John 1: 43-51

Main Point:  Our primary sense is faith in God.

Ever since I was a kid, maybe 5 years old…

I have had to wear glasses…

Without my glasses,

I am legally blind…

I can see…

but looking at you from 3 feet away,

I will not be able to tell that you have a face.

Now oddly enough, even though I have fully corrected vision,

I will often misplace things,

and I will ask Emily if she has seen whatever it is…

and she will point to it,

and there it is,

where I would least expect it.

right in front of my face!

It’s like if something is not where I think it should be

I cannot see it, even though it is in full view.

                  I must be legally blind even with glass

I’m surprised they let me drive!

———————————-

Nazareth was the least likely place

from which the Messiah would come…

the One written about in the prophets…

So Nathanael didn’t believe Philip when

when he told him that they had found the Messiah!

who was the son of Joseph of Nazareth

Nazareth was an insignificant village of 200-400 people…

No mention anywhere of it in scripture!

Nathanael just couldn’t conceptualize it…

because it wasn’t supposed to happen that way!

But Philip told him to Come and See for himself…

but I wonder why that would do any good…

Even though he could fully see…

was he not blinded by his expectations?

But when he encountered Jesus…

                                    he perceived something he could not see!

———————————————–

In our Old Testament lesson,

the young Samuel was working under the tutelage of

Eli… who was going blind,

and it is a time

when all of Israel was going through dark times…

“visions were not widespread.”

And the story happens at night,

and they are in a place where God

would most likely be found…

in the temple with the ark of God right there…

Yet only a voice in the night is heard…

nothing is seen.

Samuel hears his name being called…

And he immediately assumes it is Eli…

It makes the most sense that the person

nearby is the one that is speaking…

So three times he hears his name being called out…

and Eli keeps telling him it wasn’t him.

Finally even though Eli cannot see,

he perceives that it is God…

and encourages Samuel,

that he should listen.

that he should call out

in the empty darkness and say,

“Speak for your servant is listening!”
———————————————————

I heard a story on the radio about the importance of hearing…

that it is the primary sense.

The sense of hearing is the first to develop.

We can hear before we are ever born…

the sound of our mother’s voice surrounds

us as we are sloshing around in the womb

and so from birth,

we respond to our mother’s voice.

over any other voice.

It is also widely believed that when we die…

hearing is the last sense to go.

We can shut our eyes.

but we cannot shut off our ears even if we plug them

or turn down our hearing aids during a boring sermon.

Even when we are asleep we are processing

auditory information so a loud noise will

waken us.

And so if total deafness strikes,

I think it would be particularly unnerving.

I don’t know if it would be any more so,

than losing sight…

but hearing orients us in our world in a way

that visual information does not.

Having had extended ear infections  a long time ago

I could have sworn I lived under water.

And yet as a culture we trust and rely on our vision,

more than the other senses.

But in our Old Testament lesson

God is heard, not seen.

And so it takes a while for Samuel to believe.

And in the first chapter of John,

the news of Jesus is spread by word of mouth…

which Nathanael hears, but doesn’t buy…

until Philip told him to “come and see.”

“Come and see” what you least expect…

And when Nathanael saw Jesus…

and realized that Jesus saw right through him…

then he believed what he heard through his ears.

But he also perceived what he did not hear or see…

when he exclaims that Jesus is the Son of God,

and King of Israel.

None of these titles had been told him,

It is one of the first confessions of faith in John…

And Jesus told him that he would even see further

what can only be perceived…

angels ascending and descending,

as Jacob saw when his senses were

suspended by sleep…

a vision of the meeting place of heaven and earth

that is Jesus himself…

So it was through faith that Nathanael

saw and believed what he heard…

I suspect that faith is our primary sense…

We may be able to hear with our ears

our loved ones voices,

and we can see with our eyes

the beauty of creation…

But the real sense that long preceded our birth,

and will outlast both vision and hearing…

is Faith.

Faith that sees what cannot be seen…

and hears the voice of God calling us…

I suspect even if we are deaf and blind,

faith could be that much stronger.

We can come and see

in the most unlikely of places

and we can hear the voice of the Son of God,

the voice of the One calling us…

the voice our soul hears

before all other voices

The One who was present at the beginning of creation,

And will be with us through life everlasting.

