Brothers and Sisters,

This Sunday, November 11th is the 24th Sunday after Pentecost. It is also Celebration Sunday for our stewardship campaign. Please bring your completed "rainbow" (pledge) card if you have not already turned one in. Together we will celebrate as we move in the Kingdom beyond the rainbow.

Sunday is also Veterans' Day. We continue to give thanks for and ask God's blessings on those who have served our country in the military.

The theme and readings for this Sunday are:

INTRODUCTION
In these final weeks of the liturgical year, the church cries out, "Come, Lord Jesus!" We are always awaiting God's coming, and God does not disappoint us, making the divine presence known in water, bread, wine, and in this human community of faith.
The church celebrates two people of faith who died on this date: Bishop Martin of Tours in 397, and Soren Kierkegaard in 1855. Martin helped Christianity come to rural France, and Kierkegaard in his philosophical writings helped to introduce the Christian faith to the modern era.

Martin, Bishop of Tours, died 397
Martin's pagan father enlisted him in the Roman army. Approached by a beggar, Martin cut his cloak in half and gave part to the man, whom he later understood as representing Christ. He asked to leave the army, but was jailed instead. After his release, he became a preacher, and later a bishop.

First Reading: Job 19:23-27a
The dialogues of this book present Job in the midst of a tormenting problem. Job suffers the loss of family, physical health, and understanding friends yet knows himself to be innocent. Here, in the midst of his suffering, Job clings to the hope that one day he will be vindicated.

Psalm: Psalm 17:1-9

Second Reading: 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
Paul writes to encourage the church at Thessalonica in a time of confusion and opposition. Here, the confusion concerned the return of Christ. Paul encourages those who had quit their jobs in anticipation of Jesus' imminent return to go back to work, secure in the salvation that is theirs in the gospel of God's grace.

Gospel: Luke 20:27-38
The Sadducees, who do not believe in the resurrection of the dead, try to trap Jesus. They ask him about the marital status of a resurrected woman who had been married to a succession of seven brothers. The real issue, says Jesus, is not "Whose wife is she?" but rather "What is your relationship with God?

Looking for you "beyond the rainbow as we celbrate around the Table of the Lord.

Your Siblings at Hope