#One Year Lectionary

[a-queer-seminarian]

Today is Easter Sunday. Today is Trans Day of Visibility. Today is day 176 of genocide.

This year the lectionary gives us Mark's account of the Resurrection, with its fearful cliffhanger ending — an empty tomb, but Jesus's body missing. And isn't that unresolved note fitting?

In the face of so much suffering across the world, it feels right to be compelled to sit — even on this most jubilant of days — with the poor and disenfranchised in their continued suffering.

Mark's account:

Just days before, the women closest to Jesus witnessed him slowly suffocate to death on a Roman cross. Now, now trudge to his tomb to anoint his corpse — and find the stone rolled away, his body gone. A strange figure inside tells them that Jesus is has risen, and will reunite with them in Galilee.

They respond not with joy, but trembling ekstasis — a sense of being beside yourself, taken out of your own mind with shock. They flee.

The women keep what they've seen and heard to themselves — because their beloved friend outliving execution is just too good to be true. When does fortune ever favor those who languish under Empire's shadow?

Love wins, yet hate still holds us captive.

I'm grateful that Mark's resurrection story is the one many of us are hearing in church this year. His version emphasizes the "already but not yet" experience of God's liberation of which theologians write: Christians believe that in Christ's incarnation — his life, death, and resurrection — all of humanity, all of Creation is already redeemed... and yet, we still experience suffering. The Kin(g)dom is already incoming, but not yet fully manifested.

Like Mark's Gospel with its Easter joy overshadowed by ongoing fear, Trans Day of Visibility is fraught with the tension of, on the one hand, needing to be seen, to be known, to move society from awareness into acceptance into celebration; and, on the other hand, grappling with the increased violence and bigotry that a larger spotlight brings.

The trans community intimately understands the intermingling of life and death, joy and pain.

When we manage to roll back the stones on our tombs of silence and shame, self-loathing and social death, and stride boldly into new, transforming and transformative life — into trans joy! — death still stalks us.

We are blessedly, audaciously free — and we are in constant danger. There are many who would shove us back into our tombs.

And of course, the trans community is by no means alone in experiencing the not-yet-ness of God's Kin(g)dom.

Empire's violence continues to overshadow God's liberation.

The women who came to tend to their beloved dead initially experienced the loss of his body as one more indignity heaped upon them by Empire. Was his torture, their terror, not enough, that even their grief must be trampled upon, his corpse stolen away from them?

The people of Gaza are undergoing such horrors now. Indignity is heaped on indignity as they are bombed, assaulted, terrorized, starved, mocked. They are not given a moment's rest to tend to their dead. They are not permitted to celebrate Easter's joy as they deserve. They are forced to break their Ramadan fasts with little more than grass.

Those of us who reside in the imperial core — as I do as a white Christian in the United States — must not look away from the violence our leaders are funding, enabling, justifying.

We must not celebrate God's all-encompassing redemption without also bearing witness to the ways that liberation is not yet experienced by so many across the world.

This Easter, I pray for a free Palestine. I pray for an end to Western Empire, the severing of all its toxic tendrils holding the whole earth in a death grip.

I pray that faith communities will commit and recommit themselves to helping roll the stones of hate and fear away — and to eroding those stones into nothing, so they cannot be used to crush us once we've stepped into new life.

I pray for joy so vibrant it washes fear away, disintegrates all hatred into awe.

In the meantime, I pray for the energy and courage to bear witness to suffering; for the wisdom for each of us to discern our part in easing pain; for God's Spirit to reveal Xirself to and among the world's despised, over and over — till God's Kin(g)dom comes in full at last.

"The Empty Tomb" by artist He Qi.

[nerdanel01]

No. 6 - Lectionary Pursuits (NSFW/18+)

It was hell; it was heaven; the warm ooze and drip of her around his half-swollen cock (the firmness of which had flagged, somewhat, in the lack of attention or stimulation Rook had been offering it—but if she had noticed, she seemed unbothered by it; she had kept him still sheathed securely inside her warmth) and the siren-like look at her eyes as she stared at him hungrily over the top of the pages. By now, Emmrich was not reading, not really—he was just using his eyes to recognize sound-shapes on a page, and using his tongue and his lips and his teeth to pass those same sound-shapes through his mouth. That language passed through him without leaving the faintest impression on him, without remotely registering in the cognitive centers of his brain; he was simply a transmitter, focused on the barest essentials of his task while every other iota of self-control and attention and discipline he could muster was being used to resist the urge to start driving his hips upward against hers. He could feel a flushed heat in his cheeks, in his neck; he was sure he was red. She was warm in his lap and his legs were shaking underneath her with every minute shift of her hips, any adjustment in her posture on top of him. The quirk of her smile—

The self-satisfied grin imploded on Rook’s face as it tightened, eyes screwed shut; she dampened a strangled cry through clenched teeth, resolved the sound into a hiss. Emmrich was on the verge of keening himself, with the sudden flood of warmth and wetness that gushed out of her, smearing across his groin and trickling between his legs. 

“I said behave, ” Rook told him, between deep breaths to steady herself, “or I won’t let you cum at all.”

“I am, dear,” Emmrich said, blinking at her in wide-eyed innocence. “Or, I genuinely thought that I was…?”

Rook let out a little huff, half amusement, half disbelief. Her best shorthand for, ‘get a load of this crap.’ One hand released the book to land, ever so lightly, on his stomach. “That wasn’t you flexing?” she asked him, running her fingers down the quicksilver path of hair that traced from his navel to his hips. “Misbehaving, making your cock jump inside of me?”

Andraste forgive him, but he loved the sound of the word ‘cock’ in her mouth, crass as it was—and this, in addition the teasing touch of her fingertips along his stomach was enough to have him swelling inside of her with renewed enthusiasm. Had he clenched his core, as she alleged, knowingly or unknowingly? “That—that wasn’t my intention.”

Rook huffed again. “Sure it wasn’t.” But whatever sudden rush of want or need had seized her then, she’d regained control of herself, now; her fingers traced back up his chest, circled pensively. A sudden gleam in her eye, she told him, “If you can make it to the end of the chapter without trying to fuck me again, I’ll start squeezing.”

