Scriptures and Prayer for the Third Sunday of Easter

First Reading: Acts 3:12-19

Psalter: Psalm 4

Epistle: 1 John 3:1-7

Gospel: Luke 24:36b-48
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Holy and righteous God, you raised Christ from the dead and glorified him at your right hand. Let the words of scripture, fulfilled in Jesus your Son, burn within our hearts and open our minds to recognize him in the breaking of bread. Amen.

Weekend Reading

Some links for your reading pleasure:
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Jonah Flicker, "50 states: 50 grilled cheese sandwiches"

Adam Frank, "Why Expertise Matters"

Stephen Godfrey, "Atheistic Meteorology or Divine Rain?"

 Aaron Mamiit, "Sitting Too Much Linked To Memory Problems And Higher Dementia Risk"

Roger Olson, "The Myth of 'Secular Reasoning'"

Barton E. Price, "From Cana to Jell-O"

Nathaniel Scharping, "Yes, You Can Sweat Blood"

Ryan P. Smith, "A History of America’s Ever-Shifting Stance on Tariffs"

N.T. Wright, "The Church Times Podcast Interview – Paul: A Biography"

Brian Zahnd, "Mistaken As the Gardener"

Saturday at the Cinema: Lessons Learned from 83,000 Brain Scans

Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction: Old Man Winter, You Have the Right to Remain Silent

Police, fed up with lingering cold weather, 'arrests' winter

From Associated Press
April 09, 2018 9:43 AM EST

DEPEW, N.Y. (AP) — An upstate New York police department fed up with lingering cold weather has placed winter under arrest.

The Post-Standard reports the Depew Police Department wrote Friday in a humorous Facebook post that it had arrested the season. Police said any more snow winter produces would be held against it in court.

The department also called for groundhog Punxsutawney Phil to turn himself in for predicting six more weeks of winter. Police joke that they're willing to look past winter's "most recent transgressions" if it works with the department.

New York has experienced wintry weather this month and high winds that caused power outages.
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Information from: The Post-Standard, http://www.syracuse.com

Feasting and Fasting: Food and the Rhythms of the Church Calendar

from the Christian History Institute:
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On a Friday during Lent in 1522, a respected Swiss printer named Christoph Froschauer hosted a home-cooked supper of sausages for his hard-working employees, inviting town dignitaries-- and pastor Huldrych Zwingli-- to join in.

Such brazen defiance of the church’s fasting laws sparked a public uproar and led to Froschauer’s imprisonment. Zwingli, however, defended the meal, preaching that “Christians are free to fast or not to fast because the Bible does not prohibit the eating of meat during Lent.” And so the Reformation in Zurich began . . . thanks, in part, to a plate of sausages.

For centuries the church’s seasonal rhythms of feasting and fasting had shaped the way people ate, resulting in a flourishing fish industry and a host of dietary regulations and creative meat and dairy substitutions for use during Lent. The Reformation didn’t just shake the fault lines of Western Christendom; it reshaped the Christian diet.
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The entire article can be read here.

Tone Down the Rhetoric on Rhetoric

I confess it is a pet peeve of mine, but I strongly dislike the negative connotations now associated with the word "rhetoric," particularly as it is currently used in the realm of politics. It is often employed whenever any political debate gets loud and personal. One side tells the other to tone down the rhetoric. Of course, both sides of the political aisle regularly engage in such negative "rhetoric," but I wish the term wasn't used by anyone as a synonym to refer to incendiary verbiage.

Scriptures and Prayer for Easter Evening

Old Testament: Isaiah 25:6-9

Psalter: Psalm 114

Epistle: 1 Corinthians 5:6b-8

Gospel: Luke 24:13-49
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O God, at this evening hour, the risen Christ revealed himself to his disciples in the breaking of bread. Feed us with the bread of life and break open our hearts, that we may know him not only in the good news of the scriptures, but risen in the midst of your pilgrim people. Amen.

Scriptures and Prayer for Easter for the Resurrection of the Lord

First Reading: Isaiah 65:17-25 or Acts 10:34-43

Psalter: Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

Epistle: 1 Corinthians 15:19-26 or Acts 10:34-43

Gospel: John 20:1-18 or Luke 24:1-12
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We exult in your love, O God of the living, for you made the tomb of death the womb from which you bring forth your Son, the first-born of a new creation, and you anointed the universe with the fragrant Spirit of his resurrection. Make us joyful witnesses to this good news, that all humanity may one day gather at the feast of new life in the kingdom where you reign for ever and ever. Amen.

Scriptures and Prayer for Holy Saturday

Old Testament: Job 14:1-14 or  Lamentations 3:1-9, 19-24

Psalter: Psalm 31:1-4, 15-16

Epistle: 1 Peter 4:1-8

Gospel: Matthew 27:57-66 or John 19:38-42
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Eternal God, rock and refuge: with roots grown old in the earth, river beds run dry, and flowers withered in the field, we wait for revival and release. Abide with us until we come alive in the sunrise of your glory. Amen.