Happy Mother’s Day
But
filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and
Jesus standing at the right hand of God. "Look," he said, "I see
the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"
But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against
him. Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the
witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they
were stoning Stephen, he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."
Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this
sin against them." When he had said this, he died.
Acts 7:55-60
The Stoning of Stephen
19th
century
Stained
glass
Kölner
Dom
Cologne
Germany
"'The perfect martyr' is the epithet given to Stephen in
the conclusion to the early Christian narrative of the martyrs of Vienne and
Lyons (Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 5.2.5). This essay argues that the narrative of
the stoning of Stephen in Acts 6:8-8:1 does indeed depict a perfect martyr --
one perfectly suited, that is, to Luke's rhetorical purposes in the
two-volume work now known as the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.
In this work Luke constructs for followers of "the Way" a genealogy
reaching back into Israelite traditions, and a sociology that drives a wedge
between them and their Jewish contemporaries. One means by which Acts
constructs a divide between "the Way" and "The Jews" is
to portray the former as compatible, and the latter as imcompatible, with
Roman juridical ideas. While ecclesial traditions of Jesus' death under
Pontius Pilate and Paul's death in Rome posed a potential fault line in this
construction, the killing of Stephen is an episode that is free from Roman
juridical involvement. In Luke's telling, the death of Stephen through a
stoning carried out by an unruly mob underscores Jewish barbarity, creates a
breach between the church and the Jews, and brackets Romans out of the
originary violence that produced the church's first martyred follower of
Jesus and marked its first great expansion." (Gibson/Matthews, 124) |
Whatever you’re feeling in your heart,
[notice] how the body feels as you consider
the possibility that grief can be a profoundly
humanizing experience
and bring greater depth into our lives.
~
Joan Halifax
Whatever you are,
be a good one.
~
Abraham Lincoln*
More
Zooming
Johanna
Morrell showed us what she is working on during our Painted Toe virtual lunch.
She
transfers some of it to plexiglass.
I’m
eager to see the finished product.
The
painting below was done this week by a former Painted Toe Art Society (PTS)
member
who now lives in Crested Butte.
'Corvid
Warns of Covid'
by Peggy Morgan Stenmark
Peggy wrote on Facebook, "The pandemic has caused no
small amount of anxiety for me, and painting is a good way to release some of
that. I
loosely modeled this after the World War II posters that were produced to
encourage the public to support the war effort. An interesting exercise to do
this painting, and, like most of my projects, I learned a lot."
Sharifa
Moore, the new curator of art and education at the
Center
for the Arts Evergreen, is teaching a Zoom class
on
photography.
Perhaps
I can learn how to take pictures without always using the automatic setting?
Rich
Levine, an Evergreen attorney, spoke to Rotary about Special Olympics and how
this
community organization makes a difference.
Special
Olympics Colorado serves more than
15,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities throughout the state.
Mother’s Day in Tokyo!
Niece
Robin Sakamoto, now a grandmother!
Ray
Yoshioka, Robin’s grandson #1.
Born
January 15, 2020
Grandmother
Robin Sakamoto with Meishi Sakakibara
Grandson
#2.
Born
February 6, 2020
The only time we ever know what’s really going on
is when the rug’s been pulled out and we can’t find
anywhere to land.
We use these situations either to wake ourselves up
or to put ourselves to sleep.
Right now — in the very instant of
groundlessness —
is the seed of taking care of those who need our care
and of discovering our goodness.
~
Pema Chödrön
May 10, 2020 Fifth Sunday of Easter Year A
Previous
OPQs may be found at:
* Sometimes
attributed to William Makepeace Thackeray
[Jesus said:] "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe
in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many
dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare
a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and
will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you
know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him,
"Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?"
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father
also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."
Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will
be satisfied." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this
time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the
Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in
the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak
on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am
in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me
because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes
in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than
these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for
anything, I will do it."
John 14:1-14
Agnus
Day, by James Wetzstein
Agnus
Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org
Listen here:
https://www.andiesisle.com/mothersday.html
Acts 7:55-60
Psalm
31:1-5,15-16
1 Peter 2:2-10
John
14:1-14
Acts
7:55-60
But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw
the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. "Look,"
he said, "I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the
right hand of God!" But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all
rushed together against him. Then they dragged him out of the city and began to
stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named
Saul. While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my
spirit." Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, "Lord, do
not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he died.
Psalm
31:1-5, 15-16
In you, O God,
I seek refuge;
do not let me ever be
put to shame;
in your righteousness
deliver me.
Incline your ear to me;
rescue me speedily.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a strong fortress to save me.
You are indeed my rock
and my fortress;
for your name's sake
lead me and guide me,
take me out of the net
that is hidden for me,
for you are my refuge.
Into your hand I commit
my spirit;
you have redeemed me, O God,
O faithful God.
My times are in your hand;
deliver me from the hand
of my enemies and persecutors.
Let your face shine
upon your servant;
save me in your steadfast love.
1
Peter 2:2-10
Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that
by it you may grow into salvation — if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is
good.
Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet
chosen and precious in God's sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be
built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture:
"See, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone chosen and precious;
and whoever believes in him will not be put to
shame."
To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do
not believe,
"The stone that the builders rejected
has become the very head of the corner,"
and
"A stone that makes them stumble,
and a rock that makes them fall."
They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were
destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who
called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Once you were not a people,
but now you are God's people;
once you had not received mercy,
but now you have received mercy.
John
14:1-14
[Jesus said:] "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe
in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many
dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare
a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and
will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you
know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord,
we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" Jesus said
to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From
now on you do know him and have seen him."
Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will
be satisfied." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this
time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the
Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in
the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak
on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am
in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me
because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes
in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than
these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for
anything, I will do it."