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 Forbes
Questions:
1) What does it mean to persevere?
2) What makes it hard to persevere sometimes?
3) Which of the seven qualities resonated most with you?
4) When have you experienced perseverance in your life?
5) How did you see God moving in that experience?
Views and Qs: Hope is a Function of Struggle
Watch this video together and then use the discussion questions below to reflect as a family.
Discussion Questions:
1) What does it feel like to fail?
2) Brown says that "The people with the highest levels of hope were those who had experienced the most failure." How does this challenge our assumptions about success?
3) When have you experienced failure?
4) Did that experience cultivate hope?
5) What do you think it means to separate our successes and failures from our identity?
6) How did Jesus model hope in his life?
Feast and Faith: Hope in the Midst of Destruction
For this week’s dinner discussion, we are talking about Jesus declaration that all things are alive to God.
Prayer -
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow love
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith
Where there is despair, hope
Where there is darkness, light
And where there is sadness, joy
O Divine Master, grant that I may
Not so much seek to be consoled as to console
To be understood, as to understand
To be loved, as to love
For it is in giving that we receive
And it's in pardoning that we are pardoned
And it's in dying that we are born to Eternal Life
Amen -
(Prayer of St. Francis)
Discussion –
In the gospel this Sunday Jesus is talking about the destruction of a central part of his Jewish faith, the temple in Jerusalem. For those reading the gospel, the temple had indeed been destroyed, and they were forced to rebuild their lives and their faith from that destruction. Ultimately, this meant setting up local centers of community, synagogues, in the various areas around the Roman empire that these Jewish communities ended up once they were expelled from Jerusalem. Jesus, then, is offering a vision for hope in the midst of this terrible tragedy.
Questions
1) When have you experienced something new being created out of destruction or
failure?
2) Did the ultimate outcome make the process any less painful?
3) Where do you see destruction in the world today?
4) Can you see a way that this destruction may be leading to something new and life-
giving?
5) Why do you think God works through these painful things instead of preventing
them?
Final Nugget: The destruction of the temple in Jerusalem led the Jewish communities in the first century to grow and adapt their faith in new ways. Pay attention to how painful experiences and failures in your life are moving you toward a more authentic identity and new ways of seeing God in the world.
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 98
(Read in unison)
1 Sing to the Lord a new song, *
for he has done marvelous things.
2 With his right hand and his holy arm *
has he won for himself the victory.
3 The Lord has made known his victory; *
his righteousness has he openly shown in the sight of the nations.
4 He remembers his mercy and faithfulness to the house of Israel, *
and all the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.
5 Shout with joy to the Lord, all you lands; *
lift up your voice, rejoice, and sing.
6 Sing to the Lord with the harp, *
with the harp and the voice of song.
7 With trumpets and the sound of the horn *
shout with joy before the King, the Lord.
8 Let the sea make a noise and all that is in it, *
the lands and those who dwell therein.
9 Let the rivers clap their hands, *
and let the hills ring out with joy before the Lord,
when he comes to judge the earth.
10 In righteousness shall he judge the world *
and the peoples with equity.
Gospel
(read by assigned person)
Luke 21:5-19
When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, Jesus said, "As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down."
They asked him, "Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?" And he said, "Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, `I am he!' and, `The time is near!' Do not go after them.
"When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately." Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.
"But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls."
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)
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; 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: