Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 13, 2021 -- THREE
Spiritually Speaking
Authority as Service
By Fr. Thankachan Joseph
Most people see authority as a chance to promote their
own honor and glory, but Christ saw it as an opportunity
to serve others, which is not that easy.
Humans naturally think of themselves
first. Even the apostles did, as we shall see
in today’s Gospel. The servant leadership
of Jesus pinpoints service and sacrifice
as the criteria of greatness in Christ’s
kingdom.
In the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (53:
Fr. Thankachan
10-11), the “Suffering Servant” prepares Joseph
us to hear today’s Gospel (Mark 10: 35-
45), teaching on desire versus humility.
The Servant of the first reading intercedes with God for
the people, taking upon himself their wrongdoings and
accepting retributions for their sins. This passage speaks
of the servant giving “his life as an offering for sin.”
The prophecy, “Through his suffering, many servants
shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear” (53:11),
was realized in Jesus, Who lived and died for others.
This passage also gives us assurance that if we stand for
righteousness and justice, we need to go through all that
the prophet experienced; later we will receive the loving
care of our Father, God, Who will never abandon us.
That is what the Prophet Isaiah is trying to convey. The
concluding words of Jesus in today’s gospel, about giv-
ing His life as a ransom for many, refer to the messianic
prophecy from the prophet Isaiah.
The second reading, from the letter to the Hebrews
(4:14-16), notes that Jesus responded to the call from His
Father to be the mediator or priest for the people. As high
priest, He is able to sympathize with us in our weakness
because He has been tested in every way, though sinless,
so we can confidently hope for God’s mercy. Jesus ac-
complished His mission of saving mankind by becoming
the “Suffering Servant” and challenging His followers to
become great by serving others: “Whoever wishes to be
great must be a servant.” In the time of Jesus, ransom was
the price paid to free someone from slavery. Sometimes
another offered himself as substitute for the slave. Jesus’s
offering was just such a liberating offering for mankind.
This second reading ends with an invitation to every one
of us to “confidently approach the throne of grace to
receive mercy and to find grace for timely help” (4:16).
The Gospel reading is another classic response from
Christ on the question of ambition and expectations. For
the third time, Jesus predicts His own death (Mark 8:31,
9:31, 10:32), but James and John still could not under-
stand Him and His style as leader. They thought of Him
as a revolutionary freedom fighter and shared the Jewish
belief that the Messiah would be a political king, sitting on
David’s throne and ruling over a re-united Israel. Jesus’s
idea of discipleship they could not grasp well. They were
sure that the purpose of Jesus’s final trip to Jerusalem
was to overthrow the Roman rulers. Hence, they wanted
assurance from Jesus that He would make them His first-
and second-in-command in His messianic kingdom. In
the Gospel of Mark, Jesus wants us to understand the
following for our daily living: 1) A challenge to give our
lives in loving service to others. The best place to begin
the process of “self-giving” is in our own homes and in the
workplace. We have to look upon our education, training,
and experience as preparation for service to others. What-
ever may be our place in society -- whether “important”
or “unimportant” -- we can serve. “Life becomes harder
for us when we live for others, but it also becomes richer
and happier.” —Albert Schweitzer. 2) We serve by suf-
fering. Misery and service go hand in hand. First, service
always involves suffering because you can’t help another
without some sacrifice on your own part. Secondly, we
must learn to be sensitive to the suffering of those around
us. One way to cultivate this sensitivity is by focusing
on the needs of others, rather than on our own needs. 3)
We accept the invitation to drink from the cup of Christ’s
suffering. A best example can be found in our families:
A happy family is the result of true sacrifice and humble
service. The husband or wife, father or mother is ready to
sacrifice convenience, comfort, and time for the good of
other members in the family. We are challenged to drink
the cup of Jesus by laying down our lives in humble and
sacrificial service for others, just as Jesus did.
Church harvest
festival scheduled
Heppner Christian
Church will hold their an-
nual Harvest Festival and
125 th year celebration on
Saturday, October 23 and
Sunday, October 24.
