A Good Measure

 

27"But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. 31Do to others as you would have them do to you.

32"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

37"Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back."

Luke 6:27-38

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Polyptych of the Misericordia

 

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Madonna of Mercy

Piero della Francesca

1460-1462

Tempera and oil on panel

Pinacoteca Comunale

Sansepolcro

Italy

 

https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/diglib-fulldisplay.pl?SID=20250222487905208&code=act&RC=55354&Row=17

 

This famous masterpiece is the ‘Polyptych of the Misericordia’ by Piero Della Francesca. He painted it for his hometown of Sansepolcro, a region of Tuscany, Italy. Commissioned in 1445 by the Compagnia Della Misericordia, today the painting is conserved in the Museo Civico di Sansepolcro. The gigantic size of the canvas indicates that the Polyptych was intended to be used as an altarpiece.  

 

Although a painter of the Early Renaissance, Piero was contemporarily known as a mathematician and geometer. Nevertheless, today   he  is primarily appreciated for his art characterized by monumentality, mathematical rigor, and naturalism.

 

It is important to note that the gold background surrounding the figures was a distinct request by the confraternity. It compelled the artist to abandon his much-loved landscape scenes. However, to deal with the flatness of the gilded panel Piero presented the kneeling members in a realistic three-dimensional space. Notice the curved robes of the Madonna. Doesn’t it resemble the sacred apse of the Church? Does it not reflect Mary’s role as Mother of God, our Mother as well as the Mother of the Church?

 

https://www.pottypadre.com/mary-a-masterpiece-madonna-of-mercy-by-piero-della-francesca/

 





Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. 

Do justly, now. 

Have mercy, now. 

Walk humbly, now. 

You are not obligated to complete the work, 

but neither are you free to abandon it.

~ from The Talmud

 

 

 

A brook would lose its song 

if God removed the rocks.

~ Wallace Stegner

 

 

 





Lunch and Learn last Sunday

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Pastor Richard Aylor showing photos of last year’s English Camp in Guatemala.

https://www.puravida.org/virtual-trip.html?trip_id=114

 

 

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My wonderful neighbor, Johna McLean, and I had a delightful 

time at Creekside Cellars on Monday!

 

 

Our Painted Toe Artist Society group met at the Depot Art Gallery in Littleton to honor Pat Martin’s selection as Artist of the Month.

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Johanna, Brian, Pat, Nancy, Carolyn, CV in front of 

Pat Foster’s wall of her artwork.

Then we had lunch at Cafe Terracotta.

 

Artist of the month

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Pat Foster

Watercolor, acrylics, oils and alcohol ink

 

SNOW!

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It was melting even as it was still falling!

 

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Ray and Tina Yoshioka loved it!

(Photo by Junna Yoshioka)

 

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Lynn and Jim Gilbert and I had dinner at Jin Asian Fusion 

before attending Clybourne Park at the Arvada Center.

 

 

CONGRATULATIONS KEI!!!

Brooklyn Prospect Park

 

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Kei Sakamoto and his two team members 

finished in 4th Place with a time of 56min 49 sec!

It was a wet and coooooold 10 mile relay!

 

 

 

 

It is not ‘forive and forget’ as if nothing wrong had ever happened,

but 'forgive and go forward,’ 

building on the mistakes of the past and the energy generated

by reconciliation to create a new future.

~ Carolyn Osiek

 

 

 

 

February 23, 2025 - Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany - Year C

Previous OPQs may be found at:

     http://www.dotjack.com/opq.htm

 

 

3Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.

4Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come closer to me." And they came closer. He said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. 10You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11I will provide for you there--since there are five more years of famine to come--so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.'" 15And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.

Genesis 45:3-11, 15

Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein

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Agnus Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday

 

 

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LECTIONARY

Genesis 45:3-11, 15

 Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40

1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50 

Luke 6:27-38

 

THE WORD:

Continuing his Sermon on the Plain, Jesus again turns upside down another accepted standard of Jewish morality.  The principle of “do to no one what you yourself dislike” (as articulated in Tobit 4: 15) was not enough for those who seek to be God's holy people.  Jesus demands that his disciples “love your enemies.”
    
The Greek word for love used in this text is agape, a sense of benevolence, kindness and charity towards others.   In other words, no matter what a person does to us we will never allow ourselves to seek anything but the highest good for him or her.  The radical love of God that is the mark of the Christian is presented clearly and emphatically here.  In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus calls us not just to passive adherence to the standard of the “Golden Rule,” but to actively seek out the good in everyone, to risk being duped or hurt in our compassion and forgiveness of another.  The completeness and limitlessness of God's own love and mercy for us should be the measure of our love and mercy for one another.

In every relationship, in every set of circumstances, the faithful disciple of Jesus seeks to break the cycle of hatred and distrust by taking that often-formidable first step to love, to seek reconciliation above all else.

Seeing beyond hatreds and differences, borders and boundaries, flags and uniforms, languages and cultures, suspicions and unsettled scores is the cutting edge of the Gospel.  The relationship we seek with God we must first seek with one another.  

https://connectionsmediaworks.com/sundaygospel.html#feb23

 

 

First Reading Genesis 45:3-11, 15

3Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.

4Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come closer to me." And they came closer. He said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. 10You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11I will provide for you there--since there are five more years of famine to come--so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.'" 15And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.

Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40

1Do not fret because of the wicked; 

do not be envious of wrongdoers, 

2for they will soon fade like the grass, 

and wither like the green herb. 

3Trust in the LORD, and do good; 

so you will live in the land, and enjoy security. 

4Take delight in the LORD, 

and he will give you the desires of your heart. 

5Commit your way to the LORD; 

trust in him, and he will act. 

6He will make your vindication shine like the light, 

and the justice of your cause like the noonday. 

7Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him; 

do not fret over those who prosper in their way, 

over those who carry out evil devices. 

8Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. 

Do not fret--it leads only to evil. 

9For the wicked shall be cut off, 

but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land. 

10Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; 

 

though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there. 

11But the meek shall inherit the land, 

and delight themselves in abundant prosperity. 

39The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; 

he is their refuge in the time of trouble. 

40The LORD helps them and rescues them; 

he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them, 

because they take refuge in him.

Second Reading 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

35But someone will ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?" 36Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.

42So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. 43It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. 44It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. 45Thus it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the physical, and then the spiritual. 47The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. 49Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.

50What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

Gospel Luke 6:27-38

27"But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. 31Do to others as you would have them do to you.

32"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

37"Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back."