Hosted by the Faith To Go team in the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, David Tremaine and Charlette Preslar, and joined the each week by a special guest, the Faith To Go Podcast highlights themes from the Sunday Gospel reading for you to take into your faith discussions and reflections throughout the week.
from NPR
Questions:
1) Who was John Lewis?
2) Why was he so important?
3) What important changes did he help bring about?
4) What king of persistence and hope did John Lewis model?
5) How do you think he kept going in the face of such great opposition?
Views and Qs: The March on Washington
Watch this video together and then use the discussion questions below to reflect as a family.
Discussion Questions:
1) What struck you most about John Lewis' words? 2) What changes was he calling for in our country?
3) How many of these changes have taken place? Which ones have yet to happen? 4) What actions can you take to bring about the changes that still have not been addressed? 5) Is there a word or phrase that you can take with you from this speech? Maybe you could write it down and put it somewhere you will see it often.
Feast and Faith: Hope and Persistence
For this week's dinner discussion we will focus on Jesus' five parables from this week's gospel.
Prayer -
Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our
being: We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by
your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our
life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are
ever walking in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Discussion -
This week are reflecting on the five parables Jesus tells at the end of the 13th chapter of Matthew. These include the mustard seed, the yeast, the pearl, the treasure, and the fish:
Questions -
1) Which of these parables resonated with you the most from this week (you can read them below)?
2) What things have you been persistent in pursuing in your life?
3) What gave you the energy to persist in these things?
4) What do you think are the most important things to be persistent about in our life today? What about in the life of our country and the world?
5) What are your sources of hope today? What makes you hopeful in your life and in the world?
Final Nugget -
In the face of such looming realities, like those of the Coronavirus and systemic racism, it is important to find hope in order to help us find the energy to persist through challenging circumstances to continue the work of healing and justice. What practices can you take on to cultivate this hopeful energy?
Stay and Pray: A Devotion for Families at the Close of the Day Each week we feature a way for your family to reflect and pray together. For families with older children this is an at home liturgy for your family to participate in together. It is a daily devotion for families adapted from The Book of Common Prayer.
Before you begin, take a few moments to decide who will read the scripture reading and who will read the collect and closing.
Read the Psalm and Lord's Prayer in unison.
After a moment of silence, begin with the Psalm.
Psalm 128
(read in unison)
1 Happy are they all who fear the Lord, *
and who follow in his ways!
2 You shall eat the fruit of your labor; *
happiness and prosperity shall be yours.
3 Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine within your house, *
your children like olive shoots round about your table.
4 The man who fears the Lord *
shall thus indeed be blessed.
5 The Lord bless you from Zion, *
and may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
6 May you live to see your children's children; *
may peace be upon Israel.
Reading
(read by assigned person)
Matthew 13:31-33,44-52
Jesus put before the crowds another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
“Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
Prayers for Ourselves and For Others (take this time to each offer one person/event that you would like to hold in prayer as well as one thing you are thankful for)
Dear God, tonight I ask your prayers for.......
and I give you thanks for ..........
Amen
The Lord’s Prayer
(read in unison)
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen
The Collect
(read by assigned person)
O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Share some of your conversations in the comments below: