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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

 

http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/diglib-fulldisplay.pl?SID=20191207573618229&code=ACT&RC=56224&Row=

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isnt 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: 

     http://www.dotjack.com/opq.htm

 

 

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

http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/diglib-fulldisplay.pl?SID=20191207573618229&code=act&RC=54249&Row=21

 

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Second Sunday of Advent, Year A - Lectionary Planning Notes

 

 

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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."