21st Sunday of Ordinary Time

Year B:  August 23, 2015

First Reading:  1 Kings 8:(1,6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43

Mama Built a Little Nest by Jennifer Ward

(Written for ages 5-9)

Comment: In her comments on the text, educator Carolyn Brown suggests reflecting upon the building of Solomon’s temple and your particular church building. Care and thought go into constructing homes (whether for God, people, or animals) and often tell us something about the inhabitants. Mama Built a Nest is a collection of poems that help children explore this idea with birds. Just as nests tell us something about a particular type of bird, church buildings tell us about particular congregations and their understanding of God. As you explore this text and collection of poems, consider what your church building says about your congregation.

Second Reading:  Ephesians 6:10-20

Freedom Song: The Story of Henry “Box” Brown by Sally M. Walker

(Written for ages 5-9)

Comment: “Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand…” In this passage, Paul is encouraging the Ephesians to be strengthened for daily life by wearing the armor of God. It’s not metal or anything we can see, yet it strengthens us for each day’s journey. Henry’s strength to face each day comes through the songs he sings, particularly his Freedom song. For Paul, armor is truth and righteousness; for Henry, armor is song. Wonder together with your congregation about what makes up the armor for their own life journeys.

Gospel Reading:  John 6:56-69

My Dog is as Smelly as Dirty Socks by Hanoch Piven

(Written for ages 5-9)

Comment: Here we are once again, encountering Jesus as the bread of life and perhaps struggling, along with many of his disciples, to understand this teaching. Start by considering what you know about bread and explore how those descriptions connect to Jesus. My Dog is as Smelly as Dirty Socks uses similes and silly portraits to help a girl describe her families. After reading this story, invite the children of your church to create collage portrait of Jesus using images and descriptions of bread and wine.

The Lectionary Links this week are written by regular contributor Noell Rathbun-Cook.

Lectionary Links: Sunday, August 23, 2015 by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.