Lectionary Links: Sunday, May 29, 2016
Year C: May 29, 2016
First Reading: 1 Kings 18:20-21, (22-29), 30-39
A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
(Written for ages 5-9)
Comment: In her commentary on this text, Carolyn J. Sharp refers to this text as a story of resistance. Elijah is encouraging believers to refrain from conforming to “cultural pressures that threaten to deform their identity.” (Feasting on the Word, Year C, Volume 3, p 76) Though the cultural pressures may shift through the ages, at some point in life most people have struggled with staying true to who they are. A Bad Case of Stripes visually displays the way a person can be deformed by cultural pressures. An old woman, like Elijah, serves as a prophetic voice, helping Camilla return to herself by engaging the truth of who she is and what she loves. Encourage your congregation to open their ears to the prophets among them and be grounded in their identity as God’s beloved people.
Second Reading: Galatians 1:1-12
Nugget and Fang: Friends Forever–or Snack Time? by Tammi Sauer
(Written for ages 4-8)
Comment: “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel…” Paul calls out the Galatians for so quickly turning away from their beliefs. Like the Galatians, Nugget the minnow is easily swayed from his own beliefs. Nugget’s best friend Fang, who happens to be a shark, must convince him that their friendship is true. Using this text and story, wonder together with the children of your church about the ways we know something is true.
Gospel Reading: Luke 7:1-10
Help! A Story of Friendship by Holly Keller
(Written for ages 4-8)
Comment: A centurion is not someone we’d expect to be the example of faithfulness. Jeannine K. Brown explores the idea that “God can use those we perceive as our enemies to teach us about true faith,” concluding further that “this story is reminiscent of Jesus’ teaching… ‘Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.’” (http://www.workingpreacher.
The Lectionary Links this week are written by Union Presbyterian Seminary alumna Noell Ratbhun-Cook.
Lectionary Links: Sunday, May 29, 2016 by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.