Year C, Ordinary 10, 2016 – Rise and Shine

June 1, 2016 / D2 / Ordinary Time

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Well, it may be Ordinary Time, but the passages this week tell us stories that are far from ordinary! Two of the three texts (1Kings and Luke) are stories of dead people being raised back to life! That doesn’t just happen every day. The epistle lesson in between from Galatians is Paul telling about his credentials as an apostle who received a revelation from the Risen Christ, so he ain’t messin’ around either! So maybe our ideas for illustrating these things won’t quite be at that level, but hopefully they will spark your imagination and parts of your listeners’ brains that haven’t been lit up in worship for a while.

This week’s texts are:

1Kings 17:8-24 [01:58] – This is the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath. The 3 1/2-year drought has begun and food is getting scarce. But God has made provision for both the prophet and the widow’s little family. It takes a lot of faith on her part to trust that if she uses all the food she has, she won’t run out. It takes as much faith by the prophet to know what to do when her son dies. The prophet prays, and the son is restored! We offer a story about an answered prayer, a call to worship based on the text, a look at God’s logic for the widow, a way to share in the story with food, a meteorology lesson, and a hospitality challenge.

Smarts – Word [03:05], Math [05:59], Body [06:58], Nature [07:46], People [08:47]
1 Kings 17 worksheet

Galatians 1:11-24 [10:45] – Picking up with the end of last week’s lesson, we read how Paul received his gospel from God directly and not from any mortal. He then recounts how in his former life he was a violent persecutor of the church, but by God’s grace he became a messenger of God to the Gentiles. He describes some of his travels and his limited contact with the other apostles to show that he was following orders straight from God and again not from any mortal. God does such amazing and unexpected things and so receives glory and praise! In keeping, we think about some examples of darkness followed by revelation and unveiling, then the logic of the Holy Spirit as described by Dr. James E. Loder. We found a couple songs that capture the dynamic of God’s call and faithful response, and explore prayers of confession as a way of sharing in Paul’s testimony. Lastly, we look at how God breaks through expectations and comparisons with a different definition of perfection.

Smarts – Eye [12:01], Math [14:18], Music [16:00], People [17:20], Self [19:14]
Galatians 1 worksheet

Luke 7:11-17 [21:09] – The gospel lesson shares many elements with the Old Testament lesson — a widow met at the city gate; an only son who has died; a raising from the dead; recognition that God is at work in a mighty prophet. This time, though, it is Jesus doing the meeting and raising in the village of Nain. Unlike Elijah, Jesus has only to say the word — no prayers or postures — and the young man is restored, and the widow with him. We wondered what it might have been that the once-dead man might have said, comparing it lightheartedly to coming out of anesthesia. We found a nice visual presentation of the story, and also imagined choreography for the story as dance, or if that’s intimidating, as movement, then found a hymn that captures the dynamic of the text. While you’ll likely want to end up with the widow’s exultation, we offer some ways to consider her desolation first, and maybe our own, because the Good News is bad news before it is good. Then, it’s really, really good!

Smarts – Word [22:33], Eye [23:23], Body [24:00], Music [25:00], People [25:28], Self [28:00]
Luke 7 worksheet

Links

… in 1Kings 17

We wrote this. Actually, Molly did.

Call to Worship

Based on 1 Kings 17:8-24

Leader: The word of the Lord calls to the faithful, “Go, and dwell.”

Response: We gather to listen for God’s intention.

Leader: The word of the Lord promises provision, even when we know how precious resources have become.

Response: We gather to receive blessings for our living.

Leader: The word of the Lord will not fail in spite of all loss – of food, of shelter, of home, of hope.

Response: We gather to call on God’s name on behalf of those who suffer.

Leader: God calls the faithful to trust. God calls the faithful to walk obediently.

Response: We will listen and receive. We will pray and we will proclaim that – in spite of what comes to us be it grief, loss, or even death – God is present and God is good.

Two recipes for baking some simple cakes of bread:

Drought! and more Drought!!

Stories of the kindness of strangers

… in Galatians 1

Summary of Dr. James E. Loder’s theory on convictional knowing and transformation

A very thorough biography and summary of Dr. Loder’s theology, career, and influence

Hymn “The Summons,” or “Will You Come and Follow Me” and performed here

Hymn “All for Jesus” and performed here and here — the verses are different in all three of these, but they are all good!

A commercial from the 90’s for the game Perfection! and someone actually playing it

… in Luke 7

Gibberish!

Drawing the story

Stories of coming back from death

Liturgical movement or dance script

Hymn, O Christ Who Shared Our Mortal Life — the audio quality isn’t great, but here is some more information about the hymn.

Here are three links to stories of desolation in the Great Depression and Dust Bowl of the 1930s:

Tags: 1Kings, Galatians, Luke

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