Wednesday Evening Bible Study

We are continuing our Wednesday evening forum/Bible study. Join us (if you can) for Mass at 5:30, followed by pizza in the parlor at 6:00 (bring a side dish if you like) then bible study at about 6:45.

“We welcome all to live and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

January Altar Gifts

January 1^st – Holy Name

Candle –  Joan Bake

Flowers – Christmas Flowers

January 8^th – Baptism of Our Lord

Candle –     Darrell & Martha Smith

Flowers -   Liz Pearson

January 15^th – The 2^nd Sunday after the Epiphany

Candle –  Joan Bake

Flowers – Doug & Peggy Cummings

January 22^nd – The 3^rd Sunday after the Epiphany

Candle –     OPEN

Flowers –  OPEN

January 29^th – The 4^th Sunday after the Epiphany

Candle – OPEN

Flowers – OPEN

If you would like to make a flower dedication ($35), please call Patty Chambers at

341-2989.  To make a candle dedication ($10) please call the church office at 943-8548.

The Guild of St. George

During the month of January The Guild of St. George

will collect dry or canned beans, as well as toiletry items.

Our collection basket is located in the Narthex.

Parish Annual Meeting

Mark your calendar for January 29, 2012 when we will hold our Parish Annual Meeting.  After the 10:30am service, we will have a potluck lunch, followed by the Annual Meeting.  We will vote in a new Junior Warden and three Vestry members.

Please plan to attend!

JANUARY ANNIVERSARIES

January 6^th – Mike and Peggy Mayfield

The GO Team Schedule (Greeters and Oblationers)

January Schedule

January 1^st -      TBA

January 8^th    –    Mike Grissom & Mark Anderson

January 15^th    -  Mike Maney & Kim Jackson

January 22^nd  – James Hesketh & Rachel Mosier

January 29^th   –  Stuart & Dana Chai

If you have questions regarding the GO Team schedule or would like to be a GO Team member, please call Robbie or Adrienne Robertson at 722-9151.

St. John’s Episcopal Church

5401 North Brookline Ave.

Oklahoma City, OK  73112-3598

___________________________________________________________________

The Rev. David R. Stock – Rector

The Rev. Dana Orwig – Deacon

The Rev. Dr. John P. Ryan – Rector Emeritus

Cynthia Cortright D.M.A. – Organist / Choir Director

Mr. Joe Norton – Head of St. John’s Episcopal School

Mrs. Rosemary Orwig-Rodgers – Youth Director

Mrs. Martha Smith – Administrative Assistant

SUNDAY SCHEDULE:

8:00a.m.-Rite I Eucharist

9:15a.m. – Sunday School for All Ages

10:30a.m. – Rite II Eucharist

Sacrament of Reconciliation & Counseling by Appointment

Solemn Evensong & Benediction – as announced

Parish office hours are from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Monday through Thursday

 Church Phone: 943-8548           Fax: 943-8549

School Office: 943-8583

E-mail address: st-johns-church@st-john.k12.ok.us

Website: www.stjohnsokc.org

Sunday January 1, 2012

Do you have a hard time remembering names?  If so, you are not alone.  Even if you know someone very well, at certain moments it seems that their name alludes you, and you find yourself fishing in your mind, trying to remember!  I have heard that our brains can handle up to 250 names at a time.  This makes sense to me, because when I learn a new name, my brain seems to push out an old one!!!  I understand that people who are very good at remembering names use some kind of strategy that helps them remember, and it often includes using some kind of intentional repetition.  The new name we learn has to be used, or we will lose it!

How we love to be called by name!  I had a math teacher back in college… I cannot remember her name(!) but she always remembered mine, even years later!  In fact she remembered all of her students… the thousands, maybe tens of thousands of them!  And it communicated to me and to the rest of us that she really loved us and cared about us.  We love to hear our names.  When someone calls us by our name, we feel within ourselves a deep response:  “Someone knows me! Someone remembers me, remembers my name.  I must actually be someone!”

Sometimes I wonder about newly consecrated bishops.  I suspect that once you are a bishop, people don’t want to call you by your first name anymore.  You are often just referred to by the title, “Bishop” as a matter of respect and honor for the office, and perhaps to keep a safe distance.  And yet I wonder if one does not begin to miss hearing one’s name.

