Year C, Ordinary 20, 2019 – Clear Vision
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Hey everyone! Welcome to the show. How did it get to be that time when people are starting back to school again?! Even though we’re heading into a new academic year here in the U.S., there is still plenty of time left in our Liturgical year. Yet, the passages for this week all seem more apt for The End as they speak of judgment, fire, rocks breaking, walking in darkness, divisions among families, and many awful ways people of faith were treated in the past. Wow. We have before us this week a lot of theological fodder; how do we present God as transcendent and holy and at the same time immanent and compassionate? Where is the grace in families being divided because of Jesus? How do we encourage people who prefer to stumble in the darkness rather than turn on the lights to see the carnage of our disobedience? We have some ideas that may help.
We have some other ideas from our show three years ago, too. Click this link – Year C, Ordinary 20, 2016 – to explore our thoughts from the last cycle. David really likes interpretive movement! You can download the worksheets for last time and check out the links, too.
Smarts of the Week [01:58]
This week we are concentrating on BODY smart and WORD smart but the other intelligences are sneaking in and eating the snacks. We intend to continue emphasizing two per week, but may need to start inviting the others back since they seem to be crashing the party. Meanwhile, you can download the worksheets for this weeks’s show below.
The Week’s Texts:
Jeremiah 23:23-29 – [06:20]
In this week’s passage, Jeremiah steps aside and lets YHWH speak for Himself. Uh oh. When God takes over from the prophets, the word that comes is not one to be disregarded. YHWH begins by asking whether or not He is a god who is nearby or far off. In the summer 1998 edition of Word and World, Mark Hillmer writes: “God is both inexpressibly transcendent and unspeakably immanent.” EYE smart includes spatial relationships, so you could illustrate God’s nature with a cosmic version of Red Light / Green Light. For BODY smart, bring in some rocks and hammers and talk about how God may be breaking rocks in pieces not to destroy them, but to shape them for use. How might that idea affect the way your congregation faces difficult times? (Encourage your PEOPLE to discuss that.)
- EYE smart – [07:49]
- BODY smart – [11:11]
Psalm 82 – [15:46]
The Psalms are ancient hymns. Sometimes, it helps to learn hymns by attaching motions to them (which is a MUSIC smart lesson), so David has developed some interpretive movement for this psalm. You can invite the congregation to mirror the actions as the words are read – which engages BODY smart people – or watch as others do it. This will engage EYE smart people! For another EYE smart idea, invite your congregation to think about ways people “take a stand.” Have they ever stood strong for something? This idea encourages visualization and some SELF smart reflection based on a WORD smart translation. See what I mean about the other intelligences sneaking back in? We’re gonna need more pretzels….
- BODY smart – [19:14]
- see the worksheet for interpretive movement
- EYE smart – [20:05]
- borrowing a bit from WORD smart, take his place can be translated as “take a stand”
Hebrews 11:29-12:2 – [22:24]
As I read this passage, I thought the author’s clear intention was to build on the faith of people from the past and top it all off with Jesus’ faithfulness. So, for an EYE smart special effect, get blocks and build them up, with each block representing a person and the way they exhibited faithfulness. [This could tie in with the shaping of rocks for a structure from Jeremiah.] When you reach the two verses from chapter twelve, top the structure with Jesus’ cross. You could invite some others forward to help you build – be sure to include your BODY smart people!
David wondered if training to run a race is aided by ankle weights. You’d think it would, but it turns out that it does not. In fact, it may be detrimental. If you have any runners in your congregation, engage those BODY smart people by asking them how they “throw off the weight” that holds them back and how they get ready to run a race. For an added SELF smart bonus, invite people to name the weight [i.e. sin] as they get rid of it.
- EYE smart – [24:27]
- Faith is like building blocks!
- BODY smart – [26:25]
- Here’s an article/podcast from Runner’s Connect [“.net,” not “.com” as stated in the episode] that suggests that training with ankle weights increases the chance of injury as well as putting extra stress on your joints.
Luke 12:49-56 – [30:09]
For an interesting BODY smart special effect, go sit among a family – put yourself physically in their space as you refer to Jesus’ coming division. (Here we find MATH smart in the passage. SEE?!? Someone call for a pizza.) You could also illustrate Jesus’ increasing stress as he gets closer to Jerusalem. For an EYE smart illustration and special effect, use the images of clouds at the link below and then provide images of signs we reflexively notice. Are there other signs that require clear vision to see?
- BODY smart – [32:24]
- EYE smart – [36:24]
- post pictures from this article from AccuWeather
Photo copyright : Brian Jackson at 123rf.com. Used by permission.
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