Each Sunday morning we hear Scripture read during our worship gatherings. Normally, these readings come from a larger collection of weekly readings referred to as the Revised Common Lectionary. In the length of a Sunday sermon, it is only possible to explore these readings so far – but understanding these passages often takes much longer. As such, I am going to try and give you to the opportunity to prepare for Sunday as I start to prepare my message for the week. Here I will offer links to the readings for this Sunday, and some sources for meditation, reflection or further study. Feel free to have a look at as much or as little as you like.

This Sunday, we enter the penultimate week of ‘Year A’ of the Lectionary, in which our Gospel readings come primarily from the Gospel of Matthew. Here we continue through the parousia  parables (referring to Christ’s return and the consummation of the Kingdom), which in Matthew’s Gospel are the last things Jesus shares with his disciples before the events of the last supper, his arrest and his crucifixion.

This week also continues to provide two options for the Old Testament and the Psalm.

Have a read through and see what God might be saying to you in these texts:

Readings for the Week

• First reading and Psalm
  • Judges 4:1-7
  • Psalm 123
• Alternate First reading and Psalm
  • Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18
  • Psalm 90:1-8, (9-11), 12
• Second reading
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
• Gospel
  • Matthew 25:14-30

For the full readings in the NRSV translation, visit: https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=168

Lectio Divina on the Gospel

The Alive Now magazine has produced a resource on SoundCloud with the weekly Gospel read for you in the style of a Lectio Divina (if you are unfamiliar with this style of scripture-focused meditation, don’t worry, they introduce it really well). I find practicing Lectio Divina deeply enriching for my own faith, but it something which is often hard to do in a time-poor life. This resource is great, in that you can listen on your phone from anywhere.

Here is the link to this week’s ‘Audio Lectio’ on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/alivenow/nov-9-2014-matthew-25-1-13?in=alivenow/sets/audio-lectio-year-a-2016

Introductory Commentaries and Reflections

As you start to reflect on the reading this week, there are some helpful commentaries available:

The Uniting Church Synod of NSW.ACT produces reflections in its Insights Magazine, this month by Rev Jon Humphries: https://www.insights.uca.org.au/features/lectionary-reflections/november-adopting-a-sense-of-humility

Alternatively, Working Preacher provides a number of more detailed commentaries on each text at www.workingpreacher.org

Services this week

This week, our only service is at Sunday 9am at Wesley Uniting Church, Crookwell. Our lay preacher Allan Aynsley will be leading.

Directions are available here.