In the Old Testament the actual name of God, YHWH and must never be pronounced… because to do so would take away from its sacredness.  So whenever YHWH appears in Hebrew scriptures, it is often substituted with the Hebrew “Adonai,” which is a title and is translated in English as LORD.  And yet we silently repeat the name unknowingly because it is the sound of a simple breath, “Yah-weh.”

In the sixty fifth chapter of the prophet Isaiah, we find this startling verse:

“I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask,

to be found by those who did not seek me.

I said, “Here I am, here I am,”

to a nation that did not call on my name.”  (Is 65: 1)

It was God lamenting over God’s people in exile in Babylon, who forgot to call on God, to call God’s name repeatedly, intentionally, and instead got enmeshed in Babylonian culture.  And yet God says “Here I am, Here I am.”  In Exodus, God appears to Moses from the burning bush.  And Moses inquires of God whom should he tell the Egyptians sent him. And God tells Moses: “Tell them ‘I am’ sent you…” (Exodus 3:14).  Names mean many different things… each one of our names means something, but at their core, they all mean “I am.”

On this day, January 1^st, New Years Day, we remember one name in particular: a powerful name that we sometimes avoid to prefer the title out of respect for the sacred and to allow for a little safe distance, the title being Christ, which means the Anointed One, the Messiah:  a title nonetheless, formal, but not personal.  Yet God yearns to be called by name.  And in this name, we know that God remembers each and everyone of us by our names, because this name contains all of our names through faith.

And that name is JESUS… Jeshua, in Hebrew, which means YHWH Saves, or God is generous.  JESUS: In this name God saves or remembers us.  For in the name of Jesus, God has come to us, God’s people in a child, named by an angel… and through him God has named us as God’s own in the core of our being.

There is a prayer form that is common in the Orthodox tradition… a prayer that brings with it a certain amount of repetition… a memory aid which helps when we are likely to forget that important name that we need to carry through our days.

It is called the Jesus Prayer… It begins in a number of forms from the very simple to the somewhat more elaborate…

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God,

have mercy on me a sinner.”

A common practice of this prayer is to begin in full as a prayer that sounds quite formal, but with each repetition words are one by one eliminated to move from formality and safety to deeper and deeper intimacy.  The titles tend to go first, and the name that is above every name stays to be etched into our consciousness and memory:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of Living God, have mercy on me.

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.

Lord Jesus, have mercy on me.

Lord Jesus, have mercy.  (or have me)

Lord Jesus.

Jesus… Jesus…

And then we allow the name to rest in our hearts as we silently breath the sacred name, in and out, and as we open ourselves to the One who calls us. “Here I am.”  “Here I am.”

Blessings,

Fr. David+

“Keep awake!” we are told repeatedly during the Advent season.  According to Christopher Hutson of Hood Theological Seminary, the last thing congregations need to be told this time of year is to “stay awake.”  We have enough insomnia already.  With stores opening at midnight on Black Friday, packed calendars, increased work and social responsibilities, we can start pedaling too fast.  It’s easy to be up at night either trying to “get it all done,” or we toss and turn in bed worrying about it.

For those of us who have suffered insomnia, we know that at some point not even coffee helps keep us awake.  We start dozing off at the wheel of a car.  Sleep can come when it is least desired or most dangerous.  We are not asked in Advent to give up even more sleep.

Instead, we are called to explore wakefulness.  Wakefulness presupposes adequate rest.  In fact to be alert and wakeful, we are also restful.  We let go of the rush, the struggle, the worry, all the preoccupations that dominate and constrict our attention, putting to sleep our awareness of opportunities to love.  Instead we are asked to broaden our attention, rather than narrow it.

When we are anxious, we have tunnel vision.  Psychologists would tell us that we become hyper-aware of whatever concerns or consumes us, and we unwittingly tune out anything that seems irrelevant.  Wakefulness, however can happen even with our eyes closed, when we are listening… listening for the many sounds that surround us, unfiltered: the sounds of the Salvation Army bell… the carolers down the street… the wind blowing outside, ravaging those who don’t have an adequate coat, the soft mumbles of that vagabond sitting out on the street, asking for change.

