Lectionary Links: Sunday, Oct. 17, 2010
Proper 24 (29thSunday in Ordinary Time)
Year C: October 17, 2010
First Reading: Jeremiah 31:27-34
When I Grow Up, I Will Win the Nobel Peace Prize by Isabel Pin (Written for Grades K-3)
Comment: “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts…” Knowing the law and following the law aren’t necessarily the same thing. In this passage, God speaks of the way God’s covenant people have brought about evil, despite their knowing the law. God also speaks of a future in which the law will no longer be taught, but written on the hearts of the people. Pairing Isabel Pin’s text with her illustrations will help children understand the difference between a person knowing the law, and having it written on his or her heart.
Second Reading: 2 Timothy 3:14—4:5
The Emperor’s New Clothes by Marcus Sedgwick (Written for Grades K-2)
Comment: “For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths.” Any version of The Emperor’s New Clothes would serve as an excellent example of what can occur when one wanders away to myths. The Emperor wants to believe the tailor’s because the magical ability to discern the wise from the foolish is very appealing. In the original tale, the only character who actually discerns the truth is a young child who proclaims the emperor is naked. In Sedgewick’s version the one who tells the truth is the smallest member of the town, a frog.
Third Reading: Luke 18:1-8
Ruby’s Wish by Shirin Yim Bridges (Written for Grades K-3)
Comment: “Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.” In this parable Jesus describes a woman who perseveres in the face of injustice. Ruby’s Wish also deals directly with this topic. Ruby wants to go to university, but only boys have that opportunity. Both the woman in the parable and Ruby do not lose heart, but seek instead to change their situations. The unjust judge finally grants the woman justice because he is annoyed. Ruby’s grandfather seems to act justly because he is moved by her perseverance and dedication to learning.
Lectionary Links: Sunday, Oct. 17, 2010 by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
This is such a great resource. Where do you get all the books?
Thank you, Lindsey. We’re very grateful that this is proving to be a good resource. We do have some of the books here in a children’s collection in our seminary library. But I also know that Noell, who actually writes these, reads lots and lots of books from the public library and gets books through interlibrary loan from other libraries as well. She also reads a lot about children’s books – book reviews/summaries – which does give her some ideas about books to read. But she doesn’t use anything in Lectionary Lins that she hasn’t held in her hands and read!