Year A: April 23, 2017

2^nd Sunday of Easter

First Reading: Acts 2:14a, 22-32

Maestro Stu Saves the Zoo by Denise Brennan-Nelson

(Written for 4-8)

Comment: In speaking to the crowds on Pentecost, Peter reminded everyone gathered of Paul’s words about Christ’s death in relation to our faith. The same man who was handed over for crucifixion is the same man who was resurrected – Jesus Christ. Paul insisted that if Christ were not raised from the dead, our faith is in vain. Peter is sharing for us again the stories that have been shared by Paul and David and many other prophets or followers of Christ. We gain the opportunity to “wake” up and hear the message anew through Peter’s retelling in Acts. Likewise, when we hear a story or observe an object through the lens of another, particularly a child, we hear the story or observe the object in fresh new ways. Children offer us a new perspective on the old an unforgettable. Stu lives near the zoo and falls asleep to the sounds the animals each night. Stu’s mom calls it a symphony. When a developer wants to come in and purchase the zoo land to build a new mall, the city council members become blinded by their limited views of the underperforming zoo, as told to them by the developer making promises. The animals fear for their future, but Stu steps in and reminds them of their gifts, which can help show the city a reason for keeping the zoo around. Under Stu’s direction, the animals offer a beautiful symphony of sounds, which the media captures on film and shares for all to see. All-in-all, the zoo remained and thrived thanks to the vision of one boy who helped to reshape the vision of the animals, the city council, and the zoo visitors alike. Given another chance to re-see the zoo, it became more than a holding place for animals, developing into a symphony of sounds and sights! Similarly, given another chance to hear the story of Christ’s resurrection through a different lens, Jesus Christ becomes more than a story with a name to us.

Second Reading: 1 Peter 1:3-9

Picture Day Perfection by Deborah Diesen

(Written for ages 4-9)

Comment: Joy and suffering go hand in hand, according to the author of this letter to Peter. We see often in scripture that joy springs up from the sorrow and suffering God’s faithful must endure. As believers in Jesus Christ, we wade through our hardships in order to be moved to joy and praise. And we see this example through Christ and his disciples, who leaves us an inheritance (a joy) even after his death (a sadness) and resurrection (a joy). The day has arrived for a boy who has planned for the perfect school picture day, unfortunately, it didn’t go quite as planned. Despite him knowing in advance exactly what he wanted for picture day, almost everything went wrong, leading to what would be the worst school picture experience ever. Though he had to suffer through many hardships prior to his allotted picture time, he ends up with some priceless images to take home for his mom to keep, and to help him remember that everything had gone “perfectly” even if not the way he’d planned. His smile as the camera clicked meant it was the best picture yet. And, it gave him an opportunity to begin planning picture day for the next school year. Joy from suffering and sorry leads to an “imperishable,” “undefiled,” and “unfading” inheritance.

Gospel Reading: John 20:19-31

The Peace Book by Todd Parr

(Written for all ages)

Comment: Almost immediately after John has announced Jesus’ ascension, we encounter disciples behind closed, locked doors. Jesus’ return to his disciples causes a stir, and we even see Thomas making a demand to see Christ in person so that he may touch the wounds. The disciples, the ones who have heard the story told over and over and over again are in grief and disbelief that their leader is gone. When Christ arrives to them. The first thing he offers is Peace, saying, “Peace be with you.” The disciples rejoiced when they saw Jesus and accepted the words of peace with commissioning. Through this resurrection story of John’s, we receive the peace in having “come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing {we} may have life in his name” (v31). Peace and love were two central themes of Christ’s preaching and teaching on earth, of which we are reminded and become reacquainted through his death and resurrection and commissioning. Todd Parr’s colorful book is an all-ages message of hope and peace. On the pages we learn the many different means of receiving and giving peace, the very same peace Christ passed along to his disciples (and us) in his ministry and resurrection. Parr’s words offer us a commissioning to share peace freely, much as Christ commissioned his disciples (and therefore us) to share his peace, too. While the book is written for children, adults will also be amazed to experience both the simplicity and the complexities of peace, the very thing given to us and commanded of us by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Thanks to Union Presbyterian Seminary alumna Katie Barrett Todd for writing the Lectionary Links this week.

Lectionary Links (RCL): April 23, 2017 by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.