Lectionary Readings November. 8
Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. Psalm 78:1 (NRSV)
Reading. Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25. The nation is starting to settle into the Promised Land and really find a place to call home. As that sense of being settled and secure grows the perceived need of the Lord diminishes. Joshua is drawing towards the end of his leadership of the nation. In a more established environment the need for a warrior leader is not so critical. None the less Joshua, the great man of faith wants to consolidate the people’s allegiance to the Lord. Joshua linked his call to follow obediently with a recollection of the great acts of rescue in the nation’s history. By relating their past history Joshua reminds them that it is the Lord who has brought them to this place where they have the opportunity to prosper. Then he makes his own declaration, “As for me and my household; we will serve the Lord”! In response the people promise to continue to honour and worship the Lord. In the euphoria of the moment they promise to be faithful but over time the promise of being faithful slips from their memory and they turn back to a life of disobedience. It is this disobedience that sends them into exile and eventually to the loss of all the Lord had promised. Failure to keep the Lord at the centre of life did and still does put everything at risk. It is easy to make the “right” decision when together in a collective way, but the way of faith is always a day to day decision. Jesus for example reminds us that it is a daily recommitment, to live the life of faith, trusting in all that the Lord has done. (Luke 9:23) Every day is the day to answer the question that Joshua poses, “choose this day who you will serve!”.
Prayer. Heavenly Father, the God of liberation, we worship you. We praise you for delivering your people of old from enslavement in Egypt by opening up a new and unexpected future before them. They experienced your grace and mercy in awesome and life-sustaining ways which must have been like an impossible dream coming true. Through these acts you showed your compassion for the weak and powerless of this world. We thank and praise you for opening up a new future for us when by your love and compassion, Jesus Christ became flesh and lived among us. He delivered us from the bondage of evil and sin through his death on the cross. The impossible once more became reality when love defeated evil once and for all. Lord may we live this day in the joy of that victory, may we live each day choosing to follow you in expectation and trust, may we truly live in the hope of all that in Jesus you have promised. This we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Reading. Psalm 78:1-7. When children are small they delight to be told stories, it builds an intimacy which lasts a life time. Through stories, children learn of relatives long since departed, they learn of the exploits of their parents and grandparents and in this way develop a picture of who they are and the family into which they have been born. Having those stories regularly repeated helps each new generation to live the events of the past as if they themselves participated. The psalmist in today’s psalm is using this familiar understanding to pass on religious family beliefs. We are reminded that it is not enough just to know of the provisions God has made for his people throughout history we are also called to pass on this information to each succeeding generation. By being told the story we participate in our faith, and by telling our stories we pass on to our children the living truth which is conveyed through the stories. Just as our children inherit our good looks or the way we walk they also inherit our system of beliefs. These beliefs are greatly enhanced as we live out the guiding principles of our faith. That happens when we ourselves truly believe what God has done. In last week’s readings Jesus challenged his listeners to “practice what they preached”. (Mathew Ch. 5) This psalm also challenges us to teach our faith stories but also to live them out in our lives. When our words and our deeds are in harmony our message will have its most effective impact and help our children to have their hope in God.
Prayer. Lord Jesus Christ, the king of creation. We bow in prayer to you today, amazed that you should empty your self of all and trust in God alone to sustain you. Forgetting what was behind, you pressed on to the task that lay ahead and through your trust glorified God alone. Help us to place our whole trust in you and by your sustaining fulfil the purpose you have set for us as people of faith. Give to us the gifts we need to pass the truth of your goodness and grace on to our children and loved ones. This we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Prayer. Holy and awesome God, you are everywhere, whispering upon the dessert breeze, roaring in the thundering surf, singing the song of new life in the dawning hour. The whole world is a living anthem of praise to your greatness. We bow in prayer and adore you for every moment you are there, present to us, touching us gently with your love, reminding us that we belong to your family, one people, one community. In humility we thank you for the gift of life and for your gracious provision which supplies our every need. Hear us as we raise our own anthem of praise. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen {Words for Worship}
Collect. O God, whose blessed Son came into the world that he might destroy the works of the devil and make us children of God and heirs of eternal life: grant that, having this hope, we may purify ourselves as he is pure; that, when he comes again with power and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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