Happy Valentine's Day!!!

(Continuing with the Sermon on the Mount)
²¹“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ ²²But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. ²³So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. ²⁶Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

²⁷“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell. ³¹“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³²But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

³³“Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ ³⁴But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, ³⁵or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.
Matthew 5:21-37

Chapel of the Reconciliation (interior detail)
Reitermann, Rudolf ; Sassenroth, Peter ; Rauch, Martin
1999-2000
Berlin, Germany

The Chapel of the Reconciliation was built in the area called the "death strip" along the old Berlin Wall, where East Germans frequently were shot by guards as they tried to escape into non-communist West Berlin. It is constructed of rammed earth with natural wood interior finish. The ecological considerations of the earthen construction are important to the understanding of this building, as are the social ones as well: approximately one-half of the world's population live or work in buildings constructed of earth.

We are reminded of God's commandments and Christ's interpretation of them in today's passage from Matthew 5:24 -- "Leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift."

Paul also calls to us in I Corinthians 3:9, "For we are God's servants, working together; you are God's field, God's building" -- God's field, God's building...we are God's field and building, called to reconciliation with our brother and sister and with the earth.
http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/diglib-fulldisplay.pl?SID=20110208150024414&code=ACT&RC=54238&Row=1

The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost.
~ G. K. Chesterton

And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.*
~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Congratulations, JUNNA!!!

Junna Sakamoto, center, and two of her friends at their Coming of Age Party last month (age 20).

The ceremony was in their home town, Morioka, Japan (northern Honshu).

Bob Smith, at the Evergreen Camera Club

After more than 20 years building his own Colorado-based nature photography business Elk Meadow Images, Smith relocated to Jackson in 2006 to manage Tom Mangelsen's Images of Nature archive and continue his own photography. Smith has also spent 20 years as an account executive and digital consultant with Apple computer. He is a frequent staff member of the Summit Series of Workshops.
What a treat to see some of his images!

http://www.photographyatthesummit.com/workshop_faculty.html

http://www.elkmeadowimages.com/