Give Thanks

Servants of Truth

Christ the King  (or Reign of Christ)

 

“For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.  

Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
John 18: 33-37



1Now these are the last words of David: The oracle of David, son of Jesse, the oracle of the man whom God exalted, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the favorite of the Strong One of Israel: 2The spirit of the LORD speaks through me, his word is upon my tongue. 3The God of Israel has spoken, the Rock of Israel has said to me: One who rules over people justly, ruling in the fear of God, 4is like the light of morning, like the sun rising on a cloudless morning, gleaming from the rain on the grassy land.

5Is not my house like this with God? For he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. Will he not cause to prosper all my help and my desire? 6But the godless are all like thorns that are thrown away; for they cannot be picked up with the hand; 7to touch them one uses an iron bar or the shaft of a spear. And they are entirely consumed in fire on the spot.



2 Samuel 23:1-7

Screenshot 2024-11-23 at 1.56.08 PM.png

Saying Grace

ROCKWELL, Norman

Saturday Evening Post

November 24, 1951

 

 

 

One of the truest tests of integrity

is its blunt refusal to be compromised.

~ Chinua Achebe

 

  

 

To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, 

to enact gratitude is generous and noble, 

but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven. 

~ Johannes A. Gaertner

 

 

 

IMG_6580.jpeg

Junna and the kids came up to visit EChO Resale Shop.

They were looking for snow clothes … 

AND Ray and Tina each found trains.

 

IMG_6584.jpeg

Abby still has blue eyes!

 

IMG_6587.jpeg

Ray loves his sister.

 

IMG_6592.jpeg

Junna, Abby, Ray, and Tina Yoshioka

 

IMG_6640.jpeg

Harley had a shampoo and blow-dry!

He looks like a baby polar bear.

 

 

 

 

And He will raise you up on eagle's wings,

Bear you on the breath of dawn,

Make you to shine like the sun,

And hold you in the palm of His Hand.

~ Michael Joncas **

 

** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elJuLI2mK4c

 

 

 

 

November 24, 2024 Last Sunday after Pentecost [Proper 29B]

Christ the King (or Reign of Christ)

Previous OPQs may be found at: 

 

33Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" 34Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?" 35Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?" 36Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here." 37Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." 

John 18:33-37

Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein

image.png

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

 

 

 

 

 

image021.jpg

LECTIONARY

2 Samuel 23:1–7 

Psalm 132:1–12 (13–18) 

Revelation 1:4b–8 

John 18:33–37

 

THEME:

 

https://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/2224/worship-elements-january-14-2018

 

THE WORD:

We cannot be Christians by default but only by choice; we cannot respond passively to the call to discipleship, only actively can we embrace the spirit of the “kingdom” of God, a kingdom built on compassion, justice and truth.

The kingdom of Jesus is not found in the world’s centers of power but within human hearts; it is built not by deals among the power elite but by compassionate hands; Christ reigns neither by influence nor wealth but by selfless charity and justice.

To be faithful disciples of Christ is to be servants of truth: truth that liberates and renews, truth that gives and sustains life and hope, truth that transcends rationalizations, half-truths and delusions, truth that serves as a looking glass for seeing the world in the intended design of God.

Christ’s reign is realized only in our embracing a vision of humankind as a family made in the image of God, a vision of one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, a vision of the world centered in the spirit of hope and compassion taught by Christ.   

https://connectionsmediaworks.com/sundaygospel.html#nov24

 

 

First Reading 2 Samuel 23:1-7

1Now these are the last words of David: The oracle of David, son of Jesse, the oracle of the man whom God exalted, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the favorite of the Strong One of Israel: 2The spirit of the LORD speaks through me, his word is upon my tongue. 3The God of Israel has spoken, the Rock of Israel has said to me: One who rules over people justly, ruling in the fear of God, 4is like the light of morning, like the sun rising on a cloudless morning, gleaming from the rain on the grassy land.

5Is not my house like this with God? For he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. Will he not cause to prosper all my help and my desire? 6But the godless are all like thorns that are thrown away; for they cannot be picked up with the hand; 7to touch them one uses an iron bar or the shaft of a spear. And they are entirely consumed in fire on the spot.

Psalm 132:1-12 (13-18)

1O LORD, remember in David's favor

all the hardships he endured;

2how he swore to the LORD

and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,

3"I will not enter my house

or get into my bed;

4I will not give sleep to my eyes

or slumber to my eyelids,

5until I find a place for the LORD,

a dwelling-place for the Mighty One of Jacob."

6We heard of it in Ephrathah;

we found it in the fields of Jaar.

7"Let us go to his dwelling-place;

let us worship at his footstool."

8Rise up, O LORD, and go to your resting-place,

you and the ark of your might.

9Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,

and let your faithful shout for joy.

10For your servant David's sake

do not turn away the face of your anointed one.

11The LORD swore to David a sure oath

from which he will not turn back:

"One of the sons of your body

I will set on your throne.

12If your sons keep my covenant

and my decrees that I shall teach them,

their sons also, for evermore,

shall sit on your throne."

13For the LORD has chosen Zion;

he has desired it for his habitation:

14"This is my resting-place for ever;

here I will reside, for I have desired it.

15I will abundantly bless its provisions;

I will satisfy its poor with bread.

16Its priests I will clothe with salvation,

and its faithful will shout for joy.

17There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David;

I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one.

18His enemies I will clothe with disgrace,

but on him, his crown will gleam."

Second Reading Revelation 1:4b-8

4bGrace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, 6and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

7Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen.

8"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

Gospel John 18:33-37

33Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" 34Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?" 35Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?" 36Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here." 37Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”