First United Methodist Church
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Lectionary Study Guide: For use the week of Sept. 6-12, 2010
16th Sunday after Pentecost: September 12, 2010   

Opening Prayer
Lord, open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit that, as the Scriptures are read and discussed, we may hear with joy what you say to us today. Amen.

Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
4:11 At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem: A hot wind comes from me out of the bare heights in the desert toward my poor people, not to winnow or cleanse-- 12 a wind too strong for that. Now it is I who speak in judgment against them. 4:22 "For my people are foolish, they do not know me; they are stupid children, they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but do not know how to do good." 23 I looked on the earth, and lo, it was waste and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light. 24 I looked on the mountains, and lo, they were quaking, and all the hills moved to and fro. 25 I looked, and lo, there was no one at all, and all the birds of the air had fled. 26 I looked, and lo, the fruitful land was a desert, and all its cities were laid in ruins before the LORD, before his fierce anger. 27 For thus says the LORD: The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end. 28 Because of this the earth shall mourn, and the heavens above grow black; for I have spoken, I have purposed; I have not relented nor will I turn back.

Commentary
The background against which this oracle was written was “the foe from the north,” a common theme in the early prophets.  Because of Judah’s geographical location between  the desert and the sea, enemies from the north or east all had to approach from the north.  The “foe” is also a metaphor for the calamity soon to descend upon the world.  Jeremiah says that things have gone too far: all God can do is bring judgment and make an end to the people of Judah.  He insists that YHWH has spoken and will not go back on this declaration.  But there is a ray of hope in all the despair.  In verse 27, God says, “Yet I will not make a full end.”  Even in all the devastation and chaos, the destruction will not be complete.  God will be present, still working for the salvation of the people. 

Reflection
In the face of sin, crisis, and chaos, what is your source of hope?  What do you believe God is doing in the midst of today’s world situation?  How is God calling you to respond?









1 Timothy 1:12-17
1:12 I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the foremost. 16 But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.


Commentary
This passage is about gratitude for God’s mercy.  Surely Paul needed that mercy, given his previous attempts to destroy the infant church.  Remember that he received his vision while on the way to Damascus to arrest Christians and return them to Jerusalem in chains.  Yet, in spite of it all, Jesus changed Paul and called him for service in the church.  Paul did not become an apostle and a missionary because he deserved it or because of his giftedness, but because of the mercy of God.  Grace “overflowed” for him, and in time, it overflowed from him to others.  This word reminds us of Jesus saying, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).  The word abundantly can also mean “overflowing” or “effervescently” or “running over.”  God gives it in a measure far greater than the need of our lives.

Reflection
How does your life overflow with grace from Christ and for others?  What are the signs of this grace?  How can we remain aware of and responsive to it?









Luke 15:1-10
15:1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them."  3 So he told them this parable: 4 "Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. 8 "Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.' 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

Commentary
The context of these verses is the complaint about Jesus “eating with sinners.”  Sinners, here, means people who are in violation of Pharisaic traditions related to the law.  The scandal of the situation—and the parables that follow—is that God shows mercy to the sinners and rejoices over their salvation (inclusion).  This collection of parables is also one of proportion.  Consider that the money lost, for instance, is quite a small amount, but still a day’s wage for a laborer.  Would a business executive drop everything to search for a check for one day’s pay at minimum wage?  Perhaps not, but the woman proceeded very carefully in her search.  When she found it, she rejoiced and called her neighbors to celebrate with her as well.  The smallest of the small is certainly important to God, considering this passage.  These parables do not call sinners to repent.  Rather, they call the righteous to join the celebration.  If we rejoice upon finding what is lost, we proclaim that relationships are based on mercy.  If, on the other hand, we refuse to join the party, we proclaim that relationships in life are based merely on what we deserve.

Reflection
You know the old adage—“Don’t ask God for what you deserve.  You might just get it!”  If we ever find God’s mercy to others offensive, we are cutting ourselves of from God’s grace.  When have you received just “what you deserve?”




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Responsive Psalter: From Psalm 14
14:1 Fools say in their hearts, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is no one who does good.

2 The LORD looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God.

3 They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one.

4 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon the LORD?

5 There they shall be in great terror, for God is with the company of the righteous.

6 You would confound the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge.

7 O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.

Closing Prayer
Grant, O Lord, that what we have said with our lips we may believe in our hearts, and that what we believe in our hearts we may practice in our lives, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.