Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

Compassion and Healing

 

 

 

29As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. 31He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

32That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. 33And the whole city was gathered around the door. 34And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

35In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. 36And Simon and his companions hunted for him. 37When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” 38He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” 39And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Mark 1:29-39

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Healing of the Paralytic

VAN DYKE, Anthony

1619

Royal Collection, Buckingham Palace

London

United Kingdom

 

https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/diglib-fulldisplay.pl?SID=20240203428047127&code=ACT&RC=56413&Row=12

 

This is the work of a supremely brilliant 20-year-old Van Dyck working in Rubens’s studio and very possibly executing a Rubens design, under the supervision of the elder master. This compositional type - an intense, spectator-jostling drama where the canvas area is barely able to contain a small number of half-length figures - was invented by Caravaggio (1571-1610).

See more:

https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/405325/christ-healing-the-paralytic

 

 

 

 

 

At a time when we find ourselves in echo chambers 

with people with whom we agree—and who quickly crush dissent—

it’s easy to lose track of our fallibility and 

the value in seeking out conflicting perspectives.

~ Jon Valant

Brookings Brown Center Chalkboard





 

 

Compassion brings us to a stop,

and for a moment we rise above ourselves.

~ Mason Cooley

 

 

 

 

Church of the Hills

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Kristy Hitchings, from Rooted Wisdom Africa, spoke to us about their work in Uganda.

It was formerly called Into Your Hands and was started here in Evergreen by Maria Rosa Galter with the support of her local parish and our Evergreen Rotary Club.

 

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We also had platefuls of Ugandan food!

Bunco!

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Pastor Richard appeared and presented a birthday cake 

to Heidi Smithson for all she has done for our Bunco nights.

 

Denim and Diamonds

At the Wild Game

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Western attire

 

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Dan and Adrian Stone

 

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Marcus and Jennifer Pennell and their daughter, Amelia Pennell.

 

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Todd Bastian, Erica Sprenkel, Richard Aylor

 

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Jim and Jen Pennell

 

 

The challenge of leadership is to 

   be strong, but not rude; 

   be kind, but not weak; 

   be bold, but not bully; 

   be thoughtful, but not lazy; 

   be humble, but not timid; 

   be proud, but not arrogant; 

   have humor, but without folly.

~ Jim Rohn

 

YouTube: some more quotes of Jim Rohn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVjBJ1ZcXLU

 

 

 

 

 

February 4, 2024  Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany Year B

Previous OPQs may be found at: 

http://www.dotjack.com/opq.htm

 

 

16If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! 17For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. 18What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel.

19For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. 20To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. 21To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. 22To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. 23I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

1 Corinthians 9:16-23



Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein

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Agnus Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org

   

 

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Lectionary

Isaiah 40:21-31

Psalm 147:1–11, 20c 

1 Corinthians 9:16–23 

Mark 1:29–39

 

Summary

What with all the healings and miraculous works, one might get the impression that Jesus came as a divine doctor, and indeed he did! And yet his concern was for the body and soul of his children. Hence, after healing Peter’s mother-in-law (her quickness to serve is included as evidence that it was a full and miraculous recovery) and many others, Jesus leaves the crowds in order to pray and then tells his disciples that he came to preach in many places.

Paul follows Christ’s vocation in his famous passage that he has become all things to all people so that he may save them by his preaching. But verse 16 and 17 especially stand out when paired with the Gospel reading. Paul’s duty is to preach the gospel whether he wants to or not, but since his will does align with his vocation, his preaching is especially effective, since he molds the mores of his life in order to authenticate the gospel. Even though it was his right, Paul avoided asking for funds from the Corinthians as a proof of his sincerity.

