And the Winner Is...

The following post is for August 29, 2010
Imagine you are a famous actor or actress. Your most recent movie was a box office bombshell. Critics can’t stop praising you on your marvelous talent. Your movie received rave reviews. You’ve been a favored guest on numerous talk shows. You are attending the annual Academy Awards event because you have been nominated for an award. As you walk the red carpet you are overwhelmed by flashing cameras and screaming adoring fans chanting your name. You make your way to your seat inside the Kodak Theatre. The air is charged with expectation. The evening progresses and your category is announced. This winning moment could catapult your career to new heights. You hear those four important words, “…and the winner is…” You rise from your seat, beaming, ready to receive your award. But wait! It isn’t your name that was called! It’s someone elses!


How dare they! Your performance was exquisite. What could they be thinking?


You immediately plop back into your seat, extremely embarrassed knowing you have committed a serious faux pas that will be fodder for comedians, late night TV, tabloids and YouTube.


Similarly, in Luke , some of the guests who have been invited to a wedding banquet consider themselves lofty, yet lack humility and assume that they are to take the choicest seats.


Luke 14: 8-10 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet , do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host that invited both of you may come to you and say, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place.”


How awkward can that be? To be told that you’re not as important as you thought you were. In this parable Jesus points out the selfishness and haughtiness of these guests.


These guests are wrought with the burden of Pride. With pride there is the constant fear that the real “you” will be discovered and that “you” won’t measure up to the standards set by other prideful people. Jesus further discloses that those in positions considered esteemed should humble themselves to those who are considered to be lowly. Humility frees us from thinking only of ourselves and allows us to be ourselves. By being a servant to others we are a servant of the Lord.


Luke 14: 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."


SCRIPTURE


Jeremiah 2:4-13

Psalm 81:1, 10-16
Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

Luke 14:1, 7-14

ANNOUNCEMENTS

You honor us by your presence in worship today. Let us know if there is anything you need to feel more at home. Also, please fill out a visitor’s card and place it in the alms basin or hand it to the priest. We would love to have you join us for any of the upcoming events and activities.




COVERED DISH lunch- September 5, 2010 after church. The Finleys are organizing this event.

ICE CREAM SOCIAL- September 26, 2010, 2:00-4:00
As an act of warmth and welcome, and service and evangelism for our neighbors, we are hosting an ice cream social. The outreach and evangelism committee is organizing this. See Deacon Foster for details.

OPEN HOUSE- for the Rectory Resource Center will be held October 10, 2010. More details later

TEACHER TRAINING - for Children's Christian Education classes will be at 9:00 on SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11. Friend of St. Mark's and experienced Christian educator, Leslie Lynch will train us. Parents are encouraged to attend.

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You Are Special

In today’s Gospel the blind beggar, Bartimaeus feels shame about his affliction. He is shunned because of his blindness. As a beggar coins are tossed to land on his cloak where he must feel for them. Passersby don’t want to get too close for fear they will be stricken by whatever has caused Bartimaeus’ blindness.

There is a difference between guilt and shame. Guilt is a remorseful feeling a person has when he knows that he has done wrong.
Shame involves the constant influx of negativity. The person is made to feel that he is wrong yet he has no idea as to why. Shame can extinguish self-esteem in a monumental way. In earlier times it was felt that a sin had been committed by the parents if a child was born with a disability. Because of his blindness Bartimaeus was treated this way.

When Bartimaeus heard all of the commotion about Jesus leaving Jericho, he began to shout out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Probably embarrassed by his plea for mercy, those stand round try to quiet Bartimaeus. He doesn’t yield to their reprimands. Obviously, Bartimaeus has heard of the miracles of Jesus and wants him to restore his sight.

Jesus tells them to call him over. They tell Bartimaeus to go to Jesus to which he does.
Jesus asks him, “What do you want me to do for you?”
Bartimaeus tells Jesus he wants his sight restored.
Jesus restores his sight, tells him to go on his way and that his faith has made him well.

Because of this miracle Bartimaeus’ life is forever changed. When God calls, it is to spring up out of an old life and into a new one.

Live in true joy of what it means to be people made in the image of God.
This is who we are, and by the power of Christ’s love at work in us this is who we can call others to be as well.



SCRIPTURES


Jeremiah 31:7-9


Psalm 126
Hebrews 7:23-28


Mark 10:46-52





ANNOUNCEMENTS


+Herman Sutton, husband of the late Mary Sutton, passed away October 27th. Funeral arrangements are pending.



+Many thanks to Paul Stroud for completing the painting on the outside of the rectory. Eaves, gutters and trim have all been painted.

+Daughter2Daughter will kick off on November 7, 2009 from 9:00 am-1:00 pm. Press releases, flyers, and possible media coverage is being used to inform the public of this valuable mission. For more details visit http://www.daughter2daughter.webs.com/

+This month the children have been studying saints. For the October 25th lesson, Mamie Hymes told of a saint she has known. Mrs. Mamie told about Mrs. Lucille Pinkard an early member of St. Mark’s who played a huge part in the early Sunday School. Mrs. Pinkard would collect the children by car from their homes on Sunday mornings and take them to Sunday School. Mrs. Mamie recalled the cherished times they had as Sunday School teachers at the early St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.

click image to read more about Mrs. Pinkard

+November 1st is All Saints Day. You are urged to invite a guest (s) to next Sunday’s covered dish lunch featuring your favorite Thanksgiving food. Remember these special occasions in our life together are wonderful opportunities to invite friends and family to enjoy our fellowship. Save the date and ask a friend to save the date too. Marietta Cameron will be calling to remind you to bring the dish you have chosen.



+++++What makes this feast so important that the Church celebrates both the night before All Saints and the day after it?
The Church has always honored those early witnesses to the Christian
faith who have died in the Lord. During the first three hundred years Christians
were severely persecuted, often suffering torture and bloody death -- because
they were faithful . They refused to deny Christ, even when this denial might
have saved their own lives, or the lives of their children and families.

Many of those especially holy people whose names and stories were
known, the Church later canonized (that is, the Church formally recognized that
the life of that person was without any doubt holy, or sanctified -- a "saint"
who is an example for us.) The Church's calendar contains many saint's days, In
order to honor the memory -- and our own debt -- to these unnamed saints, and to
recall their example, the Church dedicated a special feast day -- a sort of
"memorial day" -- so that all living Christians would celebrate the lives and
witness of those "who have died and gone before us into the presence of the
Lord". excerpted from Women for Faith and Family taken from www.wff.org/AllSaints

+Processional Hymn “Blessed Absalom” LEV #44
Absalom Jones (1746 – February 13, 1818), was an African-American abolitionist and clergyman. After founding a black congregation in 1794, in 1804 he was the first African-American ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church of the United States. He is listed on the Episcopal calendar of saints and blessed under the date of his decease, February 13, in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer as "Absalom Jones, Priest, 1818". from wikipedia

VISITOR
St. Mark's welcomes visitor, Bonnie Krebs. Please worship with us again.

YOU ARE SPECIAL was a book mentioned in today's sermon.
This review is from: You Are Special (Max Lucado's Wemmicks)
This book shows how true freedom for us comes by not being enslaved to the opinions of others. Max Lucado tells the story to communicate to children (and most DEFINITELY to adults as well) that by taking time to experience and remember God's love for us, we can have a deep joy that isn't contingent upon whether people bestow praise (represented by gold stars) or insults (grey dots) upon us. This is a book that I think everyone should read .This simple story illustrates a truth that is essential to our peace, yet so hard for us to keep hold of.
This review done by Bethany McKinney at www.Amazon.com

CHURCH HUMOR


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