Proper 18 | Ordinary Time 23 - A

Object: This message will include a simple role-play activity.

Note: For the role-play, pick three children you believe can have some fun with their roles. You can read their parts for them, or for more fun, feed them their lines and have them repeat them. A little over-acting by the two sons makes it more memorable.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent!

An ice storm on Saturday night! Everything was cancelled. Roads were closed and powerlines down.

Chad was the new pastor at Creekside Church. In fact, he was new to ministry leadership. His ordination service in this rural congregation happened only three months earlier.

What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge”? (v. 2)

The prophets Ezekiel and Jeremiah both quote a popular proverb, homespun wisdom, if you will, to the effect that, “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” And when you think about it, this can be true. When many of us watch someone take a bite of something sour, like lemons, we may have an intense physical reaction to something they’re doing, and we’re not.

(See Proper 27/Pentecost 25/Ordinary Time 32, Cycle A, or an alternative approach to vv. 1-7.)

This is one of the "Wisdom Psalms," and part of the wisdom it extols is the importance of telling our children about our faith (v. 4), including telling them of the glorious deeds of God in the past (as, for example, vv. 12-16) as evidence for what God continues to do in the present.

Recently, in a weekly Bible study, the group poured over this Exodus passage, and someone remarked, "I am impressed by how contemporary this sounds." The Exodus story? Contemporary? Generally we think of it as anything but contemporary! Near the dawn of recorded human history a band of primitive Middle Eastern Bedouins, having fled from Egypt, now makes its way on foot through the savage desert wilderness.

Operation Bootstrap Africa is making a difference. It is a Minnesota based non-profit organization established in the mid-sixties to raise money to build schools in poor third world countries. The organization was founded by a pastor and his wife who served as missionaries in Tanzania for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). They were determined to witness to their faith, not only with their words but also by their actions.

As we read the writings of the Apostle Paul, we begin to get a sense through the Spirit that we are given the privilege to overhear his heart and soul. Not only is he a dedicated disciple, but also a very confessional preacher. For Paul to stop and ask something from prison is not out of character for him. When Paul makes those personal requests, it is a red flag, signaling a time to pay close attention, for here is the heart of the matter. This is the key to understanding. Paul's statements of instruction are more than instructions. He will draw a line in the sand.

Litany
Divide the congregation into four voices.

I: Traveling to see friends,
traveling to see relatives,
II: show me your way, O Lord,
and teach me your paths.
III: To white-capped mountains,
and clear rushing streams,
IV: show me your way, O Lord,
and teach me your paths.
I: Sometimes in new neighborhoods,
sometimes in familiar homes,
II: show me your way, O Lord,
and teach me your paths.
III: Wherever we go, our path is the path of love;
our destination, your heart.