Third Sunday of Lent

"Let's Eliminate Negative Thinking" *

 

 

At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did."

Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, 'See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?' He replied, 'Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"

Luke 13:1-9

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Vine Dresser and the Fig Tree

TISSOT, James

1886-1894

Brooklyn Museum

Watercolor

New York, NY

United States

 

Notes:

"...when his (Tissot) carefully researched collection of 350 watercolors depicting the life of Jesus was first published as a book in 1896, it found a large and enthusiastic audience. No one who had followed his previous career could have anticipated that this painter of urban life in Paris and London would undertake the project of painting virtually every event in the Gospels.

The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ project took nearly ten years to complete. When it was done, it chronicled the entire life of Jesus as recorded in the New Testament in a series of 350 watercolors. To research the project Tissot traveled to Egypt, Syria, and Palestine in 1886–87, and again in 1890.

While in the Holy Land he closely observed the landscape, the vegetation, the architecture, and the manner of dress, and filled sketchbooks with what he saw. He talked with rabbis and studied Talmudic literature as well as theological and historical volumes. He believed that there was still a remaining “aura” in the places where the Gospel events took place, and he spoke of having mystical experiences that added to his careful research. What he wanted to create was something as close as possible to an eyewitness account of the life of Jesus." [from Terry Glaspey's "75 Masterpieces Every Christian Should Know”]

https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/diglib-fulldisplay.pl?SID=20250319142902235&code=ACT&RC=56111&Row=10

 

 

 

 

Bloom where you are planted. **

~ Saint Francis de Sales

 

 

 

 

People seem not to see that

their opinion of the world

is also a confession of character.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

 

 

 

"🌏✨ We are thrilled to welcome our esteemed delegate, Dr. Robin Sakamoto from Kyorin University, Japan, at Parul University as part of our prestigious Visiting Delegate Program on March 19th, 2025. dr Robin’s presence signifies a remarkable opportunity to foster global academic excellence, cultural unity, and meaningful collaborations.

 

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Parul University is a private university in Vadodara, Gujarat, India.



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They even gave her a sari!

 

 

Spring Break Together

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Will, Mary, Jack, and John Alexander

 

Tina and Ray Yoshioka at the Boulder Public Library.IMG_3883.jpeg

Here, they are experimenting with 3D printing pens!

 

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Carolyn Alexander with Abby Yoshioka

 

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Kei Sakamoto qualified for the 2026 NYC Marathon!

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Hey Aunt Carolyn! Guess who qualified for 2026 NYC Marathon? 

I finished with the time of 1:20:08 which was over a 10 minute personal best!

Overall, I finished 404th out of 28,643. 

 

 

 

 

 

To teach how to live without certainty, and yet without being paralyzed by hesitation, is perhaps the chief thing that philosophy, in our age, can still do for those who study it.

~ Bertrand Russell

 

 

 

 

March 23, 2025 - Third Sunday of Lent- Year C

Previous OPQs may be found at: 

     http://www.dotjack.com/opq.htm

 

 

* "Let's Eliminate Negative Thinking.”  

Robert Schuler's acronym for lent. 

L.E.N.T. 

 

**  The Bishop of Geneva, Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622) is credited with the quote, “Bloom where you are planted.” Later Mary Engelbreit made the phrase popular, and countless Biblical references seem to point to various verses in the Bible that carry a similar idea.

 

 

Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein

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

 

 

BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED! | Kirk's Journal.jpeg

 

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LECTIONARY

Isaiah 55:1-9 

Psalm 63:1-8 

1 Corinthians 10:1-13 

Luke 13:1-9                              

THE WORD:

The belief prevailed in Jesus’ time that disasters and catastrophes were signs of God’s anger against sinful individuals or people – those massacred in the temple by Pilate’s soldiers during what the Romans perceived as a “revolt” and the workers who were killed when the tower they were building collapsed must have been horrible sinners.  Nonsense, Jesus says in today’s Gospel.  In this present age, neither good fortune nor calamity are indicators of one’s favor or disfavor with God.  In the age of come, God will judge the hearts of every soul, regardless of their situation in life.

The parable of the fig tree is a parable of crisis and compassion: the fig tree draws strength and sustenance from the soil but produces nothing in return.  Its only value is as firewood.  A similar fate awaits those who squander their lives in greedy, selfish pursuits.  God is the ever-patient gardener who gives every “fig tree” all the time, care and attention it needs to harvest.

The parable of the fig tree has been called the “Gospel of the second chance.”  The vinedresser pleads for the tree, asking that it be given another year to bear fruit.  We always live in the hope and mercy of God who keeps giving us “second chances” to rise from the ashes of sin to rebuild and reform our lives.   

 

Isaiah 55:1-9

Ho, everyone who thirsts,
   come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
   come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
   without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money
   for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which
   does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,
   and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me;
   listen, so that you may live.
I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
   my steadfast, sure love for David.
See, I made him a witness to the peoples,
   a leader and commander for the peoples.
See, you shall call nations that you do not know,
   and nations that do not know you shall run to you,
because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel,
   for he has glorified you.

Seek the Lord while he may be found,
   call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake their way,
   and the unrighteous their thoughts;
let them return to the Lord,
   that he may have mercy on them,
and to our God,
   for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
   nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
   so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Psalm 63:1-8

O God, you are my God,
   I seek you,
my soul thirsts 
   for you;

my flesh faints 
   for you,
as in a dry and weary land
   where there is no water.

So I have looked upon you 
   in the sanctuary,
beholding your power 
   and glory.

Because your steadfast love 
   is better than life,
my lips will praise you.

So I will bless you 
   as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands 
   and call on your name.

My soul is satisfied 
   as with a rich feast,
and my mouth praises you 
   with joyful lips

when I think of you 
   on my bed,
and meditate on you 
   in the watches of the night;

for you have been 
   my help,
and in the shadow 
   of your wings 
I sing for joy.

My soul clings to you;
   your right hand upholds me.

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.

Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play." We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.

Luke 13:1-9

At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did."

Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, 'See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?' He replied, 'Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"