27th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Year B:  October 4, 2015

First Reading: Job 1:1; 2:1-10

Ah Ha! by Jeff Mack

(Written for ages 2-6)

Comment: “Shall we receive the good at the hand of God and not receive the bad?” Rev. Karl Jacobson suggests this question sets up the entire book of Job, preparing us for his struggle with faith and suffering. (https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=399) Ah Ha! gives children a great visual of a character experiencing both the good and the bad in daily life. Frog laments when he suffers at the hand (or mouth) of a predator, yet faithfully continues to believe he will have his happy day at the pond. The stories of Job and Frog invite us to wonder about our own experiences of the good and the bad, and the ways we express our feelings and faith to God, ourselves, and others.

Second Reading: Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12

Moondance by Frank Asch

(Written for ages 4-6)

Comment: Sometimes God seems inaccessible, far away, and too glorious to be known by we who seem insignificant in comparison. This view of God mirrors Bear’s view of the moon. While Bear longs to dance with the moon, he believes she is too special to dance with someone as ordinary as him. Everything changes when he happens upon her reflection in a puddle. In today’s text from Hebrews we read that Jesus is the reflection of God. He makes it possible for ordinary people like us to dance and dance and dance with our glorious Creator.

Gospel Reading:  Mark 10:2-16

Julia, Child by Kyo Maclear

(Written for ages 5-9)

Comment: “Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” Julia, Child presents a perfect opportunity for preaching this text on World Communion Sunday because it tells the story of a feast served to help grown ups master the art of childhood. Some adults in your congregation might not like hearing themselves described as “baffled and befuddled, mindless and muddled” people who “forget what they know.” Likewise, some adults surrounding Jesus didn’t like it when he welcomed the children. If we are able to move past our discomfort, this text and story invite adults to consider the ways we are being called to welcome and learn from the children in our midst.

We are delighted to have Union Presbyterian Seminary alumna Noell Rathbun-Cook return as our Lectionary Links writer for the next five weeks.

Lectionary Links: Sunday, October 4, 2015 by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.