[read full fic]

----

I’m really proud of all the writing I did this year! So for the last ten days of 2024 I’m going to be reblogging my 10 favorite pieces that I wrote. I put Emmrich and so many situations this year and not nearly enough of them were smutty, but I like to think that in the few times I did put him in spicy scenarios, I made it count. (:

[sgiandubh]

Spy Wednesday. Treason

Sidenote: Still very late with all this, but decided to keep the pace. Perhaps it is better like this, since this is the slightly haphazard result of scattered thoughts throughout the day and as such, a personal experience of it.

Obviously, powerful bystanders are not happy about Jesus entering Jerusalem at all, especially since this peculiar event coincided with the feast of Passover: 'and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death' (Mark, 14:1 - from Palm Sunday's reading). Just try and imagine the bureaucratic kerfuffle, the whispered speculations, the slow burn alarm building up in those circles. Political unrest, with a twist: local consensus was not enough - Rome had to be persuaded to step in, and it was everything but obvious. About all this, later this week: it is, to me at least, perhaps the most mysterious episode of the New Testament.

Judas Iscariot. Tragically instrumental to this plan, we know it. And treason, coupled with dark alley maneuvering, was the only way to make it happen. Treason: not betrayal or treachery, which are either too vaguely moral or too general - what is about to happen is a political assassination disguised as trial, followed by public torture as punishment.

This year's lectionary brings along a second, slightly alternate POV of the Last Supper, as related by Matthew Levi (my favorite), this time. Matthew, the tax collector, is a man acutely aware of the value of money and he is the only one to give us a very precise quotation of the reward Judas received from Caiaphas' middlemen: 'And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.' (Matthew, 26:15). Again, we have a very telling, albeit approximate, conversion in today's currency. Matthew's Greek text is very vague, in that respect. It speaks about 'silver' (coins), to an audience that immediately understood the value of it. And even if we will never know for sure if those coins were Ptolemaic (Egyptian) or Athenian (Greek) tetradrachms, Tyrian (in today's Lebanon) shekels or Antioch (Greek) staters, we can make a rough evaluation based on their actual weight and purity (isn't it ironic?).

Ready?

In 2024's value (based on the current JP Morgan's quotation of 30 USD/ounce), Judas Iscariot sold Jesus for an something that varies between 97,8 USD (if reward was received in Ptolemaic tetradrachms) to 472,8 USD (if the reward was received in Athenian tetradrachms). The median and geographically more plausible amount being of about 325,5 USD (for Antioch staters) or 380,7 USD (for Tyrian shekels).

I don't know about you, but what sickens me is the complete ludicrousness of this all. Think about what these money could buy in your respective worlds: would you do it?

Rhetorical question, of course. What is at stake, here, is not money. It's Power, in its political, appallingly punitive dimension the Romans called imperium, as opposed to the organic, ethical dimension they called auctoritas (and which we would translate by 'prestige' or 'influence'). With this deal, Judas hopes to save his life, soul be damned. Only to lose both, in complete, endless dishonor.

The day's somber and reflective sounds come from François Couperin's Première leçon de ténèbres pour le Mercredi saint (1714). Couperin was the Sun King's favorite harpsichordist and as such, was commissioned to arrange into music Jeremiah's lamentations, for the Holy Week liturgies of the Longchamp Royal Abbey. In a Baroque universe filled with light and joy and levity, these are the most dejected sounds perhaps ever written:

PS: I will try to catch up tonight. Pinky promise and thank you all for your patience (I never thought you'd like these, but here we are - still, the topic is a very difficult one, don't you think?).

[gisellelx]

Do you think Carlisle was still going to church even tho he was a vampire?

I've done a LOT of thinking and research about this, over the years, so apologies for the length here. I actually dropped most of my headcanon about this on the ole' sideblog not too long ago. But since I am 150% committed to the bit over there, there's no room for explaining why my reading leads to my writing that Carlisle thinks a particular way, since he presumably has no knowledge of the text.

A lot of misunderstandings about Carlisle's relationship with religion, IMO, come from trying to view him and his father through the lens of contemporary American evangelical Christianity. Evangelical Christians, as we know them in the US, are a very, very recent development--they date back to roughly the Regan era, and if they claim denominational affiliation (many do not), they are typically Pentecostal, Methodist, or Baptist.

Carlisle canonically is the son of an Anglican priest. This was the 1640s-1660s, and one of his scant human memories is of the Protectorate, meaning that either his father loved Cromwell or hated Cromwell. Given that, plus the rest of what we know about his dad--that he believed in evil, and hunted demons (anachronistic btw), it seems likely that he was a Puritan. Americans are familiar with the separating Puritans as part of our country's founding mythos--the settlers who came seeking freedom to practice their religion and you know whoops just accidentally did a genocide but not before having a big meal with the Wampanoag!

But there was a second set of nonseparating Puritans who stayed in England, and tried to reform the Anglican church from within. So if we take at face value that Carlisle remembers his father as "Anglican," plus the attitudes toward evil and strong memory of Cromwell, this is likely where Carlisle landed. His church upbringing would've been heavy on the fire and brimstone in the preaching, but still based on an order of worship derived from the Catholic service, with an order of confession, weekly readings from the Old and New Testaments according to the lectionary (as opposed to the modern nondenominational practice of reading whatever the heck the pastor feels like/following a newer bible reading schedule), the recitation of the Lord's Prayer and the creed, and music of psalmodys, occasional hymns, fractions and collects. Communion would've been celebrated frequently.

I suspect, that as a vampire, Carlisle still finds a great deal of solace in that worship pattern. It is one of the few things that is very little changed in his long life. I think he pops into an Episcopal church once every couple years, and when a congregation sings the oldest collects, it moves him to what otherwise would be tears because some deep part of his mind remembers the music the same way an elderly patient with dementia would.

So yes, I think he goes on occasion. I definitely meant this kind of as a shitpost when I wrote it, but it also rings true--he still takes seriously the trappings of the faith practices he grew up with. They are meaningful to him. I loved the new canon introduced in MS that he likes popping into churches when the family are out hunting because it felt very in character and also gives him a really delightful soft side.

He doesn't go often. He doesn't feel like he has to. But he still does find meaning in it all, and to him, it still matters.

[dutch-and-flemish-painters]

Albert Gregorius - Parable of the Prodigal Son -

The Parable of the Prodigal Son (also known as the parable of the Two Brothers, Lost Son, Loving Father, or of the Forgiving Father) is one of the parables of Jesus in the Bible, appearing in Luke 15:11–32. Jesus shares the parable with his disciples, the Pharisees, and others.

