mental, financial, emotional, sexual or psychological act. In other words, domestic violence is bullying.
"Bullying is often identified as “victimization between peers or even so called friends.” Nearly 1 in 3 students (27.8%) report being bullied by a peer during the school year (National Center for Education Statistics, 2013). Students who experience bullying by their peers are at increased risk for depression, anxiety, sleep difficulties, and poor school adjustment (Center for Disease Control, 2012). Male bullies are nearly four times as likely as non-bullies to grow up to physically or sexually abuse their female partners.