Peace

First Sunday of Advent Year A

  

 

[Jesus said:]

"But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."

Matthew 24:36-44

 

Two Women at the Mill

TISSOT, James

Between 1886 and 1894

Brooklyn Museum

New York, NY

United States

 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brooklyn_Museum_-_The_Two_Women_at_the_Mill_(Les_deux_femmes_au_moulin)_-_James_Tissot_-_overall.jpg

 

"...when his (Tissot) carefully researched collection of 350 watercolors depicting the life of Jesus was first published as a book in 1896, it found a large and enthusiastic audience. No one who had followed his previous career could have anticipated that this painter of urban life in Paris and London would undertake the project of painting virtually every event in the Gospels. The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ project took nearly ten years to complete. When it was done, it chronicled the entire life of Jesus as recorded in the New Testament in a series of 350 watercolors. To research the project Tissot traveled to Egypt, Syria, and Palestine in 1886–87, and again in 1890. While in the Holy Land he closely observed the landscape, the vegetation, the architecture, and the manner of dress, and filled sketchbooks with what he saw. He talked with rabbis and studied Talmudic literature as well as theological and historical volumes. He believed that there was still a remaining “aura” in the places where the Gospel events took place, and he spoke of having mystical experiences that added to his careful research. What he wanted to create was something as close as possible to an eyewitness account of the life of Jesus." [from Terry Glaspey's "75 Masterpieces Every Christian Should Know"]

 

Peace is not an absence of war,

it is a virtue, a state of mind,

a disposition 

for benevolence, confidence, justice.

~ Baruch Spinoza

Instead of hating the people you think are war-makers,

hate the appetites and disorder in your own soul,

which are the causes of war.

If you love peace, then hate injustice,

hate tyranny, hate greed —

but hate these things in yourself,

not in another.

~ Thomas Merton

 

 

Last Sunday I had to wait for a small herd of elk.

 

 

There were about 30 of them.

 

 

Later that afternoon, the same elk were finding extra food before the

approaching blizzard.  This gal wanted to see the football game.

 

 

Thanksgiving Dinner

at Sondra Kellogg’s home

Jim Fay, Jennifer Pennell (Sondra’s daughter), Sondra Kellogg

 

Sondra Kellogg, Emily Murray (the Pennell’s former foster daughter), Marcus Pennell, Carolyn Alexander

 

Jennifer Pennell

 

After we were full of turkey and trimmings, 

SOME of us played Mexican Dominoes ...

Amelia Pennell, Bob Murray (Emily’s dad), Emily Murray, Carolyn Alexander

Emily will graduate from college in three weeks!!!

 

 

And others collapsed!

 

 

 

 

 

Let there be peace on earth

And let it begin with me.

~ Jill Jackson and

Seymour Miller

 

 

 

 

 

Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein

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

 

 

Isaiah 2:1-5

Let Us Beat Our Swords into Ploughshares

VUCHETICH, Evgeniy

1959

United Nations

New York, NY

United States

The sculpture by Evgeniy Vuchetich, called "Let Us Beat Swords into Plowshares", a gift from the then Soviet Union was presented on 4 December 1959. The bronze statue represents the figure of a manholding a hammer in one hand, in the other, a sword which he is making into a plowshare, symbolizing man's desire to put an end to war andconvert the means of destruction into creative tools for the benefitof all mankind. 

First Sunday in Advent, Year A: The second chapter of Isaiah, verse 4, is powerfully represented by this sculpture gift from an "enemy" country: "He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”

http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54228

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/un_photo/3311538833

 

 

Advent is a season of spiritual preparation for the celebration of the birth of Christ (Christmas) and looks forward to the future reign of Christ. Eschatological expectation rather than personal penitence is the central theme of the season. Advent is a preparation for rather than a celebration of Christmas, so Advent hymns should be sung instead of Christmas carols. The first Sunday of Advent is not the beginning of the Christmas season. The Christmas celebration begins on Christmas Eve and continues for the next "twelve days of Christmas."

Purple is normally Advent's liturgical color, associated both with the sovereignty of Christ and with penitence. Deep Blue is also sometimes used to distinguish the season from Lent. As the color of the night sky, Blue symbolizes Christ who in one ancient Advent song is called the "Dayspring" or source of day. As the color associated with Mary, Blue also reminds us that during Advent the church waits with Mary for the birth of Jesus.

http://www.ucc.org/worship/liturgies/liturgical-colors.html

 

 

 

https://churchpop.com/2015/08/14/8-ancient-christian-symbols-and-their-hidden-meanings/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isaiah 2:1-5
Psalm 122
Romans 13:11-14 
Matthew 24:36-44

 

 

 

Isaiah 2:1-5

The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

In days to come the mountain of the Lord's house
   shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
   and shall be raised above the hills;
   all the nations shall stream to it.
Many peoples shall come and say,
   "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
       to the house of the God of Jacob;
    that he may teach us his ways
       and that we may walk in his paths."
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
   and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
   and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
   and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.

O house of Jacob, come,
   let us walk in the light of the Lord!

Psalm 122

I was glad when they said to me,
   "Let us go to the house of God!"
Our feet are standing within your gates,
   O Jerusalem.
Jerusalem--built as a city
   that is bound firmly together.

To it the tribes go up,
   the tribes of God,
as was decreed for Israel,
   to give thanks to the name of God.

For there the thrones for judgment
   were set up,
the thrones of the house of David.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
   "May they prosper who love you.

"Peace be within your walls,
   and security within your towers."

For the sake of my relatives and friends
   I will say, "Peace be within you."

For the sake of the house
   of the Sovereign our God,
I will seek your good.

Romans 13:11-14

Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in revelling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarrelling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Matthew 24:36-44

[Jesus said:]
"But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."