In the story, a father has two sons. The younger son asks for his portion of inheritance from his father, who grants his son's request. This son, however, is prodigal (i.e., wasteful and extravagant), thus squandering his fortune and eventually becoming destitute. As consequence, he now must return home empty-handed and intend to beg his father to accept him back as a servant. To the son's surprise, he is not scorned by his father but is welcomed back with celebration and a welcoming party. Envious, the older son refuses to participate in the festivities. The father tells the older son: "you are ever with me, and all that I have is yours, but your younger brother was lost and now he is found."

The Prodigal Son is the third and final parable of a cycle on redemption, following the parable of the Lost Sheep and the parable of the Lost Coin. In Revised Common Lectionary and Roman Rite Catholic Lectionary, this parable is read on the fourth Sunday of Lent (in Year C); in the latter it is also included in the long form of the Gospel on the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time in Year C, along with the preceding two parables of the cycle. In the Eastern Orthodox Church it is read on the Sunday of the Prodigal Son.

Albert Jacob Frans Gregorius, or Albert Jacques François Grégorius (26 October 1774, Bruges - 25 February 1853, Bruges) was a Flemish-Belgian portrait painter and Director of the art academy in Bruges.

[askcarlislecullen]

What's your relationship with religion and how has it changed over the years? Do you, still consider yourself religious, or follow any religion? How do you think, your history with religion has affected your life as a vampire, esp in the beginning?

Broadly, I still consider myself a follower of the Christian faith. I can still confess the Nicene creed and mean every word. I find the concept of a triune God intellectually fascinating and philosophically satisfying, and I still find an unusual degree of solace when I enter a church sanctuary—it is something I enjoy doing, and something which my children find equal parts amusing and annoying.

I was already rather at odds with the way my father practiced Christianity when I was a hot-headed young man, and when I entered my new life, I was highly susceptible to thinking more expansively about the role that belief ought to play in my life and in the world writ large. My new life has allowed me the time, resources, and intellectual capacity to explore things I would never have been able to as a human and to find value in far more belief systems than merely my own. And in the nearly three hundred eighty years I have lived, I have witnessed again and again the struggles borne of differences in belief, and as I have read and re-read the sacred texts I grew up with, and the sacred texts of those I was once taught were heretics, I have grown to believe that whatever it is that it is desired of us, it is not this violent disunity.

I worship formally infrequently; I devote only one night per year to the practice of prayer, though at times I pray spontaneously. I rarely attend a worship service, though as my wife noted recently, at times we attend on Easter. I don't make a regular habit of studying the Christian scriptures, but sometimes I read the week's lectionary because there's some very small part of my mind which remembers the rhythm of the cycle and finds comfort in it. But those practices are borne of my own particular history, and I long since have abandoned any idea that my own spiritual practice might be superior to those of any others. I may consider myself a Christian but I no longer—and if I am honest, never did—consider that path to be the only way to encounter the Divine.

Finally, becoming an immortal also allowed me to have a family. And in my love for them, I have come to more fully understand the relentless love of God. As a result, though it is by all accounts improbable, I try to live my life in response in fervent hope that the love I believe exists for humanity still somehow might exist for me.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

2nd December >> Mass Readings (GB)

Monday, First Week of Advent (C)

(Liturgical Colour: Violet. Year: C(I))

(The new Lectionary is here)

First Reading Isaiah 2:1-5 The Lord gathers all nations together into the eternal peace of the Kingdom of God.

The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say:

‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.’ For out of Sion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 122(121):1-2. 3-4a. 8-9. ℟ cf. 1

R/ Let us go rejoicing to the house of the LORD.

I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD.’ And now our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.

R/ Let us go rejoicing to the house of the LORD.

Jerusalem is built as a city bonded as one together. It is there that the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD.

R/ Let us go rejoicing to the house of the LORD.

For the sake of my family and friends, let me say, ‘Peace upon you.’ For the sake of the house of the LORD, our God, I will seek good things for you.

R/ Let us go rejoicing to the house of the LORD.

Gospel Acclamation Cf. Psalm 80(79):4

Alleluia, alleluia. Come and set us free, O Lord our God; let your face shine forth, and we shall be saved. Alleluia.

Gospel Matthew 8:5-11 ‘Many will come from east and west to the kingdom of heaven.’

At that time: When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, ‘Lord, my servant is lying paralysed at home, suffering terribly.’ And he said to him, ‘I will come and heal him.’ But the centurion replied, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, “Go”, and he goes, and to another, “Come”, and he comes, and to my servant, “Do this”, and he does it.’ When Jesus heard this, he marvelled and said to those who followed him, ‘Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[bwv572]

I play organ and plan the liturgy for each Friday evensong service here, and it always strikes me how miraculously everything appears to come together without any actual planning on my part.

To the unfamiliar, evensong begins with psalms, one reading from the old testament, followed by the canticle magnificat (the song Mary sang at the annunciation), one reading from the new testament, followed by the canticle nunc dimittis (the song Simeon sang at the presentation in the temple).

And all I do is just follow the daily lectionary, but it's amazing how all the readings fit both with each other, with the psalm, and with the canticles that follow them. The structure is so perfectly planned, or rather, preordained. That's why the Bible has always struck me as a perfect text, because of just how well each individual book and verse fits with the other surrounding books and verses.

And then to fit the themes even more, I add two hymns, one for the hour (a vesper or compline hymn) and one that ties together both readings thematically.

And when you pray the office like that, paying attention to the patterns and themes, there's this very peaceful sense that washes over you, it's like an immediate answer to a prayer, as the office itself is one long prayer.

And due to resources and lack of demand, we only do it once a week, but, really, it's supposed to be done everyday, and there are special collects for each day - but it also scales further, it's really supposed to be done seven times a day, with collects for each of the seven hours. If I didn't plan on getting married, I would love to live a monastic life, praying the office everyday seven times a day, and witnessing the patterns of the office play out hour by hour, day by day, week by week, month by month, season by season, year by year. That's the ultimate beauty of the liturgy.