This Advent, we can give ourselves a break from whatever numbs us to God’s presence: the blaring TV ads to buy more stuff, the inner dialogue steeped in high expectations.  Instead we can rest.  We can close our eyes, and awaken to the sounds.  Listen… listen… listen… and respond, as a fountain of love overflowing, yet nestled in the stillness of God.

Blessings,

Fr. David+

December Altar Gifts

December 4^th – The Second Sunday of Advent

Candle –  Martha Custer

Flowers – Darrell and Martha Smith

December 11^th – The Third Sunday of Advent

Candle –     Michele Loudenback

Flowers -   John & Jean Freeman

December 18^th – The Fourth Sunday of Advent

Candle –  OPEN

Flowers – Ed & Nancy Steward

December 25^th – The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ: Christmas Day

Candle –     Bob and Donna Russum

Flowers –  Christmas Flowers
If you would like to make a flower dedication ($35), please call Patty Chambers at

341-2989.  To make a candle dedication ($10) please call the church office at 943-8548.
 

The Guild of St. George

During the month of December The Guild of St. George

will collect soup or ramen noodles, as well as toiletry items.

Our collection basket is located in the Narthex.

“We welcome all to live and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Sisters of Swing Christmas Show

Be sure to mark your calendar for December 10^th, when The Sisters of Swing will perform their fabulous Christmas Show at 2pm and again at 7pm.  A suggested donation of $5.00 per person will be donated to The Guild of St. George.  This show is fun for the entire family!  Hope to see you there!

Wednesday Evening Bible Study

Our Wednesday evening forum has begun a Bible study of Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians. Join us (if you can) for Mass at 5:30, followed by pizza in the parlor at 6:00 (bring a side dish if you like) then bible study at about 6:45.

Hail-a-lujah Projects Completed

All projects for our Hail-a-lujah Campaign are now complete.  We are attempting to pay off our line of credit by year’s end.  If you can complete the balance of your campaign pledge by the end of this year, it will enable us to meet this goal.  If you are not able to do this, we appreciate your monthly installments toward your pledge.  Your participation has made the campaign a success!  Thank you!

Parish Annual Meeting

Mark your calendar for January 29, 2012 when we will hold our Parish Annual Meeting.  After the 10:30am service, we will have a potluck lunch, followed by the Annual Meeting.  We will vote in a new Junior Warden and three Vestry members.

Please plan to attend!

Nut and Candy Sale

Order forms for nuts and candy are available in the Narthex.  They are perfect for holiday gifts, baking or sharing.

DECEMBER ANNIVERSARIES

December 1^st – Ben & Aimee Hanneman

December 23^rd – Grady Blackwood & M’lou Smith

December 27^th – Warren and Eddie Jones

December 28^th – Rob and Kathleen Ferguson

December 28^th – Jim and Dana Bellingham

December 29^th – Bob and Donna Russum

December 31^st – Perry and Sue Oldham

The GO Team Schedule (Greeters and Oblationers)

December Schedule

December 4^th       –   David & Michele Loudenback

December 11^th     –    Henry Baer and Patsy Williams

December 18^th       -  Danny Gauntt and Helena Young

December 24^th – Early Service – TBA

December 24^th – Midnight Mass – Robbie & Adrienne Robertson

December 25^th       –  TBA

If you have questions regarding the GO Team schedule or would like to be a GO Team member, please call Robbie or Adrienne Robertson at 722-9151.

“Jewelry is the Gift to Give…”

As you shop for that perfect gift this Christmas, remember that if you purchase at B.C. Clark Jewelers, a portion of the sale will be donated back to St. John’s Episcopal Church.  It’s like giving two gifts instead of one! Let them know to credit St. John’s Episcopal-OKC when they write up your purchase.  Thank you!

“Grounded in gratitude; revealed in prayer; lived in faith.”  This is the theme for the month of November as we reflect on our stewardship of God’s blessings in our lives.

Gratitude is essential to our lives of faith because it connects us with our communities, with the world, and with God.  We all have an instinct for survival, which can narrow our vision and make us feel isolated.  When we cultivate an “attitude of gratitude,” however, we cease to become centers of our own universe.  Our vision widens.  We realize that we depend upon each other, and especially upon God, for our lives and all that we have, joys as well as sorrows.  We have indeed come a long if we can be grateful for failures and catastrophes, those tough blessings, for these teach us our need for others and for God… they are the ticket out of isolation if we let them be so.

