Proper 26 Yr C
Come down!

Scripture: October 30, 2022 (Proper 26, Year C)—Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4 (image); Psalm 119:137-144 (image); Isaiah 1:10-18 (image); Psalm 32:1-8 (image); 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12 (image); Luke 19:1-10 (image). 

Collect: Almighty and merciful God, it is only by your gift that your faithful people offer you true and laudable service: Grant that we may run without stumbling to obtain your heavenly promises; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Reflection: 

Track 1: The writer of Second Thessalonians “boast[s] of you among the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith during all your persecutions and the afflictions that you are enduring.” How do Christians remain steadfast and faithful in the face of suffering? What sustains your hope, and how might you share that hope?

Track 2: We sometimes imagine that we must earn God’s love. In the story of Zacchaeus, however, Jesus offered companionship to him even before Zacchaeus made restoration to those he had cheated. Were the good works of Zacchaeus the requirement or the response for receiving the love of Jesus? What makes “grace” grace?

Practice: My thinking is that Jesus noticed those who were seeking him, like Zaccheus. When are you seeking Jesus? How do you feel him noticing you? Comments welcome.

RENEWED for All Saints: In the musical Nunsense, Sister Hubert reminds us “It’s not that hard to be a saint.” And our church teaches us that all of us are, in our own way, saints. So for the next month, Faith@Home will focus on one saint with special meaning. Feel free to nominate a saint to include.  This week, let's begin with the patron saints for The Episcopal Church of St. Simon & St. Jude: Simon and Jude. From Wikipedia:

Simon was referred to as "The Zealot" to distinguish him from other "Simons" in the New Testament. He is mentioned in the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles but little is said about him. VERY little is said about his counterpart Jude, except to note that he was not "Judas Iscariot." In fact, both were "Judas" but to make a clear distinction, Jude was his taken name. "In later tradition, Simon is often associated with Saint Jude as an evangelizing team; in Western Christianity, they share their feast day on 28 October. The most widespread tradition is that after evangelizing in Egypt, Simon joined Jude in Persia and Armenia or Beirut, Lebanon, where both were martyred in 65 AD. "

For families: Study guide and activities (former guide), group activity, snacks, kid video

For children: See family guide/activities (another activity); bulletin; craft

For middlers: See family guide/activities (another activity); bulletin; craft

Coloring: Luke 19, Zaccheus and Jesus

For youth: Zaccheus was a rich man and a tax collector, two characteristics that did not sit well with the crowd around Jesus. When Jesus calls on him to serve Jesus dinner, the crowd got angry. Even so, Zaccheus said he had never been dishonest in his collection of taxes BUT if he had been, he would return whatever amount it was by four-fold. Now, that's impressive! How about you? Have you ever been dishonest in your dealings with others? What about just "not like Jesus"? How can you "repay" what you have done wrong? Share your thoughts, if you wish. [excerpted from Sermons that work from The National Episcopal Church]

Jesus continually shocked religious people by associating with known sinners. Today we have the familiar story of Zacchaeus, a tax collector for the Roman occupiers, whose job was to extort money from his fellow Jews. Zacchaeus’ repentance in response to Jesus’ acceptance of him silences the critics—for a time.

Track 1: In the first reading, Habakkuk speaks to the question of why God allows bad things to happen to God’s people. The answer is that in time God will exercise justice against the wicked. In the meanwhile, the righteous will live by their faith.

Track 2: In the first reading, God speaks through Isaiah to a people who keep all their liturgical and other religious observances but do not care for the other commands of the Law: the ministry of mercy and justice to the poor and helpless. God says that failure is a sin worse than the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah.

We begin reading Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians today. This church had great faith but was troubled by speculations about when the Lord would return—a theme to which these readings will turn in the weeks ahead as we look toward Advent.

We must always remember that our worship is only one side of our response to God. The term “liturgy” is used in the New Testament to mean both worship and ministry to others. What we do here and what we do in loving acts of ministry are each given their fullest meaning from the other. Faith is expressed in worship. Faithfulness is expressed above all in concrete acts of love and ministry to other people, especially the sick, the hungry, the stranger, and the dying.