Church of the Ascension

The Story at Home—Engage with Sunday’s readings all week long

Hope, Lost & Found

The Story for the
First Sunday of Advent
November 29, 2020

prepared by the Rev’d Rhonda Waters

This Advent, we are not reading the usual lectionary readings. Instead, we have crafted an Advent series that tells the story of God’s saving work through the lens of four pairs or individuals from the Bible who reveal the
transformative power of hope in God.
On Sunday, we will hear these stories in a variety of ways – Bible readings, stories, poems, and songs.

Genesis 16:1-11; 18:1-15; 21:1-20

On the first Sunday in Advent, we will hear pieces of the stories of Sarah and Hagar, as written by Ralph Milton in the Family Story Bible. The link above takes you to the Biblical text on which the story rests. It is too long to reprint here so follow the link and then come back.

Something to Do

Mark the days

Sarah waited and waited for her promised baby (not always with good grace). Our Advent waiting is much shorter and much easier – but it is symbolic of all the much harder waiting we are called on to do. By offering our Advent waiting to God, we sanctify all the other waiting, too.

Mark the days of Advent with Advent candles. Maybe you have the Defiant Hope Advent Candles from our kits this year. Maybe you have your own well-loved Advent wreath. Maybe you just have 5 candles on a plate. Maybe you have 5 toilet paper tubes with cutout flames. It doesn’t matter.

What matters is setting aside a little time each day – at dinner, perhaps – to light this week’s candle and offer a prayer of waiting and of hoping for the fulfilment of God’s promises and the coming of Jesus.

Download this year’s prayers and reflection questions.

Sarah and Hagar

Sarah and Hagar had a profoundly complicated relationship, to say the least. The Bible doesn’t record much in the way of conversation between the two of them but they must have talked a great deal, one way or another. Imagine some of those conversations – or write or draw them.

After giving yourself time to do some of that work, read this dramatic dialogue: The Other Woman: A Conversation Between Hagar and Sarah

Something to Wonder

Hope, lost and found

We see the consequences of lost hope in both Sarah and Hagar – anger, despair, desperation, making choices that hurt themselves and those they love. We also see them find hope again, restored by God’s faithfulness.

Have you ever lost hope? What happened?
Did you recover the same hope or did you find a new hope?

Waiting in Hope

What are you waiting for in these days? What are you hoping for?

Hagar and Sarah

Where do you find yourself in this story?

  • Are you getting older and older while you wait and wait and find it harder and harder to hope?
  • Are you in the desert, confronting death?
  • Are you laughing at God’s messengers?
  • Are you reaching for your own solutions?
  • Are you in awe at God’s work in your life?
  • Are you jealous of those who seem to have what you so desperately want?
  • Are you flaunting what you have?

Something to Learn

More on Hagar

Hagar deserves our attention. Start with the Wikipedia articles: Hagar and Hajar in Islam. Then move on to these two articles:

Hagar (the Jewish teaching from Chabad.org)
The amazing story of Hajar and how it’s relevant to you (an Islamic teaching from Hadithoftheday.com)

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.

When the king makes things very clear…

The Story for the
Feast of the Reign of Christ
November 22, 2020

prepared by the Rev’d Rhonda Waters

Matthew 25:31-46

Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.

Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’

Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” 

Something to Do

Lord, when did we see you…?

Sometimes, Jesus himself gives us a thing to do. I don’t think there’s anything I need to add.

Pray in colour for all humanity

This title for the Messiah is sometimes translated as Child of Humanity or even The Human One. It emphasizes Jesus’ humanity and reminds us that Jesus’ humanity is sacred – it is humanity made perfect; humanity that includes all the rest of us. When the king in the parable tells people that “the least of these” are members of his family, this is the family he is talking about – the human family.

Praying in Colour is a way to release and focus our prayers by doodling. All you need is a piece of paper and a pen or pencil (coloured pencils if you want). Begin by writing Jesus’ name and doodling around it as you invite Jesus to come be with you and inspire you. When you are ready, write another name – an individual or a group – and connect that name to your Jesus doodle. Doodle around the new addition. Imagine them there with you and Jesus. Ask Jesus to help you feel connected to them. Pray for their well-being. When you are ready, add another name and repeat. As you pray, notice that everyone is connected to everyone else through Jesus.

Something to Wonder

When I was…you…

I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me…

This thought exercise comes from the Thursday evening house group. Consider today’s world. Consider your own life. Where are the opportunities for caring for Jesus? How are we responding?

For example:
I was lonely living on my own during Covid-19 and you went for a walk with me.
I was thirsty for fresh water, and you told me to have a boiled water advisory.

From the Beatitudes to the Sheep and Goats

This parable marks the end of Jesus’ teaching ministry in the Gospel according to Matthew – a ministry which he began with the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12). How do these two teachings connect? Who are the “blessed”? What is the role of God in each? Where do you find yourself?

Something to Learn

The Reign of Christ (aka Christ the King) Sunday

History of Christ the King Sunday
Christ the King Sunday was established in 1925 by Pope Pius XI.  He sought to refocus the faithful on the reign of Jesus rather than the misleading and dangerous rule of earthly leaders.  Remember that this was after the horrors of World War I and in the midst of rising totalitarianism.

Read his encyclical, Quas Primas (Latin for “in the first”).  You won’t agree with all of it but it is an interesting read, nonetheles!

Christ the King
The Bible Project has a video and podcast series on the subject of the Kingdom. 

