The Story for the
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Sept 6, 2020

prepared by the Rev’d Rhonda Waters

Exodus 12:1-14

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you.

Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbour in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it.

Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn.

This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the Lord. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgements: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance. 

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Something to Do

Liberating Creation

The story of God’s liberation of Israel reveals a truth about God that Jesus constantly tried to teach: God stands with the weak and oppressed and will set them free. What if this does not only apply to oppressed people but to all of creation, currently bound by unjust and unsustainable human practices?

Join Kairos’ 30 Days of Action for Climate Justice and join in God’s liberating work.

This is how you shall eat it

I’m not going to suggest you actually eat a meal standing up with your coat on and your bag packed as I don’t want to make light of what is happening in this story. People are preparing to escape a dangerous place, waiting for the sign that it is time to run. Their meal is hurried and anxious and they are scared.

This is not just a story for millions of people. If you have the good fortune to live in safety, how might you help those who do not? Money, political pressure, prayer, time – all are needed to protect refugees, people living with domestic violence, political prisoners, and others.

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Something to Wonder

No plague shall strike you

This foundational story of God as the faithful deliverer of Israel includes God as the vengeful punisher of Egypt. How does that make you feel?

Does the one require the other? Why or why not?

Where are you in this story?

We tend the read the Bible by positioning ourselves with the Israelites in the Old Testament or with Jesus and the disciples in the Gospels. In what ways are you, like the Israelites, in need of liberation?

It is also wise to consider how we might be aligned with the other people in the stories. In what ways are you aligned with Egypt?

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Something to Learn

This month shall mark for you the beginning of months

According to Jewish teaching, this is the first mitzvoh (religious obligation or commandment) given by God to Israel. Read more about Jewish understandings of the calendar and the practice of Kiddush Levana, the Sanctification of the New Moon.

Sanctifying Time by Tali Loewenthal
“The task of the Jewish people is to sanctify and transform existence, making it into a realm for the indwelling of the Divine”

A Matter of Time by Rabbi Naftali Reich
“Why this particular mitzvah? Would it not have been more appropriate perhaps to initiate the Jewish people with a mitzvah that represents transcendent spiritual concepts?”

Make Your Days Count by Rabbi Yisroel Ciner
“We count the days of the week to remember the Sabbath. The creation. We count the months to remember the exodus. The re-creation. “

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Something to Pray

Holy God, we do not always understand your word or your ways. 
Give us wisdom and imagination and courage as we learn and grow. 

The story this week has made me wonder about…
         (what questions are still on your heart?)
Receive my questions and help me hear your answers.

The story this week has filled me with…
         (how are you feeling?)
Accept my praise, heal my hurt, ease my worry.

The story this week has reminded me of…
         (are there situations or people you are thinking of?)
Be with all who are in need of you.

In Jesus’ name, we pray.
Amen.

The Story for the
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
August 30, 2020

prepared by the Rev’d Rhonda Waters

Romans 12:9-21

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 

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Something to Do

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil…

and the list goes on. Choose one of Paul’s instructions and really focus on it this week. How can you fully accomplish it in your day-to-day life?

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Pick any big problem in the world – climate change or income inequality or racism or social isolation…any big problem. Do one specific, concrete good thing to work towards overcoming it. It doesn’t have to be a big thing or a hard thing – just a thing you can do that helps you refuse to let the world be overcome by evil.

What did you do?

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Something to Wonder

So. Many. Words.

Read the passage again, slowly, perhaps outloud. It is full of powerful words: honour; zeal; persevere; bless; weep; haughty; peaceably.

Do any of the words in the passage make you uncomfortable? Why?

Which words do you particularly like? Why?

Leave room for the wrath of God

We don’t talk a lot about the wrath of God, preferring instead to focus on God’s mercy. Is mercy possible, though, in the absence of judgement?

How do you understand God’s role as judge? Does the idea that God gets angry make sense to you? Why or why not?

Are you satisfied letting God handle your vengeance or do you want to take such matters into your own hands?

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Something to Learn

Paul’s Letter to the Romans

Paul’s letter to the church in Rome is his last and longest letter. It is also the only letter we have which he wrote to a community he had never met in person. He sent the letter ahead of himself to serve as something of an introduction – quite the introduction, indeed!

These two short articles offer fascinating insights into what might have been going on in the Christian community in Rome at the time.

“Earliest Days of the Roman Christian Church” by Sam O’Neal

“Something About the Book of Romans that will Help You Really “Get” It” by Kenneth Berding, Talbot School of Theology

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Something to Pray

Holy God, we do not always understand your word or your ways. 
Give us wisdom and imagination and courage as we learn and grow. 

The story this week has made me wonder about…
         (what questions are still on your heart?)
Receive my questions and help me hear your answers.

The story this week has filled me with…
         (how are you feeling?)
Accept my praise, heal my hurt, ease my worry.

The story this week has reminded me of…
         (are there situations or people you are thinking of?)
Be with all who are in need of you.

In Jesus’ name, we pray.
Amen.