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Pen : Lamy Safari Charcoal fountain pen
Ink : Noodler's Ink – Polar Black
Colours : Daler-Rowney Aquafine watercolour pocket set + Daler Rowney White Acrylic
Brush : Raphaël Red Sable, #6
on my Moleskine pocket diary.
"Jesus began to speak to the chief priests and elders of the people in parables: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son’s wedding. He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come. Next he sent some more servants. “Tell those who have been invited” he said “that I have my banquet all prepared, my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, everything is ready. Come to the wedding.” But they were not interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them. The king was furious. He despatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town. Then he said to his servants, “The wedding is ready; but as those who were invited proved to be unworthy, go to the crossroads in the town and invite everyone you can find to the wedding.” So these servants went out on to the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests. When the king came in to look at the guests he noticed one man who was not wearing a wedding garment, and said to him, “How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?” And the man was silent. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’"
– Matthew 22:1-14, which is today's Gospel at Mass.
Stained glass from the Episcopal National Cathedral in Washington DC.
Explored #234
Florabella textures. I used Reverie (warm) and Champagne (warm). This was done in Picnik. I couldn't use the overlay's in Picnik, though. BUMMER! I can't wait to figure out PS Elements and then maybe I can really work with these wonderful textures and overlays. I love them!!!!!! Shana is a genius! :0)
Please be honest! :0) If the texture work is bad........please tell me. I can take it!
So Abram rose, and clave the wood, and went,
And took the fire with him, and a knife.
And as they sojourned both of them together,
Isaac the first-born spake and said, My Father,
Behold the preparations, fire and iron,
But where the lamb for this burnt-offering?
Then Abram bound the youth with belts and straps,
and builded parapets and trenches there,
And stretchèd forth the knife to slay his son.
When lo! an angel called him out of heaven,
Saying, Lay not thy hand upon the lad,
Neither do anything to him. Behold,
A ram, caught in a thicket by its horns;
Offer the Ram of Pride instead of him.
But the old man would not so, but slew his son,
And half the seed of Europe, one by one.
Wilfred Owen 1893-1918
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think this is the most powerful and poignant anti-war poem ever written, Lieutenant Owen was killed 1 week before the armistice. Ironically, he was a war hero, winning a citation for conspicuous gallantry.
"“Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned."
– Matthew 21:33-35.
Stained glass detail from Chartres Cathedral.
"Then, leaving the crowds, he went to the house; and his disciples came to him and said, ‘Explain the parable about the darnel in the field to us.’ He said in reply, ‘The sower of the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed is the subjects of the kingdom; the darnel, the subjects of the evil one; the enemy who sowed them, the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angels. Well then, just as the darnel is gathered up and burnt in the fire, so it will be at the end of time. The Son of Man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that provoke offences and all who do evil, and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. Then the virtuous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Listen, anyone who has ears!’"
– Matthew 13:36-43, which is part of today's Gospel at Mass.
My sermon for today can be read here.
Stained glass window from the Episcopal National Cathedral in Washington DC.
Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 ‘Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbours together and says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.” 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who do not need to repent. Luke 15:3-7 N.I.V. Bible.
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."
– Matthew 13:44, which is part of today's Gospel.
Stained glass from the National Cathedral in Washington DC.
The Parable Of The Windmill
(Performed & Recorded by Susie McEntire)
Enjoy: carolynspreciousmemories.com/Spiritual/ParableOfTheWindmi...
Now Jesus is turning the windmills
He's turning them out on the plains
When Jesus is pumping the water
You'll never be thirsty again
A lady rode up to the windmill
Her heart was heavy and sad
And sin had been her companion
And much of her life had been bad
At noontime a stranger came riding
Up to the windmill that day
And asked for a cool drink of water
To help Him on his way
She said sir the mill is not turning
The wind is silent and still
And there will be no more water
Until the wind turns the wheel
I can give you some water dear lady
And you'll never be thirsty again
It flows from a fountain in Heaven
It'll wash your life of all sin
Now the men in your life have brought sorrow
And the shame it shows on your face
She knew then that she'd met the Master
And walked now under His grace
This lady she jumped on her pony
Her sins washed whiter than snow
And she wanted to tell all the people
From whom all her blessings would flow
She told them that she had met Jesus
Out on the plains that day
And how His spiritual water
Had made her happy to say
Now Jesus is turning the windmills
He's turning them out on the plains
When Jesus is pumping the water
You'll never be thirsty again
You'll never be thirsty again
Written by John Gaither
Enjoy: gloriousgrace.net/windmill/windmill.htm
and
dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8784522/SM/CountItAllJoy/10.mp3
See: www.susiemcentire.com/about/music/
Based on the story from the Bible in John 4 about
the woman at the well... read and enjoy:
art quilt, biblical, quilt, embellishment, beads, surface design, parable,
Not sure if I can find the owner of this one
Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids
“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, 4 but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. 5 When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
“At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’
“All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’
“But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’
“But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’
“But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’
“So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.