While encouraging the congregation to pursue their vocation of preaching the gospel in their ordinary lives, Paul’s example may be emphasized. Though we are all given the duty to preach the gospel, if we do so with a willing spirit, we become especially effective ministers, since by the holiness and love in our lives we prove the message we preach.

https://www.preachingtoday.com/lectionary/

THE WORD:

Throughout his Gospel, Mark portrays Jesus as somewhat uncomfortable with his growing renown as a miracle worker.  He clearly values time away from the crows to be alone to pray –
even though that time is cut short by the needs of those around him.

Jesus works miracles not out of any need of his own for the adulation of the masses but out of an extraordinary sense of compassion, a deep love for his brothers and sisters, especially those in crisis or pain.  The miracles he works are not to solicit acclaim for himself but to awaken faith and trust in the Word of God, to restore in humankind God's vision of a world united as brothers and sisters under his providence (“that is what I have come to do”).  Jesus’ compassion for those who come to him breaks down stereotypes and defenses that divide, segregate and marginalize people; his ministry is not to restore bodies to health but to restore spirits to wholeness.

HOMILY POINTS:

We think of “casting out demons” as an ancient culture’s primitive approach to dealing with mental illness or emotional distress.  We’ve come a long way medically and psychologically in dealing with such issues — but we can still find ourselves “possessed” by “demons” of self-centeredness, cynicism and narrow-mindedness that leave us lost, isolated and debilitated.  Christ comes to cast out those “demons” and restore us to wholeness and purpose.

Like Jesus’ rising before dawn and going to a deserted place, we too need that “deserted,” “out of the way” place to re-connect with God, to rediscover God’s presence in our life, to find within ourselves again a sense of gratitude for the blessings of that presence.

 

First Reading Isaiah 40:21-31

21  Have you not known? Have you not heard? 
          Has it not been told you from the beginning? 
          Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 
22  It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, 
          and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; 
     who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, 
          and spreads them like a tent to live in; 
23  who brings princes to naught, 
          and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.

24  Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, 
          scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, 
     when he blows upon them, and they wither, 
          and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

25  To whom then will you compare me, 
          or who is my equal? says the Holy One. 
26  Lift up your eyes on high and see: 
          Who created these? 
     He who brings out their host and numbers them, 
          calling them all by name; 
     because he is great in strength, 
          mighty in power, 
          not one is missing.

27  Why do you say, O Jacob, 
          and speak, O Israel, 
     “My way is hidden from the LORD, 
          and my right is disregarded by my God”? 
28  Have you not known? Have you not heard? 
     The LORD is the everlasting God, 
          the Creator of the ends of the earth. 
     He does not faint or grow weary; 
          his understanding is unsearchable. 
29  He gives power to the faint, 
          and strengthens the powerless. 
30  Even youths will faint and be weary, 
          and the young will fall exhausted; 
31  but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, 
          they shall mount up with wings like eagles, 
     they shall run and not be weary, 
          they shall walk and not faint.

Psalm 147:1-11, 20c

1   Praise the Lord! 
     How good it is to sing praises to our God; 
          for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting. 
2   The Lord builds up Jerusalem; 
          he gathers the outcasts of Israel. 
3   He heals the brokenhearted, 
          and binds up their wounds. 
4   He determines the number of the stars; 
          he gives to all of them their names. 
5   Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; 
          his understanding is beyond measure. 
6   The Lord lifts up the downtrodden; 
          he casts the wicked to the ground.

7   Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; 
          make melody to our God on the lyre. 
8   He covers the heavens with clouds, 
          prepares rain for the earth, 
          makes grass grow on the hills. 
9   He gives to the animals their food, 
          and to the young ravens when they cry. 
10  His delight is not in the strength of the horse, 
          nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner; 
11  but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, 
          in those who hope in his steadfast love.

20c  Praise the Lord!

Second Reading 1 Corinthians 9:16-23

16If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! 17For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. 18What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel.

19For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. 20To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. 21To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. 22To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. 23I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

Gospel Mark 1:29-39

29As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. 31He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

32That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. 33And the whole city was gathered around the door. 34And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

35In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. 36And Simon and his companions hunted for him. 37When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” 38He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” 39And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.