Everyday Connections

Reflections and Practices for Year C

Heidi Haverkamp

• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN:
  9781646982059
• Print ISBN:
  9780664264529
• Topic: Theology & Religion

This volume provides a full fifty-two weeks of devotional material based on the Revised Common Lectionary for Year C. Drawing from the insightful Bible commentaries in the Connections series, each week of offerings also includes scriptural and literary readings, lectio divina, spiritual practices, questions for journaling, and a prayer. This resource has been crafted with mainline, lectionary preachers and lay leaders in mind, both to supplement their planning for the week and to feed their souls in the midst of the work of ministry. Individuals and small groups will find their faith deepened through regular contemplation and devotional insight.

The Week Leading Up to

Proper 21

(Sunday between September 25 and October 1)

Jeremiah 32:1–3a, 6–15

Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, in order that they may last for a long time. For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land. (vv. 14b–15)

Amos 6:1a, 4–7

Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory,

and lounge on their couches.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile,

and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away. (vv. 4a, 7)

1 Timothy 6:6–19

As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. (v. 17)

Luke 16:19–31

“But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony.’” (v. 25)

LECTIO DIVINA

Underline a word or phrase that especially grabs your attention. Pray from that word or phrase and ask God to help you connect to its particular invitation for you this week.

Themes from This Week’s Writers

THEME 1: Right Use of Wealth

Jeremiah 32:1–3a, 6–15

Here we witness Jeremiah—at a time when the spirits of the people are at their very lowest—engaging in an energizing act of prophetic promise and hope.

What does it mean to “buy a field in Anathoth” in today’s world?

LEONORA TUBBS TISDALE

1 Timothy 6:6–19

Paul is less concerned with how much a believer has than with the believer’s focus: are we focused on God or gain? . . .

. . . The preacher could pair Paul’s word with the Jeremiah text to emphasize the importance of stewardship. The point in both texts is not how much money people have, but if they are using it to the glory of God.

KEN EVERS-HOOD

1 Timothy 6:6–19

The church is called to resist hierarchies based on wealth and power and to embrace all those redeemed and gifted by the Spirit.

This means engaging in practices such as simplicity, welcoming the stranger, and charity and justice on behalf of the least in our midst.

DAVID F. WHITE

THEME 2: Wealth Can Corrupt

Amos 6:1a, 4–7

Complacency, opulence, and hedonism have inoculated the nation’s elites against feeling sickened by the downfall of their nation. What are the consequences for such attitudes and behaviors? Their feasting will surely pass away, and they will be the “first to go into exile” (v. 7).

JARED E. ALCÁNTARA

Luke 16:19–31

Canonically speaking, the biblical witness speaks univocally about the dual, integrally related dangers wealth presents: the temptation to ignore neighbor, and the possibility of opening a chasm between ourselves and God by that inaction.

RICHARD W. VOELZ

Luke 16:19–31

We do know that the villain of the story is the man who possessed status, wealth, and power, but ignored the plight of the needy. His societal values left him so bereft that even in Hades, he does not understand the notions of compassion, equity, or justice.

NANCY LYNNE WESTFIELD

WHAT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT SAYING TO YOU THIS WEEK?

A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE FOR THIS WEEK

Go to a luxury store, big-box store, or any site of consumerism nearby you, or just sit in your car in the parking lot, then study this week’s readings from Amos and Luke. How is it to interact with these verses in this location? What do you notice?

First Reading

Jeremiah 32:1–3a, 6–15

Then my cousin Hanamel came to me in the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the LORD, and said to me, “Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.” Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD. (v. 8)

REFLECTION

He pays good money for land that will soon be worthless—both to him (given his imprisonment) and to his relatives (given the imminent fall of Judah). He engages in what, for the entire world, looks like an incredibly foolish act, and he does so in a very public manner.

Why this public sign-act from the prophet? . . .

What does it mean to “buy a field in Anathoth” in today’s world?

LEONORA TUBBS TISDALE

RESPONSE

What is an example of what “buying a field in Anathoth” might look like in your own community or context? What would you purchase or what public sign might you enact as a crazy sign of hope and investment in God’s future?

PRAYER

God of hope, the things you value seem worthless to so many; show me how to foolishly invest in your people and your promises. Amen.

Canticle

Psalm 91:1–6, 14–16

You who live in the shelter of the Most High,

who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,

will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress;

my God, in whom I trust.” (vv. 1–2)

REFLECTION

Psalm 91 . . . [addresses] in implied...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Praise for the Book
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• A Note from the Publisher
• How to Use This Book
• First Sunday of Advent
• Second Sunday of Advent
• Third Sunday of Advent
• Fourth Sunday of Advent
• Christmas Week
• Second Sunday after Christmas Day
• Epiphany of the Lord
• Baptism of the Lord
• Second Sunday after the Epiphany
• Third Sunday after the Epiphany
• Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
• Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany
• Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany
• Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany
• Eighth Sunday after the Epiphany
• Ninth Sunday after the Epiphany
• Transfiguration Sunday
• Ash Wednesday
• First Sunday in Lent
• Second Sunday in Lent
• Third Sunday in Lent
• Fourth Sunday in Lent
• Fifth Sunday in Lent
• Palm/Passion Sunday
• Holy Thursday
• Good Friday
• Easter Day/Resurrection of the Lord
• Second Sunday of Easter
• Third Sunday of Easter
• Fourth Sunday of Easter
• Fifth Sunday of Easter
• Sixth Sunday of Easter
• Ascension of the Lord
• Seventh Sunday of Easter
• Day of Pentecost
• Trinity Sunday
• Proper 3 (Sunday between May 22 and May 28)
• Proper 4 (Sunday between May 29 and June 4)
• Proper 5 (Sunday between June 5 and June 11)
• Proper 6 (Sunday between June 12 and June 18)
• Proper 7 (Sunday between June 19 and June 25)
• Proper 8 (Sunday between June 26 and July 2)
• Proper 9 (Sunday between July 3 and July 9)
• Proper 10 (Sunday between July 10 and July 16)
• Proper 11 (Sunday between July 17 and July 23)
• Proper 12 (Sunday between July 24 and July 30)
• Proper 13 (Sunday between July 31 and August 6)
• Proper 14 (Sunday between August 7 and August 13)
• Proper 15 (Sunday between August 14 and August 20)
• Proper 16 (Sunday between August 21 and August 27)
• Proper 17 (Sunday between August 28 and September 3)
• Proper 18 (Sunday between September 4 and September 10)
• Proper 19 (Sunday between September 11 and September 17)
• Proper 20 (Sunday between September 18 and September 24)
• Proper 21 (Sunday between September 25 and October 1)
• Proper 22 (Sunday between October 2 and October 8)
• Proper 23 (Sunday between October 9 and October 15)
• Proper 24 (Sunday between October 16 and October 22)
• Proper 25 (Sunday between October 23 and October 29)
• All Saints (November 1 or the Sunday following)
• Proper 26 (Sunday between October 30 and November 5)
• Proper 27 (Sunday between November 6 and November 12)
• Proper 28 (Sunday between November 13 and November 19)
• Proper 29 (Reign of Christ)
• Appendix: A Suggested Format for Small Groups
• Sources of Further Connections
• Contributors
• Scripture Index
• About the Editor