17^th Sunday of Ordinary TIme

Year B:  July 12, 2015

First Reading: 2  Samuel 11:1-15

Mr. King’s Castle by Genevieve Cote  

(Written for ages 3-8)

Comment:  Mr. King has his eye set on building himself a big castle. He sets to work and begins using whatever materials he finds without thinking about how it would effect others. He keeps building until he runs out of resources.  The Old Testament reading for this Sunday puts David in the same light as Mr. King. David has his heart set on the beautiful woman he sees, even before he knows who she is. Both Mr. King and David make a mistake, but when their mistakes are brought to light, each respond in a different way. Mr. King works to return the resources he selfishly used, while David seeks to cover his mistake. Both David and Mr. King find themselves so focused on something, they are unable to see how their actions affect the world around them.

Second Reading: Ephesians 3:14-21

Little Blue Truck Leads the Way by Alice Schertle

(Written for ages 3-6)

Comment:  Leadership takes many forms. Some leaders are more authoritative, and others, like Paul, lead through compassion and love. These words we read in the letter to the church in Ephesus are a prayer for the members of this community. These words are filled with love and compassion for the people. Little Blue Truck Leads the Way highlights this way of being a leader. Little Blue Truck is traveling through the city, but finds himself being run over by bigger and faster vehicles. As a traffic jam occurs and everyone is stuck and frustrated, Little Blue Truck offers a suggestion filled with compassion and love for those around him, and without missing a beat he offers the mayor a ride when the mayor’s limo breaks down. Little Blue Truck puts aside his goals while in the city to help the mayor. Paul in his prayer for the community puts aside his goals and expectations for the church in order to allow the community to be filled with God.

Gospel Reading: Mark 6:14-29

Are You Ready to Play Outside? by Mo Willems  

(Written for ages 4-8)

Comment: Encounters with Jesus should change us in big ways. Anytime we meet Jesus, we can expect to leave the experience changed. The Gospel reading for this Sunday highlights the encounters people have with Jesus. All who experience him are transformed through their witnessing of the miracles he has performed. Even the disciples!  In Are You Ready to Play Outside?, Gerald and Piggie are getting ready to go play outside and dreaming up all the things they plan to do. As soon as they get outside, the rain starts. Piggie is upset about not being able to play outside. Piggie is throwing the biggest fit about the rain, when two little worms come out to play in the rain. After seeing the fun the worms have in the rain, Gerald and Piggie begin to play in the rain.  Piggie’s hate for the rain has been transformed.

Thanks to Elizabeth Boulware Landes of Faith Prebyterian Church, Aledo, TX, for writing the Lectionary Links this week.

Lectionary Links: Sunday, July 26, 2015 by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.