Scriptures and Reflection Questions for March 4

Scriptures and Reflection Questions
2nd Sunday in Lent, Year B
March 4, 2011
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Collect

O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone
 astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and  steadfast
 faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your  Word, Jesus Christ
your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and  reigns, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.
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Episcopal Revised Common Lectionary
Year B
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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

We use the Episcopal Revised Common Lectionary.
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Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
Psalm 22:22-30
Romans 4:13-25
Mark 8:31-38

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him,
"I am God Almighty; walk before me,  and be blameless. And I will make my covenant
between me and you, and  will make you exceedingly numerous." Then Abram fell on
 his face; and  God said to him, "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall
be  the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be  Abram,
 but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor  of a multitude
of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I  will make nations of you,
and kings shall come from you. I will  establish my covenant between me and you,
 and your offspring after you  throughout their generations, for an everlasting
covenant, to be God to  you and to your offspring after you."

God said to Abraham, "As for Sarah your wife, you shall not call  her Sarai, but
 Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover I  will give you a son
by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise  to nations; kings of peoples
shall come from her."

____________

Have you ever experienced a new possibility after you had given up any reasonable
hope?
____________________________________

Psalm 22:22-30

May all who fear you, O God, give praise; *
     may the offspring of Israel stand in awe,
     and all of Jacob's line give glory.

For you do not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty,
neither do you hide your face from them, *
     but when they cry to you, you hear them.

My praise is of you in the great assembly; *
     I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship you.

The poor shall eat and be satisfied,
and those who seek you shall praise you: *
     "May your heart live for ever!"

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to you, *
     and all the families of the nations shall bow before you.

For yours is the royal power, O God; *
     you rule over the nations.

To you alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in worship; *
     all who go down to the dust fall before you.

My soul shall live for you;
my descendants shall serve you; *
     they shall be known as yours for ever.

                                           Saint Helena Psalter

____________

The psalmist connects the feeding of the poor with the power of God.
In what ways does our culture hide our face from the poor?
In what ways do we hear the cry of the poor?____________________________________

Romans 4:13-25

The promise that he would inherit the world did  not come to Abraham or to his descendants
through the law but through  the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents
of the law who are to  be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For
the law brings  wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.
For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may  rest on grace
and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the  adherents of the law
but also to those who share the faith of Abraham  (for he is the father of all of
us, as it is written, "I have made you  the father of many nations") -- in the presence
of the God in whom he  believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence
the things  that do not exist. Hoping against hope, he believed that he would  become
"the father of many nations," according to what was said, "So  numerous shall your
descendants be." He did not weaken in faith when he  considered his own body, which
was already as good as dead (for he was  about a hundred years old), or when he
considered the barrenness of  Sarah's womb. No distrust made him waver concerning
the promise of God,  but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being
fully  convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Therefore his  faith
"was reckoned to him as righteousness." Now the words, "it was  reckoned to him,"
were written not for his sake alone, but for ours  also. It will be reckoned to
us who believe in him who raised Jesus our  Lord from the dead, who was handed over
to death for our trespasses and  was raised for our justification.
____________

Paul sees Abraham as the father of faith, because he trusted the message that he
 and Sarah would give birth late in life.
In what ways do you find yourself trusting in God?
In what ways is it difficult for you to trust God?____________________________________


Mark 8:31-38

Then Jesus began to teach his disciples that  the Son of Man must undergo great
suffering, and be rejected by the  elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and
be killed, and after  three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And
Peter took him  aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his  disciples,
he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are  setting your mind
 not on divine things but on human things."

He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any  want to become
my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their  cross and follow me. For
those who want to save their life will lose it,  and those who lose their life for
my sake, and for the sake of the  gospel, will save it. For what will it profit
them to gain the whole  world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give
 in return for  their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this
 adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be  ashamed
when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."
____________

Why did Jesus speak so sternly to Peter?
What does it mean to you to lose your life for Jesus sake and for the sake of the
gospel?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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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.

Our Rule of Life:
  We aspire to...
     worship weekly
     pray daily
     learn constantly
     serve joyfully
     live generously.

Check our website: www.stpaulsfay.org