Proper 19 (24^th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

Year C:  September 12, 2010

First Reading: Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28

Home by Jeanie Baker (Written for Grades K – 3)

Comment: This passage speaks of what can become of the earth, our home, when we are “skilled in evil, but do not know how to do good.” Fruitful land is desolate and cities lay in ruins. The first image in Baker’s Home expresses the results of such damage. We look out a window into an urban setting that seems to lay in ruins. In Jeremiah, God says that the land shall be a desolation, but God will not make a full end of it. Remembering God’s promise to Noah, we know that desolation and ruins are not the final word. With God’s help to turn our thoughts towards good, we can change the landscape. As you journey through this picture book you will see such changes.

Second Reading: 1 Timothy 1: 12-17

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli (Written for Grades 6 – 9)

Comment: When Leo meets Stargirl, she is unlike anyone he’s ever known. Stargirl spends her life trying to brighten the lives of others, because of this she is shunned by most of her peers. Leo thinks life would be easier if she would just act normal. She tries acting like other kids because she loves Leo, but in the end, she can only be true to herself. Stargirl disappears soon after, but her brief presence changes Leo and the people of Mica, Arizona forever. The reading from first Timothy speaks of the ways Christ’s love and grace change a person for the better. The effects of love and grace Stargirl extends to Leo, classmates, and townspeople are not unlike the effects of Christ love and grace for us.

Third Reading: Luke 15:1-10

The Lost-and-Found Tooth by Louise Borden (Written for Grades 1-3)

Comment: Lucy waits and waits to lose her first tooth, but when she finally loses it, she really loses it. While Lucy has other baby teeth, it is still important for her to find the one that is missing. Lucy and her classmates’ frantic search to find her lost tooth parallel the search of the shepherd for his sheep and the woman for her coin. When Ian finds Lucy’s tooth, the whole second grade class cheers. At the end of the story Lucy has two great reasons to celebrate when she write on Mr. Reilly’s calendar: She’s lost her first tooth and she’s found it.

Lectionary Links: September 12, 2010 by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.