Lectionary Links: Sunday, March 22, 2015
5th Sunday of Lent
Year B: March 22, 2015
First Reading: Jeremiah 31:31-34
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
(Written for ages 3-7)
Comment: This passage from Jeremiah is filled with hope. We hear words from God describing what is going to come next for God’s people. These words form the hopes and dreams that will carry the people though until the days come. In Owl Moon, we encounter a daughter who has gone owling with her dad for the first time. Her older brothers have told her about their experiences, so her outing is filled with expectations and hopes. She quietly follows her father through the forest reflecting on what she sees and hears in relation to what she has heard from her brothers. After a long journey and moments of accepting that this might not be the trip to see an owl, the little girl is overwhelmed with awe and joy as she sees an owl. Everything she had hoped for on that owling trip came true. That is what is will be like for God’s people. All of God’s hopes and dreams for God’s people will be fulfilled. We might not know when these promised days are coming, but we can hang on to the hope that comes with these words.
Second Reading: Hebrews 5:5-10
“Miracles of Jesus” in Little Golden Book Bible Favorites Retold by Pamela Brougthon and Diane Muldrow
(Written for ages 2-5)
Comment: The writer of Hebrews is making a claim on the identity of Jesus. Jesus is a priest, anointed by God, praying and caring for others. While Jesus walked the earth, he took on human emotions caring for everyone and seeking to meet peoples’ needs. Jesus was someone people felt they could approach. The Little Golden Book Bible Favorites is divided into three sections. The final section describes numerous miracles Jesus preformed. What is the connecting factor for these miracles is the love and care Jesus exhibited for those who approached him. Broughton and Muldrow highlight the approachable nature of Jesus, and even though Jesus does not walk on the earth with us today, we can still approach him with our needs.
Gospel Reading: John 12:20-33
Owl Babies by Martin Waddell
(Written for ages 18 months- 5 years)
Comment: “‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say–‘ Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.” (v27) Even Jesus experiences moments of worry. He knows what is about to happen to him, and he finds himself with a troubled soul. It is comforting to know that Jesus shares in our moments of worry too, yet in the same breath he calms his worry. He immediately goes to his father for comfort. In Owl Babies, Sarah, Percy, and Bill find themselves worried about their mother. Throughout the text, they try to calm their worries with rationale thoughts, but they are not able to calm themselves until their mother returns. When we have worries, God and Jesus are in our worries with us, and when we turn ourselves to them in prayer our worries can be calmed.
We welcome back Elizabeth Boulware Landes as our Lectionary Links writer for the next four weeks. Elizabeth is Director of Children’s Ministry at Faith Presbyterian Church, Aledo, TX.
Lectionary Links: Sunday, March 22, 2015 by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