Or, if you’re up for a long and somewhat dense read, this article by bishop and theologian N.T. Wright is fascinating:  “…a fresh thesis about the gospels, stressing the way in which they summoned their first readers to imagine a new state of affairs being launched into the world, a state of affairs for which the obvious shorthand was ‘the kingdom of God’.”  Imagining the Kingdom: Mission and Theology in Early Christianity

And for those with less time or shorter attention spans: a synopsis of the book (How God Became King) that grew from the essay.

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.

Holy Talents

The Story for the
Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost
November 15, 2020

prepared by the Rev’d Adam Brown

Matthew 25:14-30

The Parable of the Talents

14 “For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15 to one he gave five talents,[f] to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17 In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18 But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29 For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 30 As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Something to Do

Lost and Found

Take eight coins, or draw them on a piece of paper. Assign each with a gift God has given you – it could be a talent or skill, a vocation, some aspect of your life, etc.. For each one, think of how you can nurture it and help it grow, and imagine all the good that it could do. Now go back and, for each, think about what would happen if you hid those gifts away from the world.

Talented Help

On a piece of paper, draw or list eight things that help you nurture your own “talents” or gifts from God. It could be a tool or a device, a person, a place, etc. You could draw or list one per day, or all at once and reflect on each one throughout the week.

Something to Wonder

Talented Investing

In the parable, we hear an encouragement to invest the “talents” we have been given, rather than hide them away out of fear or laziness. The third servant was told he could have gone to those more knowledgeable for help. Take a moment and think of all those in your life who have helped you, both in general and spiritually. Were there moments in your life when you returned the favour?

Something to Learn

Community Ministries

Take a moment and learn about the Community Ministries operated throughout the Diocese of Ottawa. There are six main ones, so perhaps you can choose one per day this week and learn about all the good ways those around us are “investing” their “talents”.

https://www.ottawa.anglican.ca/community-ministries

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.

All the Saints

The Story for the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost
Nov 8, 2020

prepared by the Rev’d Rhonda Waters

Matthew 25:1-13

Jesus said, “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

Something to Do

Make an oil lamp

This is certainly not what the bridesmaids were carrying but it’s pretty cool – all you need is a bowl, some olive oil, and 100% pure cotton balls!
Check out the video here.

Get Ready to Wait

We have been waiting for the pandemic to end for over six months. When this started, people stocked up on toilet paper and flour and take out menus. We’re into a different phase of waiting now but responsible preparation is still needed. What do you need to do to make sure you are ready for the wait? Go ahead and do it.

Something to Wonder

What is your oil?

The bridesmaids needed enough oil to sustain them while they waited to meet the bridegroom and go to the party. What sustains you as you wait? Are you at risk of running low? How do you replenish it?

Foolishness and Wisdom

Imagine yourself as one of the foolish bridesmaids. How did you feel when the so-called wise bridesmaids refused to share their oil? When you found yourself locked out of the party?

Now imagine yourself as one of the wise bridesmaids. How did you feel when the so-called foolish bridesmaids asked for your oil? When you went into the party? When you heard the other bridesmaids knocking at the door?

What real world scenarios produce these emotions for you?

Something to Learn

The Politics of Representation

by Raj Bharat Patta on the blog Political Theology

The Parable of the Ten Virgins, a rare example of women appearing in the parables and sayings of the gospel, invites us to consider challenging questions of representation.
read more.

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.

All the Saints

The Story for
All Saint’s Day
Nov 1, 2020

prepared by the Rev’d Rhonda Waters

Matthew 5:1-12

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” . 

Something to Do

More than words

The Beatitudes are a set of simple sentences that are really hard to understand – partly because they are pointing to the great mystery of the kingdom of God. Sometimes, words just aren’t enough.

How would you communicate each of the beatitudes through something other than words? What images would you draw? What gestures would you make? What tune would you sing?

Blessed are the Saints

The Beatitudes are read on All Saints’ Day because they provide us with a description of what it is to be a saint – a person blessed by God to serve the rest of us as a witness and a guide back to God. This Sunday, we will hear some stories about the people who are saints of members of our community. You can contact Rhonda to volunteer to share your story. You can also just share your story with a friend or family member sometime this week.

Something to Wonder

Blessed are those who…

Some of these blessings may come as a relief to you – if you are mourning or find yourself hungering for justice, for example. Some might come as a challenge – perhaps you don’t feel very meek or pure of heart. But what if these blessings are not simply descriptions but calls? What if Jesus isn’t just saying that those are mourning are blessed but that it is blessed to mourn, to feel sorrow about the brokenness of our world, and so we should all do it. It is blessed to be meek and so we should all seek a posture of humility that doesn’t claim to be more than we are (inheritors of the earth, no less).

Which of these calls feel easy to you and which feel challenging? How might you strengthen your capacity to answer them all?

Something to Learn

Saints, Saints, and more Saints!

With everything going on, it’s important to have a little fun. Check out the wild and wonderful world of saints on the Wall of Fame at Lent Madness or get a preview of the 2021 bracket for the Competition for the Golden Halo.

For an even broader range of saints, take a look at Holy Troublemakers and Unconventional Saints – the website offers a tantalizing glimpse of the contents of an absolutely beautiful book where you will learn about people like:

  • Maryam Molkar, a devout Muslim and a transgender woman from Iran;
  • Rabbi Regina Jonas, the first woman ordained as a Rabbi;
  • Rachel Held Evans, a beloved author and speaker who gave many people hope that it was okay to question faith and God.

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.