[pastortomsteers]

The Third Sunday of Easter

April 14, 2024

Pastor Tom Steers

Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto

Lutheran Service Book

Divine Service III – Pages 184-202

OPENING HYMNN:  475                                                                                                             “Good Christian Friends, Rejoice and Sing”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwrOot61ETc

 

Pastor:  Halleluiah, Christ is risen!

Congregation:  He is risen indeed.  Halleluiah!

 

The Introit:

Psalm 133

                                                                                                                                Behold, how good and pleasant it is     when brothers dwell in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil on the head,     running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron,     running down on the collar of his robes!

3 It is like the dew of Hermon,     which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,     life forevermore.

 

The Salutation –                                                                                                                                   Pastor: The Lord be with you.                                                                                                     Congregation: And also with you. 

 

Collect Prayer:

O God, through the sacrifice of Your Son

You raised up the fallen world.

Through His death and resurrection,

He has earned us eternal life. 

Grant that on our walk through this life we bear witness to our Saviour;

through Jesus Christ, our Lord,

who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.    

                                                                                                                              Our Bible Readings:

First Reading – Acts 2:14a, 36-42 

Psalm 116, verses 1-14                             

Epistle Reading – 1st Peter 1:17-25

(This week we use the text from Luke on the Emmaus disciples. The three-year lectionary Gospel passage today is Luke’s account of Jesus’ appearance to the disciples, which we read of last week in John 20:19-31. The one-year lectionary text for today is the three-year lectionary Gospel passage for next Sunday, which we will have as our reading on April 21st.)  

Gospel Reading – Luke 24:13-35

THE APOSTLES’ CREED – Page 192

                                                                                                                               HYMN OF THE DAY:  476  “Who Are You Who Walk in Sorrow”

THE SERMON –

This road we call life is, at times, a difficult one.

We can feel alone, and even be led to despair, over hardship, disappointment, and loss.

The things we face in this world can cloud our vision, especially of the things of God.

We can become blind and forgetful of what God has said to us, and promised.

It was this way with two disciples of Jesus on the afternoon of the first Easter.

They were walking towards a town called Emmaus.

For some Christians, the Easter Gospel could very well begin with the words, “A long time ago in a place far away.”

Or in other words they’ve lost a personal connection to the resurrection.

For them it only has a past and future significance, but no present, every day value.

When life takes a downward turn, as it does from time to time, they don’t feel the presence of their Saviour, but are lost in the griefs of the day.

And they may try to fill this perceived void, what they feel is an absence of God, with a personal ‘works righteousness.’

Not seeing their Lord, not seeing the Gospel, they try to fill the emptiness with the Law of God.

What they say in effect is that while Christ is gone and we’re left to our own devices here’s what you need to do.

And it’s an attempt to fill the empty tomb of Jesus with a false belief that we must be perfect before Christ will reappear to us.

But this is what makes us as a Church, as Biblical Lutheran followers of Christ, different.

Because we not only celebrate a past event – the resurrection.

We don’t just say, ‘Christ is Risen,’ and gone back to heaven, and one day we’ll see Him again.

No, we celebrate the living, triumphant Jesus Christ.

As the Church we celebrate the marriage feast of the Bridegroom who laid down His life for us and in a very real and present way, is with us today: in Spirit, in His Holy Word, and in His Body and Blood in the Lord’s Supper.

Consider the Gospel account in today’s reading.

The two disciples on the road to Emmaus knew the Scriptures.

But they hadn’t really taken them in, they hadn’t truly understood them.

Because they didn’t see Jesus in them from start to finish.

And at first, they don’t see Christ in front of them on that road.

Physical sight alone, is not enough to recognize who Christ is.

Human reason is not sufficient to recognize Jesus as the Risen Saviour.

Christ had directly told the disciples He would die and rise again on the third day.

But until He appeared to them, they didn’t believe.

No, our eyes and ears must be opened by God Himself.

It took God’s only Son, Jesus to reveal His presence.

The hearts of the Emmaus disciples burned with joy as they understood the Scriptures when explained by Christ.

Here is one of many places where Jesus tells us how to interpret the Bible correctly.

Jesus tells us that if you do not see the Bible as God’s Word and see Him throughout it you get lost on the road; you won’t see Christ even when He’s right   in front of you.

As Lutherans we believe that from the very first verses of Moses through to the prophets and all Scripture, God’s Holy Word is about Jesus.

He’s there in the Garden of Eden in God’s promise that a Saviour would come.

He’s present throughout the Old Testament, as well as the New.

It’s all about our Saviour, for us.

When Jesus is the key to scripture the Bible is not a tangled dead-end road.

When Jesus is the key to scripture, we understand God’s Law is a mirror that shows us our sin and a guide for us, but not the means of salvation.

Jesus used the scriptures to reassure the grieving, despairing Emmaus disciples.

They thought they’d been left alone.

But Christ shows them the crucifixion was not the end of the dreams and hopes of His followers.

The cross was part of the plan of redemption, of real freedom for every nation, every human being.

Christ explained that the cross was the instrument of salvation in paying our sin debt.

If there was no crucifixion, there would be no resurrection, for Jesus, or us.

Perhaps one of the best statements on this comes from the end of last week’s Gospel reading, in John, Chapter 20 (verses 30-31), when the Apostle wrote:

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, but these things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”

But for the Emmaus disciples until Christ took the bread and blessed it, as He did on the night of the Last Supper, that their eyes of faith were opened.

It took Christ Himself to open their eyes and minds, to accept that their living Saviour was there with them.

It’s the same for us.

When He instituted the Lord’s Supper Christ told us, ‘As often as you do this remember me, remember what I’ve said, remember what it means – He gave them the bread and said, “this is my body.”

He gave them the wine and said, “This is my blood shed for You for the remission of sins.”

Remember that in this Sacrament Christ is saying I remain with you, forgiving you.

And so, on this evening of Easter, three days after the crucifixion, the risen Lord

is with His disciples again.

He reveals Himself in the breaking of the bread, then vanished from their sight.

Notice that John doesn’t write Christ was no longer with them, but just that they could no longer see Him.

He was still, truly with them, in Spirit.

He had told them again, how he would remain to be with us.

Brothers and sisters, today, through the eyes of faith, we see Jesus with us again in His Holy Word, and will see Him in His Sacrament as we come to the altar for Communion.

We are not alone.

We have not been left as orphans.

Christ said, ‘lo I am with you always even unto the end of the world.’

This is the joy of Easter.

