Year C, Ordinary 32, 2019 – God of the Living

More Than Hearing

Hello everyone! Welcome to the show notes! The end is in sight; we have one more Sunday in Ordinary Time, Christ the King Sunday, and then a whole new year of illustrations and special effects in Year A. Whew! This Sunday, the passages are all focused on the future. Job knows that the one who will vindicate him lives, but he really wants to see this with his own eyes. The Psalmist presents himself as righteous and pleads for an audience with God in order to be preserved from enemies. Paul tells the Thessalonians that while there needs to be a time of chaos and lawlessness, don’t lose heart because Jesus’ victory over death will see them through it. And in Luke, the Sadducees ridicule the idea of resurrection and Jesus responds that their narrow view of life and death is simply inadequate. God is not deterred by temporal boundaries.

Three years ago, our podcast episode for the week was called Shake it Up! We used the Haggai passage and have different illustrations and special effects for the 2 Thessalonians and Luke passages. In other words, we have more to offer at the link!

{By the way, there is some ambient noise in this week’s episode. One of our kids was home for a visit and was doing laundry. What are you gonna do? Sorry for any distraction it may cause. –D2–}

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Smarts of the Week [01:58]

This week, David looks for ways to illustrate NATURE smart, focusing on ways to “bring the outside inside”. I emphasize EYE smart, which encourages using visual stimulation as well as opening the “inner eye” of imagination. Download the worksheets below and if you haven’t yet, click on the links above to read more about the eight intelligences.

NATURE smart – [02:37]Download

EYE smart – [03:50]Download

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Texts for the Week

Job 19:23-27a – [06:15]

It’s not easy being Job. At this point in his story, he is hard pressed to remain faithful to God. The verse “I know that my redeemer lives” is used often in funeral liturgies, but Job is not dead. His life is full of suffering, but he refuses to give up on his hope that “at the last he will stand upon the earth” and “I will see him with my eyes”. Wow. To bring NATURE smart into this, consider using the advertisements from the SPCA about rescued animals. The underlying message of these advertisements is that ONLY YOU CAN HELP – because domesticated animals trust humans. GIVE NOW. Job carries within himself that spark of hope that God is still out there. For EYE smart, think about the way words or images are carved in rock as testament to life, even if that life is no longer around. I have a couple other ideas, too.

• NATURE smart – [07:43]
  • Sarah McLachlan SPCA commercials and if you can stand it, here’s another
• EYE smart – [09:30]
  • etched in stone:
    • Register Rock, ID
    • Three Rivers Petroglyph, NM
  • commentary by Brian Jones and Kathryn Schifferdecker at Working Preacher

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Psalm 17:1-9 – [13:26]

In the linked commentary for this passage, Suomala writes that the intimate connection between the Psalmist and God is later linked by Jesus in the Lord’s prayer in Luke 11. This is a WORD smart illustration, for sure, but being the “apple of the eye” is also an intimate connection where the “apple” insists on remaining central in the vision of the “eye”. Try demonstrating this with the special effect I suggest. For NATURE smart, consider how “steps hold fast” while out amid creation and its slippy spots.

• EYE smart – [14:37]
  • commentary by Karla Suomala at Working Preacher
  • How the English translation of the Hebrew word “pupil” got around to apple is not entirely clear (WORD smart!)
• NATURE smart – [17:53]
  • God’s care is like hiking with a walking pole so you don’t slip

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2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17 – [20:44]

To bring NATURE smart into this passage, compare Paul’s intention to root the Thessalonians in Jesus’ resurrection to the way oak trees (and other tap root trees) root themselves in the ground. David has some very interesting links about the way and the reason they do this below. For EYE smart, consider the two parts of the selection as poles holding up a tent – and then build it, right there in front of everyone!

• NATURE smart – [22:33]
  • An oak tree starts with a deep tap root that then develops a broad network of lateral roots.
  • more information about root networks in an article at deeproot.com
• EYE smart – [26:27]
  • commentary by Mariam Kamell at Working Preacher

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Luke 20:27-38 – [28:32]

The English word “life” in this text is the Greek word “zoe” which is distinguished from “bios” by a quality of living. God is the God of quality life! Of course, that quality is not due to anything material but by relationships. I have a special effect that I hope will demonstrate this; you may need to tweak it a bit for the fundamental meaning to come through. For NATURE smart, substitute the woman and her husbands with caterpillars and butterflies. Maybe even use these to demonstrate my idea for EYE smart! I love it when the intelligences “talk” to each other!

• EYE smart – [31:12]
• NATURE smart – [33:01]
  • download the worksheet to see how this passage might be re-interpreted using NATURE smart

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Photo by Wendy Wei from Pexels. Used by permission.

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