Journeys
and Choices
(Abraham's servant finds a wife, Rebekah, for Isaac.)
So he said, "I am Abraham's servant. The Lord has greatly blessed my
master, and he has become wealthy; he has given him flocks and herds, silver
and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys. And Sarah my master's
wife bore a son to my master when she was old; and he has given him all that he
has. My master made me swear, saying, 'You shall not take a wife for my son
from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live; but you shall go to
my father's house, to my kindred, and get a wife for my son.'
"I came today to the spring, and said, 'O Lord, the God of my master
Abraham, if now you will only make successful the way I am going! I am standing
here by the spring of water; let the young woman who comes out to draw, to whom
I shall say, "Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,"
and who will say to me, "Drink, and I will draw for your camels also"
— let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master's son.'
"Before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah coming out with
her water-jar on her shoulder; and she went down to the spring, and drew. I
said to her, 'Please let me drink.' She quickly let down her jar from her
shoulder, and said, 'Drink, and I will also water your camels.' So I drank, and
she also watered the camels. Then I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?' She
said, 'The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him.' So I put
the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her arms. Then I bowed my head and
worshipped the Lord, and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who
had led me by the right way to obtain the daughter of my master's kinsman for
his son. Now then, if you will deal loyally and truly with my master, tell me;
and if not, tell me, so that I may turn either to the right hand or to the
left."
And they called Rebekah, and said to her, "Will you go with this
man?" She said, "I will." So they sent away their sister Rebekah
and her nurse along with Abraham's servant and his men. And they blessed
Rebekah and said to her,
"May you, our sister, become thousands of myriads;
may your offspring gain possession
of the gates of their foes."
Then Rebekah and her maids rose up, mounted the camels, and followed the man;
thus the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.
Now Isaac had come from Beer-lahai-roi, and was settled in the Negeb. Isaac
went out in the evening to walk in the field; and looking up, he saw camels
coming. And Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she slipped quickly from
the camel, and said to the servant, "Who is the man over there, walking in
the field to meet us?" The servant said, "It is my master." So
she took her veil and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all the
things that he had done. Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent.
He took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her. So Isaac was
comforted after his mother's death.
Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67
Rebecca and Eleazer
MURILLO,
Bartolomé Esteban
1650
Museo
del Prado
Madrid,
Spain
Last Night
the Rain Spoke to Me
Last night
the rain
spoke to me
slowly, saying,
what joy
to come falling
out of the brisk cloud,
to be happy again
in a new way
on the earth!
That’s what it said
as it dropped,
smelling of iron,
and vanished
like a dream of the ocean
into the branches
and the grass below.
Then it was over.
The sky cleared.
I was standing
under a tree.
The tree was a tree
with happy leaves,
and I was myself,
and there were stars in the sky
that were also themselves
at the moment
at which moment
my right hand
was holding my left hand
which was holding the tree
which was filled with stars
and the soft rain –
imagine! imagine!
the long and wondrous journeys
still to be ours.
~ Mary Oliver ~
If seeds in the black earth can turn into such beautiful
roses,
what might not the heart of man become in its long journey
toward the stars?
~ G.K. Chesterton
While
traveling our separated roads through life,
we are also
either road signs or potholes on the roads of others.
~ Eugene J.
Martin
Our entertainment at the Rotary Changing of the Guard Party:
Rotary Men’s Olympic Synchronized Swimming Team!
(Yes, we have entirely too much fun!)
This YouTube video is almost
(but not quite) as good as our very own Rotary Olympic Synchronized Swimming Team! It will give you a good idea of the
outstanding performance we viewed.
<gr>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eR11SE0RA0
My
body has certainly wandered a good deal,
but
I have an uneasy suspicion that my mind has not wandered enough.
~
Noel Coward
July 3, 2011 Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Previous OPQs may be found at:
http://www.dotjack.com/opq.htm
[Jesus said:] "But to what will I compare this generation? It is like
children sitting in the market-places and calling to one another,
'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn.'
"For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a
demon'; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton
and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is
indicated by her deeds."
At that time Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have
revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All
things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son
except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to
whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I
will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle
and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is
easy, and my burden is light."
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein
Agnus Day appears with the
permission of www.agnusday.org
http://www.signsforyourlife.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3
Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49,
58-67
Psalm 45:10-17 or Song of
Solomon 2:8-13
Romans 7:15-25a
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30