In Memoriam Jan Aston - 2.20.26

Old Testament: Prophet Isaiah [25:6-9] On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations; and he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and the humiliation of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. Psalm 139 O LORD, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, you are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it completely. You encircle me, behind and in front, and lay your gentle hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; A height of beauty I cannot attain it. Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there;  if I lie down in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall guide me, your right hand shall hold me fast. If I say, "Let the darkness cover me, and the night wrap itself around me," even darkness to you is not dark, my Lord,  and the night is as bright as the day. You created me in my inmost self; you knit me together in my mother's womb. For so many marvels I thank you; A wonder am I, and all your works are wonders.   You knew me through and through, My being held no secrets from you, when I was being formed in secret, textured in the depths of the earth. Your eyes beheld my embryo. In your Book were written all the days of my life, when none of them as yet existed. How awesome to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I try to count them—they are more than the sand;  If I come to the end—I am still with you. Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See that I am not on my way to ruin and guide me in the way of eternity. Epistle: The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians [15:12-28] If Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is in vain and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, then we of all people are to be most pitied. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. …for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. And Christ will reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. And the last enemy to be destroyed is death…so that God may be all in all. The Gospel: Matthew [23:31-45] When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.