The Commandments
See,
I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. If you
obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by
loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments,
decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord
your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. But if
your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to
other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall perish; you
shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and
possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set
before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and
your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding
fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may
live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to
Isaac, and to Jacob.
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Moses
with the Ten Commandments
REMBRANDT
Harmenszoon van Rijn
1659
Gemäldegalerie
(Berlin, Germany)
Berlin
Germany
Rembrandt has gone down in history as one of the greatest painters, printmakers and etchers in the whole of European art and the most important Dutch artist to date. Even at an early age he gained a very high reputation as a portrait painter and in his most active period, during the Dutch Golden Age, he executed a spectacular array of works. In 1627 he began to accept students in his big workshop and became master of several artists, including Carel Fabritius and Ferdinand Bol. Some years later he moved on to Amsterdam, where he started his professional career as a portraitist. His focus would always remain on portraiture, but he also created landscapes and narrative paintings. His style was initially quite 'smooth' and fine, later though it became 'rough' due to his variegated paint surfaces which gave a highly tactile quality to his paintings. He is also considered a master of chiaroscuro due to the contrasts of light and dark which so characterize his works. The themes he took up in his paintings served many artists as inspiration, during his lifetime but also after death. The last years of his life were dominated by serious poverty due to high debts. In 1656 he was even declared bankrupt.
It is not only what
we do,
but also what we do
not do,
for which we are
accountable.
~ Moliere
He who is not contented with what he has,
would
not be contented with what he would like to have.
~ Socrates
I
forgot my camera all week!
These
are from our Rotary meeting
taken
with my iPhone 5.
Time
for an upgrade?
Chris
Weiss
The
Second Wind Fund
Heather
Ning Aberg with her father, Dr. Ted Ning
For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains,
but to live in a way
that respects and enhances
the freedom of others.
~ Nelson Mandela
September 8, 2019 Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 18)
Previous OPQs may be found at:
Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, "Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.”
Luke 14:25-33
Agnus
Day, by James Wetzstein
Agnus
Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org
Jeremiah 18:1-11 with Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18 or
Deuteronomy
30:15-20 with Psalm 1
Philemon
1:1-21
Luke
14:25-33
Jeremiah
18:1-11
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: "Come, go
down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words." So I
went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. The
vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked
it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.
Then the word of the Lord came to me: Can I not do with you, O
house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the
clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. At one
moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and
break down and destroy it, but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken,
turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended
to bring on it. And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a
kingdom that I will build and plant it, but if it does evil in my sight, not
listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had
intended to do to it. Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the Lord: Look, I am a potter shaping evil
against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your
evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.
with
Psalm
139:1-6, 13-18
O God, you have searched me
and known me.
You know when I sit down
and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts
from far away.
You search out my path
and my lying down,
and are acquainted
with all my ways.
Even before a word
is on my tongue,
O God, you know it
completely.
You hem me in,
behind and before,
and lay your hand
upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful
for me;
it is so high
that I cannot attain it.
For it was you
who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together
in my mother’s womb.
I praise you,
for I am fearfully
and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
My frame was not hidden
from you,
when I was being made
in secret,
intricately woven in the depths
of the earth.
Your eyes beheld
my unformed substance.
In your book were written
all the days
that were formed for me,
before they existed.
How weighty to me
are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
I try to count them —
they are more than the sand;
I come to the end -
I am still with you.
or
Deuteronomy
30:15-20
See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and
adversity. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am
commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and
observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and
become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are
entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are
led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, I declare to you today
that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are
crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness
against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and
curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord
your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and
length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to
your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
with
Psalm
1
Happy are those
who do not follow
the advice of the wicked,
or take the path
that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat
of scoffers;
but their delight
is in the law of God,
and on God's law they meditate
day and night.
They are like trees planted
in streams of water,
which yield their fruit
in its season,
and their leaves
do not wither.
In all that they do,
they prosper.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff
that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand
in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation
of the righteous;
for God watches over the way
of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked
will perish.
Philemon
1:1-21
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our dear friend and co-worker, to Apphia our sister,
to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
When I remember you in my prayers, I always thank my God because I hear of your
love for all the saints and your faith toward the Lord Jesus. I pray that the
sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good that
we may do for Christ. I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from
your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my
brother.
For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command
you to do your duty, yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love—and
I, Paul, do this as an old man, and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus. I
am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during
my imprisonment. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful
both to you and to me. I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you. I
wanted to keep him with me, so that he might be of service to me in your place
during my imprisonment for the gospel; but I preferred to do nothing without
your consent, in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something
forced. Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so
that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave but more than a
slave, a beloved brother—especially to me but how much more to you, both in the
flesh and in the Lord.
So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would
welcome me. If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that
to my account. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I
say nothing about your owing me even your own self. Yes, brother, let me have
this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of
your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I
say.
Luke
14:25-33
Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said
to them, "Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife
and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my
disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and
estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when
he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin
to ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to
finish.' Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit
down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one
who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then, while the other
is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So
therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions."