SUNDAY, JULY 30, 2017 — 17th SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
Finding Buried Treasure
The point of the Gospel chosen to be read on this Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time is that the greatest joy of all in this life is found in the discovery and acceptance of the way, truth and life of Jesus.  And to have this gift in our lives, we must give everything we have.

Many things in life make us happy and joyful. I can remember as a child literally jumping up and down in joy on Christmas Eve at home as the family waited for Santa Claus.  How happy and joy-filled I used to be as I flew or drove home to visit my parents and brother from wherever I happened to be stationed at the time.  How happy and joyous I was on the day I was professed a Franciscan; then ordained a priest; and then called to be a Bishop.  These and many more things have caused a great deal of happiness and joy in my life.  I am always filled with a sense of other-world joy when I remember the day I met my spouse.  And I am sure you have a list of things in your life that did the same.  We have all experienced many happy and joyful moments in our lives and it is a moment of further happiness and joy to recall them.

Our Gospel today, however, tells us, as we said above, that the greatest joy we will have in life will come from discovering the way of Jesus.  This is the greatest because it lasts now and will continue to last for all eternity. Christmas Day came to an end at midnight.  Now I think of my ordination days once a year.  Or the cherished memories spent waiting those many Christmas Eves with family that have gone home ot be with Lord.  All of these joys ... including my relationship with my spouse ... goes hand in hand with my discovery of Jesus as the way, the truth and the life.  The joy that comes from the one leads to the other and therefore both are lasting.

Again, it is this way of the Lord that brings that greatest and lasting happiness we can find in this world.  Love, compassion, caring, service, forgiveness, emptying of self, making life all about God and neighbor and not all about me --- this is where we find our greatest happiness and joy in life.  It took me years and years of selfishness, of doing things my way, of trying to do it all alone, being independent, doing what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it and many other stupidities before I finally discovered where true happiness and joy are really to be found.  And somehow I imagine it has been the same for all of you who have arrived at this same discovery.  And now that we have found the way, the Gospel tells us, we have to give our all to keep it.  We have to be totally open, accepting and willing, and God will do the rest.  Jesus, in you is our strength, our happiness and our joy.  Please stay with us always.

Peace and All Good,
Bishop Jim
Church Picnic
Thank you to all who prepared and brought food — as well as all of those who participated in the Church Picnic last week.  I am sorry I could not have stayed longer; however, I am thankful everyone had a good time.
Food With Friends - Meal
Date:  
Time:  
Location:  



Agenda:  		 Tuesday, August 8th
6:00 pm ET
Zion Lutheran Church, Hall
301 Jefferson Avenue
Bristol, PA 19007

Pray - Prepare - Volunteer - Eat !
Plenty for Everyone in the Bounty of the Lord
Food Pantry
We continue to collect can goods and other non-perishable items for the Food Pantry located at
      Harvest Ministries — Cornwells Heights United Methodist Church
      2284 Bristol Pike
      Bensalem, PA 19020
      215.639.0436

Hours: Tuesday, Thursday and Friday @ 9am - 12pm

Thank you for your continued generous support of this amazing Ministry.  Feeding the needs of hungry families here in our own community.  God Bless you for your amazing Giving Hearts.



Bow Wow Wow Ministry
We continue to collect gently used linens, sheets, blankets, and bath towels to donate to local area animal shelters.  We ask you to continue your incredible generocity.

Your wonderful generocity helps provide vulnerable animals with comfort when they most need it.  Thank you from all the little ones that cannot say it for themselves.
Readings for Next Week
   August 6th – Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord
    First Reading   Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 At a time of persecution, the prophet sees a vision of a transfigured world.  The son of man - symbolizing God's people, perhaps the Messiah - will no longer suffer but be honored and will share in God's glory.
Responsorial Psalm   Psalm 97 The Lord reigns, Most High over all the earth.
Second Reading   2 Peter 1:16-19 The apostles present at the transfiguration did not fully realize what was going on.  Later they understood and testified that Jesus is not a myth but the foundation of faith and life.
Gospel   Matthew 17: 1-9   After Jesus had spoken to his apostles about his coming suffering, Jesus and the apostles - and we - are given a vision of the glory and resurrection that will come.