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Daily Lectionary Readings for Year A
My brother Dale is a historian with a Ph.D. from Stanford. He loves to dig for details of a story. My brother taught me how amazing libraries could be when you learn how to research. Microfilm and microfiche were the high tech tools in the time before computers. Research could be like a scavenger hunt, with one clue leading to another and a minor piece of evidence opening the door to a major discovery. With this drive and ability, my brother began looking into our family history. Where did we come from? How did we get here? What were some of the struggles that made us who we are today? It can be like peeling an onion. There can be almost endless layers to the story. There can be embarrassing chapters that some would wish never to be remembered. But in the end, it's our story, and it matters. Those who came before us have a role in shaping who we are today. Dale found that part of our family story traces back to Ireland. From there, both sides of my family lived in Canada; then they moved as an extended clan into the thumb of Michigan. They all ended up in the same neighborhood of Hazel Park, where my mom and dad met. Along the way, there was good and bad luck, strong family bonds, and perseverance. Part of the story of God's people was being forced into slavery in Egypt. Then Moses, who had been adopted into pharaoh's family as a baby in a basket on the Nile, came to set God's people free. Characters in the story let God down, like Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu. Others were in the right place at the right time like Zipporah and helped provide a promising future. The telling and retelling of the story of God's family inspires and cautions. Knowing the family story is a reminder of where the family has come from, how they got to where they are, and how they overcame struggles along the way. It is the story of God actively guiding God's chosen people generation after generation. What is your family story? What does it teach you about who you are? What does your story say about who God is? Peace, Dean
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https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/daily.php?year=A
The disciples decided to try to get back to what they knew best, fishing. Jesus had been killed and buried. He appeared to them, alive, just as he had said. The days had passed and they were anxious to get on with their lives. Perhaps they needed to feel grounded in something they knew they could do. Many of the disciples were fishermen. They pushed their boats into the water, dropped their nets, but caught no fish. Until a stranger, who was Jesus, told them to try dropping their nets on the other side of the boat. This adjustment of 10 feet or so resulted in a tremendous haul of fish. We want to get back to doing what we used to do. We want to see our families and friends, go to church, and get a donut at Marge’s. Just as everything had changed for the disciples after the resurrection, nothing will be the same for us. We will have to make some adjustments. We will have to throw our nets over the other side of the boat. The future will require us to trust Christ to show us a new way of living. This could get frustrating for us. We are experts in knowing how we live our lives. It could have been frustrating for fishermen to be told a new way to fish. But they adjusted, and they made a miraculous catch. And then the disciples ate with Jesus. He had prepared a fire and had fish and bread ready to share. A meal of hospitality, a breakfast of celebration, and an opening to experience the blessing of Christ. This Sunday we will share a meal with Christ and one another. Make some food and set it at your table Sunday morning. Pull up an extra chair. Imagine that is where Jesus and all your friends and family will sit with you. We will take time to give thanks for the one who stands on the shore and encourages us to fish in a new way. Tonight is a time to testify. We will connect by Zoom and testify to the love of God and presence of Christ we are experiencing in these days. I will record these testimonies, edit them, and share them in worship Sunday. If you do not have the Zoom info please email me before 4, or send me your own recording by Thursday morning. You can upload audio or video directly to me at www.wesleypark.org/worship. Peace, Dean Daily Lectionary Readings for Year A
I am thinking of all the advice I have received over the years: Watch the ball hit the bat. Measure twice, cut once. Mind your manners. Wear clean underwear. Drive to the wall (swimming, not driving, reference). I remember on the day of my ordination my good friend Doug Vernon wisely advised me to "just love everybody." There is a lot of advice in today's readings.
