Scriptures and Reflection Questions for October 30

Scriptures and Reflection Questions
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 26, Year A, Track 1
October 30, 2011

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How to use this page:

Print this and read a different passage each day and think about it.  Some questions
are offered to help stimulate your reflection.  You'll find your experience of worship
on Sunday will be intensified.

For a method to read and pray with the scriptures you might try to use the ancient
practice of Lectio Divina (Divine Reading).  We've written some instructions on
how to use Lectio with the Sunday Scriptures at the following link:
www.stpaulsfay.org/id272.html

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Collect

Almighty and everlasting God, it is only by your gift that your faithful people offer you true and laudable service: Grant that we may run without stumbling to obtain your heavenly promises; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. 

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The Lessons  

 

Joshua 3:7-17

Psalm 107:1-7, 33-37

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

Matthew 23:1-12

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Joshua 3:7-17

 

The LORD said to Joshua, "This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses. You are the one who shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, `When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.'" Joshua then said to the Israelites, "Draw near and hear the words of the LORD your God." Joshua said, "By this you shall know that among you is the living God who without fail will drive out from before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites: the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to pass before you into the Jordan. So now select twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing from above shall be cut off; they shall stand in a single heap."

 

When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front of the people. Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest. So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water, the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing toward the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, were wholly cut off. Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho. While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan. 

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Like their exodus from Egypt, the people enter the promised land with a miraculous crossing of water.  How might you use this story as a metaphor for your own journey?  

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Psalm 107:1-7,33-37  

 

 

We give you thanks, O God, for you are good; *

     your mercy endures for ever.

 

Let all those whom you have redeemed proclaim *

     that you redeemed them from the hand of the foe.

 

You gathered them out of the lands; *

     from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.

 

Some wandered in desert wastes; *

     they found no way to a city where they might dwell.

 

They were hungry and thirsty; *

     their spirits languished within them.

 

Then they cried to you in their trouble, *

     and you delivered them from their distress.

 

You put their feet on a straight path *

     to go to a city where they might dwell.

 

You changed deserts into pools of water *

     and dry land into water-springs.

 

You settled the hungry there, *

     and they founded a city to dwell in.

 

They sowed fields, and planted vineyards, *

     and brought in a fruitful harvest.

 

You blessed them, so that they increased greatly; *

     you did not let their herds decrease.

 

Yet when they were diminished and brought low, *

     through stress of adversity and sorrow,

 

(You pour contempt on princes *

     and make them wander in trackless wastes)

 

You lifted up the poor out of misery *

     and multiplied their families like flocks of sheep.

 

The upright will see this and rejoice, *

     but all wickedness will shut its mouth.

 

Whoever is wise will ponder these things, *

     and consider well your mercies, O God.

 

 

 

                                                       Saint Helena Psalter

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Where do you see wandering, deserts, and hunger in your own journey?

Where have you dwelt securely in a bountiful place?

How do you contribute to the work of lifting "the poor out of misery"?   

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1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

 

You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was toward you believers. As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children, urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

 

We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God's word, which is also at work in you believers. 

 

 

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How do you interpret your work as holy labor?

How is God's word at work in you?   

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Matthew 23:1-12

 

 

Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father -- the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted."

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How do you practice leadership?  What does it mean to be a servant in your context?  

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Lowell  

The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

The Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church
is to explore and celebrate
God's infinite grace, acceptance, and love.

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We aspire to...
    worship weekly
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    learn constantly
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    live generously. 

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