24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year C:  September 15, 2013

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

Oops by Arthur Geisert

(Written for ages 5-9)

Comment: In the text between these selected verses, we read that disaster overtakes disaster, laying the whole land in waste. This waste, we are told, is a result of the people’s foolishness. In the picture book Oops, a pig spills a glass of milk, which causes a chain reaction of events that are quite destructive. This story invites us to consider the possibility that there are times when even the smallest foolish action can lead to utter destruction. Use this text and story to wonder together with your children about the effects our actions can have on the world around us.

Second Reading: 1 Timothy 1:12-17

Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle

(Written for ages 2-5)

Comment: “I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” Paul was a man transformed by the love and grace of Christ. Formerly a persecutor of Christians, his experience of Christ changes his heart and his way of life. Little Blue Truck is also a story of a change of heart when grumpy, self-important Dump Truck is helped by kind Little Blue Truck and his friends. This text and story invite us to reflect upon the ways grace and love inspire transformation in our lives.

Gospel Reading: Luke 15:1-10

Lawn to Lawn by Dan Yaccarino

(Written for ages 5-9)

Comment: This text invites us to share and hear stories of seeking and finding. Lawn to Lawn is a story of lawn ornaments who go on a journey to find the girl who once lived in their house. They face dangers and turn down potential new homes in order to be reunited with Pearl. When they are reunited, they know their journey has been worth it, and they are indeed with the one to whom they belong. Perhaps the experience of the sinners Jesus speaks of in his parables is not so different. In the moment of being found, the one who was lost recognizes that the journey of repentance was worth it, and that they are with the one to whom they belong.

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

Lectionary Links: Sunday, September 15, 2013 by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.