Lesson Plans That Work
Feast of the Transfiguration: August 6, 2012
Jesus takes Peter, John, and James up a mountain to pray. The journey energized Jesus and exhausted the disciples. Through eyes heavy with fatigue, the disciples strained to understand what they were seeing. As Jesus prayed, "the appearance of his face changed and his clothes became dazzling white." Then they saw Moses and Elijah conferring with Jesus on what is ahead in Jerusalem. Peter felt compelled to "do" something. What was required was that he "be."
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 13: August 5, 2012
The crowd continued looking for Jesus. Maybe they were curious as to how Jesus got to the other side when his boat remained behind. Perhaps they were looking for more miracles. They were drawn to the gentle charisma of this man even though they were struggling to understand what he was saying. They were looking for a sign, missing the message. From our vantage point – 2,000 years later – we still struggle to grasp the message: "I am the bread of life."
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 12: July 29, 2012
"There is a child here." How interesting. The disciples do not see how a child could be much help, but Jesus does. The central aspect of our worship together – bread broken, bread shared –first happened when a little boy offered the little loaves in his picnic basket. When Jesus uses the little boy's willingness to share, abundance is the outcome. Could we choose to risk noticing abundance?
Eighth Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 11: July 22, 2012
The passage from Mark that we have in this set of sessions seems to be telling us, amid all that shows up in our lives, to take time to breathe. Find space to just be. Perhaps it is a walk with a child, time puttering in a garden, or going fishing. We recharge our cell phones so they can keep serving us. Take a lesson from the cell phone: breathe and revitalize.