There will be an open
house from 3-5 p.m. Sat-
urday, October 23 with a
hosted dinner to follow
from 5-7:30 p.m. as well as
guest speakers Bob Woods
and Roger Scharen. Free
child care will be provid-
ed. RSVPs are required
for the dinner and also the
need for child care. Please
contact Sam Bellamy at
541-561-8881 to RSVP or
for additional information..
A continental breakfast
will be held at 9 a.m. Sun-
day, October 24. Following
breakfast, session one will
begin at 9:45 a.m. with Don
Shelton and Quentin Byers.
Session two will begin at
11 a.m. with David Archer,
Andrew Johnson and Ray
DeLoe.
~ Letters to the Editor ~
The Heppner Gazette Times will print all letters to the Editor with the following criteria met: letters submitted to the newspaper will need to have the name of
the sender along with a legible signature. We are also requesting that you provide your address and a phone number where you can be reached. The address
and phone number will only be used for verification and will not be printed in the newspaper. Letters may not be libelous. The GT reserves the right to edit.
The GT is not responsible for accuracy of statements made in letters. Any letters expressing thanks will be placed in the classifieds under “Card of Thanks”
at a cost of $10. Email to editor@rapidserve.net or upload to Heppner.net.
Forced vaccination
Peoples voice being
silenced
To the editor;
“Once the government
is committed to the princi-
ple of silencing the voice of
the opposition, it has only
one way to go, and that is
down the path of increas-
ingly repressive measures,
until it becomes a source of
terror to all its citizens and
creates a country where ev-
eryone lives in fear.” (Harry
Truman)
I think some need to
read this again. Whether
you are a member of social
media, have friends that
oppose your belief, or you
watch the news; the peoples
voice is being silenced and
censored. Why? What are
you afraid of if we speak
our minds, or have our own
opinions? Are you scared
that maybe you will have to
realize the government and
scientists are not here for
you, but to work a bigger
plan? Bill Gates, whose
hand is well into this, (2011
and 2017) said if we could
get a vaccine out to the
public, we could control the
world’s population. Well,
2020 here it showed up.
Really, how is he a scien-
tist? How did he predict this
pandemic? Planned?
Aren’t we the nation
that was based on “land
of the free, because of the
brave” or are we a nation
that is willing to roll over
and let the government (that
works, elected and paid by
us) or a millionaire, control
every movement we make?
I am finding it harder and
harder to stand by and do
nothing for the ones who
want Freedom of Choice,
over strong-arm control.
I do feel that not wanting
a vaccine or not wanting
to wear a mask does not
warrant the title “domestic
terrorist” as people are
being called. That the heart
of America is now to fear
all those who don’t follow
your idea of a perfect so-
ciety.
I feel as a citizen of the
United States of America
we have a right to choose
what we do with our bod-
ies. It is not “your body,
their choice,” and after 19
months of this pandemic,
the science is not there.
They have continually
changed the guidelines on
a continual basis. Yes, sci-
ence is not exact, yes there
are a lot of hypotheses in
science, but that does not
mean our world should stop
and wait for the correct an-
swer, if there really is one,
nor does this give the gov-
ernment an uncontrollable
grasp around our necks. We
need to stop looking at this
moment in time and start
doing our own “hypothesis”
to where this is all heading.
Take a strong look into
their “deadly virus.” Don’t
brow beat us with, don’t
kill grandpa and grandma,
do it for your neighbor,
here let’s bribe you with
cash, alcohol, whatever
appeals to you, don’t kill
our kids. Now we get, do
what we say, or we will
take everything from you,
jobs, medical, basic human
right essentials. I, for one,
have had enough, so now I
stand and fight back. I have
started a Freedom of Choice
group and we can, and we
must, stand together to
protect ourselves from the
tyranny of this government.
We will be having an-
other meeting at Two Old
Hags Pizza on October 17
at 12 p.m. Everyone who
is ready to make things
happen, find ways of chang-
ing this, please join us. We
are cordially inviting Rep.
Greg Smith, Mayor Kindle
(Heppner), Mayor Kennedy
(Lexington), Mayor Taylor
(Ione), Morrow County
Sheriff’s Office and Super-
intendent Dirksen. Come
listen to the concerns of
your citizens.
