Frontpage, Feb. 17, 2019

February 17, 2019 – Epiphany 6

“The spacious slope of the Mount of Beatitudes (also known as Mount Eremos, a Greek word meaning solitary or uninhabited) would have provided ample space for a large crowd to gather to hear Jesus”

“Archaeologist Bargil Pixner says: “The terrace above this still existing cave, called Mughara Ayub, must be considered the traditional place of the Sermon on the Mount. The hillcrest of Eremos indeed offers a magnificent view over the entire lake and the surrounding villages. The cragginess of this hill meant it was left uncultivated and enabled Jesus to gather large crowds around him without causing damage to the farmers.”

Pictures and text from this Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019

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The Week Ahead…

Feb. 20 – 10:00-12pm – Ecumenical Bible Study

Feb. 20 – 3:00-5:00pm – Village Harvest distribution

Help needed: 9:30ish, help needed to unload the truck. Many hands make light work. 1PM, help needed to set up. 3-5PM help needed for the distribution itself. Help the shoppers gather what they need. You can still bring cleaning supplies on the day since these are not available at the Food Bank. Thank you for your contributions of both food and time. Everyone can share in making this important St Peter’s ministry happen.

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Feb. 24 – 9am – Holy Eucharist, Epiphany 6

Feb. 24 – 10am – Adult Education – Good Book Club – Romans

Feb. 24 – 10am – Children’s Education Living the Good News

Feb. 24 – 11am – Morning Prayer, Epiphany 6

Sunday, Feb. 24 Readings and Servers

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Lent Christian Ed – Sunday Preview 1st Corinthians

Around 50AD a woman named Chloe was the leader of a house church in Corinth. But she was very upset because, like some churches today, her church was splitting apart. There were those who said there is only one true apostle, and that’s Paul. The wealthier, more educated people said, “Nah, Paul’s just a poor tentmaker who can’t even speak well. We follow Apollos, the teacher of wisdom.” The Jewish believers said, “Paul’s too liberal. Peter follows the law and he is our leader forever!” And the charismatic group of slaves said, “You’re all wrong. We should be following Christ alone!”

Creating a Scene in Corinth:A Simulation explores 1st Corinthians through a book by Reta Halteman Finger which provides an introduction to the Greco-Roman setting of Corinth and a chapter-by-chapter survey of Paul’s letter and in turn leads to a simulation of a church.

The participants divide into four factions – those favoring Paul, Apollos, Peter, and the Christ group (1 Corinthians 1:12). A brief description of the background and nature of the groups gives the participants a sense of their role in the recreation. The characters represent a cross-section of Corinthian society: they include slaves and freeborn, widows and singles, and a number who have suffered deprivation and sexual abuse – much like typical society in that day. The authors encourage the readers/actors to respond to the oral text of 1 Corinthians as if the church hadn’t yet solidified its authority as God’s revelation (as the original listeners did).

The book and class will be a unique way to understand the Corinthians 1 as text and the environment in which it was created.

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Remembering St. Matthias Feb 24, or Feb. 25

“St. Matthias” – Peter Paul Rubens (1611).

After the defection of Judas , St. Peter’s in a  “general assembly of the faithful” declared the need for a 12^th apostle.  This was after the Ascension. With all the questions, doubts, and dangers facing them, they chose to focus their attention on finding a twelfth apostle. Why was this important? Twelve was a very important number to the Chosen People: twelve was the number of the twelve tribes of Israel. If the new Israel was to come from the disciples of Jesus, a twelfth  apostle was needed.

One hundred and twenty people were gathered for prayer and reflection in the upper room, when Peter stood up to propose the way to make the choice.

Peter had one criterion, that, like Andrew, James, John, and himself, the new apostle be someone who had been a disciple from the very beginning, from his baptism by John until the Ascension. The reason for this was simple, the new apostle would must become a witness to Jesus’ resurrection. He must have followed Jesus before anyone knew him, stayed with him when he made enemies, and believed in him when he spoke of the cross and of eating his body — teachings that had made others melt away.

Two were considered as most worthy of the dignity, Joseph, called Barsabas, and, on account of his extraordinary piety, surnamed the Just, and Matthias. Matthias was chosen by lot and we celebrate his day on Feb. 25. Clement of Alexandria says that Matthias, like all the other apostles, was not chosen by Jesus for what he already was, but for what Jesus foresaw he would become. He was elected not because he was worthy but because he would become worthy

Read the rest of the story..

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Epiphany –  Jan 6 until Lent  begins March 6, 2019

Adoration of the Magi – Bartholomäus Zeitblom (c. 1450 – c. 1519)

The English word “Epiphany” comes from the Greek word epiphaneia, which means “appearing” or “revealing.” Epiphany focuses on God’s self-revelation in Christ.  

Epiphany celebrates the twelfth day of Christmas, the coming of the Magi to give homage to God’s Beloved Child. 

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The Epiphany celebration remembers the three miracles that manifest the divinity of Christ. The celebration originated in the Eastern Church in AD 361, beginning as a commemoration of the birth of Christ. Later, additional meanings were added – the visit of the three Magi, Christ’s baptism in the Jordan River with the voice from heaven that identifies Jesus as God’s son, and his first miracle at the wedding in Cana. These three events are central to the definition of Epiphany, and its meaning is drawn from these occurrences.

More about Epiphany

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Lectionary, Feb. 24, 2019

I. Theme – Love Your Enemy

The lectionary readings are here  or individually:

Old Testament – Genesis 45:3-11, 15
Psalm – Psalm 37:1-12, 41-42
Epistle – 1 Corinthians 15:35-38,42-50
Gospel – Luke 6:27-38

The main idea this week is that of loving your enemy. The Joseph story gives a wonderful example of how Joseph was able to forgive his brothers, despite all they had done to him so many years before. Telling that story afresh and tying it up to Jesus’ words could be very powerful. The Psalm is a salutary reminder that evil is temporary and death is the great leveler. We need to get our attitude right if we are not going to be embittered or cynical.

That begins with God and when we reaffirm our trust in God then we can dare to engage in the adventure of faith both by living right and loving our enemies. It may have been a journey such as the Psalmist describes that took Joseph on a journey from hate to love.

The teaching of Jesus in Luke gives some concrete examples that we can
easily understand but that makes them also harder to run away from.

Read more..

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Luke’s Beatitudes

There are two Beatitudes in the Bible, Matthew 5:3-12 and Luke 6:20-23 which is in the lectionary for Feb. 17. Both are similar in that they contain a guide for the conduct of the disciples on this earth. Of these shared beatitudes, Luke has written the equivalent of Matthew’s first, fourth, second and ninth beatitudes, in that order.

Similarities. Here is a beatitudes comparison using a table of the two accounts

1  Poor –. Matthew “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” and Luke “Blessed are you who are poor.” They will inherit the Kingdome of Heaven (Matthew) or God (Luke” Luke’s account contains some woes – “But woe to you who are rich,for you have received your consolation.”

2 Hungry – Matthew “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,” and Luke “Blessed are you who are hungry”. In both cases you will be filled. The rejoinder from Luke – “Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry

3  Hate/Persecution – Matthew “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” And Luke “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man.”  In both cases your reward is in heaven. Luke’s “woe” – Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their  ancestors did to the  false prophets.

Read more..

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A Powerpoint look at the Beatitudes

 

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