Wisdom Cries Out

 

1Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. 3If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. 4Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! 6And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, 8but no one can tame the tongue-a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. 10From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. 11Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? 12Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

James 3:1-12

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Hypocrite and Slanderer

MESSERSCHMIDT, Franz Xaver

1770-1783

Sculpture

Metal

Metropolitan Museum of Art

New York, NY

United States

 

Messerschmidt, the leading sculptor at the court in Vienna in the 1760s, was forced, for personal and professional reasons, to leave for the provinces and by 1777 had settled in Pressburg (today Bratislava). There he concentrated on a private series of heads, completing more than sixty in his preferred medium of tin alloy or in alabaster.

More 



https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/236688

 

 

 

 

Raise your words, not your voice,

It is rain that grows flowers, 

not thunder.

~ Rumi

 

 

 

Remember that not getting what you want
is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

~ Dalai Lama

 

 

 

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Pastor Richard Aylor proposed to Brianna Kneisel atop Kit Carson, a 14er!

 

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AND … he announced it in church on Sunday.

 

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Junna and Eugene Yoshioka, their three children, and I had dinner at the Dark Horse in Boulder.

 

 

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As she gnawed my hand, I was happy Abby didn’t have any teeth yet!

 

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Eugene and Ray

 

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Ray and I were a team.

(I have a cute short video of Ray and me if anyone wants me to text it.)

 

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Tina wanted to play too.

 

Rotary Annual Recycle Day

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Phiz was in charge of refreshments.

(Photo by Kimra Perkins)

 

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Organizer Alan Rubin, President Mindy Hanson

 

 

 

Don’t be content in your life just to do no wrong.

Be prepared every day to try and do some good.

~ Sir Nicolas Winton*

 

 

 

September 15, 2024 Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost [Proper 19B]

Previous OPQs may be found at: 

     http://www.dotjack.com/opq.htm

*    http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=3856a

          Sir Nicolas Winton: 

            Rescuer of 669 Holocaust Children Honored by Survivors

                     http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=3856

 

 

27Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" 28And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." 29He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah." 30And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

31Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."

34He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. 36For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

Mark 8:27-38

Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein

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

 

 

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Besides what James tells us, Proverbs warns of the “scoffing,” “waywardness,” and “complacency” that come from a deafness to Wisdom and her “cries out in the street.”

 

 

Proverbs 1:20-33

Wisdom cries out in the street;
in the squares she raises her voice.

At the busiest corner she cries out;
at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
"How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
and fools hate knowledge?

Give heed to my reproof;
I will pour out my thoughts to you;
I will make my words known to you.

Because I have called and you refused,
have stretched out my hand and no one heeded,
and because you have ignored all my counsel
and would have none of my reproof,
I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when panic strikes you,
when panic strikes you like a storm,
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.

Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently, but will not find me.

 

 

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LECTIONARY

Proverbs 1:20–33 

Psalm 19 

James 3:1–12 

Mark 8:27–38

 

SUMMARY

https://www.preachingtoday.com/lectionary/

Along the way Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say I am?”  Peter said to him in reply, “You are the Christ . . . ”
[Jesus] turned around and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan.  You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
Mark 8: 27-3
5

THE WORD:

Every moment we live, every decision and choice we make, every good thing we do is our most revealing and telling response to the question, Who do you say I am?   Our love for family and friends, our commitment to the highest moral and ethical standards, our willingness to take the first step toward reconciliation and forgiveness are, ultimately, our true confession of faith in Jesus Christ as the Love and Word of God incarnate.

https://connectionsmediaworks.com/sundaygospel.html#sept15

 

First Reading Proverbs 1:20-33

20Wisdom cries out in the street;

in the squares she raises her voice.

21At the busiest corner she cries out;

at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:

22"How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?

How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing

and fools hate knowledge?

23Give heed to my reproof;

I will pour out my thoughts to you;

I will make my words known to you.

24Because I have called and you refused,

have stretched out my hand and no one heeded,

25and because you have ignored all my counsel

and would have none of my reproof,

26I also will laugh at your calamity;

I will mock when panic strikes you,

27when panic strikes you like a storm,

and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,

when distress and anguish come upon you.

28Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;

they will seek me diligently, but will not find me.

29Because they hated knowledge

and did not choose the fear of the LORD,

30would have none of my counsel,

and despised all my reproof,

31therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way

and be sated with their own devices.

32For waywardness kills the simple,

and the complacency of fools destroys them;

33but those who listen to me will be secure

and will live at ease, without dread of disaster."

Psalm 19:1-14

1The heavens are telling the glory of God;

and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.

2Day to day pours forth speech,

and night to night declares knowledge.

3There is no speech, nor are there words;

their voice is not heard;

4yet their voice goes out through all the earth,

and their words to the end of the world.



In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,

5which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy,

and like a strong man runs its course with joy.

6Its rising is from the end of the heavens,

and its circuit to the end of them;

and nothing is hidden from its heat.



7The law of the LORD is perfect,

reviving the soul;

the decrees of the LORD are sure,

making wise the simple;

8the precepts of the LORD are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the LORD is clear,

enlightening the eyes;

9the fear of the LORD is pure,

enduring for ever;

the ordinances of the LORD are true

and righteous altogether.

10More to be desired are they than gold,

even much fine gold;

sweeter also than honey,

and drippings of the honeycomb.



11Moreover by them is your servant warned;

in keeping them there is great reward.

12But who can detect their errors?

Clear me from hidden faults.

13Keep back your servant also from the insolent;

do not let them have dominion over me.

Then I shall be blameless,

and innocent of great transgression.



14Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable to you,

O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

Second Reading James 3:1-12

1Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. 3If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. 4Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! 6And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, 8but no one can tame the tongue-a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. 10From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. 11Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? 12Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

Gospel Mark 8:27-38

27Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" 28And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." 29He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah." 30And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

31Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."

34He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. 36For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."