Peace, Dean Daily Lectionary Reading for Year A https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/daily.php?year=A Adrianne has been blessed with a lot. She is smart and compassionate. She is talented and creative. She is a loving mom and a good friend. If you have known Adrianne for long, you also appreciate that she has been blessed with a one of a kind laugh. Adrianne’s laughter is spontaneous. It is uncontrollable. Her laugh is genuine. Life is not always easy. We all experience hurt and sadness. But there is also a joy that can be embraced, even in the midst of trial. God is always up to something that is amusing and amazing. Adrianne has been able to fill the room with her laugh. I don't know if Sarah’s laugh was as loud, but it certainly got the attention of those around her. How could she not laugh? The visitors had just said that she and Abraham would have a child, well past their childbearing age. That's not an announcement that requires a counter-argument or an angry reaction. What more could she do, but laugh? So, this morning I'm thinking about Adrianne’s laughter and how it follows a great precedent. And, I'm praying for Adrianne as she is in surgery. Please join me in praying that she will be safe, and healed, and laughing again with us soon. Peace, Dean  Maynard sent out some lyrics to an old hymn yesterday. Let me include that hymn here, and encourage us to sing along with it. May it give us encouragement and hope. Peace, Dean Daily Lectionary Readings for Year A
Psalm 116 Gratitude. Even in my most trying days, there are reasons to be thankful. For the kind note that someone sent in the mail. For the telephone call that helped me remember the sound of another person's voice. For the open Bible that gives me a pathway to walk with God. For friends who are close in heart even if they are far away in body. For family and the stories that sustain me when I am weary. For the love and faithfulness of this congregation. For the work of God all around, in the sunrises and sunsets, the hopping bunnies, the fat robins, and the strength to help me find a way when there seems to be no way. What are you grateful for today? Let us begin and end today in gratitude. Isaiah 26:1-4 Trust. Say this: "Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord we have an everlasting rock." Trust in God, because God has been worthy of your trust. God has been faithful. God has taken you by the hand and has led you on this journey of life. God will show you how to endure this time in the wilderness. Place your worries about finances and futures in God's care. Say this: "Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord we have an everlasting rock." 1 Peter 1:13-16 Prepare. Will we ever have a time like this again? What will we choose to do with this unique opportunity to shelter in place, to rest, to find ourselves again? Every day we have choices to make. We can fill ourselves up with things that will make us weaker. We can be bitter. We can be selfish. We can be angry. We can be hostile. We can look back. We can get sucked into negativity. Or, we can fill ourselves up with things that will make us stronger. We can pray. We can study. We can clear our minds. We can strengthen our hearts. We can dream new dreams. We can heal our wounds. We can prepare for what is next. How are you using this time to prepare your heart to serve God and neighbor? Peace, Dean Daily Lectionary Readings for Year A
Psalm 116 What prayer do you pray when you find that you have healed from an illness? What prayer do you pray when you find relief from pain? What prayer do you pray when you find yourself on the other side of hurt and heartache? Find some paper and a pencil. Write down this prayer and revisit it often. Isaiah 25 For you have been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat. As we rebuild everything in the months and years to come, let us seek to build something new. Let us work toward eliminating the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Let us build something God would want us to build: a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress, and a shelter from the rainstorm and shade from the heat. 1 Peter When we worship, we get to know the heart and spirit of Christ. We learn of his teachings. We sing the same Psalms he sang. We gather around the same table. Even though we haven't seen him, it feels like we know him. It is a privilege to allow that relationship to grow day after day, year after year. Worship gives us insight into the grace of God. By God's grace, we receive salvation. In the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have abundant life. I know online worship is different, and lectionary reflections are not the same as being in the same room together. But I encourage you to keep worshiping. Keep reading Scripture. Stay open to the ways God is at work in your pain and your joy. Peace, Dean Daily Lectionary Reading for Year A
The Lectionary published by the Vanderbilt University Divinity Library includes several resources.
As you prepare to read the lectionary texts for today, begin with this prayer: Elusive God, companion on the way, you walk behind, beside, beyond; you catch us unawares. Break through the disillusionment and despair clouding our vision, that, with wide-eyed wonder, we may find our way and journey on as messengers of your good news. Amen. At the conclusion of your time of allowing Scripture to speak to you, offer up this prayer: Mighty God, in whom we know the power of redemption, you stand among us in the shadows of our time. As we move through every sorrow and trial of this life, uphold us with knowledge of the final morning when, in the glorious presence of your risen Son, we will share in his resurrection, redeemed and restored to the fullness of life and forever freed to be your people. Amen. May God bless you as you journey with David, Jonah, and Jesus this morning. Peace, Dean Daily Lectionary Reading for Year A
The second reading today is the story of Jonah. God wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh and call the people into repentance. Jonah didn't want to go so he jumped on a ship that was heading in the opposite direction. Once at sea, a giant storm came up. The sailors determined Jonah caused the dangerous weather. To change their luck the sailors threw Jonah overboard. He was swallowed up by a large fish and spit out on the shore of Nineveh. This made me wonder about the superstitions of sailors. If they thought Jonah's occupation caused the seas to stir, what else are sailors concerned about?
Peace, Dean |
REv. Dean N. PrentissI am blessed to be the Pastor at Wesley Park UMC. Find Daily Lectionary Readings Here. Archives
February 2021
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