July 12 , 2020 – Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
Sites and smells of summer
The Week Ahead…
July 12 – Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
July 12 – 10:00am, Morning Prayer – Join here at 9:30am for gathering – service starts at 10am Meeting ID is 828 9779 0306 and the passcode is 037231
2. Readings and Prayers for Pentecost 6
July 12 – 11:15am – National Cathedral church service online
July 12 – 7:00pm, Evening Prayer at St. Peter’s
1. Bulletin for July 12, 7:00pm
2. Sermon for Pentecost 6, 7pm
July 15 – 10:00am – Ecumenical Bible Study through Zoom
July 19 – Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
July 19 – 10:00am – Join here at 9:30am for gathering – service starts at 10am Meeting ID 834 7356 6532 Password 748475
July 19 – 11:15am – National Cathedral church service online
July 19 – 7:00pm Evening Prayer at St. Peter’s
Sundays in July at 7pm
Masks must be worn and social distancing observed
Regathering details from the Diocese of Virginia
Read the document from the Diocese of Virginia on Phase II reopening
In the meantime can we have outdoor services ? YES
Read the document from the Diocese of Virginia on outdoor services
Lectionary, July 19, 2020, Pentecost 7, Proper 11, Year A
I.Theme – Conquering fear and uncertainty
"Parable of the Wheat and Tares" – Lucas Gassel, 1540
The lectionary readings are here or individually:
Old Testament – Isaiah 44:6-8
Psalm – Psalm 86:11-17 Page 710, BCP
Epistle –Romans 8:6-11
Gospel – Matthew 13:24-30,36-43
These texts speak eloquently to the problem of fear, and fear is what many people are currently experiencing. We are confronted with fear in our jobs, our homes and our world. It is ever present and diverts us from productive activities. Despite our increasing knowledge and interconnectedness, fear is very much a part of our world and maybe even more in the last generation. We look to someone, something for security.
So what causes the fear ? There is an “enemy” in each of these readings – Isaiah – Babylonians since the Jews were in captivity, Psalm – by a force that nearly killed the writer – Romans – “flesh” Gospel – “Devil” . In the latter we can be our own worst enemy by our propensity to judge others. The truth is that none of us are qualified to judge, only God has that privilege! The Gospel also emphasizes that it is often difficult tell the good from the bad and separate them. The Psalm indicate our enemies cause us to turn from God. We feel the absence of God’s grace and we petition for this to return.
The readings emphasize that God is with us in all the things of our lives and is involved with us throughout our lives helping through his Spirit to maximise our potential. We will not be abandoned!
There is no guarantee that God who will step in and magically fix everything, but God is intimately present and actively at work in our lives, taking what is and steadfastly aiming at what can be. This process of transformation is not always something we can see, but something we can trust. And trust, like hope, is the divine alternative to fear. Isaiah maybe expresses the best of all – “Is there any god besides me ? There is no other rock; I know not one."
The Gospel this week contains the parable of the weeds, following closely on the parable of the sower last week. Weeds grow amids the harvest. It is difficult to separate them. Jesus emphasized that the pure and impure, righteous and unrighteous exist together and there is no way to separate them. Indeed we need to work hard with all. The mission should be to spread the Gospel and not worry about the weeds. All will be sorted out in God’s time and not ours. And we shouldn’t judge – it is difficult to figure out if they are weeds.
In Paul’s terms, it’s all a matter of how we live. We should live by the spirit and its values. The crucial point is the realization that we are children of God that will propel us into new life. The idea of “new life” can be approached in three ways: in eschatological, evolutionary, or worldly terms. Each is full of promise. The implication is that when we know, really know, who we are as children of God, we will act differently, and creation itself will be set free from its bondage—a condition resulting from the Fall, or, stated differently, from our misuse and exploitation.
In the midst of all this there will be suffering. Paul talks about the the mutual suffering of all creation: the whole creation that groans together and suffers together, "and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies."
The Old Testament readings prop this up with images. Isaiah uses the "rock" drawn from Deuteronomy-connoting stability, security, safety. The Psalm emphasizes God’s love and ability to teach us the ways, listening to our petitions. We request a sign of God’s favor to us based on the fact that God has helped and conforted us in the past.
Celebrating the Human Spirit
Remembering Raoul Wallenberg and the "Righteous Gentiles"
July 9th is the anniversary to the day of Raoul Wallenberg’s arrival in Budapest in 1944 to begin a rescue mission that would result in his saving 100,000 Jewish lives. On that day in 2014, Wallenberg received posthumously the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award of the US.
Links:
1. More about the "Righteous Gentiles"
2. Congressional Luncheon honoring the Raoul Wallenberg Foundation
3. US Holocaust Museum article on Wallenberg
Moving speech from Stuart Scott in winning the JimmyV perseverance award
Stuart, an ESPN host since 1993, was recognized towards the end of the ESPY awards show for his efforts in sports journalism. He has been battling a rare form of cancer for 7 years. He won the JimmyV Perseverance Award.
For Scott, giving up is not an option; he has refused to backdown. He has not allowed the disease to dictate how he lived. Fighting is winning and not quitting.
He has continued his work as an announcer with ESPN through it all doing what he loves and remaining a devoted father at the same time.
Here is his story and speech this week. We keep him in our prayers.
Jim Valvano’s acceptance speech in 1993 in accepting the inaugural Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award is moving now as it was then. He died only months later.
Valvano was a legendary coach at NC State and later announcer. His speech at the 10th anniversary of that institution’s university’s 1983 NCAA championship stressed the importance of hope, love and persistence, and included his famous "Don’t give up, don’t ever give up" quotation.
Other Voices on the Human spirit
"The greatest achievement of the human spirit is to live up to one’s opportunities and make the most of one’s resources."- Luc de Clapiers
" Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit."- e. e. cummings
" Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us." -Wilma Rudolph
" It is inevitable that some defeat will enter even the most victorious life. The human spirit is never finished when it is defeated… it is finished when it surrenders." – Ben Stein
Make a Gift Today! 2. Contact the Rev Catherine Hicks, Rector 4. Server Schedule July 2020 5. Latest Newsletter-the Parish Post (July , 2020) 6. Calendar 9. Sunday Bulletin (July 19, 2020 10:00am), and Sermon,10am (July 12, 2020) 10. Sunday Bulletin (July 12, 2020 7:00pm), and Sermon,7pm (July 12, 2020) 11. Recent Services: Readings and Prayers, Pentecost 3, June 21, 2020 Readings and Prayers, Pentecost 4, June 28, 2020 |
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Saints of the Week, – July 12 – July 19, 2020
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12
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Nathan Soderblom, Archbishop of Uppsala and Ecumenist, 1931 |
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13
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Conrad Weiser, Witness to Peace and Reconciliation, 1760 |
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[Argula von Grumbach], Scholar & Church Reformer, c.1554 Samson Occum, Pastor & Missionary, 1792 |
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15
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16
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"The Righteous Gentiles" |
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17
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William White, Bishop of Pennsylvania, 1836 |
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18
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Bartolomé de las Casas, Priest and Missionary, 1566 |
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19
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Macrina of Caesarea, Monastic and Teacher, 379 |