Pentecost

Year 4: May 20, 2018

Preaching Text: Acts 2:1-21; Philippians 4:4-7

In Your Hands by Carole Boston Weatherford

(Written for ages 4-8)

Comment: Because our website offers a number of resources for Pentecost, I chose to focus on the themes of prayer and prophecy that weave into the day’s text. In Your Hands is a mother’s prayer for her newborn son. She prays that God will hold her son in God’s hand, both to guide and protect him. There is also a prophetic power in her prayer as she adds to a chorus of voices: “Black lives matter.” In weaving these words into prayer, Weatherford reminds readers of the belovedness and value not only of her son, but all black boys and men. She prays that the world will see them as God sees them, beloved children of God. Through the power of God’s Spirit, we are reminded who we are as children of God. The Spirit also guides us in our life of discipleship. As we read these texts and story, we are invited to consider how the Spirit is moving in our own lives, guiding and shaping our words and our actions to fulfill the will of God.

Thanks to Union Presbyterian Seminary alumna and regular contributor Noell Rathbun for writing the Year 4 Narrative Lectionary Links.

Lectionary Links (NL): May 20, 2018 by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.