Grace
When
God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his
mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did
not do it.
But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He
prayed to the Lord and said, "O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was
still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I
knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in
steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. And now, O Lord, please
take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live." And
the Lord said, "Is it right for you to be angry?" Then Jonah went out
of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there.
He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city.
The Lord God appointed a bush, and made it come up over Jonah,
to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah was very
happy about the bush. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm
that attacked the bush, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God prepared a
sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was
faint and asked that he might die. He said, "It is better for me to die
than to live."
But God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?" And he said, "Yes, angry enough to die." Then the Lord said, "You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”
Jonah 3:10-4:11
Jonah
WATTS,
George Frederick
1894
Tate
Britain
London
United
Kingdom
Jonah
warning the Ninevites to repent of their behavior.
Friezes
behind Jonah depict sins of gambling, drunkenness, and greed.
By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil
and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we
are.
~
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The
big obstacle to God’s grace is bitterness.
Some
people complain because they are not
blessed
by God as others have been.
They
do not realize that in thinking of themselves,
they open the door to bitterness and close it
to God’s grace.
No matter what happens,
we dare never be bitter or resentful.
~ Anna Mow
Church Book Club
Dianne
Lebsock was our hostess.
Van
Farnsworth and Nancy Quayle listening to one of our Zoom attendees.
It
was so nice to meet in person, although there were only a few of us.
The
elk have continued to be very active during rutting season.
The
golf course maintenance people chase them off the fairways
and
they often just come back.
Video clip: If you want a video I took of the
elk, let me know.
It
is 38 MB and you can hear an elk bugling.
Breakfast at Sondra's
Kimra
Perkins, Sondra Kellogg
What a wonderful setting … in
spite of the smoke.
Carolyn
with my Butterfly Face Mask (from Kimra).
Grace means undeserved kindness.
It is the gift of God to man
the moment he sees he is unworthy of God’s favor.
~
Dwight L. Moody
September 20, 2020 Twenty-fifth Sunday
in Ordinary Time Year A
Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 20)
Previous OPQs may be found at:
[And
Jesus said:] "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out
early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the
laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went
out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the market-place; and he
said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is
right.' So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three
o'clock, he did the same. And about five o'clock he went out and found others
standing around; and he said to them, 'Why are you standing here idle all day?'
They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You also go
into the vineyard.' When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his
manager, 'Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last
and then going to the first.' When those hired about five o'clock came, each of
them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they
would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And
when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, 'These last
worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the
burden of the day and the scorching heat.' But he replied to one of them,
'Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily
wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same
as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?
Or are you envious because I am generous?' So the last will be first, and the
first will be last."
Matthew 20:1-16
Or, as
they say in Rome, “POTIUSQUE SERO QUAM NUMQUAM.”
Agnus
Day, by James Wetzstein
Agnus
Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org
http://www.joe-ks.com/archives_may2005/GodsBillboard.htm
Exodus 16:2-15 with
Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45 or
Jonah
3:10-4:11 with Psalm 145:1-8
Philippians
1:21-30
Matthew
20:1-16
Exodus
16:2-15
The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against
Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, "If only
we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the
fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this
wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
Then the Lord said to Moses, "I am going to rain bread from
heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that
day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or
not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice
as much as they gather on other days." So Moses and Aaron said to all the
Israelites, "In the evening you shall know that it was the Lord who
brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the
glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaining against the Lord. For
what are we, that you complain against us?" And Moses said, "When the
Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the
morning, because the Lord has heard the complaining that you utter against him--what
are we? Your complaining is not against us but against the Lord.'"
Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of
the Israelites, 'Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your
complaining.'" And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites,
they looked towards the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the
cloud. The Lord spoke to Moses and said, "I have heard the complaining of
the Israelites; say to them, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the
morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the
Lord your God.'"
In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the
morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted,
there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as
frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another,
"What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them,
"It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat."
with
Psalm
105:1-6, 37-45
O give thanks to God,
call on God's name,
make known God's deeds
among the peoples.
Sing to God,
sing praises to God;
tell of all God's wonderful works.
Glory in God's holy name;
let the hearts of those
who seek God rejoice.
Seek God and God's strength;
seek God's presence
continually.
Remember the wonderful works
God has done,
God's miracles,
and the judgments God uttered,
O offspring of God's servants
Abraham and Sarah.
children of Jacob,
God's chosen ones.
Then God brought Israel out
with silver and gold,
and there was no one
among their tribes
who stumbled.
Egypt was glad
when they departed,
for dread of them had fallen
upon Egypt.
God spread a cloud
for a covering,
and fire to give light by night.
They asked,
and God brought quails,
and gave them food from heaven
in abundance.
God opened the rock,
and water gushed out;
it flowed through the desert
like a river.
For God remembered
God's holy promise,
and Abraham and Sarah
God's servants.
So God brought God's people out
with joy,
God's chosen ones
with singing.
God gave them the lands
of the nations,
and they took possession
of the wealth of the peoples,
that they might keep God's statutes
and observe God's laws.
Praise be to God!
or
Jonah
3:10-4:11
When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil
ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring
upon them; and he did not do it.
But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He
prayed to the Lord and said, "O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was
still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I
knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in
steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. And now, O Lord, please
take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live." And
the Lord said, "Is it right for you to be angry?" Then Jonah went out
of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there.
He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city.
The Lord God appointed a bush, and made it come up over Jonah,
to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah was very
happy about the bush. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm
that attacked the bush, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God prepared a
sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint
and asked that he might die. He said, "It is better for me to die than to
live."
But God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry
about the bush?" And he said, "Yes, angry enough to die." Then
the Lord said, "You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not
labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in
a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which
there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who do not know their
right hand from their left, and also many animals?"
with
Psalm
145:1-8
I will extol you,
my God and Ruler,
and bless your name
forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you,
and praise your name
forever and ever.
Great is God,
and greatly to be praised;
God's greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall laud your works
to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor
of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works,
I will meditate.
The might of your awesome deeds
shall be proclaimed,
and I will declare your greatness.
They shall celebrate the fame
of your abundant goodness,
and shall sing aloud
of your righteousness.
God is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger
and abounding
in steadfast love.
Philippians
1:21-30
For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live
in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I
prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with
Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary
for you. Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue
with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, so that I may share
abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again.
Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ,
so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will
know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one
mind for the faith of the gospel, and are in no way intimidated by your
opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your
salvation. And this is God's doing. For he has graciously granted you the
privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as
well--since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear
that I still have.
Matthew
20:1-16
[And Jesus said:] "For the kingdom of heaven is like a
landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into
his vineyard. When he went out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle
in the market-place; and he said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and I
will pay you whatever is right.' So they went. When he went out again about
noon and about three o'clock, he did the same. And about five o'clock he went
out and found others standing around; and he said to them, 'Why are you
standing here idle all day?' They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.'
He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard.' When evening came, the owner
of the vineyard said to his manager, 'Call the laborers and give them their
pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.' When those hired
about five o'clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when
the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also
received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against
the landowner, saying, 'These last worked only one hour, and you have made them
equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.' But
he replied to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree
with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to
give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I
choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?' So
the last will be first, and the first will be last."