How do we realize all of this and begin to move forward?  Through living lives that are steeped in prayer.  In prayer, we invite God into our lives.  We pray for own needs as well as for those of others.  We take time to stop inner chatter and let silence settle in.  We let the ego quiet down.  We exercise a new awareness… a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit at work in our lives.  As we give our quiet consent and give up control, we allow God in.  And we experience a deepened sense of thankfulness, as the word of God and spirit of God and the sacraments and ministries of the church become our food and drink that sustain us.

And when we emerge from time apart in prayer, we live in faith, which is really gratitude and prayer in action.  We work in our material world in a way that brings to reality the things visioned in set times of prayer.  When we walk in faith, our lives become prayer.  How we use our time, the choices we make, becomes prayer.  How we exercise our talents becomes prayer.  And how we manage our checkbooks also becomes prayer.  For in all of these things, we build connections… connections based in gratitude, rather than using these things to build walls to keep us safe in self-interest.

Spirituality and spiritual life is all about building connections that strengthen relationships, accountability and community.  In Christian spirituality, our lives in Christ grow past boundaries of self into the world in which we live.  Ultimately as we die to ourselves, we may one day find assurance that we are growing into the heart and mind of God, and so realize, to paraphrase St. Paul, “It is no longer I that live, but Christ that lives within me.”

Blessings,

Fr. David+

November Altar Gifts

November 6^th  – All Saints’ Sunday

Candle –  Martha Custer

Flowers – Betty Sinclair, Nick and Stephanie Tant

November 13^th  – The Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost

Candle –     Darrell and Martha Smith

Flowers -   Martha Custer

                        November 20^th  – The Last Sunday after Pentecost: Christ the King

Candle –  Martha Custer

Flowers – Joan Bake

November 27^th -  The First Sunday of Advent – Year B

Candle –     Helena Young

Flowers –  OPEN

If you would like to make a flower dedication ($35), please call Patty Chambers at

341-2989.  To make a candle dedication ($10) please call the church office at 943-8548.

The Guild of St. George

During the month of November The Guild of St. George

will collect canned meat or fish, as well as toiletry items.

Our collection basket is located in the Narthex.

Bring a Turkey to Church – November 20^th

On Sunday, November 20^th, we ask you to bring a frozen turkey to church which will be provided to our friends at Santa Maria de Virgen.  Over the years, your generosity has made for a very happy Thanksgiving for those who might not otherwise be able to celebrate.  Thank you for your caring donations!

Fall Back One Hour

Daylight Savings Time ends on Sunday, November 6^th.  Remember to “fall back” one hour before going to bed Saturday night!

“We welcome all to live and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Mayfair Community Thanksgiving Service

The Mayfair Community Thanksgiving Service will be held on. Nov. 22^nd at 7pm at Mayfair Heights United Methodist Church, 3131 N.W. 50^th St. Fr. David will preach the sermon. A collection of cash or non-perishable food will go to support “Reaching Our City” an outreach ministry to the Greenvale Neighborhood of OKC.  Following the service, there will be pie and coffee.  Please come!

Thanksgiving Eve Holy Eucharist

On Wednesday, November 23^rd at 7pm, join us for our Thanksgiving Eve Holy Eucharist.  With so many in need this holiday season, we would welcome you to bring an offering of canned goods to this service, which will be blessed at the altar, then sent to The Guild of St. George. Cheese and crackers will be provided following the service, as we share our Thanksgiving blessings together.

NOVEMBER ANNIVERSARIES

November 10^th – David Stock and Emily Schnabl

November 18^th – Gary and Kathleen Lee

November 20^th – Tate and Millie Little

November 23^rd – Mark and Christi Hall

The GO Team Schedule (Greeters and Oblationers)

November Schedule

November 6^th      –   Henry Baer & Patsy Williams

November 13^th     –    Danny Gauntt & Helena Young

November 20^th      -  Mike Grissom & Jamie Leal

November 27^th      –  Mike Maney & Kim Jackson

If you have questions regarding the GO Team schedule or would like to be a GO Team member, please call Robbie or Adrienne Robertson at 722-9151.

