28th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Year B:  October 11, 2015

First Reading: Job 23:1-9, 16-17

The Lonely Book by Kate Bernheimer

(Written for ages 5-9)

Comment:  Some in your church might be familiar with St. Patrick’s prayer: Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me… These are more attune to words we hope to use when describing our relationship with God. Job’s words are completely contrary to this idea, he feels totally and utterly alone, abandoned by God. Like Job, The Lonely Book has experienced great love and great suffering–at its best point, cherished in the arms of a little girl, at its worst, abandoned in the depths of the library basement.  This text and book are an invitation to discuss our own feelings of loneliness or despair, and acknowledge that there is room for all of our feelings to be shared in the family of God.

Second Reading: Hebrews 4:12-16

The Book With No Pictures by B. J. Novak

(Written for ages 5-9)

Comment: “Indeed, the word of God is living and active…” Educator Carolyn Brown suggests using this text to explore God’s word in the Bible. She encourages readers to remember that “the books themselves are not what is special.  What is special is the words in those books.” (http://www.worshipingwithchildren.blogspot.com/2012/09/year-b-proper-23-28th-sunday-in.html) The Book With No Pictures is a fun invitation to explore the power of words. Often we focus on picture books to share stories with children, Novak’s book invites children to focus on the words that have been written. Through this text and story invite your community to consider how they experience God’s word as living and active.

Gospel Reading:  Mark 10:17-31

The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

(Written for ages 4-8)

Comment: Often our possessions rule us, acting as a point of pride, and even a source of identity. Who are we without our things? Perhaps the rich man was asking himself this as he walked away grieving. In The Rainbow Fish a wise octopus gives the fish advice that mirrors Jesus’ words to the rich man. Like the rich man, the rainbow fish leaves the encounter shocked and confused. Once he overcomes the grief of giving away his beloved possessions, he finds a deep send of joy and at last feels at home among the fish in the sea. While we are left wondering how the rich man ultimately responded, The Rainbow Fish give us a picture of the follow through. Use this book as a stepping stone to wonder together about the rest of the rich man’s story.

The Lectionary Links this week are written by Noell Rathbun-Cook, minister of Children and Youth Discipleship at Grace Baptist Church in Richmond, VA

Lectionary Links: October 11, 2015 by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.