[Matthew 25:1-13 NLT]
5 MORE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:
1. Like it or not, we are ALL sinners: As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous—not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” (Romans 3:10-12 NLT)
2. The punishment for sin is death: When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. (Romans 5:12 NLT)
3. Jesus is our only hope: But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:8 NLT) For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23 NLT)
4. SALVATION is by GRACE through FAITH in JESUS: God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT)
5. Accept Jesus and receive eternal life: If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9 NLT) But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12 NLT) And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. (1 John 5:11-12 NLT)
Read the Bible for yourself. Allow the Lord to speak to you through his Word. YOUR ETERNITY IS AT STAKE!
"Some people arrived and told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of their sacrifices. At this he said to them, ‘Do you suppose these Galileans who suffered like that were greater sinners than any other Galileans? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell and killed them? Do you suppose that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.’
He told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it but found none. He said to the man who looked after the vineyard, “Look here, for three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the ground?” “Sir,” the man replied “leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.”’"
– Luke 13:1-9, which is today's Gospel at Mass.
Stained glass from Washington DC's National Cathedral.
Nature, this world around us, the creation of God, everything has a plan, everything in nature goes accordingly, in a momentum, from the planets to the life of the tiniest living organisms, but the rebellious humans, how they rebel and divert, they hurt themselves, they sought what is not in reach, this materialistic desire, if only they stopped and thought about life, the simplicity of everything, to look at the blue skies for once and appreciate nature, the green trees that keeps us alive, if only humans would learn to be humans, if only...
"The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. ‘This man’ they said ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he spoke this parable to them:
‘A man had two sons. The younger said to his father, “Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me.” So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery.
‘When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything. Then he came to his senses and said, “How many of my father’s paid servants have more food than they want, and here am I dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants.” So he left the place and went back to his father.
‘While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.” And they began to celebrate.
‘Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing. Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about. “Your brother has come” replied the servant “and your father has killed the calf we had fattened because he has got him back safe and sound.” He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out to plead with him; but he answered his father, “Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property – he and his women – you kill the calf we had been fattening.”
‘The father said, “My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.”’"
– Luke 15:1-3, 11-32, which is today's Gospel at Mass.
My sermon for today can be read here.
Stained glass window from Lille Cathedral.
"There was a lawyer who, to disconcert Jesus, stood up and said to him, ‘Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? What do you read there?’ He replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.’ ‘You have answered right,’ said Jesus ‘do this and life is yours.’
But the man was anxious to justify himself and said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was once on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of brigands; they took all he had, beat him and then made off, leaving him half dead. Now a priest happened to be travelling down the same road, but when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. In the same way a Levite who came to the place saw him, and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan traveller who came upon him was moved with compassion when he saw him. He went up and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He then lifted him on to his own mount, carried him to the inn and looked after him. Next day, he took out two denarii and handed them to the innkeeper. “Look after him,” he said “and on my way back I will make good any extra expense you have.” Which of these three, do you think, proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the brigands‘ hands?’ ‘The one who took pity on him’ he replied. Jesus said to him, ‘Go, and do the same yourself.’"
– Luke 10:25-37, which is today's Gospel at Mass.
My sermon for today can be read here.
Stained glass from Grace Episcopal Cathedral in San Francisco.
