Offering Plate Quotes

On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; but to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb. Her rival used to provoke her severely, to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. So it went on year by year; as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”

After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah rose and presented herself before the Lord. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord, and wept bitterly. She made this vow: “O Lord of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head.” As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying silently; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; therefore Eli thought she was drunk. So Eli said to her, “How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your wine.” But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time.” Then Eli answered, “Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him.” And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your sight.” Then the woman went to her quarters, ate and drank with her husband, and her countenance was sad no longer.

They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. Elkanah knew his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I have asked him of the Lord.”

1 Samuel 1:4-20

Hannah giving her son Samuel to the priest

We must accept finite disappointment,

but we must never lose infinite hope.

~ Martin Luther King Jr.

I have learned two lessons in my life:

first, there are no sufficient literary, psychological,

or historical answers to human tragedy, only moral ones.

Second, just as despair can come to one another

only from other human beings, hope, too,

can be given to one only by other human beings.

David brought his latest painting to share with our Wednesday Breakfast Group!!!

Jeanne and I saw The Second Tosca at the Arvada Center.

We thoroughly enjoyed it!

Alison (we volunteered together at the Denver Art Museum) and I managed to take

a walk together on Thursday. We wouldn't have wanted to the next day

when the cold and snow moved in! Merlin, her doggie, is in training as a service dog.

This is her first service dog and Alison doesn't quite know how she will feel when

the time comes to give him up.

Marina and Jana, our Rotary Club's exchange students

from Brazil and Germany.

This weekend is the Alternative Christmas Fair sponsored by our church

and three other churches. Everything there is sold by non-profit organizations,

many of them with international connections.

I didn't ask him how he felt about selling women's handbags.

Some of the youth from our churches sold refreshments.

Gretchen, Linda, and John

Gretchen and John had a delightful big dinner party tonight!

I was very happy, though, to follow Linda and Sam out to the

highway through the heavy but beautiful snow!!!

Sanity may be madness but the maddest of all

is to see life as it is and not as it should be.

~ Don Quixote

November 15, 2009 Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Previous OPQs may be found at:
http://www.dotjack.com/opq.htm

As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?” Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birthpangs.

“As for yourselves, beware; for they will hand you over to councils; and you will be beaten in synagogues; and you will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them. And the good news must first be proclaimed to all nations. When they bring you to trial and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say; but say whatever is given you at that time, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved."
Mark 13:1-8 (and 9-13)

Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein

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