Listen and Understand
That same day Jesus went out of the house
and sat beside the lake. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into
a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told
them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them
up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and
they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose,
they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds
fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on
good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
Let anyone with ears listen!
"Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the
kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what
is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown
on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it
with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when
trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately
falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the
word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it
yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who
hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one
case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Parable
of the Sower
1180
Stained
Glass
Canterbury
Cathedral
Canterbury,
Great Britain
Medieval
stained glass depicting the first scene of the Parable of the Sower, in which
seeds scattered on stony ground are eaten by birds (Mt 13:3-5; Mk 4:3-5). Right
panel in the fifth register of the Second Typological Window (n. XV, 19) in the
north choir aisle, dated to about 1180. This was originally part of the Sixth
Typological Window, which centered on the theme of seeds and the bread of the
Eucharist.
One of the most sincere forms of respect
is actually listening to what another has to say.
~
Bryant H. McGill
You cannot truly listen to anyone
and do anything else at the same time.
~
M. Scott Peck
Happy 60th Birthday, Dottie!!!
A few pictures from Dot’s BIG Birthday Celebration
last week in Ridgefield, Connecticut.
Well done, Baby Brother!!!
Dot
and Jack Alexander
Diane
Lidiak with Peter’s and her oldest son, Tim Lidiak.
Tim
will be receiving his Eagle Scout Badge at the National Court of Honor ceremony
next month.
Mette
Poulsen, Dot Alexander, Aage Poulsen
Patrick
Lidiak
Delicious
meal for 53 guests!!!
Peter
Lidiak and Betsy Griffin, Dottie’s brother and sister,
toasted
their sister (a bit tearfully).
Baby
Brother Jack Alexander with Big Sister Carolyn Alexander
Dottie
Alexander and Patrick Lidiak
John
and Marnie Olson
Marnie
was our co-conspirator in getting Rocky the Bear delivered to Dottie.
Betsy
Griffin, Carolyn Alexander, Marty Griffin, Vicki Hall
Vicki
Hall, Marty Griffin, Tim Lidiak, Jack Alexander
Tim
Lidiak
Vicki
Hall, Betsy Griffin
Dottie
ringing Clover’s bell at Stew Leonard’s.
“Typewriter
Eraser” by Claes Oldenburg and Coosie van Bruggen was one of the
sculptures
in front of this private home in Connecticut.
These
are the same artists who did “Big Sweep,” the sculpture between the Ponti
Building
and
the Frederic C. Hamilton Building of the Denver Art Museum.
“The
Big Sweep”
Dottie
wearing one of her new red shirts from Robin (in Japan) with Rocky the Bear
from Evergreen, Colorado.
Most people do not listen with the intent to understand;
they listen with the intent to reply.
~
Stephen R. Covey
July 13, 2014 Fifth Sunday after Pentecost —
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time — Proper 10
Previous OPQs may
be found at:
Listen!
Agnus Day, by
James Wetzstein
Agnus Day appears with the permission
of www.agnusday.org
Genesis
25:19-34 with Psalm
119:105-112 or
Isaiah 55:10-13 with Psalm 65:(1-8), 9-13
Romans 8:1-11
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Genesis 25:19-34
These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham was the father of
Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of
Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean. Isaac prayed
to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his
prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. The children struggled together within
her; and she said, "If it is to be this way, why do I live?" So she
went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her,
"Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples born of you shall be divided;
one shall be stronger than the other,
the elder shall serve the younger."
When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. The
first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau.
Afterwards his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau's heel; so he was
named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while
Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond
of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was
famished. Esau said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am
famished!" (Therefore he was called Edom.) Jacob said, "First sell me
your birthright." Esau said, "I am about to die; of what use is a
birthright to me?" Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore
to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil
stew, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his
birthright.
Psalm 119:105-112
Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,
to observe your righteous ordinances.
I am severely afflicted;
give me life, O God, according to your word.
Accept my offerings of praise, O God,
and teach me your ordinances.
I hold my life in my hand continually,
but I do not forget your law.
The wicked have laid a snare for me,
but I do not stray from your precepts.
Your decrees are my heritage forever;
they are the joy of my heart.
I incline my heart to perform your statutes
forever, to the end.
Isaiah 55:10-13
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
For you shall go out in joy,
and be led back in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall burst into song,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial,
for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
Psalm 65:(1-8), 9-13
Praise is due to you,
O God, in Zion;
and to you shall vows be performed,
O you who answer prayer!
To you all flesh shall come.
When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,
you forgive our transgressions.
Happy are those whom you choose and bring near
to live in your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
your holy temple.
By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,
O God of our salvation;
you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas.
By your strength you established the mountains;
you are girded with might.
You silence the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples.
Those who live at earth's farthest bounds
are awed by your signs;
you make the gateways of the morning
and the evening shout for joy.
You visit the earth and water it,
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide the people with grain,
for so you have prepared it.
You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills gird themselves with joy,
the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.
Romans 8:1-11
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For
the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of
sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could
not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal
with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the
law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according
to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the
things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds
on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set
the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set
on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law — indeed it
cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God
dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to
him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the
Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus
from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life
to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the lake. Such great
crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the
whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables,
saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell
on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky
ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since
they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since
they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the
thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth
grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears
listen!
"Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the
kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what
is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown
on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it
with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when
trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately
falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the
word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it
yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who
hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one
case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."