Hail-a-lujah Projects Completed

All projects for our Hail-a-lujah Campaign are now complete.  We are attempting to pay off our line of credit by year’s end.  If you can complete the balance of your campaign pledge by the end of this year, it will enable us to meet this goal.  If you are not able to do this, we appreciate your monthly installments toward your pledge.  Your participation has made the campaign a success!  Thank you!

Nut and Candy Sale

Order forms for nuts and candy are available in the Narthex.  They are perfect for holiday gifts, baking or sharing.
 

Please join us as we celebrate

the 60^th Anniversary of

St. John’s Episcopal School

Friday, December 2, 2011

6:30pm

Wade-Dalton Hall

LOOKING AHEAD:

December 10^th – Sisters of Swing Christmas Show – 2pm and 7pm

St. John’s Episcopal Church

5401 North Brookline Ave.

Oklahoma City, OK  73112-3598

___________________________________________________________________

The Rev. David R. Stock – Rector

The Rev. Dana Orwig – Deacon

The Rev. Dr. John P. Ryan – Rector Emeritus

Cynthia Cortright D.M.A. – Organist / Choir Director

Mr. Joe Norton – Head of St. John’s Episcopal School

Mrs. Rosemary Orwig-Rodgers – Youth Director

Mrs. Martha Smith – Administrative Assistant

SUNDAY SCHEDULE:

8:00a.m.-Rite I Eucharist

9:15a.m. – Sunday School for All Ages

10:30a.m. – Rite II Eucharist

Sacrament of Reconciliation & Counseling by Appointment

Solemn Evensong & Benediction – as announced

Parish office hours are from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Monday through Thursday

 Church Phone: 943-8548           Fax: 943-8549

School Office: 943-8583

October 4 is St. Francis Day, a day when we celebrate the wonder of creation as did St. Francis in many of his writings, such as “Canticle of Brother Sun.”  So this month I offer you another installment of meditations I have written for the Whole Creation Community facebook page, a ministry of St. Paul’s Cathedral.  This set was intended to highlight our struggle between the world that we have created and the creation surrounding us.  Enjoy!

Seven Days of Creation

Day One

On the strip in Las Vegas, there is no day and there is no night. Constant dazzling lights entice an insomniac crowd filling dimly lit halls, unnoticing of surrounding darkness that conceals and consumes. Outside the healing begins. Morning winds scatter polluted skies of artificial day, giving rest to endless night. The glowing horizon awakens a sun starved world, celebrating all that is good.  DRS

Day Two

Perhaps the ancients were right to think of sky as dome, a solid boundary holding back chaos waters for all creation below. After all, storms break through and waves easily sweep our construction away. Yet refusing to be confined we pierce the top on sunny days to find limitless worlds beyond. So we cast aside old views, thinking ourselves above, while the breath we draw to dream we share in this tent that is home.  DRS

Day Three

I must be crazy!  I can’t swim (well) and almost drowned once.  Huge bodies of water, a silent foe. Yet the draw to shoreline and running around lakes is irresistible, inspiring. Where unseen fear challenges solid footing in breath taking beauty, where earth meets that dark watery pre-creation world of Genesis, where lava from live volcanoes spills into ocean and land is born, there is the forming edge where life begins. DRS

 Day Four

Driving through the panhandle of Oklahoma in awe of absolutely nothing to be seen but flat plains, sky meeting earth somewhere beyond. The sun retiring behind us. A moment of panic: no cell phones, no street lights no sign of life. Eerie isolation. Total darkness would ensue, I imagined, forgetting as we often do the stars so rarely seen behind city lights, yet presiding quietly with moon, our nocturnal guardian angels.  DRS

Day Five

Visiting the aquarium, I entered the tunnel, a world I had never before approached, sea life opened through a glassy shield beneath gallons of water. Behind the barrier my presence made tolerable, mutual protection. All that swims and crawls stared with observing eyes, sharks passing by uncaring. While welcomed, I can only visit as stranger, asking for wisdom unattainable, secrets known only to fifth day creation.  DRS

Day Six

The cats don’t listen when I tell them that we were created in God’s image and that we are to have dominion over them. They know better, and so do we. We in fact are vulnerable creatures, thinking power and thought privilege us. Some dream of control and mastery, order against chaos, but Image asks mutuality, love and caring… male and female aspects of God in all of us, some lying dormant in our consciousness.  DRS

