Todays Sacrament

[Damien the Leper]

I visited a friends ward today and was pleasantly surprised that all the talks were based on the Year B lectionary. Each talk covered the 3 scripture readings: Isaiah 64:1-9, 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 and Mark 13:24-37. Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18 was sung as the rest hymn.

Happy first week of Advent!!!

[saemo]

I visited a friends ward today and was pleasantly surprised that all the talks were based on the Year B lectionary. Each talk covered the 3 scripture readings: Isaiah 64:1-9, 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 and Mark 13:24-37. Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18 was sung as the rest hymn.

Happy first week of Advent!!!

Wow.

[Damien the Leper]

This ward is doing this for all of Advent.

[saemo]

This ward is doing this for all of Advent.

Is a former Catholic in charge of the agenda/program? (Or whatever it's called. Sorry, I don't recall what the order of sacrament meeting is called, lol.)

[Damien the Leper]

No, the bishop was born and raised LDS. I spoke with the bishop about this and he said that high church tradition and liturgy creates deeper significance and meaning for faith communities.

[Damien the Leper]

I would like to see them do this for the 7 weeks of Easter as well.

[saemo]

No, the bishop was born and raised LDS. I spoke with the bishop about this and he said that high church tradition and liturgy creates deeper significance and meaning for faith communities.

Weird way to look at things, but ok.

[HappyJackWagon]

 

I would like to see them do this for the 7 weeks of Easter as well.

 

This is a great idea for the month of April. It would be wonderful to have each Sunday focus on a portion of Christ's mortal ministry or even the last week of his life, culminating with Easter.

[Tacenda]

This is a great idea for the month of April. It would be wonderful to have each Sunday focus on a portion of Christ's mortal ministry or even the last week of his life, culminating with Easter.

If only...my ward will have a talk on missionary work or temples. Not that that is bad but still nice to hear something about the Saviour.

Last week was on being grateful and my new neighbors gave such good talks, I felt like the gal's was so polished, she could be a professional speaker. This goes along with someone saying our meetings can be boring, at least I think it was on this board..

[halconero]

University of Toronto is composed of several "colleges" which have their history as ecclesiastical seminaries (many of which still operate as such today). It's more of a formality than anything, as the university is mostly focused on secular research and anyone of any religious background can be part of any of the colleges. Despite that, my own college, Trinity, has a regulation which asks students to attend mass at the Anglican cathedral attached to the residency and dining hall every quarter. I've always enjoyed the ritual, liturgy and readings of the High Church style (interestingly enough, the Low Church "Wycliffe" Anglican college is across the street).

[Calm]

If only...my ward will have a talk on missionary work or temples. Not that that is bad but still nice to hear something about the Saviour.

Last week was on being grateful and my new neighbors gave such good talks, I felt like the gal's was so polished, she could be a professional speaker. This goes along with someone saying our meetings can be boring, at least I think it was on this board..

Why dont you write up something short about thinking about Christ during this month and ask the bulletin person to put it in the bulletin or have the Relief Society President send what you write up every couple of days if you feel your ward needs to focus more on Christ.

[cinepro]

I visited a friends ward today and was pleasantly surprised that all the talks were based on the Year B lectionary. Each talk covered the 3 scripture readings: Isaiah 64:1-9, 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 and Mark 13:24-37. Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18 was sung as the rest hymn.

Happy first week of Advent!!!

 

Interesting.  Did they specifically mention the broader context for these talks (and hymn), or did you pick up on it because of prior knowledge?

[saemo]

Sometimes priests and lay ministers in the Catholic Church get the idea they need to "spruce up" the Mass, which, is never good. 

[Tacenda]

Why dont you write up something short about thinking about Christ during this month and ask the bulletin person to put it in the bulletin or have the Relief Society President send what you write up every couple of days if you feel your ward needs to focus more on Christ.

I did slip this sermon in once, when I was in the RS presidency and had to make the monthly newsletter to be put into the Fast Sunday Newsletter. 

 

Sympathy verses Empathy

“For several days now, I have been pondering the power of empathy. It seems there is quite a bit of varying opinions on what the difference is between sympathy and empathy. So for the purpose of being sure we are on the same page for this topic today, I want to begin by sharing what I believe and understand is the definition of sympathy and empathy, at least for me.

Sympathy and empathy both have the Greek word “path” in them so they both relate to feeling. Sympathy speaks of how we can imagine the feelings of others. We sympathize when a person loses someone they love to death or divorce. We sympathize when someone has cancer. We can imagine, whether or not we have experienced it, how painful a situation might be. “Sym” is the prefix which means “with”; we feel with someone else. We can sympathize without saying a word, perhaps with a hug or caring look. When we sympathize with someone else, we agree that they should feel bad.

Empathy, on the other hand, is when we feel “into” their pain. In the current usage of the word empathy. Empathy is deeper than sympathy and not only involves the understanding of a person’s feelings but does something to lessen the pain. When we empathize with someone else, we don’t just agree that they should feel badly in their current situation, we enter into their feelings and understand their feelings or thoughts. We can feel their pain, whether or not we have experienced the same pain.

To sympathize is to give your handkerchief to someone who is crying. To empathize is to cry with them.

In Brazil there is a saying that if you’re stuck in a hole, a sympathetic person will get into the hole with you, and the empathic person will give you a rope so you can get out of the hole.

To empathize is to acknowledge another’s pain AND to help them through it.

The purpose of my writing today is to encourage us all to go beyond sympathy in our relationship with people who are hurting and to begin to express empathy. Now I do understand that we cannot personally be empathetic with large numbers of people all at the same time so this is not supposed to be a guilt trip. But there are some people who cross out lives’ paths that we need to avail ourselves to in the power of empathy.

When is the last time you personally expressed empathy to another? The last time you gave of your heart, your words, your time in order to give another a “rope” to help them get out of the hole?

I thought of Jesus this morning as I thought of the power of empathy. In the travels of a Jewish person of his day, they would go all the way around Samaria instead of taking the short route through Samaria because they considered the Samaritans half-breeds and unworthy of their association with them. Yet Jesus told his disciples that he “needed” to go through Samaria. He needed to give a “rope” to a woman there.

When multitudes of people followed Jesus into a “deserted” place to hear his teaching, Jesus was moved with empathy for them and taught them and then fed them by multiplying the bread and fish. He gave them a “rope”.

When Peter, stepping out onto the sea to walk to Jesus, began to be afraid and sink, Jesus reached out and caught him. He gave Peter a “rope”.

When Lazarus died, Jesus cried bitterly with Lazarus’ sister Mary and then he raised Lazarus from the dead, giving Mary and Martha a “rope”.

Sometimes Jesus offered a rope to people and they did not take it. Even though he knew ahead of time that they would refuse his offer, he offered anyway.

And on the cross, Jesus not only sympathized with us because of our sin, he empathized with us and gave us all a “rope” even though it cost him a season of separation from God, physical trauma and pain, emotional pain, and spiritual pain as he literally took our sin into his physical, emotional, mental body.

I believe more than ever that we in the Body of Christ must do more than sympathize with those who are hurting, whether it be those who don’t know Christ at all or those who do know Him. We must empathize.

For after all, if we are part of His body and He feels the pain of others, should we not also feel that pain? Sometimes we say that we are His hands extended. We love the sound of those words. But perhaps we should look at our hands for rope-burn.

Hugs, Blessings, Shalom, Peace and Amen”

 

[Damien the Leper]

Interesting. Did they specifically mention the broader context for these talks (and hymn), or did you pick up on it because of prior knowledge?

It was stated in the church program. They used the Revised Common Lectionary.

Edited January 22, 2015 by Valentinus