It’s not only a commemoration, but a true celebration of His resurrection and current presence with us.

In churches that do not honour the Lord’s Supper, they behave as though only moral perfection will earn you a ticket to see Christ again.

In churches that have gone back to the way of the Pharisees in seeing the Law as a way of self-justification they cannot see the risen, and forgiving Saviour with them. 

But Christ came to fulfill the Law in a way we can’t, and promises to be with believing Christians, forgiving us, imperfect though we are.

And although the difficulties on the road of life are still there, the end for us isn’t death.  

As the Bible says, ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’

Jesus is with us not only on Ester Sunday but in every ordinary day, in every pain and sorrow, and whenever we gather together in worship.

Our prayers are not long-distance letters but heard instantly by the ever-present God who loves us and wants to hear from us, wants to reassure, and comfort us.

The Emmaus disciples had been on a long walk when they arrived at their destination and sat down with Jesus.

But when they realized He was with them, they forgot their weariness, they forgot the late hour, and got up and walked back to Jerusalem.

They found the other disciples and told them they’d seen Jesus.

May God grant you the opened eyes and ears of faith to always recognize that Your Saviour is with you.

And may that knowledge, joy, and peace, be with you, now, and forever.

Amen.

THE PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH 

THE SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT

P:  Blessed are You O Lord, our God, king of the universe, for you have had mercy on us and given Your only-begotten Son that whoever believes in Him  should not perish but have eternal life. 

C:  We give You thanks Father for the redemption You have prepared for us through Jesus Christ. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may faithfully take communion and receive the blessings of forgiveness, life, and salvation that come from the body and blood of Christ.

P:  Father, hear us as we pray as Jesus taught us.

LORD’S PRAYER

C:  Our Father, who art in heaven,  hallowed be Thy name,                                                                                                      Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;                                                                give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation,                                                                     but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

Preface                                                                                                         

P:  The Lord be with you.

C:  And also with you.

P:  Lift up your hearts.

C:  We lift them to the Lord.

P:  Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

C:  It is right to give Him thanks and praise.

P:  It is truly meet, right, and salutary, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks to you, O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty and Everlasting God. For in the mystery of the Word made flesh, You have given us a new revelation of Your glory; that seeing You in the Person of Your Son, we may be drawn to the love of those things which are not seen.

The Words of Our Saviour

Instituting The Lord`s Supper – Page 197

P:  The peace of the Lord be with you always.

C: Amen.

Lamb of God (Agnus Dei)

P: Lamb of God You take away the sin of the world,

C: Have mercy on us.

P: Lamb of God You take away the sin of the world,

C: Have mercy on us.

P: Lamb of God You take away the sin of the world,

C: Grant us peace.

The Distribution

(Our hymn during distribution is 627 “Jesus Christ. Our Blessed Saviour”)

Post Communion Collect (Right-hand column)  Page 201 of our Hymnal 

Salutation and Benedicamus    Page 201

Benediction  (stand)                    Page 202

Our Closing Hymn:  879  “Stay with Us”

[mademoisellesarcasme]

musings on a specific catholic job i have right now

okay so i am very busy this month and one of my jobs is proofreading a lectionary for a Maronite monastery, the abbot of which I met on a retreat in 2019. (He's very lovely and wonderful company.)

I, a Roman Rite Catholic in the wool, have been to a Maronite service twice, and one of those was because Abbot P asked me and my husband to read for him as he said his required daily Mass (yes I know Mass comes from the Latin and it's probably more properly called Liturgy just. cut me some slack here)

anyway! the Lectionary is their Gospel readings for the year and it is. SO MUCH FUN. Some weeks are lectio continua and some weeks are thematic and GOSH i love working with the actual religious texts of the things intended for the faithful to pray with/on it's just so much more fulfilling than all the intellectual commentary i do/did for other publishers

I still don't want to be full-time in the Catholic world -- it's always got something wrong with it, and I don't love the infighting -- but gosh if I have to keep taking jobs from them in order to pay my bills I am always, always, always happy to take jobs working with the text of the liturgy.

(I also do hymns. That's considerably less fulfilling, I must say.)

[a-queer-seminarian]

A Queer Look at Hagar's Story

A short reflection on this Sunday's lectionary text, Genesis 21:8-21

Name changes occur throughout scripture, but there is only one instance in which a human being directly names God!

That person is Hagar — the woman enslaved and then cast off by God’s own chosen people, yet who recognizes God's solidarity with her in a way that resonates with many marginalized folk, including queer & trans people of faith.

Back in Genesis 16, Hagar is forced to conceive a child with Abraham — her bodily autonomy denied — and then suffers abuse at Sarah's hand so painful that she prefers almost-certain death in the wilderness. While waiting to die, God comes to her, nourishes her, encourages her with the promise of a better future. For a time, Hagar must return to her oppressors.

This is a hard message, but It may resonate with queer and trans people who make the hard choice to find what safety they can while in the closet, or who choose to remain in relationship with family or faith communities that have caused them harm.

It also isn't the end of Hagar’s story: when the time is right, God leads her out — as told in this week’s text in Genesis 21.

Sarah continues to abuse Hagar, with Abraham as a passive bystander and enabler. In a society where only one of Abraham's sons can inherit his wealth and blessing, Sarah sees Hagar's son Ishmael as a threat to her son Isaac, simply by existing! In our own day and age, this myth of scarcity persists, causing us to hoard resources and compete needlessly.

Sarah cannot stand to see Hagar's child playing with her own son — as if they were equals! As if a slave boy should be having a moment of fun! She reads something sinister into the play — not unlike how some people today read sinister things into queer play, into drag queens and gender expansive youth.

Having convinced herself that Hagar and her son are a threat, Sarah gets Abraham to cast them out.

But again, God is with the outcast; God comes again to Hagar, who in Genesis 16 had given God the name El Roi — "God sees me.” This God is the god of her oppressors, yet Hagar recognizes that this god is her God as well! This god is a God who sees the suffering of the lowest of society, and responds.

God sees queer and trans people, too. God is our God, too — those who hate us do not have a monopoly on the Divine!

And God walks with us through every struggle, fueling us to fight the good fight and promising blessings to come.

___

Questions for reflection:

When have you witnessed God coming to the Hagars in our midst?

