Forgiveness and Gratitude *

[Jesus said:] "You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not murder'; and 'whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.' But 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. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come 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. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If 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. And 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.

"It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But 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.

"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.' But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be 'Yes, Yes' or 'No, No'; anything more than this comes from the evil one."

Matthew 5:21-37

"Reconciiation"

VASCONCELLOS, Josefina de

1956 - 1962

Coventry Cathedral

Coventry, Great Britain

http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/diglib-fulldisplay.pl?SID=20140212977783203&code=ACT&RC=54900&Row=5

Living in love, gratitude, and forgiveness,

is peaceful and spiritually rejuvenating.

Living under emotional constraints of anger

and resentment is draining

and toxic to heart and soul.

It can be difficult to let go of past hurts,

but it can also be freeing and uplifting.

More and more,

I choose to live in love,

gratitude, and forgiveness.

~ Jaeda DeWalt

In ordinary life

we hardly realize that we receive

a great deal more than we give,

and that it is only with gratitude

that life becomes rich.

~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Oh, no!

Sunday evening my heat went out!

BUT … when Eric Gill learned of my plight on Monday,

he appeared on my doorstep armed with heaters!

AND … since the over-loaded repair people couldn't come until Tuesday, Eric called a "friend who can fix anything"

and Ron, the friend, was here in ten minutes. Ron found the problem, went to Home Depot, returned and

installed a new thermostat.

THANK YOU, ERIC GILL and RON ROSSETTER!!!

Warmth is good.

Life is good.

I am filled with GRATITUDE!

I know it didn't get good reviews,

but Oralie, Margie, and I thoroughly enjoyed The Monuments Men!

(Be sure to notice George Cloony's father in the last scene.)

David Cuin with Jack Salter at Wednesday Breakfast.

Before sitting down, we all shared something for which we were grateful.

At Rotary Club, The Evergreen Chorale gave us a sneak preview

of Forever Plaid.

Our speaker at Rotary this week was Sylvia Theisen.

Change Your Story … Change Your Life

http://www.sylviatheisen.com

We can always choose to perceive things differently.

You can focus on what's wrong in your life,

or you can focus on what's right. **

~ Marianne Williamson

February 16, 2014 Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany

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

* The week has been filled with many synchronistic events related to gratitude! Robert Emmons, a leading speaker on gratitude, wrote that his definition of gratitude has two components.

First, it's an affirmation of goodness. We affirm that there are good things in the world, gifts and benefits we’ve received. This doesn’t mean that life is perfect; it doesn’t ignore complaints, burdens, and hassles. But when we look at life as a whole, gratitude encourages us to identify some amount of goodness in our life.
The second part of gratitude is figuring out where that goodness comes from. We recognize the sources of this goodness as being outside of ourselves. It didn’t stem from anything we necessarily did ourselves in which we might take pride. We can appreciate positive traits in ourselves, but I think true gratitude involves a humble dependence on others: We acknowledge that other people—or even higher powers, if you’re of a spiritual mindset—gave us many gifts, big and small, to help us achieve the goodness in our lives.

If you would like to read his full article, see:

http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/why_gratitude_is_good

** Used in January, 2006.

Matthew 5:21-37

Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein

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

This Sunday's Lectionary:

Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Psalm 119:1-8
1 Corinthians 3:1-9
Matthew 5:21-37