Staying Loud, and
Standing Proud
next to you and for you
Dawn Brosnan
Ladies Night Dinner
Thursday, October 14
6:00 pm
Spaghetti
Garlic Bread - Salad
Dessert
your body is the temple of
the Holy Spirit which is in
you which ye have of God
and ye are not your own.” (I
Cor. 6:19,20). The Ameri-
can government has no con-
stitutional authority to force
a Christian that has com-
mitted their body to God
to yield authority of their
body to the government
against their will. Indeed,
the word of God requires a
Christian “to present your
body a living sacrifice,
holy and acceptable unto
God” (Roman’s 12:1). Jesus
warned “no man can serve
two masters.” (Matthew
6:24). When a government
attempts to force a Chris-
tian against their will and
Christian faith then the
Christian response must be
“to obey God rather than
man.” (Acts 5:29).
When a person com-
mits their life, heart and
body to Jesus Christ they
belong to God not the gov-
ernments of the world. “For
freedom Christ has set us
free, stand firm therefore,
and do not submit again to
the yoke of slavery.” We
have a choice my beloved
friends. We can submit to
the yoke of slavery, or we
can live forever as free
men. Do not allow any
government or principality
take that God ordained
liberty and freedom away
from you.
Stuart Dick, Irrigon
Chamber Chatter
Wednesday, October
13 at 6 p.m., Adult crafting
will be held at the library.
Register at www.otld.org.
Saturday, October 16 at
4 p.m., Flood Town Books
will host a book signing
and meet and greet with
Scott McEwen, New York
Times bestselling author
of American Sniper. Re-
freshments, door prizes and
more. Contact Flood Town
Books at 541-236-2940 for
additional information.
Saturday, October 16
from 6-8 p.m. a silent auc-
tion will be held to bene-
fit Birthright of Morrow
County at St. Patrick’s Par-
ish Hall. Refreshments will
be served.
Saturday, October 16
the 7 th annual Octoberfest
will be presented by the
Woolery Project at the Ione
American Legion Hall. Tri
tip or barbecue chicken
dinner tickets are $35 at
the door. Social hour starts
at 4 p.m. with dinner at 6,
provided by Prairie Rose
Chuckwagon. Music will
be provided by Frank Carl-
son and Dan Robinson.
Additional information is
available at www.thewool-
eryprojectinc.com.
October 23 and 26 at
the Wilkinson Arena will
be a two-day ranch roping
clinic focusing on safe-
ty, horsemanship, stock-
manship and roping. The
participant fee is $100.
Additional information is
available by contacting
Chris Schachtschneider at
541-278-5403.
Free haircuts
offered at NC
Hosted by the Golden & Bailey families
Members and guests
HEPPNER ELKS 358
"WHERE FRIENDS MEET"
541-676-9181 142 N MAIN ST
DEADLINE:
MONDAYS
AT 5PM
To the editor:
I write this letter on
behalf of all who deserve
a religious accommodation
against a forced ‘vaccina-
tion’. Vaccination in pa-
rentheses because mRNA
spike protein has never in
history been considered a
vaccination before the cur-
rent big pharma-controlled
FDA moved the goal posts.
Never before in the histo-
ry of our Republic have
the American people been
forced against their will to
allow the government to in-
ject an experimental serum,
with unknown long-term
effects, into their bodies.
The American people, here
before free men, have nev-
er before been subjects of
unconstitutional edicts, all
in the name of protecting
the greater good. Neverthe-
less, the government, our
forefathers have warned
us about, has decreed only
medical and religious ex-
ceptions will be allowed
and they (the government
or designated principalities
no longer of the people, by
the people and for the peo-
ple) will exercise the final
decision.
As a minister of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ I
will present in detail the
religious requirement in
the Bible that necessitates
a religious exception to a
forced (against your sover-
eign will) injection in your
body. “Know ye not that
Joseph Kindle will be
providing free haircuts for
boys and men at the Neigh-
borhood Center on Satur-
day, October 23 from 9:30
a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed for
lunch 12:30-1:30 p.m.). Call
541-676-5024 to schedule
an appointment (walk-ins
are also welcome).
Joseph Kindle is cur-
rently a student at Paul
Mitchell The School in
Richland, WA and is set to
graduate in November.
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
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Sheryl Newton,
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