Lectionary Links (NL): March 31, 2019

Fourth Sunday in Lent

Year 1: March 31, 2019

Scaredy Squirrel Has a Birthday Party by Melanie Watt

(Written for ages 4-8)

Comment: In Scaredy Squirrel Has a Birthday Party, in typical Scaredy Squirrel fashion, he meticulously and overly prepares for his birthday. He wants to be ready for everything. And he nearly is, but even so, there are surprises. What he intended as a very small gathering ends up large, as more friends (“party animals”) show up at the party. At first, he panics, but then he comes to enjoy the larger gathering and his birthday, and begins to make even more extensive plans for next year. Scaredy Squirrel is both ready for his birthday, but also encounters surprises. In the parable of the bridesmaids, the primary difference between the wise bridesmaids and the foolish bridesmaids, is that the wise ones are “ready”. Like Scaredy Squirrel, they have prepared and gotten ready for the bridegroom to arrive. But, like Scaredy Squirrel, even though they are ready, surprises still arise—the bridegroom is much later than expected and their supplies have to last longer than they thought. The wise bridesmaids are both ready for the bridegroom but also encounter surprises. Like the wise bridesmaids, and Scaredy Squirrel, we need the balance of being both ready for Jesus and the reign of God, and realizing that even as we prepare, that we can’t know everything, and there will be surprises.

Thanks to Sara Anne Berger, pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Nachitoches, LA, for writing the Year 1 Narrative Lectionary Links.

Lectionary Links (NL): March 31, 2019 by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.