When has your community behaved like Abraham & Sarah, hoarding God's love as if there were not blessing enough to go around?

Can you imagine a world in which Sarah, Abraham, and Hagar meet again? What would Hagar need to feel safe to meet with her former abusers? What would Sarah & Abraham need to do to make things right?

___

Further Reading

Queer-specific resources:

Article: Out in Scripture's commentary for Proper 7 of year A, "Claiming God's Promise in the Midst of Exile" — connecting Hagar to supportive parents of LGBT children

Podcast episode: "Hagar and the Caravan" — connecting Hagar's story to that of Latin American trans women se"eking asylum

Essay: "Intersex Foremother and Forefather" — ancient texts suggesting that Abraham and Sarah were intersex

Other resources:

Sermon: "No Good Patriarchs: Solidarity with Hagar" — Exploring the messiness of how one person can embody both oppressor & oppressed, and how "good" people buy into unjust systems

Article: "Jesus and Hagar: the Form of a Slave" — Wil Gafney's connection between Hagar and Mary the mother of Jesus, through a womanist lens

Affirmation of Faith: "God of Hagar, Ishmael, Sarah, Abraham — God of oppressor and oppressed"

Essay: "Hagar and Sarah: Was Reconciliation Ever a Possibility?" — Exploring various writers' visions of what a meeting between these two women could look like

Video: Teaching children the story of Hagar, with an interfaith focus

Essay: connecting Hagar and Ishamel to the Genesis 22 story of Abraham nearly sacrificing Isaac

[rivikah]

Anger

#Lectionary Post:

We’re into the Sermon on the Mount. In this particular segment Jesus attempts to unsettle his audience by telling them its not enough to just refrain from murdering people. How you treat others still matters even if no one ends up dead, even if you never come to blows. But somehow, over the last couple thousand years, its been turned into a way to treat people badly while silencing your…

[childofchrist1983]

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. - 1 John 1:5 KJV

This is one of my favorite hymns, the second line being "I want to follow Jesus". In the common lectionary, today is the fast of St. John the Evangelist. Tradition always pictures this Apostle as a young man, and if he lived into the second century, or close to it, he must have been pretty young when he joined his brother James to follow Jesus Christ.

Jesus tells us that we must become as little children with their innocence and ability to believe if we want to enter eternal life with Him. This is such an appropriate feast to celebrate so soon after Christmas as this is a season that children of all ages enjoy. I know that my friends and I take a night every year before Christmas and go out to look at the lights on the homes in surrounding neighborhoods. And we are far, far, far away from being children! In the dark of winter, these truly symbolize the light of Christ coming into the world.

Jesus Christ, as our Savior and our light, shines on the path we are called to follow and also shows us the areas of darkness we need to eliminate if we are not going to stumble on that path. John talks about Christ as the light in both his gospel in the Holy Bible and his letters to remind us we need Jesus' guidance as we journey towards Him and walk as children in His light. We want to follow Jesus, but we need His light shining before us so that we are able to see the way. May we keep our eyes on Him, always and forever!

May we make sure that we give our hearts and lives to God and take time daily to seek and praise Him and share His Truth with the world. May the LORD our God and Father in Heaven help us to stay diligent and obedient and help us to guard our hearts in Him and His Word daily. May He help us to remain faithful and full of excitement to do our duty to Him and for His glorious return and our reunion in Heaven as well as all that awaits us there. May we never forget to thank the LORD our God and our Creator and Father in Heaven for all this and everything He does and has done for us! May we never forget who He is, nor forget who we are in Christ and that God is always with us! What a mighty God we serve! What a Savior this is! What a wonderful Lord, God, Savior and King we have in Jesus Christ! What a loving Father we have found in the Almighty God! What a wonderful God we serve! His will be done!

Thanks and glory be to God! Blessed be the name of the LORD! Hallelujah and Amen!

[athis3]

Lectionary, in Christianity, a book containing portions of the Bible appointed to be read on particular days of the year. The word is also used for the list of such Scripture lessons. The early Christians adopted the Jewish custom of reading extracts from the Old Testament on the Sabbath. They soon added extracts from the writings of the Apostles and Evangelists, which later would be formalized in the canon of Scripture as the Gospels and epistles. During the 3rd and 4th centuries several systems of lessons were devised for churches of various localities. One of the first attempts for a diocese to fix definite readings for special seasons during the year was made by Musaeus of Marseille in the mid-5th century.

At first, the lessons were marked off in the margins of manuscripts of the Scriptures. Later, special lectionary manuscripts were prepared, containing in proper sequence the appointed passages. The Greek Orthodox Church developed two forms of lectionaries, one (Synaxarion) arranged in accord with the ecclesiastical year and beginning with Pascha (Easter) and the other (Mēnologion) arranged according to the civil year (beginning September 1) and commemorating the festivals of various saints and churches. Other national churches produced similar volumes. Among the Western churches during the medieval period, the ancient usage at Rome prevailed, with its emphasis on Advent.

During the 16th-century Reformation the Lutherans and Anglicans made changes in the Roman Catholic lectionaries. Martin Luther was dissatisfied with the choice of many of the lessons from the epistles in the Roman system, and he included a greater proportion of doctrinal passages. In the Anglican church the first edition of The Book of Common Prayer (1549) assigned for each day a passage of the Old Testament and the New Testament to be read at both the morning and evening services. Nearly all the saints’ days were dropped, and the new system assigned chapters of the Bible to be read consecutively.

In 1963 the Second Vatican Council allowed the introduction of the vernacular in the variable parts of the Roman Catholic liturgy, including the scriptural readings of the mass (the liturgy of the Word). A complete revision of the missal, carried out by a postconciliar commission, resulted in a three-year lectionary known as the Ordo Lectionum Missae (1969). This lectionary is arranged in two cycles, one for Sundays and another for weekdays. The Sunday cycle is divided into three liturgical years, labeled A, B, and C. Each Sunday usually has a reading from the Old Testament, a semicontinuous reading from one of the epistles, and a Gospel reading. Year A mostly features the Gospel According to Matthew; Year B reads through the Gospel According to Mark; and Year C showcases the Gospel According to Luke. The Gospel According to John is read during the Easter season in all three years. After three years the cycle starts over again.

