Consider the Word, September 16, 2021 17th Sunday after Pentecost

Consider the Word, September 16, 2021
17^th Sunday after Pentecost – Season of Creation
 
Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/92395423097
Meeting ID: 923 9542 3097
 
Readings for September 19:

• Proverbs 31:10-31
• Psalm 1
• James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a
• Mark 9:30-37

 
Collect

Almighty God,

you have created the heavens and the earth,

and ourselves in your image.

Teach us to discern your hand in all your works

and to serve you with reverence and thanksgiving;

through Jesus Christ our Lord,

who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever. Amen.

 
Readings:
Psalm 1

Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, nor lingered in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seats of the scornful! Their delight is in the law of the Lord, and they meditate on his law day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither; everything they do shall prosper. It is not so with the wicked; they are like chaff which the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgement comes, nor the sinner in the council of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked is doomed.

 
Gospel: Mark 9:30-37

They went on from there and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again." But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him. Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the way?" But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me."

 
Reflection Questions

1. Why does Jesus predict his betrayal, murder, and resurrection so frequently?
2. What child-like qualities do you think Jesus is suggesting for his followers?

 
Closing Prayer

Life-giving God,

heal our lives,

that we may acknowledge your wonderful deeds

and offer you thanks from generation to generation

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 
The Message:
Psalm 1

How well God must like you—you don’t walk in the ruts of those blind-as-bats, you don’t stand with the good-for-nothings, you don’t take your seat among the know-it-alls. Instead you thrill to God’s Word, you chew on Scripture day and night. You’re a tree replanted in Eden, bearing fresh fruit every month, Never dropping a leaf, always in blossom. You’re not at all like the wicked, who are mere windblown dust—Without defense in court, unfit company for innocent people. God charts the road you take. The road they take leads to nowhere.

 
Mark 9:30-37

^30-32 Leaving there, they went through Galilee. He didn’t want anyone to know their whereabouts, for he wanted to teach his disciples. He told them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed to some people who want nothing to do with God. They will murder him. Three days after his murder, he will rise, alive.” They didn’t know what he was talking about, but were afraid to ask him about it.

³³ They came to Capernaum. When he was safe at home, he asked them, “What were you discussing on the road?”

³⁴ The silence was deafening—they had been arguing with one another over who among them was greatest.

³⁵ He sat down and summoned the Twelve. “So you want first place? Then take the last place. Be the servant of all.”

^36-37 He put a child in the middle of the room. Then, cradling the little one in his arms, he said, “Whoever embraces one of these children as I do embraces me, and far more than me—God who sent me.”

The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson