Faith and Gratitude

Do we really ”see” one another?

 

 

On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" When he saw them, he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, "Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well."

Luke 17:11-19

 

James Christensen Ten Lepers

Ten Lepers

CHRISTENSEN, James*

oil and acrylic on canvas

2002

 

https://www.artcountrycanada.com/christensen-james-ten-lepers.htm

 

As he did with "The Widow's Mite," James Christensen interprets one of the Bible's more powerful stories and presents us with an image of elegance, grace and beauty. At the same time he engages us in one of the higher promises of art: provoking thought. In fact, the art of reflection is at the core of the painting's message. 

The "Ten Lepers" were a group of men cured of their disease through one of Christ's miracles. Their tattered wrappings suggest what was, until this moment, their illness. Of the ten, nine are too preoccupied celebrating their new lease on life to think of anything else, much yet thank him. The tenth, at this moment, grasps truly what has occurred. He is the only one that returns to acknowledge the Master.

 

http://www.greenwichworkshop.com/details/default.asp?p=1969&a=16&t=1&detailtype=artist

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies,

those transcendent moments of awe

that change forever how we experience

life and the world.

~ John Milton

 

 

 

 

Gratitude, like faith, is a muscle.

The more you use it, the stronger it grows,

and the more power you have to use it on your behalf.

If you do not practice gratefulness,

its benefaction will go unnoticed,

and your capacity to draw on its gifts will be diminished.

To be grateful is to find blessings in everything.

This is the most powerful attitude to adopt,

for there are blessings in everything.

~ Alan Cohen

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last Sunday our church celebrated World Communion Sunday

with breads of many nations.

 

Lynn and Jim Gilbert and I thoroughly enjoyed 

the musical at The Arvada Center last Sunday!

 

 

PaintedToe Art Society

Arlene Bruns, Pat Foster, Sheryl Wasinger, Carolyn Martyn, Nancy Priest, and I

viewed the show at the Center for the Arts Evergreen and then had lunch next door.

Such fun!

 

 

 

Your local Seafood, Sushi, and Grill restaurant. Dedicated to fresh fish every day and bold favor. | By Smokin Fins - Littleton, Colorado | Facebook

 

Sharron Leonard and I had a wonderful lunch at Smokin Fins Restaurant in Highlands Ranch.

I had a delicious Prime Sandwich.

YUM!

 

Smokin' Fins Grill | Highlands Ranch Restaurant - Highlands Ranch, CO | OpenTable

https://www.smokinfinsrestaurant.com/besthighlands-ranchseafood

 

 

 

Evergreen Rotary

Some of Kimra’s family members are visiting from Idaho.

Ernie Lipple (Dad), Kimra Perkins, Ashleigh Lipple (sister), Betty Lipple (Kimra’s Dad’s wife)

 

New Inductee

Holly Brekke welcomed Richard Aylor (our new pastor) into our Rotary Club.

Kimra Perkins, on the right, will be his mentor.

 

Pavel, from Italy, is our new Foreign Exchange Student.

 

Colorado Gold!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Echo Lake

 

 

 

Image result for thank you gif

 

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today.

Have you used one to say, “Thank you?”

~ William A. Ward

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 9, 2022  Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

 

Previous OPQs may be found at: 

 

*  Christensen saw himself not as the “fantasy artist” label given him, but rather as an artist who paints the fantastic.

 

 

Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein

comic

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

 

 

 

Place your mouse on the X below and drag to the O. 

X Even though you can't see Him, GOD is there! O 

 

 

 

 

 

LECTIONARY

Jeremiah 29:1, 4–7 

Psalm 66:1–12 

2 Timothy 2:8–15 

Luke 17:11–19

 

October 9 – 28th Sunday of the Year C / 18th Sunday after Pentecost [Proper 23C]

One of the lepers, realizing that he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.  Jesus said in reply, “Ten were cleansed, were they not?  Where are the other nine?”
Luke 17: 11-19

THE WORD:

The grateful Samaritan leper is another of the great saints of Luke’s Gospel.  Terrified communities would cast out lepers from their midst, leaving them to fend for themselves outside the gates of their cities.  This group of lepers included both Jews (Galileans) and Samaritans – they are so desperate in their plight that the bitter animosity between Jew and Samaritan evaporates in their need to depend on one another.

In sending the lepers off to those who can legally verify a cure rather than curing them outright, Jesus puts the lepers’ faith to the test.  Only one – one of those despised Samaritans – realizes not only that he has been made clean but that he has been touched by God.  His returning to Jesus to give thanks reflects the healing that has taken place within the leper’s soul.  Faith is the recognition of the great love and compassion of God, a recognition that moves us to praise and acts of thanksgiving.

https://connectionsmediaworks.com/sundaygospel.html#oct9

 

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

These are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

Psalm 66:1-11

Jubilate Deo

1 Be joyful in God, all you lands; *
sing the glory of his Name;
sing the glory of his praise.

2 Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! *
because of your great strength your enemies cringe before you.

3 All the earth bows down before you, *
sings to you, sings out your Name."

4 Come now and see the works of God, *
how wonderful he is in his doing toward all people.

5 He turned the sea into dry land,
so that they went through the water on foot, *
and there we rejoiced in him.

6 In his might he rules for ever;
his eyes keep watch over the nations; *
let no rebel rise up against him.

7 Bless our God, you peoples; *
make the voice of his praise to be heard;

8 Who holds our souls in life, *
and will not allow our feet to slip.

9 For you, O God, have proved us; *
you have tried us just as silver is tried.

10 You brought us into the snare; *
you laid heavy burdens upon our backs.

11 You let enemies ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water; *
but you brought us out into a place of refreshment.

2 Timothy 2:8-15

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David-- that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. The saying is sure:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he will also deny us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful--
for he cannot deny himself.

Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.

Luke 17:11-19

On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" When he saw them, he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, "Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well."

https://www.lectionarypage.net/YearC_RCL/Pentecost/CProp23_RCL.html