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Lent 4C
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Readings | Resources | Information | |
Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32
2 Corinthians 5: 17-21
Psalm 34: 2-7
Joshua 5: 9a, 10-12
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General Commentaries and Lectionary Reflections (RCL)(2016)
Lent 4
The German theologian Helmut Thielicke tells about sitting his young son down in front of the mirror. At first he seemed entertained by the image he saw there, and he made lots of gestures and smiles. Then, almost as if something clicked, he seemed to realize the correspondence between his movements and those in the mirror. It seemed, in that moment, as if he recognized that in this glass he was seeing himself. That’s how it is with Jesus’ parables.
General Commentaries and Lectionary Reflections (RCL)(2013 to 2015)
Difficult Freedom
("In an intriguing rendition of this story, the poet Rainer Maria Rilke imagines that it was the father's love that drove the younger son away. And it is that love, or the fear of receiving it, that most terrifies him about the prospect of return. The son returns to welcoming arms of the family he left behind: '[The son], the one who was recognized, had no longer thought, preoccupied as he was, that love could still exist...")
General Commentaries and Lectionary Reflections (RCL)(Archives)
Become a Slave
Scroll down to this title. May now only be available by subscription for a nominal fee.The Path to Resurrection
Scroll down to this title. May now only be available by subscription for a nominal fee.
Prayers of the People
Prayers of the Faithful
("There is a story told about a Rolls Royce that stopped on a skid row street. A well-dressed, refined woman got out of that fine automobile and rushed into a dilapidated hotel nearby. She inquired about a certain man who was staying there. Informed of his room, she hurried on, impervious to the stares of the other residents of this run-down establishment...")Prayers for Worship
("Kenneth Bailey, who has lived there for forty years and has studied the peasant culture in that part of the world actually went around asking people what they thought of our gospel lesson for today. He told them about the younger son’s request for his portion of the inheritance and then asked: 'Has anyone ever made such a request in your village?'...")Prayers of the Faithful
("A father had a young son who was extremely ill, suffering from inoperable cancer. After undergoing an exhaustive series of tests, the boy's father was told the devastating news that his ten year old son had a terminal illness and would die quite soon. The young boy accepted his Christian religion, so the father knew that his little boy would go to heaven when he died...")
Worship Resources (2016)
Penitential Rite
("There is a story told about a Rolls Royce that stopped on a skid row street. A well-dressed, refined woman got out of that fine automobile and rushed into a dilapidated hotel nearby. She inquired about a certain man who was staying there. Informed of his room, she hurried on, impervious to the stares of the other residents of this run-down establishment...")
Worship Resources (Archives)
Worship Resources (#2)
("St. Peter and St. Paul are at the Pearly Gates. Paul is looking through The Book of Names, and he says to Peter, 'There are more people in heaven than there is supposed to be! Go find out what has happened!' Peter runs off, and some time later he returns to Paul...")
Powerpoint, Images and Clip Art for Worship
Young Man, Young Man
for Harlem Renaissance artist Aaron Douglas (and poet James Weldon Johnson), this son was lost. Absolutely lost. Following the text of Johnson's poem "The Prodigal Son", Douglas has focused on the portion of the story where the son is squandering his inheritance. Women, music, money, cards.