I've decide to upload my Stanley Parable Project to Ideas and it would be helpful if some people voted for it :)
Link = ideas.lego.com/projects/ad658b00-1e3c-449d-ad70-b82c6b8f434d
"Jesus spoke the following parable to some people who prided themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone else: ‘Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself, “I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous like the rest of mankind, and particularly that I am not like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get.” The tax collector stood some distance away, not daring even to raise his eyes to heaven; but he beat his breast and said, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” This man, I tell you, went home again at rights with God; the other did not. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted.’"
– Luke 18:9-14, which is today's Gospel at Mass.
Stained glass in the Lady Chapel of the National Cathedral in Washington DC.
The Parable of the Good Samaritan depicted in stained glass in Chelmsford Cathedral.
Jesus told this story, "A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he travelled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, and gave them to the host, and said to him, 'Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.' Now which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbour to him who fell among the robbers?"
He said, "He who showed mercy on him."
Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."
Luke 10:30–37
World English Bible
Chelmsford Cathedral, properly known as the Cathedral of St Mary, St Peter and St Cedd, is a parish church and the Mother church for the whole Chelmsford Diocese of Essex and five Eastern London Boroughs. The second smallest Cathedral in the country, it serves the second largest diocese in the country.
The Cathedral is a busy vibrant place, hosting many large services, theological lectures, Lent courses, Prayer schools, university graduations, civil ceremonies, concerts, organ recitals and welcoming pilgrims and visitors on a daily basis. Educational visits from schools are especially welcome. All these enable the Cathedral to serve as a centre for the spiritual, teaching and artistic life of the Diocese and the community.
In this parable from the Gospel of Matthew, the devil, identified by his horns and tail, sows weeds (or tares) in the field where wheat has been planted, while the lazy peasants are sleeping. Christians considered sloth one of the Seven Deadly Sins to which mankind was subject as a result of the Original Sin of Adam and Eve, to whom the two naked sleepers allude. The dovecote (a birdhouse to attract doves or pigeons that can be trapped for food without the bother of raising them) was associated with the morally lazy who take the easy way. The goat, known for its lust, alludes to self-indulgence, and the peacock, to pride.
Bloemaert (Dutch, 1566 – 1651) was gifted in depicting natural detail, but he never painted pure landscapes, preferring pictures with a lesson. He was one of the leading artists of Utrecht and trained many major artists of the next generation.
[Oil on canvas, 100.4 x 132.5 cm]
gandalfsgallery.blogspot.com/2011/08/abraham-bloemaert-pa...
"He proposed another parable to them. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’”
– Matthew 13:31-32, which is part of today's Gospel at Mass.
My sermon for today can be read here.
Stained glass window from the Episcopal National Cathedral in Washington DC.
"Peter went up to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.
‘And so the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants. When the reckoning began, they brought him a man who owed ten thousand talents; but he had no means of paying, so his master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, to meet the debt. At this, the servant threw himself down at his master’s feet. “Give me time” he said “and I will pay the whole sum.” And the servant’s master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt. Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow servant who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him. “Pay what you owe me” he said. His fellow servant fell at his feet and implored him, saying, “Give me time and I will pay you.” But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into prison till he should pay the debt. His fellow servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went to their master and reported the whole affair to him. Then the master sent for him. “You wicked servant,” he said “I cancelled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me. Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow servant just as I had pity on you?” And in his anger the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt. And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.’"
– Matthew 18:21-35, which is today's Gospel at Mass.
My sermon for today can be read here.
Stained glass window from the National Cathedral in Washington DC.
Ely Cathedral, Ely, Cambridgeshire
By James Tennent Lyon for Trinity Church, Irvine, Scotland, now in the stained glass museum.
and therein it shall remain for ever more, unperceived, unapproachable.
--Khalil Gibran
from "The Madman: His Parables and Poems"
"Jesus told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it but found none. He said to the man who looked after the vineyard, “Look here, for three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the ground?” “Sir,” the man replied “leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.”’ – Luke 13:6-9.
My sermon for today can be read here.
Detail from a stained glass window in Ely Cathedral.
This following is very a long-winded defence of myth. I like myth.
I grew up with science, and love it too (with reserve) but gradually I became more of an engineer, and these days see science as the theoretical branch of engineering or medicine. Science is really useful when you want to do medicine or make a good computer etc. Science is very good at telling us how to do things.
But myth, what use is that? Sam Harris says that religion, or perhaps myth, is early, errant science. I disagree.
