17^th Sunday After Pentecost

Year 2: September 29, 2019

Exodus 1:8-14 [1:15-2:10], 3:1-15

My Name is Elizabeth by Annika Dunklee

(Written for ages 3-7)

Comment: Elizabeth knows what she likes to be called – not Lizzie, Betsy, or Eliza, but ELIZABETH. She lists off the reasons that this is her preferred name and speaks up for herself when others call her by a different name. This story by Dunklee empowers children to speak up for themselves (politely) and explain to others what they want to be called. Some children may relate to their teachers asking, “What do you want to be called?” on the first day of school – they ask this question because they want to have a close relationship with their students. God wants to have a close relationship with us, and in today’s scripture lesson reveals the Tetragrammaton to Moses: YHWH, “I am who I am.” This is God’s preferred name, and while It may be difficult to explain what, exactly, that name means (to children AND adults) kids will be able to understand that it’s what God wants to be called. You might ask children how their names were chosen (if they don’t know, it would be an excellent discussion topic for home) and help them look up whether their name has a specific meaning. You could also work on a lesson about the many different names the Lord has throughout the Bible, using this as a way to explore how different people relate to God differently. At the end of Dunklee’s book, her baby brother tries to say her name, but comes out with “Wizbef,” which she accepts as “Good enough.” This can be a reminder that, even when we don’t quite get things right, God still loves that we try.

Thanks to Union Presbyterian Seminary alumnus Joshua Andrzejewski for writing the Year 2 Narrative Lectionary Links.

Lectionary Links (NL): September 29, 2019 by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.