Christ Church Cobble Hill

19 Sunday THE TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST (Proper 15)

Church:
Summer Eucharist in the Garden 11:00 AM
       
Parish House:
AA 7:30-8:30 AM

20 Monday -      Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, 1153

21 Tuesday -     Weekday

Parish House:
COBBLE HILL BALLET - 1:00-2:30 PM

22 Wednesday - Weekday

Church:
Evening Prayer 6:00 PM
 
Parish House:
COBBLE HILL BALLET - 1:00-2:30 PM

23 Thursday - Weekday

Parish House:
AA - 6:30-7:30 PM

24 Friday - SAINT BATHOLOMEW THE APOSTLE 
Day of Special Devotion:  Abstinence

25 Saturday - Louis, King of France, 1270

Parish House:
AA - 7:30-8:30 AM
COBBLE HILL BALLET - 10:00 AM-12:45 PM

21 Sunday - THE THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST (Proper 16)

Church:
Summer Eucharist in the Garden 11:00 AM

Parish House:
AA 7:30-8:30 AM

SUMMERTIME, AND THE LIVIN'S EASY

Church Members are reminded that church expenses do not take a summer break . . .  so please keep your pledge to your church up-to-date as you take your own summer vacations.  The Treasurer recently sent-out statements…check yours!

WE NEED YOUR HELP - HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

Help is Needed in the Garden.   As summer progresses, so do garden chores, especially weeding!  We are also preparing the ANorth Forty@ (the Kane Street Garden) for a major make-over next year.  If you can give an hour or more, please call Haigo on 718-875-3144

CHRIST CHURCH BOOK READING GROUP

The Book Reading Group is reading Sovereign by C. J. Sansom.  I.S.B.N. 13: 978-0670038312..  $16.00 – please speak with the Vicar if you want a copy!  A full description with some questions is available on a hand-out  on the table by the entrance to the church.

The third book in the brilliant Shardlake historical crime series.  Lawyer Matthew Shardlake is caught up in the mysterious murder of a local glazier, an event which turns out to be linked to work he is undertaking for the King.  Set in the reign of Henry VIII, Sansom's vivid writing style will have you believing you've been sent back in time.  Great stuff!

The Christ Church Book Group meets monthly, more or less, for a meal and to discuss themes, a book at a time.   It is a great way to both get-together and to learn something about our faith as reflected in literature.  We meet next on Wednesday, 29 August, at 7:30 p.m.  Please plan to join us for a gala meal, generous drink, great discussion and good fellowship!
 
 

FROM UNDER THE FLOORBOARDS …or  “ONLY IN NEW YORK”

While reflooring the Parish Hall a 1904 newspaper was found.  In it was the following article:  

HUGE RAT STARTS BROADWAY FIGHT, KICKED BY MAN, RODENT LANDS ON WOMAN – HER ESCORT ATTACKS THE KICKER.

Upper Broadway was thrown into a fit yesterday by a huge rat.  It came from a restaurant at No. 1281 Broadway and, seemingly dazed by the bright lights, quietly sat in the middle of the sidewalk.

Two young men discovered it.  One kicked it.  The rat went sailing in the air and landed on a woman leaning on the arm of a young man.  She screamed and her escort attacked the kicker.  In a moment several persons were engaged in a fierce mix-up without knowing what it was all about.
A dozen policemen stopped the row.  The rat escaped.
    

REFLECTION

Luke’s Gospel has been called the most beautiful book ever written. It contains most of what has become the Christmas story, as well as the sermon on the plain, the parables of the good Samaritan and the prodigal son, the story of Zaccheus and much more. Even Luke’s passion narrative portrays Jesus as a brave hero and the best example of his own teachings. Luke may well be the most beautiful book ever written. It is also, however, a challenging book.

The Gospel reading for this Sunday presents three initially puzzling sayings of Jesus. He proclaims that he has come to light a fire on earth, to undergo a baptism of death and to bring division rather than peace. What happened to angels singing about peace on earth and Jesus the prince of peace?

The fire that Jesus came to light was the kingdom of God. Jesus was convinced that in his own person and mission a new phase in God’s plan for the world was beginning. Through his teachings and miracles, and especially in his passion, death and resurrection, Jesus was igniting a fire that will culminate in the fullness of God’s kingdom. The fire that Jesus lit still burns brightly in the people of God.