As an engineer, as I guess I still am, I see science and myth as different theoretical branches of engineering, or 'things to think about that aid life'.
Science is positive. My take on myth is that it is anti-negative. Science tells us more but myth tells us where we have gone too far. I think that myth can tell us about what not to do or believe.
As well as being a would be engineer, I am also a bit of a Buddhist. This stems from an experience I had when I was young, when it seemed to me that my self disintegrated. It seemed to me that my self was a foolish fiction that I was creating. I had an experience where it seemed to me that I was drastically stupid. I am no Catholic but, I could chant, "mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa " (through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault) with ease.
A lot of people who go mad believe that their madness is not madness at all. No, aliens really are talking to me? No, I am really a teapot? No I am not a teapot, and no aliens are talking to me, but I sympathise with the insane. I seem to be fairly sane these days, but it still seems to me that the Buddha was right - there is a big mistake going on. The self, the entity, that I think I am is a fiction. I am, I think, being really stupid. Alas, however, the Buddha was not to prepared to explain why I (and I assume others) are making such a big mistake.
Here comes myth. I think that myth may be good at explaining the big mistakes that we are making. And how? I think that myths are like parables.
When I was young I had a Christian education and one of the stories from the Bible that made and impression was the story about King David, a woman called Bathsheba, her husband Uriah, and Nathan a "prophet" who said a parable.
The story goes like this.
King David looks out from the roof his palace and sees a woman bathing and gets the hots for her. Even though she is married to Uriah, David has sex with the woman and she (oh no!) gets pregnant. So David decides to get rid of Uriah, a loyal soldier, and sends him off on a suicide mission. Uriah dies. David gets to keep Uriah's wife.
Then along comes along Nathan. He tells David a story.
"In your kingdom there is a very rich guy that has a lot of sheep, but he is so greedy that he steals the only lamb of a shepherd with only that one lamb."
David says something like "What a nasty guy. Tell me who he is, and I will have him punished."
Then Nathan says, "The rich shepard is you." and explains the allegorical, back story, metaphorical meaning of the parable.
King David then feels really bad about what he did.
This strikes me as the power of myth and parable.
Nathan could have gone up to to David and said "You should not steal your subjects wives." But David might have made all sorts of excuses. "I am King," "She was naked in my sight," "Uriah was a brave soldier that wanted to go to battle," etc.
Nathan succeeded in convincing David of his *mistake* precisely because he used a non-scientific, parable-like, or perhaps (I would say) mythic representation of what David had done.
Nathan represented David in a non-scientific way. Nathan invented a story about two shepherds. Neither shepard really existed. But by getting David interested in the story from a third person perspective, Nathan was able to turn the tables on the King and get the King to turn against himself and his own bad behaviour.
People make mistakes simply because they are misinformed, or make mistaken calculations. They also make mistakes because they want to - because their desire leads them to do so. In such circumstances, parable and myth is good at getting mistake out into the open. Parable and myth draw us in, get us involved in the plot, and then get us to see, "uh, ho, that is me!"
Parable tellers generally let the cat out of the bag. They say the parable, and then they say what it means. They get their hearers involved in a story and then say how that parable relates to the listeners lives. Myths however, often do not explain their punchlines.
If Nathan had been a mythologist rather than a parable teller, he would just have told David the same story and hoped that David would get it.
Myths such as that of the Fall in the Bible, or the Japanese creation myth, do not come out with their punchline. But I think that they narratives that show mistakes, and invite us to see how we are making them.
Science tells us a lot of new things about the world. Parables tell us about what we are getting wrong. Myths tell us about what we are getting badly, fundamentally, wrong, but without giving, or being able to give, a straight right answer.
It is customary to see the parable of the Good Samaritan as a tale about how we should love our neighbour, but the Fathers of the Church also read it allegorically: God is the Good Samaritan who sends his Son to bandage our wounds, heal our sins and take us to the inn of heaven.
This fine Victorian window is in Pusey church.
"But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found"
– Luke 15:32, which is part of today's Gospel at Mass.
From a series of stained glass windows of the parables of Christ in the Episcopal National Cathedral in Washington DC.