Day Seven

Lying in a hospital room, there is no day and there is no night, constant activity and light. Outside, sun and moon change shifts as humans and animals go to the hunt and return to their dwellings in rhythm. Yet in this cell apart all stops, nothing to be done, a boundary impossible to cross, only to be creature stripped of status in drafty back-view gown. Sleepless, awakened at will, yet drawn into a holy rest of healing.  DRS

Yours in Christ,

Fr. David+

“We welcome all to live and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Wednesday Evening Potluck Dinner and Forum

Beginning Wednesday, Oct. 12, we will resume our forum series.  We will be studying the book (optional) “Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer” by Brother David Steindl-Rast while discussing and exploring prayer practices for every day life.

Join us in the parlor at 6:00 p.m. Wed. evenings following Holy Eucharist at 5:30 p.m. in the Mary Chapel!

The GO Team Schedule (Greeters and Oblationers)

October Schedule

October 2^nd     –   Henry Baer & Patsy Williams

October 9^th    –    Danny Gauntt & Helena Young

October 16^th     -  Mike Grissom & Jamie Leal

October 23^rd     –  Mike Maney & Kim Jackson

October 30^th –  Stuart & Dana Chai

If you have questions regarding the GO Team schedule or would like to be a GO Team member, please call Robbie or Adrienne Robertson at 722-9151.

A Women’s Retreat

Creation Centered Spirituality:

And God Called Creation Good

The Rev. Debora L. Jennings, facilitator

 October 8– 9, 2011 at St. Crispin’s

 For more information contact:

Pam Hudson, 2800 N.W. 21^st , OKC, OK 73107

The Guild of St. George

During the month of October The Guild of St. George

will collect cereals of all types, as well as toiletry items.

 Our collection basket is located in the Narthex.

SCHOOL CARNIVAL

St. John’s Episcopal School will hold their annual carnival on Friday, October 28^th from 6pm – 8:30pm, in Wade-Dalton Hall.

Bring the kiddos in costume for plenty of fun, food and fellowship!

October Altar Gifts

October 2^nd – The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Candle –  Joan Bake

Flowers – Sarah Brewer

October 9^th – The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

Candle –     Sarah Brewer

Flowers -   Jim and Julie Grissom

October 16^th – The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Candle –  OPEN

Flowers – Tate and Millie Little

October 23^rd – The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Candle –     OPEN

Flowers –  Ann Warzyn

October 30^th – The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

Candle -  OPEN

Flowers – OPEN

If you would like to make a flower dedication ($35), please call Patty Chambers at

341-2989.  To make a candle dedication ($10) please call the church office at 943-8548.

THINKING OF YOU

If there are any parishioners whom you think would appreciate receiving a “thinking of you” or “get well” card from our St. John’s family, please contact the church office at 943-8548.

The Rev. David R. Stock – Rector

The Rev. Dana Orwig – Deacon

The Rev. Dr. John P. Ryan – Rector Emeritus

Cynthia Cortright D.M.A. – Organist / Choir Director

Mr. Joe Norton – Head of St. John’s Episcopal School

Mrs. Rosemary Orwig-Rodgers – Youth Director

Mrs. Martha Smith – Administrative Assistant

SUNDAY SCHEDULE:

8:00a.m.-Rite I Eucharist

9:15a.m. – Sunday School for All Ages

10:30a.m. – Rite II Eucharist

Sacrament of Reconciliation & Counseling by Appointment

Solemn Evensong & Benediction – as announced

Parish office hours are from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Monday through Thursday

 Church Phone: 943-8548           Fax: 943-8549

School Office: 943-8583

E-mail address: st-johns-church@st-john.k12.ok.us

Website: www.stjohnsokc.org

Not to give you too many examples from the TV show,

The Simpson’s…

But there was one episode in which

The Simpsons’ perfectionist neighbor, Ned Flanders,

wakes up early one New Years Day…

and the first thing he does is fill out his tax returns

and then rushes them to the post-office,

horrified to find the post office closed.

I am not that person!

I don’t know anyone who is thrilled about paying taxes!!!

I am not sure if it is that “paying” part I don’t like.

Paying implies that we give up something we own…

money we earned…

where there is a debt or a price that needs to be paid.

And so we turn to our Gospel lesson…

You know it’s a set-up.

