October 21, 2018, Pentecost 22
Pictures and text from this Sunday, October 21
The Week Ahead…
Oct. 24 – 10am-12pm, Ecumenical Bible Study
Oct. 28 – 9:00am, Holy Eucharist, Rite I
Oct. 28 – 10:00am, Living the Good News Christian Ed for children
Oct. 28 – 11:00am, Morning Prayer Rite II
Oct. 28 – 4:30pm, Special Family Worship Service and Halloween/All Saints Supper
Sunday, Oct. 28 Readings and Servers
Catching up from Last week
Trends have shifted downward in the number of people served in the last two months – 112 in September and 92 in Oct. Foods provided show a different trend. The average pounds is 1,416 compared to 1,334 last year, a 6% increase. This month was the second lowest at 747 pounds. Click the link to read the entire story.
Catherine gave her presentation to 17. Click the link to read the story and see the presentation
Catherine took these pictures during the Village Harvest distribution Oct 17, 2018. What is stunning is that the windows were reflecting the change of seasons. The great sycamore was in fine form with a deep color of green.
Click the link to see the gallery
Remembering St. James of Jerusalem, Oct. 23
We celebrate James day on Tues Oct. 23. He is known as St. James of Jerusalem (or “James the Just”). James was so respected by all, including even unbelieving Jews, that he was nicknamed “the Just”.
He is referred to by Paul as “the Lord’s brother” (Galatians 1:19) and the equal of the other disciples. Matthew provides some clues in Matthew 13:55 on his identity. “Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?” with the story of Jesus less than enthusiastic reaction in Nazareth.
Special Family Worship Service and Halloween/All Saints Supper
Families with young children and everyone else too is invited to a Sunday afternoon worship service, Oct. 28, 4:30pm at St Peter’s, followed by a Halloween supper. Children will help lead the worship service and supper will include some Halloween/All Saints Day themed food and fun for the children.
If you’d like to help plan this service and help to prepare the food, please let Catherine know
All Saints Remembrances for All Saints Sunday
The All Saint’s Day Service is Nov 4.
Email Catherine by Monday, Oct. 28 with the names of those who have died in the past year that you would like to have remembered.
Lectionary, Oct. 28 Pentecost 23, Proper 25
I. Theme – Preparing for Restoration and Healing
Healing of Bartimaeus – Daniel Bonnell
"Then Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man said to him, "My teacher, let me see again." Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well." Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way." – Mark 10:51-52
The lectionary readings are here or individually:
Old Testament – Jeremiah 31:7-9
Psalm – Psalm 126 Page 782, BCP
Epistle – Hebrews 7:23-28
Gospel – Mark 10:46-52
The promise of restoration and healing flows through today’s readings. The prophet Jeremiah looks forward to the rescue and renewal of God’s people. Job has all his lost property restored because of his fidelity to God. The author of Hebrews affirms the promise of full salvation through Jesus Christ and continued growth for believers. In today’s gospel, Jesus grants physical and spiritual wholeness to blind Bartimaeus.
Counselors say that many people will prefer a known evil to the unknown. They may cling to an identity as abused child, battered wife, long-suffering spouse of an alcoholic, or jilted lover because to surrender that identity seems like giving up themselves. Bartimaeus might have wondered if he would lose his identity as a blind beggar.
Yet Bartimaeus accepts his blindness as past. It does not curtail his freedom to hope for change. Thus he surrenders to the mystery of the future. Just as he casts away his cloak, he flings aside his reservations and his insecure clinging to the status quo.
The road on which he follows Jesus is leading to Jerusalem and ultimately to Calvary. Again in contrast to the apostles, Bartimaeus wants to follow, even into pain, if it means he can remain close to Christ. His step has a sureness due not only to restored vision but because he knows deeply the truth of the crowd’s assurance: “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” Thus, the story ends on the note of grace accepted.
Life is not easy either for us. God is active in the world and in all of the universe around us, even though we may experience God’s absence in our own lives. Our focus can be very small and narrow. We may worry or be upset about what happens to us, forgetting about the fact that there are 7 billion people on earth. We may feel that God has abandoned us and forget that no asteroid has wiped out the earth yet.
We may be like Bartimaeus, blind to what is going on in the world, crying out to God to let us see, then realizing there is a greater world beyond us. Or we may be like Bartimaeus, marginalized by the world, unable to do anything but beg until God and others intervene on our behalf. In other words: it’s not all about us, and yet, it is all about us. God heard the cry of Job. Jesus heard the cry of Bartimaeus. God hears our cries, and God is active in our lives, though we may have a hard time understanding that when we are in our valley of the shadow. Nonetheless, God is there.
Lectionary – "It’s About Freedom!"
By David Lose, President of Luther Seminary, Philadelphia
"That’s what all these readings are about. That’s what our whole ministry is about – freedom. So tell them they’re free this week. Free from their past, free from regret, free from fear, free from self-limitation, free from old hurts and mistakes. They’re free."
"The story about Bartimaeus, I mean. He won’t shut up. Even though people tell him to. And that’s hard. We are so quick to fall into silence in general, worried about offending or hurting feelings or being rejected or whatever. And so when folks tell us to shut up, we’re all too quick to oblige. But Bartimaeus won’t. He is free. Free to defy his neighbors. Free to call for help. Free to make his needs known to Jesus. Free. Perhaps he’s suffered enough, or feels like there’s nothing left to lose, or just doesn’t care anymore. Or perhaps he just senses — or, really, sees — that in the presence of Jesus all the rules change and he is no longer “Blind Bartimaeus” but instead “Bartimaeus, Child of God.” Whatever the reason, he knows he is free and seizes his faith and his courage to live into that freedom and Jesus says that’s what made him well.
It’s about freedom.
"Faith is the electricity of the spirit."
From the Episcopal Cafe -"Bartimaeus -Speaking to the Soul: The real miracle"
"Healing of the Blind Man" – Carl Bloch
"After a lifetime of blindness, Bartimaeus cries out to Jesus in desperation. Jesus hears his cry. He clearly sees the blind man’s faith fighting through the darkness. Like Bartimaeus, we turn to Christ in disappointment and pain when all else has failed. Jesus is used to that. He knows our frailty, our shaky mix of fear and faith. And that’s as it should be. It is the human condition. Our faith is not a destination. It is a journey. And the journey is fraught with detours and potholes.
"First there are the roadblocks we build ourselves…our doubts, our inhibitions, our reluctance to let go and put things in God’s hands. Then there are the obstacles that others erect. Some were quick to tell Bartimaeus to pipe down and stop bothering Jesus. They thought Christ had better things to do than bother with this nuisance."
"Faith is the electricity of the spirit. It informs our hopes. It inspires our love. It is the foundation of the New Covenant. We do not come to God through genetic descent from Abraham. We come to God through our faith in Jesus Christ… through our belief in a miracle that took place 2000 years ago. Far greater than the discovery of electricity, the internet, the theory of relativity and the mechanics of the universe… all the acquired wisdom of the ages… far, far greater is the transformative miracle of faith."
Block Print by Mike Newman
Projects
| Green | Ordinary Time | Jun 3-Oct 31 | |
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. 21 – Oct. 28
|
21
|
|
|
22
|
|
|
23
|
Saint James of Jerusalem, Brother of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and Martyr, c. 62 |
|
24
|
Hiram Hisanori Kano, Priest, 1986 |
|
25
|
Tabitha (Dorcas) of Joppa |
|
26
26 |
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Scholar & Social Reformer, 1902 Alfred the Great, King of the West Saxons, 899 |
|
27
|
|
|
28
|
Saint Simon and Saint Jude, Apostles |