Sermon on the Plain

  

17He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. 18They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.19And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.

20Then he looked up at his disciples and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

21"Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.

"Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

22"Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. 23Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

24"But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.

25"Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.

"Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.

26"Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

Luke 6:17-26

 

The Sermon on the Mountain

FERENCZY, Károly

1896

Magyar Nemzeti Galéria

Budapest

Hungary

 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Sermon_on_the_Mount_Károly_Ferenczy.jpg

 

Ferenczy is considered the "father of Hungarian impressionism and post-impressionism" and the "founder of modern Hungarian painting.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Károly_Ferenczy



 

 

 

 

Most people are willing to take the

Sermon on the Mount as a flag to sail under,

but few will use it as a rudder by which to steer.

~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

 

 

 

A candle loses nothing

by lighting another candle.

~ James Keller

 

 

 

 

 

 

Neighborhood gathering

 

 

Jen Volmer had several of us over for cocktails.

This is what she uses for her Chocolate Peanut Butter Martinis.

 

 

Kate McCord, Jen’s mother, helped with the mixing.

 

 

Rowdy Rotarians had their get-together at Center for the Arts Evergreen.

The present show is “I’m Here.”

"I’m Here" displays artwork that reflects on the resilience and growth that 

today’s teenagers were forced to dig deep and find in the midst of the pandemic. 

The entrants were between the ages of 13 and 17.

 

 

Lisa Nierenberg, Executive Director, with Rotarians (and fellow art sponsors)

Adrian Stone, Cindy Sahli, Laurie Romberg.

 

 

Chains, by Lauren McKenzie

 

 

When their home was evacuated during the recent big fire, Lauren ran

back inside to rescue her drawing.  Fortunately, their home was one

that did not burn.

 

 

Our Rotary speaker this week was Heather Keeton, Principal, Warren Tech.

A fierce advocate for educational reform, Heather champions innovative models of education, 

working to bridge the gap between education and industry, 

Every Warren Tech student is taught Post-Secondary Workforce Readiness (PWR) skills, 

and students earn over 13,000 free college credits and 1,600 industry certifications yearly.

 

 

I love their logo: Working to reach outside of the box.

https://warrentech.jeffcopublicschools.org/about

 

 

Carolyn Alexander, 24 years in Evergreen Rotary!

There are a number of people with still more years!

 

 

 

 

Loving our neighbors and our enemies

is the core of the Sermon on the Mount,

the core of Christianity 

Love trumps judgment.

We have to regain our credibility as people

who know how to love 

~ Anne Rice

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

February 13, 2022  Sixth Sunday after Epiphany - Year C 

 

Previous OPQs may be found at:

     http://www.dotjack.com/opq.htm

 

 

 

Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein

comic

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jeremiah 17:5–10 

Psalm 1
1 Corinthians 15:12–20 

Luke 6:17–26

 

 

THE WORD:

In Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks of “Beatitudes,” but in Luke’s Sermon on the Plain, Jesus drops a series of bombshells.  He takes the accepted standards of the times and turns them upside down:  To those who are considered the “haves” of society, Jesus warns “Woe to you!” – wealth and power are not the stuff of the kingdom of God; but to the “have nots,” Jesus says, “Happy and blessed are you” – love, humble selflessness, compassion and generosity are the treasure of God's realm.  Jesus promises his followers poverty, suffering, persecuting and grief -- but their hope in God will be rewarded with perfect and complete joy.  In Luke’s Gospel, the “blessed” are those who see beyond their own needs and wants in the present moment to work for a better future not only for themselves but for others — but “woe” to those, Jesus warns, who seek their own “fill” now with no concern for the future or for others.

This will be a constant theme throughout Luke’s Gospel: Jesus teaches that wealth and power are not the stuff of the reign of God, but humility, selflessness and compassion are the treasures of God’s kingdom. 

https://connectionsmediaworks.com/sundaygospel.html#feb13

 

 

 

First Reading Jeremiah 17:5-10

5Thus says the LORD: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the LORD. 6They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.

7Blessed are those who trust in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. 8They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.

9The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse-who can understand it? 10I the LORD test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings.

Psalm 1:1-6

1Happy are those

who do not follow the advice of the wicked,

or take the path that sinners tread,

or sit in the seat of scoffers;

2but their delight is in the law of the LORD,

and on his law they meditate day and night.

3They are like trees

planted by streams of water,

which yield their fruit in its season,

and their leaves do not wither.

In all that they do, they prosper.

4The wicked are not so,

but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

5Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

6for the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

Second Reading 1 Corinthians 15:12-20

12Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; 14and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. 15We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ-whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. 17If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. 19If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

20But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.

Gospel Luke 6:17-26

17He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. 18They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.19And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.

20Then he looked up at his disciples and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

21"Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.

"Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

22"Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. 23Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

24"But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.

25"Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.

"Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.

26"Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.