STONY POINT REFLECTIONS

Stony Point Reflections

Warm welcome.

Gracious hospitality.

Sense of family.

Rick, MaryAnn, more names and faces.

Luke’s parents?  Welcome!  Love him!

Greenhouse gardens.

Empty beds all lined up like a dormitory

With covers not quite fluffy.

Need more blankets.  More dirt.

Matthew with garden hat.

Sensitive.  Enthusiastic.

Putting his plants to bed,

A parental protection from the cold.  

Shovels, rakes, wheelbarrows,

Two left gloves.

A mountain of soil, rich and fertile.

Dig, lift, move, spread. 

Over and over.

Teamwork. Good work.  Satisfying work. 

Candy wrappers.

Bubble gum.  

Bits of balloon and string.

Mingling with the fallen leaves of red and gold,

Oak, maple, and needles of pine.  

Hidden but out of place.

Marring the landscape.

Piece by piece removal.

Back to nature.

Evidence of childish exuberance erased

Preparation for new welcomes. 

Paintings of peace.

Brushstrokes of love, justice, and freedom.

On loan to inspire and promote.

Time to return to the generous donor,

Time to be wrapped in the woolen blanket

And readied for the trip home to the big city.  

Simple work.  Easy work.

But necessary for the life of the center. 

Thank yous.  Appreciation. 

Greek dinner. Feta and souvlaki;

Hummus, Moussaka and Spanakovpita.

Friends, family, freedom flick.

Discuss, debate, and remember.

Pigs and peppers,

Arbor and labyrinth,

Chapel window, devotions, and song.

Leafy orange, barren branch.

Peace. Freedom. Justice.

Sari, Hijaab, or Kosher.

Black, white, ONE.

Stony Point images.

Stony Point memories. 

GOSPEL OF LUKE - Chapter 11 Prayer ....

Luke 11:1 (CEB)Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

Luke 11:2-4 (MSG)

“When you pray, say, 

Father, 

Reveal who you are. 

Set the world right. 

Keep us alive with three square meals.

Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.

Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.”

Another Scribble from Luke 11:1-4

Luke 1-4 Scribble on Prayer

Luke 11:5-8  (GNT)
And Jesus said to his disciples, “Suppose one of you should go to a friend's house at midnight and say, ‘Friend, let me borrow three loaves of bread.  A friend of mine who is on a trip has just come to my house, and I don't have any food for him!’    And suppose your friend should answer from inside, ‘Don't bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.’   Well, what then? I tell you that even if he will not get up and give you the bread because you are his friend, yet he will get up and give you everything you need because you are not ashamed to keep on asking.

Luke 11:9-10  (CEB)
And I tell you: Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. Everyone who asks, receives. Whoever seeks, finds. To everyone who knocks, the door is opened.

Luke 11:11-13 (GNT)
Would any of you who are fathers give your son a snake when he asks for fish?  Or would you give him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?  As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

GOSPEL OF LUKE - Chapter 10

Luke 10:1-2

Later the Master selected seventy and sent them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he intended to go. He gave them this charge:

“What a huge harvest! And how few the harvest hands. So on your knees; ask the God of the Harvest to send harvest hands. (MSG)

Luke 10:4

“Travel light. Comb and toothbrush and no extra luggage.

“Don’t loiter and make small talk with everyone you meet along the way.

Luke 10:5
“When you enter a home, greet the family, ‘Peace.’ If your greeting is received, then it’s a good place to stay. But if it’s not received, take it back and get out. Don’t impose yourself.

Luke 10:8-12

“When you enter a town and are received, eat what they set before you, heal anyone who is sick, and tell them, ‘God’s kingdom is right on your doorstep!’

 “When you enter a town and are not received, go out in the street and say, ‘The only thing we got from you is the dirt on our feet, and we’re giving it back. Did you have any idea that God’s kingdom was right on your doorstep?’ Sodom will have it better on Judgment Day than the town that rejects you.

Luke 10:16“The one who listens to you, listens to me. The one who rejects you, rejects me. And rejecting me is the same as rejecting God, who sent me.”

Luke 10:17-20

The seventy came back triumphant. “Master, even the demons danced to your tune!”

 Jesus said, “I know. I saw Satan fall, a bolt of lightning out of the sky. See what I’ve given you? Safe passage as you walk on snakes and scorpions, and protection from every assault of the Enemy. No one can put a hand on you. All the same, the great triumph is not in your authority over evil, but in God’s authority over you and presence with you. Not what you do for God but what God does for you—that’s the agenda for rejoicing.”

Luke 10:27He said, “That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself.”

Luke 10:29-38

“What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers?”

 “The one who treated him kindly,” the religion scholar responded.

Jesus said, “Go and do the same.”

Luke 10:38-42

As they continued their travel, Jesus entered a village. A woman by the name of Martha welcomed him and made him feel quite at home. She had a sister, Mary, who sat before the Master, hanging on every word he said. But Martha was pulled away by all she had to do in the kitchen. Later, she stepped in, interrupting them. “Master, don’t you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to me? Tell her to lend me a hand.”

41-42 The Master said, “Martha, dear Martha, you’re fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it—it’s the main course, and won’t be taken from her.”

Another Mary and Martha Scribble

GOSPEL OF LUKE - Chapter 9

Luke 9: 14-17  Feeding Five Thousand

“He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread and fish to the disciples to hand out to the crowd.  After the people had all eaten their fill, twelve baskets of leftovers were gathered up.”

One small boy,

Alone in a crowd.

Two fresh fish,

Wriggling in the basket.

Five crusty rolls of bread,

Baked by a loving mother.

An insignificant amount;

Food, common, ordinary:

Fish.  Bread. 

Twelve impatient disciples,

Hungry themselves,

Irritated with the crowd.

Five thousand in number,

Unwilling to leave,

Hungry for food, but also…

Hungry for a touch, a word,

Hunger deep in their souls.

An insignificant amount of food:

Ordinary and common.

Fish. Bread.

Made holy in prayer.

Made holy by touch.

Made holy by Christ.

Multiplied.

Time and time again.

Enough for one.

Enough for all.  

Luke 9:29-3

Luke 9:26-30
About eight days after saying this, he climbed the mountain to pray, taking Peter, John, and James along. While he was in prayer, the appearance of his face changed and his clothes became blinding white. At once two men were there talking with him. They turned out to be Moses and Elijah—and what a glorious appearance they made! They talked over his exodus, the one Jesus was about to complete in Jerusalem. (MSG)






Luke 9:52-56  Rebuke

Luke 9:51-56

He sent messengers ahead of him, who went into a village in Samaria to get everything ready for him.53 But the people there would not receive him, because it was clear that he was on his way to Jerusalem.  When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?"  Jesus turned and rebuked them.  Then Jesus and his disciples went on to another village.  (GNT)

Luke 9:57-58

Luke 9:57-58

As they went on their way, a man said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

 Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lie down and rest.”  (GNT)

Luke 9:60

Luke 9:60 

Jesus answered, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.” (GNT)

Luke 9:61-62

Luke 9:61-62

Then another said, “I’m ready to follow you, Master, but first excuse me while I get things straightened out at home.”

 Jesus said, “No procrastination. No backward looks. You can’t put God’s kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day.”