Wednesday Words for November 6, 2013
From Pastor Carrie Smith
Thought for the Day:
“Fallen leaves lying on the grass in the November sun bring more happiness than the daffodils.”
Cyril Connolly, English critic and editor, 1903-1974
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Scroll down to find the link to your Bethany Weekly Newsletter!
THANK YOU! Many folks are practicing “30 days of gratitude” on Facebook. Today, I want to say a few thank yous:
THANK YOU to all who brought me cake, cupcakes, Starbucks gift cards, flowers, photo collages, and other lovely gifts! You helped to make my birthday special, and I feel loved!
And THANK YOU to all of our musicians and dancers who made the All Saints service last week so wonderful. It was truly an uplifting day, giving honor to God and to our beloved saints.
Sunday at Bethany: We will once again be graced by the music of the Bell Canto bell choir under the direction of Kristin Lundine! We’ll be singing “What Wondrous Love is This”, “I Know that My Redeemer Lives”, and “What a Fellowship, What a Love Divine” along with a few other beautiful hymns. There are only a few more weeks in this church year, since Advent is coming soon (December 1st). As our lives get busier in the run up to the holidays, take time on Sunday to be still and rest in the presence of God! Worship is at 8:30 am and 10:30 am.
Movie Night at Ridgefield-Crystal Lake Presbyterian Church - Friday, November 15, 7:00pm
"5 Broken Cameras" is an unforgettable and unparalleled account of life on the West Bank. Emad Burnat, a Palestinian farmer, bought a video camera to record the birth of his first son in 2005. Every week he took the camera and recorded the non-violent resistance demonstrations where Israelis were building the wall separating his village of Bil'in. With the destruction of each camera, he continued to watch behind the lens as olive trees are bulldozed, protests intensify and lives are lost. All are welcome to view this Academy Award nominee for best documentary. Admission is free.
Save the Date: Bethany Arts Series Concert on November 17 at 4 pm: “Dr. Mezzo and Mr. High”: This concert is a family affair that folks from 10 to 100 will find enjoyable! Mezzo-soprano Kathryn Humphries and countertenor Mikah Meyer take turns battling it out over who can sing famous opera roles better: Dr. Mezzo, or Mr. High? This concert is sponsored in loving memory of Wendy Stefan by the Stefan family.
Washington Post article: A few weeks ago I shared my reading list, which included a book by ELCA pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber (“Pastrix”). Yesterday, the Washington Post featured a great article about her. This quote really grabbed me: “This isn’t supposed to be the Elks Club with the Eucharist,” Bolz-Weber said in a taxi ride before her Austin talk. Religion should be “something that’s so devastatingly beautiful it can break your heart. Instead it’s been: ‘Recycle.’ And ‘Don’t sleep with your girlfriend.’ ”
TEN TIPS FOR A SIMPLER, MORE MEANINGFUL CHRISTMAS: Yes—I really am writing about Christmas! Why? Because now is when we start making decisions that will determine the kind of Christmas we will have. Now is when we start shopping, planning menus, and stressing about how it will all get done. Here are some things to keep in mind as we approach Thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas:
1. Plan ahead. Instead of going on auto-pilot the day after Thanksgiving (or HALLOWEEN!) hold a family meeting to decide what the group really wants to do and who’s going to do what.
2. If you need a symbol for giving (in addition to Jesus and the Three Wise Ones), learn about St. Nicholas. Santa Claus has been completely taken over by commerce.
3. Avoid debt. Refuse to be pressured by advertising to overspend.
4. Avoid stress. Give to yourself. Don’t assume that things have to be the same way they've always been.
5. Draw names rather than everyone giving something to everyone else in your giving circle. Set a ceiling for each recipient. Give children ONE thing they really want, rather than so many gifts. If need be, pool funds.
6. Give appropriate gifts. Get to know the recipient. Give what they want to receive, not what you want to buy.
7. Give alternative gifts. Give 25% of what you spent last year to the needy... individuals or groups locally, nationally or internationally. Buy crafts and clothing from developing countries at alternative gift markets, not from commercial importers, so that the artisans receive a fair price for their work. Give of yourself, not just “stuff” – a coupon book for future services (such as baby-sitting or an “enchanted evening”); something baked, sewn, handmade, composed, etc.; or a family service project, such as working together at a soup kitchen.
8. Celebrate Advent for four weeks before Christmas.
9. Put the gifts under the tree shortly before opening them. Then take turns opening them around the tree, not all at once, so that each gift can be admired and each giver thanked.
10. Make changes slowly but persistently. Don’t try to change everything and everybody all at once. The resistance will make you feel defeated and lonely.
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This Week’s Texts: 25th Sunday after Pentecost
PRAYER OF THE DAY
O God, our eternal redeemer,
by the presence of your Spirit you renew and direct our hearts.
Keep always in our mind the end of all things and the day of judgment.
Inspire us for a holy life here,
and bring us to the joy of the resurrection,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
FIRST READING Job 19:23–27a
23"O that my words were written down!
O that they were inscribed in a book!
24O that with an iron pen and with lead
they were engraved on a rock forever!
25For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and that at the last he will stand upon the earth;
26and after my skin has been thus destroyed,
then in my flesh I shall see God,
27whom I shall see on my side,
and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
PSALM (ELW) Psalm 17:1–9
1Hear a just cause, O LORD; give heed | to my cry;
listen to my prayer, which does not come from | lying lips.
2Let my vindication come forth | from your presence;
let your eyes be | fixed on justice.
3Examine my heart, visit | me by night,
melt me down; you will find no impuri- | ty in me.
4I have not regarded what | others do;
at the word of your lips I have avoided the ways | of the violent. R
5My footsteps hold fast to your | well-worn path;
and my feet | do not slip.
6I call upon you, O God, for you will | answer me;
incline your ear to me and | hear my words.
7Show me your marvelous | lovingkindness,
O Savior of those who take refuge at your right hand
from those who | rise against them.
8Keep me as the apple | of your eye;
hide me under the shadow | of your wings,
9from the wicked | who assault me,
from my deadly enemies | who surround me. R
SECOND READING 2 Thessalonians 2:1–5, 13–17
As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, 2not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. 3Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction. 4He opposes and exalts himself above every so- called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. 5Do you not remember that I told you these things when I was still with you? 13But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14For this purpose he called you through our proclamation of the good news, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter.
16Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, 17comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word.
GOSPEL Luke 20:27–38
27Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him 28and asked him a question, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. 29Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; 30then the second 31and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. 32Finally the woman also died. 33In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her."
34Jesus said to them, "Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; 35but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. 36Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. 37And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive."
Peace,
+ Pastor Carrie Smith
