Hope
Second Sunday of Advent Year A
A
shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide by what his ears hear;
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den.
They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the
peoples;
the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be
glorious.
Isaiah 11:1-10
Wisdom of the Universe
BELCOURT, Christi
2014
Espanola, Ontario
Canada
Isn’t
it the moment of most profound doubt
that gives birth to new certainties?
Perhaps hopelessness is the very soil
that nourishes human hope;
perhaps one could never find sense in life
without first experiencing its absurdity.
~ Vaclav Havel
Hope is
not the conviction that something will turn out well
but the
certainty that something makes sense,
regardless
of how it turns out.
~ Vaclav Havel
Holiday Party
Hiwan Country Club
Thursday, December 5, 2019
The organizers did a WONDERFUL job!
Two of the three big elves who provided our entertainment.
Tara Gill, Richard Toussaint, Marcia Walsh
Carolyn Alexander, Tara Gill
Perhaps
the crescent moon smiles in doubt
at
being told that is is a fragment
awaiting
perfection.
~ Rabindranath Tagore
December 8, 2019 Second Sunday of Advent Year A
Previous OPQs may be
found at:
In
those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming,
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." This is the one of
whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
"The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the
Lord, make his paths straight.'"
Now John wore clothing of camel's hair with a leather belt
around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of
Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the
Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their
sins.
But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism,
he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the
wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to
yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from
these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the
root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut
down and thrown into the fire.
"I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is
more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his
hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the
granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
Matthew 3:1-12
Agnus Day, by James
Wetzstein
Agnus Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org
Romans
15:4-13
Fountain of Faith
MILLES, Carl
1952
National Memorial Gardens
Falls Church, Virginia
United States
|
Notes: |
"In these sculptured figures
of the Fountain of Faith, Carl Milles, the great Swedish sculptor, has
captured the warmth and tenderness, the joy and strength of supreme love in
all human relationships. Rising above the limits of this world, the beauty
and hope of reunion after life is here perpetuation in bronze to give us
infinite peace. The Fountain of Faith makes us see
that we do not walk alone...that we ll have a part in the bigger scheme of
things. Let these figures in this Fountain of Faith remind us that faith is
not just for holy days but that faith is for every day. A quiet moment before
this great work of art can make us draw closer together, and grant us
tranquility for this the Fountain of Faith." -- National Memorial Park |
Isaiah 11:1-10
Psalm
72:1-7,18-19
Romans
15:4-13
Matthew
3:1-12
Isaiah
11:1-10
A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide by what his ears hear;
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den.
They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the
peoples;
the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be
glorious.
Psalm
72:1-7,18-19
Give the ruler your justice,
O God,
and your righteousness
to a ruler's heir.
May the ruler judge your people
with righteousness,
and your poor with justice.
May the mountains yield prosperity
for the people,
and the hills,
in righteousness.
May the ruler defend the cause
of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the needy,
and crush the oppressor.
May the ruler live
while the sun endures,
and as long as the moon,
throughout all generations.
May the ruler be like rain
that falls on the mown grass,
like showers
that water the earth.
In the ruler's days
may righteousness flourish
and peace abound,
until the moon is no more.
Blessed be the Sovereign,
the God of Israel,
who alone does wondrous things.
Blessed be God's glorious name forever;
may the whole earth be filled with God's glory.
Amen and Amen.
Amen and Amen.
Romans
15:4-13
For whatever was written in former days was written for our
instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the
scriptures we might have hope. May the God of steadfastness and encouragement
grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus,
so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you,
for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the
circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the
promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify
God for his mercy.
As it is written,
"Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles,
and sing praises to your name";
and again he says,
"Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people";
and again,
"Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples praise
him";
and again Isaiah says,
"The root of Jesse shall come,
the one who rises to rule the
Gentiles;
in him the Gentiles shall hope."
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in
believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew
3:1-12
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of
Judea, proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come
near." This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
"The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the
Lord, make his paths straight.'"
Now John wore clothing of camel's hair with a leather belt
around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of
Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the
Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their
sins.
But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism,
he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the
wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to
yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from
these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the
root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut
down and thrown into the fire.
"I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."