Love
Prepare the Way
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
"See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
'Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,'"
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of
repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean
countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were
baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was
clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate
locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, "The one who is more powerful than
I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his
sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy
Spirit.”
Mark 1:1-8
The Sermon of St. John the Baptist
BRUEGEL, Pieter the Elder
1566
Oil on wood, 95 x 160,5 cm
Szépművészeti Múzeum (Museum of Fine Arts)
Budapest, Hungary
Bruegel
has portrayed St. John preaching in the woods. We can make out a river,
mountains, and a church in the background; some of the many listeners in the
foreground are clad in striped garments, characterizing them as coming from the
Middle East - yet the scenery and the clothing of the other figures point to a
setting in the Netherlands of Bruegel’s day.
[This
was set in a time when Protestants were forcibly being converted to Catholicism
in the Netherlands.]
Protestant preachers roamed
the Netherlands, propagating their new teachings in the open air.
The same was true of the
Anabaptists, who based their religious teachings on those of
St John the Baptist.
In depicting a contemporary
gathering, Bruegel has put the biblical John the Baptist in the place
of the preacher.
His left arm is indicating
Jesus, who clearly stands out among the crowd through his lightcoloured
garment.
The Sermon of St. John the
Baptist (detail)
Unlike
such painters as Albrecht Durer. Pieter Bruegel produced no self-portraits,
being disinclined to glorify his own person.
Occasionally,
however, one may find a bearded figure occupying an unassuming position at the
edge of a picture,
a
figure who might possibly be the painter himself.
The Sermon of St. John the
Baptist (detail)
MUCH more information and
more details may be found:
http://www.all-art.org/early_renaissance/bruegel01.html
Only in souls the Christ is brought to birth,
And there He lives and dies.
~ Alfred Noyes
Blessed is the season which engages
the whole world in a conspiracy of love.
~ Hamilton Wright Mabi
Happy 70th Birthday,
JOAN!!!
Joan Evashevski was surprised when we all greeted her
at Tuscany Tavern Wednesday evening.
Joan and Bruce Evashevski
Ellen O’Connor, Evergreen Park & Recreation District’s
new Executive Director,
with Santa Claus and Kendra
Hinkson at the Silver Sneakers Holiday Luncheon on Thursday.
Evergreen Rotary Club
Holiday Party
at the Lakehouse
Kimra Perkins led us all in prayer.
We brought 260 rolls of toilet tissue to give to
EChO (Evergreen Christian Outreach).
Bob Rose won a prize for his White Elephant gift.
I love my White Elephant gift!
Especially her knobby knees.
Our traditional singing/enactment of The “Twelve Days of
Christmas.”
Jeff Brekke added a special touch for their table.
The elk came to visit today.
I took these pictures from my window
and watched the big guy amble over to watch two
young males practicing their sparring.
They still have some practicing to do.
Janie Weinberger and Tom Meyers
had a lovely (and BIG!) wedding reception Saturday
afternoon/evening.
Some of the celebrants!
Holly Brekke, Marsha Manning, Carolyn Alexander, Carma Scheafer
Some things have to be believed
to be seen.
~ Madeleine L’Engle
December 7, 2014 Second
Sunday of Advent Year B
But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that
with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like
one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but
is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass
away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the
earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.
Since all these things are to be dissolved in
this way, what sort of person ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and
godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of
which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt
with fire? But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a
new earth, where righteousness is at home.
Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for
these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and
regard the patience of our Lord as salvation.
2 Peter 3:8-15a
Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein
Agnus Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org
Isaiah 40:1-11
Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13
2 Peter 3:8-15a
Mark 1:1-8
Isaiah
40:1-11.
Three prophecies declare the hope of God's coming to rescue the exiles from
captivity. In verses 1-4, a voice is to cry out "Prepare God's way"
as a highway forms across the desert from Babylon to Judea. In verses 5-8, a
second cry announces human ephemerality and the eternality of God's word. In
verses 9-11, whoever may be keeping some sort of watch in Jerusalem, a city in
ruins, is called to declare from the highest height the victory of God bringing
the exiles home and sustaining them.
Psalm
85:1-2, 8-13: (UMH 806).
A response of thanks and trust in God's deliverance. Sing the response with
Tone 2 transposed to A Minor (UMH 737).
2
Peter 3:8-15a.
The coming fiery destruction or purification of the world as we know it means
that we now, in the face of that, must strive for lives of holiness. We are
called to make the present age a place where righteousness is at home even as
we wait for new heavens and earth after that great conflagration.
Mark
1:1-8.
The gospel begins with the ministry of John the Baptizer, calling all to
repentance and baptism for forgiveness to get ready for the kingdom of the one
to come, the one who baptizes not only with water, but with the Holy Spirit.