Sermon on the Mount
The Beatitudes
and
Presentation of Our Lord
When Jesus saw the crowds, he
went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he
began to speak, and taught them, saying:
"Blessed
are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed
are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
"Blessed
are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
"Blessed
are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
"Blessed
are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
"Blessed
are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
"Blessed
are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
"Blessed
are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven.
"Blessed
are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil
against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is
great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were
before you.”
Matthew 5:1-12
Sermon on the Mount (Detail)
OLRIK, Henrik
approximately 1860
Sankt Matthaeus Kirke
Copenhagen
Denmark
Sermon on the Mount
Most people are willing to take the
Sermon on the Mount as a flag to sail under,
but few will use it as a rudder by which to steer.
~
Oliver Wendel Holmes
What you can become you are already.
~ Hebbel Friedrich
Great-nephew Kei Sakamoto came to visit Sunday to
Wednesday!!!
What a delightful time we had!!!
Kei
at Pixar at the Museum of Nature and Science
Kei Sakamoto and Carolyn at Extreme Sports: Beyond Human Limits
Carolyn
Alexander, Kei Sakamoto — We also watched Hidden Pacific 3D
at
their IMAX theater.
Kei
at Coors Field (The Rockies Stadium) on Tuesday.
(He
even carried my purse and oxygen!)
Here
we are in one of the dugouts.
Then
we went to the Dairy Block to eat and wander around.
Wednesday night at the Bistro in Marshdale
We
celebrated Sharron’s 79th birthday!
Thursday at the Denver Art Museum
Twenty-four
of us from Evergreen went to see the Monet Exhibit.
The Parc Monceau
The Seine at Argenteuil
Cows
at the Denver Art Museum … for you, Robin!
HELPED
are those who are content to be themselves; they will never lack mystery in
their lives and the joys of self-discovery will be constant.
HELPED
are those who love the entire cosmos rather than their own tiny country, city,
or farm, for to them will be shown the unbroken web of life and the meaning of
infinity.
HELPED
are those who live in quietness, knowing neither brand name nor fad; they shall
live every day as if in eternity, and each moment shall be as full as it is
long.
HELPED
are those who love others unsplit off from their faults; to them will be given
clarity of vision.
HELPED
are those who create anything at all, for they shall relive the thrill of their
own conception, and realize an partnership in the creation of the Universe that
keeps them responsible and cheerful.
HELPED
are those who love the Earth, their mother, and who willingly suffer that she
may not die; in their grief over her pain they will weep rivers of blood, and
in their joy in her lively response to love, they will converse with the trees.
HELPED
are those whose ever act is a prayer for harmony in the Universe, for they are
the restorers of balance to our planet. To them will be given the insight that
every good act done anywhere in the cosmos welcomes the life of an animal or a
child.
HELPED
are those who risk themselves for others' sakes; to them will be given
increasing opportunities for ever greater risks. Theirs will be a vision of the
word in which no one's gift is despised or lost.
HELPED
are those who strive to give up their anger; their reward will be that in any
confrontation their first thoughts will never be of violence or of war.
HELPED
are those whose every act is a prayer for peace; on them depends the future of
the world.
HELPED
are those who forgive; their reward shall be forgiveness of every evil done to
them. It will be in their power, therefore, to envision the new Earth.
HELPED
are those who are shown the existence of the Creator's magic in the Universe;
they shall experience delight and astonishment without ceasing.
HELPED
are those who laugh with a pure heart; theirs will be the company of the jolly
righteous.
HELPED
are those who love all the colors of all the human beings, as they love all the
colors of the animals and plants; none of their children, nor any of their
ancestors, nor any parts of themselves, shall be hidden from them.
HELPED
are those who love the lesbian, the gay, and the straight, as they love the
sun, the moon, and the stars. None of their children, nor any of their
ancestors, nor any parts of themselves, shall be hidden from them.
HELPED
are those who love the broken and the whole; none of their children, nor any of
their ancestors, nor any parts of themselves, shall be hidden from them.
HELPED
are those who do not join mobs; theirs shall be the understanding that to
attack in anger is to murder in confusion.
HELPED
are those who find the courage to do at least one small thing each day to help
the existence of another--plant, animal, river, or human being. They shall be
joined by a multitude of the timid.
HELPED
are those who lose their fear of death; theirs is the power to envision the
future in a blade of grass.
HELPED
are those who love and actively support the diversity of life; they shall be
secure in their differences.
HELPED
are those who KNOW.
~
February
2, 2020 Fourth Sunday
after Epiphany Year A
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Previous
OPQs may be found at:
Luke 2 for the Presentation of Our Lord on February 2:
When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord’), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons.’
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was
Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation
of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by
the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s
Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the
parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the
law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
‘Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the presence of all
peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.'
Luke 2:22-32
Agnus Day, by James
Wetzstein
Agnus Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org
Presentation of Jesus in the Temple
by Fra Angelico
1442.
The Candleman
by
James C. Christensen
February 2nd
Groundhog Day or Candlemas?
If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Come winter, have another flight.
If Candlemas bring clouds and rain,
Go winter, and come not again.
Micah 6:1-8
Psalm
15
1
Corinthians 1:18-31
Matthew 5:1-12
Micah
6:1-8
Hear what the Lord says: Rise, plead your case before the
mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. Hear, you mountains, the
controversy of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth; for the
Lord has a controversy with his people, and he will contend with Israel.
"O my people, what have I done to you? In what have I wearied you? Answer
me! For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the
house of slavery; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. O my people,
remember now what King Balak of Moab devised, what Balaam son of Beor answered
him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the saving
acts of the Lord."
"With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself
before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a
year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands
of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of
my body for the sin of my soul?" He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
Psalm
15
O God, who may abide
in your tent?
Who may dwell on your holy hill?
Those who walk blamelessly,
and do what is right,
who speak the truth
from their heart,
and do not slander
with their tongue,
who do no evil
to their friends,
nor take up a reproach
against their neighbors;
in whose eyes the wicked
are despised,
but who honor those
who fear the Lord;
who stand by their oath
even to their hurt;
who do not lend money
at interest,
and do not take a bribe
against the innocent.
Those who do these things
shall never be moved.
1
Corinthians 1:18-31
For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are
perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is
written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of
the discerning I will thwart." Where is the one who is wise? Where is the
scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom
of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God
through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to
save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we
proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to
Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the
power of God and the wisdom of God. For God's foolishness is wiser than human
wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength. Consider your own
call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not
many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish
in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame
the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are
not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the
presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for
us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in
order that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the
Lord."
Matthew
5:1-12
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he
sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them,
saying:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will
be filled.
"Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs
is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all
kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your
reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who
were before you."