The weekday cycle is divided into two years: Year I (odd-numbered years, such as 2023, 2025, etc.) and Year II (even-numbered years, such as 2024, 2026, etc.); the year of the cycle changes on the first Sunday of Advent. The first reading on weekdays may be taken from the either the Old or the New Testament, and usually a single scriptural book is read semicontinuously until it is finished and then a new book is started. The Gospel readings for both years are the same and are also read semicontinuously, beginning with Mark, then Matthew and Luke. As with the Sunday cycle, the Gospel According to John is read during the Easter season. In addition to the Sunday and weekday cycles, the Roman Catholic lectionary also provides readings for the feasts of major saints, for common celebrations such as Marian feasts, for ritual masses such as weddings and funerals, and for various other needs.

Present-day liturgists in many denominations have been active in revising traditional lectionary systems. Many Protestant churches in the United States and other English-speaking areas use the Revised Common Lectionary (1992). A previous version, the Common Lectionary, was assembled in 1983. Both versions are three-year lectionaries that function similarly to the Roman Catholic system.

pentecost (the descent of the holy spirit upon mary and the apostles in jerusalem)

illustration from a gospel lectionary, constance (?), c. 1470-80

source: St. Gallen, Stiftsbibl., Cod. Sang. 368, p. 44

[discoveringthebible]

Advent 1 Year C 2024

In the Episcopal Church, we use a lectionary. Essentially, it is a Bible reading plan than covers the span of 3 years. We read 4 passages of Scripture every Sunday: Old Testament, a Psalm, a New Testament and a Gospel Passage. (I should mention that this does not quite cover the entire Bible, but covers most of the Bible if you participate weekly in church services over the course of 3 years. It even includes a bit of the Apocrypha.)

Beginning this Sunday, December 1st 2024, we start a new Church year. For our lectionary, we are beginning Year 3 (Also known as Year C) in our Lectionary plan.

While I still have a long way to go to become an ordained Deacon in the Episcopal Church, my previous experience within the Church of the Nazarene has helped lay a foundation for writing sermons. And while there are some differences between the Church of the Nazarene and the Episcopal Church in their styles and lengths of their messages, (and their theology) this is my first real 'crack' at writing an Episcopal Homily (the proper Episcopalian term for sermon).

I thought as a new church year starts, I will try to get back into regular writing and sermon preparation that I used to do (mostly before COVID) to get back into the habit and continuing to build my skills so that when I do attend Seminary, I will feel more confident.

To make this a little bit more appropriate, I will start by listing all 4 Lectionary passages from Avent 1 Year C (and the prayer) for those who are not familiar with them. My message is based upon the Gospel passage.

The Collect (pronounced call-ecked)

AKA the Morning Prayer

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit; one God, now and for ever. Amen.

(All Scriptures passages are from the NRSV: The New Revised Standard Version)

Old Testament: Jeremiah 33:14-16:

The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice which it will be called: "The LORD is our righteousness."

The Psalm: Psalm 25:1-9

[When reading the Psalm in the Church, a person starts, then the congregation joins in after the asterisk *]

Ad te, Domine, levavi

1: To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul; my God, I put my trust in you;*

let me not be humiliated, nor let my enemies triumph over me.

2: Let none who look to you be put to shame;*

let the treacherous be disappointed in their schemes.

3: Show me your ways, O LORD, *

and teach me your paths.

4: Lead me in your truth and teach me,*

for you are the God of my salvation; in you have I trusted all the day long.

5: Remember, O LORD, your compassion and love,*

for they are from everlasting.

6: Remember not the sins of my youth and my transgressions;*

remember me according to your love and for the sake of your goodness, O LORD.

7: Gracious and upright is the LORD;*

therefore he teaches sinners in his way.

8: He guides the humble in doing right*

and teaches his way to the lowly.

9: All the paths of the LORD are love and faithfulness*

to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

The New Testament: 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you? Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and restore whatever is lacking in your faith.

Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for you. And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

The Gospel: Luke 21:25-36:

25: Jesus said, "There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth: distress among the nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.

26: People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

27: Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory.

28: Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

29: Then he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees, 30: as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. 31: So also, when you see these things take place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32: Truly, I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. 33: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 34: Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, 35: like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. 36: Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."

Homily:

Happy Advent! Happy New Year!!

I realize we are only on December 1st, but in the Christian calendar, it is the beginning of a new year!

Advent is the preparation season for Christmas and Christ's coming to Earth. It begins the Sunday closest to November 30th, and lasts through Christmas Eve on December 24th.

Each week we light a candle on the Advent wreath, and each candle represents something. On Advent 1, which is today, it symbolizes hope.

Advent 2, next week, symbolizes love.

Advent 3 symbolizes joy and Advent 4 symbolizes peace.

Our Gospel message, Luke 21: 25-36, on the surface seems to be a weirdly uncomfortable and unrelated message to Advent: 'fear and foreboding'; 'the powers of heaven will be shaken'; 'heaven and earth passing away'; and 'pray that you may have the strength to escape all the things that will take place.'

I mean, it sounds like doom and gloom to me!

Taking the context of this passage, along with the message of the rest of the Bible, we see from the very beginning that God had a glorious and wonderful vision of humanity in the Garden of Eden. No sin, no shame, walking, physically, with God. When sin entered the world, God could no longer be with us, as our perfect and sinless God, could not be near sin. At the end of the Bible, we see the restoration of humanity, earth and God, being reconciled and united again, restoring that perfect life from the Garden.

And right now, we are stuck somewhere in the middle. And while it will be absolutely devastating on humanity's part, there will be a time when everything will be restored back to God's original plan.

And herein lies the hope.

Not only to hope in this year's season of Advent as we await Christmas Day, but also our hope in waiting for Christ's second coming.

Many people believe we are in the End Times right now. Global warming, the Israeli conflict, the war in Ukraine, the droughts, floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc.

Just in my lifetime (I was born in 1988), I have lived through several events that people claimed would be the end of the world: Y2K (For those who don't know, it was believed computers would not be able to process the century change and that we would experience a global collapse because technology would stop working. Best Buy ran an ad that advised everyone to turn off all electrical devices before 11:59pm on December 31st 1999 to prevent that. Funnily enough, on January 1st 2000, we turned on our family computer, and it read January 1st 1900. And the world did not collapse.

Next, we had 12/12/12. At this point I was in college. The fear was that after 12/12/12, the Mayan calendar expired and thus, it was believed that was when the Mayan's predicted the end of the world. It ended up just being a normal Wednesday.