The word “baptism” can refer to a bath, immersion or even death by drowning. In Christian baptism we first die with Christ and then rise with him. Jesus, of course, had already received John’s baptism. The baptism to which he looked forward was the “baptism” of his death on the cross. Jesus recognized that he was engaged in a controversial and dangerous undertaking. If God is the only real king (as Jesus proclaimed), the Roman emperor cannot be the real king. By his preaching about God’s kingdom and his role in inaugurating it, Jesus was challenging the claims of the religious and political leaders of his time much as Jeremiah did before him. Jesus very likely intuited that his mission would result in his death. In this context his future “baptism” refers to his shameful death on the cross (as today’s reading from Hebrews 12 emphasizes). Nevertheless, he continues his journey toward Jerusalem that would lead to his death.

Jesus’ saying about bringing divisions even in families has been understood against the background of his commitment to proclaim God’s kingdom. Jesus lived in a society in which family ties were very important, much more than in the 21st-century United States. One’s loyalty to the family was primary, and one’s identity and importance were closely linked to one’s place within the family. Against this background Jesus says that he may well bring about division within a family. Why? Because for Jesus God’s kingdom is more important than even one’s family. Family ties, family honor and family obligations are subordinate to God’s kingdom. While these can and should exist in harmony, there may be tensions between them. The saying is not so much an attack on the family as it is an indirect and extreme way of highlighting the supreme importance of God’s kingdom. 

• What evidence do you see that the fire set by Jesus is still burning?

• What might Jesus’ saying about his “baptism” add to your appreciation of the sacrament of baptism?

• Has your Christian commitment ever been a source of tension or division within your family? 

Alternative Seasons

Leaves fall early in the autumn wind.                  
Butterflies are already yellow with August            
A pair flies over the grass of the West garden.              
Seeing them hurts my heart.                                                

— Li Po, Chinese poet of the 8th century,                               
“The River Merchant’s Wife: A Letter”

The beauty of spring,
the brightness of summer,
the plenty of autumn,
the rest of winter.
— St Thomas Aquinas

Americans are accustomed to dating the beginning of a season from the solar holidays. We say that Autumn begins on Autumn Equinox. But in medieval England, autumn actually began on Lammas (August 2).

The clearest evidence for this ancient system of dividing the year comes from the old names for Yule and the summer solstice. The Christmas feast in England was always known as the Midwinter feast. Likewise, June 23 was called Midsummer's Eve, because June 24 was Midsummer's Day. If June 24 is the middle of the summer, then the summer must begin at the start of May. This makes August 2 the first day of autumn, November 1 the first day of winter and February 2 the first day of spring. There is good evidence for these older seasonal markers as there are clusters of ancient religious and political holidays that occur around these dates.

PRACTICE OF FAITH: KNOWING.  ”Those who know God’s love will love more easily.”  This is from Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (20 August).  Children find it easy to know and love simultaneously.  Adults sometimes need to know the difference and want to consider each aspect separately.  Adults dismiss loving and feeling as silly compared with knowledge.  Bernard attempted a rejoinder of what some have separated.  Bernard is inviting us to behave as children in holding the knowing and loving together

Let the children in your life remind you that “to know me is to love me.”  Let the children in your life remind you that to know God is to love God, and to know God is to love others.

PRACTICE OF HOPE: WHAT FIRE? What is the fire like, my Lord, that you will cast upon the earth?  Is it a raging brushfire, blazing through ancient forests, making space for new growth to come?  Is it the sleeping fire of the earth that suddenly bursts forth and covers the land with flames and ashes, making fertile the very ground it torches?  Is it the fire of some alchemist’s furnace that melts down the old iron, divides metal from metal, and changes lead into gold?  Or is it like the fire in my lover’s eye that seeks to consume me, and consuming desires to be consumed?  Lord, your fire is the fire of love – that mad love which, uniting, divides only to unite again.  It is the flame within that bids me love my neighbor, the flame above that bids me love my enemy.

PRACTICE OF CHARITY:BEATEN BY WAVES.  Over the past several years, we have become more aware of the number of teens who run away from home and find themselves alone, desperate and living on the streets.  Covenant House was founded to respond to the needs of runaway teens with food, clothing, shelter, medical attention, education, training and counseling.  Find out about Covenant House and how you can help with their work:  Covenant House, JAF Box 2973, New York, NY 10116-2973; 1.800.388.3888 or  on the internet:  http://www.covenanthouse.org/