October 6, 2019

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for October 6th: Lamentations 1:1-6, Psalm 137, 2 Timothy 1:1-14, Luke 17:5-10 Theme: The power of having faith Luke: This is another familiar and important verse. It is about the faith of a mustard seed. In other words if we have just a little faith, things will be different. We spend a lot of times looking for miracles to happen. Looking for the extraordinary. When God usually operates in the ordinary and the simple. God is not looking for the superstar but the plain things. Jesus is telling us that our greatest weapon against the trials of life is faith in the ordinary. And when we are faithful and we see transformation, we do not need to have special recognition, we did our duty as we are supposed just by being faithful. Lamentations: There are times when we have personal tragedies to speak of, and there are other times when a whole community is hit with grief. We don’t have a reading from Lamentations very often, but this is the cry of an entire community. It was common the speak of the community as a person. In this verse, we read about the condition of the city of Jerusalem as a result of the exile. Oh no, she sits alone and she suffers. In the old testament, the people are called the bride of God. They have a relationship with God. This verse in a continuation of that relationship. The people were not faithful to the ways of God and now they have to pay for it. In times of national disaster, we get together in faith to pray, to sing, to worship. Going through the national grief together brings us closer together, but more importantly, closer to God. Questions: When was a time when you had to rely on your faith to get through it? What does it mean to serve God? What tragedy has brought this community together in grief? How did the community come together to deal with it?