Franz Kafka - The Great Wall of China
Translated and Edited by Malcolm Pasley
Penguin Classics, 2002
Photo of Franz Kafka © Hulton Archive / Getty Images
"Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the householder came and said to him, `Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?' He said to them, `An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, `Then do you want us to go and gather them?' But he said, `No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"
– Matthew 13:24-30, which is part of today's Gospel for the 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time.
My sermon for today can be read here.
This photo was taken as the sun rose on a winter morning in the African savannah.
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad.
So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth."
– Matthew 13:47-50, which is part of today's Gospel.
Stained glass from the National Cathedral in Washington DC.
I don't know how I ever lost this. From last October, it should have gone up with poor little melatonin.
La parábola de la adolescencia (segunda versión)
The parable of adolescence (second version)
Das Gleichnis der Adoleszenz (zweite Version)
Foto realitzada des del mirador de La Cala de Benidorm (Alacant)
En la primera versió, m'ha semblat que el "futur" no era suficientment negre...
Processat: augment de saturació per zones. Filtre graduat neutre a la part dreta per enfosquir l'aigua. Lleuger enfosquiment de l'ombra de la nena.
The Parable of the Rich Fool
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
[Luke 12:13-21 NIV]
5 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:
1. Like it or not, we are ALL sinners: As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous—not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” (Romans 3:10-12 NLT)
2. The punishment for sin is death: When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. (Romans 5:12 NLT)
3. Jesus is our only hope: But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:8 NLT) For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23 NLT)
4. SALVATION is by GRACE through FAITH in JESUS: God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT)
5. Accept Jesus and receive eternal life: If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9 NLT) But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12 NLT) And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. (1 John 5:11-12 NLT)
Read the Bible for yourself. Allow the Lord to speak to you through his Word. YOUR ETERNITY IS AT STAKE!
Seeing the line of reeds I couldn't resist playing around with this one.
Artist: Simon Liddiment
Title: Parable
Materials: traffic signs
Snape Maltings
Snape, Suffolk, England, UK
An illustration of one of the parables of Jesus about coveting too much wealth. An already rich man became richer and instead of using any of his goods for religious or charitable works, he built larger warehouses and gloated over his stored-up wealth. But God said to him 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God' (Luke 12).
[Oil on canvas, 62.5 x 85 cm]
gandalfsgallery.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/david-teniers-youn...
polymer clay, duck decoy cord. Each square is 1"x1"
Based on the parable of the sower: “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”
1998 by Dr Spencer Johnson - A parable of how to make the most of everything in the maze of life.
"And the maze is where you look for what you want - the organisation you work in, or the family or community you live in"
... those who embrace change and take proactive steps toward new opportunities will thrive, while those who resist it will struggle.
Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life is a 1998 motivational business fable by Spencer Johnson that describes four reactions to change. The book is written as a parable about two mice and two "Little people" during their hunt for cheese. A New York Times business bestseller upon release, Who Moved My Cheese? remained on the list for almost five years and spent over 200 weeks on Publishers Weekly's hardcover nonfiction list. As of 2018, it has sold almost 30 million copies worldwide in 37 languages and remains one of the best-selling business books.
Wikipedia
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I call it the Monkey Parable, a story I heard years ago:
You have five monkeys living in a room. One day a banana is placed up near the ceiling, with a ladder to reach it.
When one of them climbs up the ladder to get to the banana, jets in the ceiling douse all the monkeys with ice-cold water.
This process is repeated every time a monkey tries to go up the ladder. Soon enough, in order to avoid the freezing shower, the rest of the monkeys will forcibly prevent any one of them foolish enough to make a move toward the banana.
Then remove one of the monkeys and replace him with another.
The new monkey will naturally go for the banana. To his shock and horror, all the other monkeys attack him. Later he attempts it again, and is assaulted again. He quickly learns to keep away from the banana.
Remove another of the original monkeys and bring in another new one. The newcomer goes for the banana and the others beat him into submission, the next-newest monkey gleefully joining in the punishment.
Keep replacing the original monkeys in this way. Soon you will have five monkeys in the room who have never been doused with icy water, but who all enforce the banana rule no less vehemently for that. If you could ask them why, they'd say something like: That's just the way things have always been done around here!
This story, along with slightly different scenes to illustrate each paragraph, can be found on MOCpages.