First Sunday in Lent

 

 

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." But he answered, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'" Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'" Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Matthew 4:1-11

 

Choice

Choice

PITTMAN, Lauren Wright

2018

United States

 

Image: https://sanctifiedart.org/original-art/a-choice-lauren-wright-pittman

 

 

NOTE: All sizes of the artist's images are limited to a single small dpi. This is the result of an agreement between the artist and the Vanderbilt Divinity Library. To inquire about larger sizes of her work, or to purchase prints and other works by Lauren Wright Pittman, visit http://www.lewpstudio.com

"Jesus offers the crowd (us) a layered and complicated choice, one that is as complex as his own dualistic nature. The first option is self-denial, a heavy burden, and a lost—but saved—life. The second is gaining the whole world, but forfeiting life. It’s easy for a seasoned Christian to take this choice for granted. This choice that Jesus calls us into may even seem like a no brainer, but in this moment, Jesus teaches of the terrors that will befall him and invites the crowd to knowingly face that path alongside him. If we’re honest, it is extremely difficult to reject the tempting power and wealth this world has to offer and allow our life to take the shape of good news for all.

The choice isn’t an obvious one. One side looks like an opulent pile of riches, a crown, and endless power, while the other looks like tattered and worn hands with new life blooming out of wounds, work,burdens and relationships. This choice may seem like a distant decision made long ago, but it’s a decision to be made every single day, one moment at a time. In working for and with the downtrodden,poor, orphaned, widowed, ostracized, and oppressed, we will find ourselves."

Lauren is an artist, graphic designer, and theologian. She studied Media Design at Middle Tennessee State University, worked as a wetlands advocate in Southern Louisiana, and attended Columbia Theological Seminary to piece together her passions for artistic expression, design, and Creation Care.

While in seminary, Lauren found a passion for seeking after God and processing scripture through visual exploration. The visual arts offered her a holy space to ask questions, take risks, and make bold statements. Her paint brush, acrylic paints, sharpies, and colored pencils became mediums for liberation, helping set her voice free. Once she began this journey in visual self expression, she became determined to create spaces where others could find this freedom and find their own voice, whether it be in the act of creating, in liturgical arts, or in visual meditative practices like Visio Divina. 

While at Columbia, she also realized her background in graphic design was a great asset in ministry. In the midst of the Church's struggle for relevancy in a rapidly changing world, she saw the need for faith communities, ministries and non-profits to share their story and mission more effectively and fully through visual means. 

She is Founding Creative Partner & Branding Director for A Sanctified Art LLC, a collaborative arts ministry providing multimedia resources for worshiping communities. She also helps faith communities and non-profits share their vibrant stories through branding & design services. 
[from: http://www.lewpstudio.com/about ] 

http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-processquery.pl?code=ACT&SortOrder=Title&LectionaryLink=ALent01

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last temptation is the greatest treason:

to do the right deed for the wrong reason.

~ T.S. Eliot

 

 

 

 

Saintliness is also a temptation.

~ Jean Anouilh

 

 

 

 

 

 

Painted Toe Society

Monday, February 24, 2020

We wished Leapling Bill Richardson a Happy 20th Birthday.

 

 

Chew and Chat

Thursday, February 27, 2020

at The 49th in Lakewood

Karla Byrd, Marilee Ross, Carolyn Alexander, Kay Owen, Sondra Kellogg

 

 

Thursday Evening Book Club

The Dalai Lama's Cat: Michie, David

Rebecca Martin did such a marvelous job of reviewing the delightful book and sharing

her experiences from her many months over the past five years teaching

English to nuns in a Tibetan nunnery in India, that I forgot to take pictures!

 

 

Friday morning Rotary

A tribute to Mat Matson

 

Dine Around

Saturday, February 29, 2020

Doug Griffin and Mary Sheron

hosted our gathering in their lovely new home.

 

We also celebrated Barbara Wingate’s March 1st birthday.

 

 

 

 

“Begin again,” life whispered in my ear;

For some days are beginning days.

 

Some days are designed to be the day we try again,

And on those days—the sun rises for you.

On those days, the birds sing for you.

On those days, God is cheering for you.

That’s just the way God and beginnings work.

 

On a day when we confront the end of life, may we also remember that this season through the 

wilderness ultimately leads us to something new.

 

“Begin again.”

The sun is rising for you.*

                                                                                  ~ Sarah Are 

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 1, 2020  First Sunday in Lent Year A         

        

Previous OPQs may be found at: 

     http://www.dotjack.com/opq.htm

 

* —excerpt from "The Wilderness is a Place of Beginnings" by Sarah Are (featured in Wilderness Poems)

 

 

 Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein

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

 

 

 

 

calvin&hobbesHeader.gif

calvin&hobbes_devil.gif

http://www.derraik.org/calv&hob.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
Psalm 32
Romans 5:12-19
Matthew 4:1-11

 

 

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die."

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God say, 'You shall not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.'" But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

Psalm 32

Happy are those whose transgression
   is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.

Happy are those to whom
   God imputes no iniquity,
and in whose spirit
   there is no deceit.

While I kept silence,
   my body wasted away
through my groaning
   all day long.

For day and night your hand
   was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up
   as by the heat of summer.

Then I acknowledged my sin
   to you,
and I did not hide my iniquity;

I said, "I will confess
   my transgressions to God,"
and you forgave
   the guilt of my sin.

Therefore let all who are faithful
   offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress, 
   the rush of mighty waters
shall not reach them.

You are a hiding place for me;
   you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me
   with glad cries of deliverance.

I will instruct you 
   and teach you
the way you should go;
I will counsel you
with my eye upon you.

Do not be like a horse or a mule,
   without understanding,
whose temper must be curbed
   with bit and bridle,
else it will not stay near you.

Many are the torments 
   of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds those
   who trust in God.

Be glad in God and rejoice,
   O righteous,
and shout for joy,
   all you upright in heart.

Romans 5:12-19

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned — sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass.

For if the many died through the one man's trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. If, because of the one man's trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Therefore just as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man's act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.

Matthew 4:1-11

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." But he answered, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'" Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'" Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.