FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY

YEAR C: February 10, 2019

First Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8 (9-13)

If I Never Forever Endeavor by Holly Meade

(Written for ages 4-8)

Comment: This week’s text from Isaiah is filled with transformation. Isaiah risks to admit that he is lost, but that he still seeks God. After his admission of being lost among things unclean, God sends a seraph to Isaiah. Isaiah is forgiven and re-directed. He embraces a new purpose saying, “Here am I; send me” and he heeds God’s call. Meade tells the story of a young fledgling who has some trepidation about attempting to fly. The fledgling considers what could happen if he tries to fly. Yet, he also considers what could happen if he didn’t dare to take the risk of trying to fly for he would not know what he was not able to do. After considering his options, the fledgling tries, and then he flies! Like Isaiah and the young fledgling, we, too, can find ourselves lost in knowing whether or not to take a risk. However, some risks are worth it and can re-direct us to live out the purposes that God intends for us.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 15: 1-11

Always Remember by Cece Meng

(Written for ages 3-7)

Comment: Paul reminds readers of the Good News and how he came to embrace that Good News. In reminding readers, Paul invites readers to remember. Perhaps readers of Paul’s words will remember how they came to learn and to the Good News, and how that Good News influences who they are and how they live and what they believe. Old Turtle was a friend and a teacher to the creatures of the reef. When he dies, all the creatures mourn his death. Together they remember Old Turtle and how he taught them to swim and kept them company, and how he impacted their lives in other ways, too. Old Turtle left a legacy behind in the reef and the other creatures continued to live out the lessons that Old Turtle had taught them. Like the creatures remembered Old Turtle and his life and legacy, the act of remembering how our faith has been nurtured and how God’s Good News lives in and among us can be powerful practices in our faith journeys, too.

Third Reading: Luke 5: 1-11

Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun: Having the Courage to be Who You Are by Maria Dismondy

(Written for ages 4-11)

Comment: Likely after a long night of work, the fishermen were washing their nets and preparing to return to their homes when Jesus comes along and asks Simon to take him out in his boat. Jesus tells Simon to put his net back out into the water, and Simon hesitates for he’d already tried to catch fish all night long and caught nothing. But Simon does as Jesus says, trusting that Jesus has good reason behind his request. Then, to Simon’s surprise, his nets fill up with fish, so much so that other fisherman have to come back out to the water with their boats to help them. Simon’s trust in Jesus paid off! Sometimes it takes courage to trust in who or what you believe is right. Lucy had to lean into the courage to trust in what she knows is right when Ralph was in need of help. Helping Ralph was a difficult choice to make as Ralph had not been very nice to Lucy in the past because of her unusual food preferences. Despite how Ralph had treated her, Lucy trusted what she knew to be true: treat others as you want to be treated. Trusting in Jesus and his teachings can be difficult sometimes, but if we have the courage to do so, we might just receive a net full of blessings.

Thanks to Rosy Robson, associate pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Richardson, TX, for writing the Revised Common Lectionary Links this week.

Lectionary Links (RCL): February 10, 2019 by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.