The Pharisees and the Herodians “ganging up,”

on Jesus… to “ask him a few questions.”

First of all…

you would not normally see Pharisees and

devotees of Herod even speaking to each other.

The Pharisees and Herodians are on “opposite sides of the coin”

as it were…

The coin, the denarius, they presented to Jesus

had an image of Caesar and an inscription that read:

“Tiberius Caesar, divine son of

Augustus, high priest.”

which is literal blasphemy to Pharisees…

prominent Jewish leaders…

Carrying around an image of a false god on a coin…

would be a violation of the second commandment.

But they had to pay taxes in order to survive…

to live at peace within the Roman occupation…

which the Herodians would have supported…

but it was an uncomfortable and oppressive peace.

So we have these two opposite minded groups

about to place Jesus in a double-bind

that will get him in trouble

either with the Romans

or with his fellow Jews.

They ask him:

“Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?”

[Lawful…

Are we talking Jewish law?

or Roman law?]

They put Jesus in a position of exposing divided loyalties…

that will at the very least discredit him…

And this question also raises all sorts of issues

about our loyalties.

[One way of understanding the crucifixion of Jesus,

is that humanity was so sinful…

that there was a price that needed to be paid

in order to make things right.

a price that no one could possibly afford…

The only way to pay off the debt was that

God’s own Son had to die.

Now there are other ways of understanding

the cross…

for example, we can see it as gift, rather than payment

it was Jesus’ gift…

that he offered his life

that was both human and divine

to bring God and humanity back together

in close relationship.

So going back to the Gospel,

You will notice that the way our translation spells it out…

that Jesus’ opponents ask about paying taxes…

But Jesus’ response is “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s…”

Give, not pay…

Actually, the Greek in each instance is the same

and can be interpreted both ways…

In fact, if the coin belongs to Caesar…

as Jesus points out, it has his name on it…

it is not even theirs to give… it would be returning what is

rightfully someone else’s.

So if you will let me do my own interpretation,

Jesus’ response could be heard,

“Return to Caesar what is Caesar’s and

return to God what is God’s.”

So there is no implied loyalty it seems either way…

if you are only giving back something that is not yours.

But if the coin has Caesar’s image on in it,

and so it belongs to Caesar’s…

What is it, as Richard Spalding asks and points out,

what is it that has God’s image,

and so belongs to God?

What, or rather whom, is created in God’s image?

Is it not ourselves?

And so we are challenged…

We are not owners… as we might presume.

We belong to God…

To be attached to the gift…

to possess it… can be a kind of idolatry…

I read the primary sin behind all sins

is coveting… the desire to own…

and every crime that can be committed against others,

is a form of stealing…

But when we always offer back that which is God’s,

nothing can be taken from us…

———————————————–

In March of 2008, the story was told on NPR about

Julio Diaz a 31-year-old social worker in New York

who rode the subway home to the Bronx every night

getting off each night one stop early

so he could eat at a favorite diner.

But one night after Diaz stepped off the No. 6 train

and on to an empty platform,

He was walking toward the stairs

when a teenage boy pulled out a knife.

to rob him.

Diaz gave him his wallet,

and as the boy was walking away…

Diaz called out

“Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something.

If you’re going to be robbing people for the

rest of the night,

you might as well take my coat to

keep you warm.”

Puzzled, the robber asked him, ‘Why are you doing this?’”

Diaz replied: “If you’re willing to risk your freedom for a few

dollars, then I guess you must really need the money.

I mean, all I wanted to do was get dinner

and if you really want to join me …

hey, you’re more than welcome.”

They both went into the diner,

and sat in the booth.

When the bill arrived, Diaz told the teen,

“Look, I guess you’re going to have to pay for this bill

’cause you have my money and I can’t pay for this.

So if you give me my wallet back,

I’ll gladly treat you.”

The teen apparently didn’t even think about it

and returned the wallet,

Diaz said he gave him $20 figuring it would help him.

but he asked for something in return, the teen’s knife —

and quote ”he gave it to me.”

——————————————————

We are made in God’s image…

we belong to God…

everything that we have is gift…

A gift to be invested and shared

and given back to the world

that God created

and ultimately back to the ONE to whom we belong,

and the ONE, from whom,

all blessings flow.