After that, we had 09/23/2017, when a televangelist convinced many people around the world that he cracked the code in the 12th Chapter of Revelation and that the world was going to end. While that turned out to be false, there did happen to be a devastating earthquake in Mexico that day, killing over 300 people. It also was the day when the Antilles Islands were devastated by Hurricane Maria, a category 5 hurricane that killed 37.

And of course, we had the worldwide shut down due to the COVID-SARS virus beginning March 15th 2020. It lasted for 10 months, ending on January 25th 2021. I heard many conservative Christians say that the COVID virus was because of humanity's sin and that God was "thinning out humanity." To date, over 7 million people died around the world from the virus and over 704 million people have been confirmed to have had the virus. I personally know this number to be higher as I never recorded my covid case in February 2022, I self-diagnosed and self-treated at home.

Since Jesus' ministry on earth, 2,000 years ago, people have been saying that the earth is ending. And most likely, we will continue to be saying so in the future.

Our Gospel message gives us instructions for what we are to do when the end of the world does come. I believe we should be focusing on these instructions, NOT on the signs. For it is in these instructions that we find hope. As humans, we tend to focus on everything that goes wrong--I encourage us, myself included, that we need to look for the hope, the healing, the restoration, the reunion that we are going to have with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

I believe verse 34, from our Gospel passage, is extremely important: "Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life and that day does not catch you unexpectedly."

There are so many worries and stresses of this life, and when we begin to focus on the past and/or the future, that just increases our worries, and raises our blood pressure. Jesus tells us in Matthew chapter 6: "So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today."

Instead of looking toward the future in dissipation, let us look with hope and anticipation. Let us continue in learning and growing in our relationship with Jesus. Let us become more open and loving toward our neighbors, being Jesus' hands and feet on earth.

The world is presently suffering, and it is easy for us, who have the eternal hope of Christ to join them. Instead of us joining them in their grief and trouble, let us share the hope they so desperately need.

As we begin a new Church year, I encourage all of us to help bring hope, love, joy and peace to our neighbors who so desperately need it. We cannot change the world, but we can change a person's perspective to it.

There is an inspirational story I want to share with you. You probably have heard it before, but I think it bears repeating:

Once upon a time, there was an elderly man who used to go to the ocean. He had a habit of walking along the beach every morning.

One morning, after a large storm had passed, he saw that the beach was littered with starfish--as far as the eye could see.

Off in the distance, the man noticed a young boy approaching. As the boy walked, he paused every so often and as he grew closer, the man could see that the boy was throwing objects into the sea.

The man called out, "Good morning! May I ask what it is you are doing?" The boy paused, looked up and said, "Throwing starfish into the ocean. The tide has washed them ashore. They cannot return to the sea by themselves. When the sun gets high, they will die, unless I throw them back into the water."

The man replied, "But there must be tens of thousands of starfish on this beach. I'm afraid you won't be able to make much of a difference."

The boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it as far as he could into the sea. He turned to the man and smiled, and replied, "It made a difference for that one!"

Maybe we cannot go to a homeless shelter and feed the 100 people there, but we can feed 1 person. Let us feed that 1 person.

Maybe we cannot foster 50 children who need homes, but we can for 1. Let us foster that 1 child.

Maybe we cannot pay school lunch debts of 25 children, but we can for 2 or 3. Let us pay the debts of the 2 or 3.

Maybe we cannot open our homes to the 10 who are fighting to stay sober from drugs and alcohol, but we can for 1. Let us come alongside that 1 for love and encouragement.

Or, what about the single mother at the grocery store who doesn't have enough to pay for all her items?

What about the teenager who was kicked out of their home for coming out as gay?

What about the homeless family living in a tent and they don't have enough blankets to keep warm?

Or what about befriending and checking in on an elderly neighbor?

What about the tiny, wet and hungry stray kitten you found on your porch?

What is something tangible that you can do to make a world of difference for someone who doesn't see the point and has no hope?

This Advent season, let us aid in whatever ways we can to show someone God's great mercy.

Amen.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

8th December >> Mass Readings (GB)

Second Sunday of Advent (C)

(Liturgical Colour: Violet. Year: C(I))

(The new Lectionary is here)

First Reading Baruch 5:1-9 ‘God will show your splendour.’

Take off the garment of your sorrow and affliction, O Jerusalem, and put on for ever the beauty of the glory from God. Put on the robe of the righteousness from God; put on your head the crown of the glory of the Everlasting. For God will show your splendour everywhere under heaven. For your name will for ever be called by God: ‘Peace of righteousness and glory of godliness’. Arise, O Jerusalem, stand upon the height and look towards the east and see your children gathered from west and east, at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing that God has remembered them. For they went forth from you on foot, led away by their enemies; but God will bring them back to you, carried in glory, as on a royal throne. For God has ordered that every high mountain and the everlasting hills be made low and the valleys filled up to make level ground, so that Israel may walk safely in the glory of God. The woods and every fragrant tree have shaded Israel at God’s command. For God will lead Israel with joy in the light of his glory, with the mercy and righteousness that come from him.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 126(125):1-2b. 2c-3. 4-5. 6. ℟3

R/ What great deeds the LORD worked for us! Indeed, we were glad.

When the LORD brought back the exiles of Sion, we thought we were dreaming. Then was our mouth filled with laughter; on our tongues, songs of joy.

R/ What great deeds the LORD worked for us! Indeed, we were glad.

Then they said among the nations, ‘What great deeds the LORD worked for them!’ What great deeds the LORD worked for us! Indeed, we were glad.

R/ What great deeds the LORD worked for us! Indeed, we were glad.

Bring back our exiles, O LORD, as streams in the Negeb. Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap.

R/ What great deeds the LORD worked for us! Indeed, we were glad.

They go out, they go out, full of tears, bearing seed for the sowing; they come back, they come back with a song, bearing their sheaves.

R/ What great deeds the LORD worked for us! Indeed, we were glad.

Second Reading Philippians 1:3-6, 8-11 ‘Be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.’

Brothers and sisters: I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all, making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation Luke 3:4, 6

Alleluia, alleluia. Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight; all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Alleluia.

Gospel Luke 3:1-6 ‘All flesh shall see the salvation of God.’

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” ’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.