Proper 22 (27_th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

Year C: October 3, 2010

World Communion Sunday

The Greatest Table by Michael Rosen (Written for Grades K-3)

Comment: “The Greatest Table isn’t set inside a single home—oh no, it spans the continents, and no one eats alone.” This is a collaborative work by 16 children’s book illustrators and Michael Rosen to benefit Share Our Strength’s fight against hunger. This beautiful book opens up into a 12-foot long mural illustrating a variety of meals and communities gathered around the table. This work will provide a wonderful visual explanation of what it means to celebrate communion with sisters and brothers around the world.

(Note:  This is an absolutely spectacular book and is no longer in print. Amazon had several used copies a few weeks ago, but no longer.  Barnes & Noble, Alibris and AbeBooks are all showing copies right now available from their used booksellers at reasonable prices.  We did check to make sure libraries across the country have this book and there are many who do,  so your Interlibrary loan librarian may be able to help you get a copy for World Communion Sunday.)

First Reading: Lamentations 1:1-6

Michael Rosen’s Sad Book by Michael Rosen (Written for Grades K-3)

Comment: “How lonely sits the city that once was full of people!” Lamentations is the song of people who have experienced overwhelming devastation. In it we hear of the Jerusalem that once was, as well as its destruction by the Babylonians. The act of remembering is woven throughout the process of grief. Michael Rosen’s Sad Book also deals with memory and grief after the death of his son, Eddie. Like the author of Lamentations, Rosen speaks of his sadness by explaining that what once was, is no longer.

Second Reading: 2 Timothy 1:1-14

Who Will I Be, Lord? by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson (Written for Grades K-3)

Comment: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you.” Like Timothy, the little girl in Who Will I Be, Lord? has a faith that has been passed down through generations. Her mama tells her, “God gives us each some seeds to sow. The rest is up to us.” As she watches her family members faithfully sow their seeds, she asks, “What will I be?” Her familial connections inspire her own faithfulness as she seeks to discover who she will be.

Third Reading: Luke 17:5-10

The Garden of Happiness by Erika Tamar (Written for Grades PreK-3)

Comment: In this gospel text we read of the potential of faith the size of a mustard seed. Though it is small, this faith has the ability to make great change. In The Garden of Happiness, Marisol’s faith, and her one, small seed change the landscape of her neighborhood. In this story, one sunflower seed brings a community together.

Lectionary Links: Sunday, Oct. 3, 2010 by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.