Lectionary Links (NL): June 2, 2019

Seventh Sunday of Easter

Year 1: June 2nd, 2019

(Written for ages 4-8)

Comment: Part of Paul’s assurance in this letter to the Romans is that because of Christ’s death and resurrection, and our death and resurrection in him, we are no longer under the dominion of sin. We are free to live differently, no longer under the law, but under grace. Sin has no dominion over people who have the gift of God’s grace. In Inch by Inch, a tiny inchworm feels threatened by the many birds who would love to eat him. But they do not have dominion over him—every time they try to eat him, he shows them his ability to measure them, inch by inch, which distracts them and sets him free. At the end, one final bird is very determined to eat him, and asks the inchworm to measure its song—a seemingly impossible task, and it seems like the inchworm will be eaten. But, instead, the inchworm agrees, and as the bird sings, the inchworm inches further and further away and the bird no longer has dominion over him. Because of the inchworm’s gifts, the birds do not have dominion over him and he can escape their threats. We have the same assurance as the Romans and the inchworm—sin and the powers that threaten us no longer have dominion over us because of our death and resurrection in Jesus Christ. We now live in grace and we can use the gifts God gave us to live differently, no longer presenting ourselves to sin, but instead inching away from that which would harm us.

Thanks to Union Presbyterian Seminary alumna Sara Anne Berger for writing the Year 1 Narrative Lectionary Links.

Lectionary Links (NL): June 2, 2019 by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.