"And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?" (Luke 13:16)

Welcome to Prime Timers, a Christian Education Group at St. Martin's for Episcopalians aged fifty and above. We are following a course of study based on the Revised Common Lectionary, a three year cycle of Bible readings used throughout the Anglican Communion and by many Protestant denominations worldwide. You are invited to join us in the Parlor near the church offices, Sunday after the 9:00am service, 10:15am to 11:00. Keep up to date with our Lectionary based readings at the bottom of this page!

"The Great Commission" stained glass window at St. Martin's Church,
Matthew 28:16-20:
¹⁶ Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Prime Timers Good News

The Prime Timers hear members Good News each week at the start of class. We charge a dollar and currently donate the money collected to the Amistad Mission in Bolivia. George gave thanks for Live Oak trees! He lost a lot of pine trees in last year's drought, and a few oaks, but they are hardy plants, some over a hundred years old and a great source of shade in this summer's heat.

Fire From Heaven

Carol Hartland led the Prime Timers in today's lectionary based readings, starting with an angry Jesus telling his flock of conflict to come. This does not sound like the Prince of Peace, more like the frustrated teacher with students who are not paying attention. In Luke 12:49-56 Jesus predicts conflicts to come over his ministry, dividing people. Carol told us of a minister who used this passage to pacify his congregation when they would argue; he came to the conclusion that it is better to get conflicts out in the open and resolved than to try to hide them or put them off for later. Sounds like good advice!

Discussing conflicts brings up the subject of civility, a class favorite. Linda mentioned the opinion piece by Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts, entitled "The Jet Blue Case: The lost art of simple courtesy." The first line is a classic: "Can we be candid here? Can we just say this plainly? The public is a bunch of rude, obnoxious jerks." Click the link above to read the piece. Mr. Pitts is discussing the flight attendant who quit his job dramatically after "the last straw" swearing at the passengers over the intercom, picking up a beer, deploying the plane's escape chute, sliding down and driving home.

We all have examples of rude behavior, and thanks to the internet it is just a couple mouse clicks away. Marty used the example of letters to the editor as the old fashioned way where people would sometimes make fools of themselves. Now we have "comments" sections on articles on internet pages, where people say some really awful things. It is hard to imagine them saying this stuff to someone right in front of them. Speak first and think later, maybe.

George mentioned the proposed Mosque near ground zero in New York city. This is turning into a case of "who is the bigot" in the press, with some people believing it is a symbol of our tolerance to allow this while others are appalled that our officials are letting this happen. Marty mentioned the case of the Carmelite Nuns establishing a convent at Auschwitz to pray for the souls of those who died. A controversy ensued among Jews. Pope John Paul II ordered the Nuns to move, not because what they were doing was wrong but because Auschwitz is sacred land, it belongs to those who died.

The readings from Isaiah and Psalms use vineyard metaphors. This represents God's care for the people of Israel and how things go wrong. Even the best cared for vineyard can produce "wild grapes" (Isaiah 5:2). In the passage from Hebrews Paul brings up examples of faith from the Old Testament and the pain many endured for it. He reassures his readers that the example of Jesus is the right way, that he suffered as well, and now has a place at the right hand of God.

Our notes for class usually sum up what we've been discussing, and Carol likes to let us know who is doing the summing! The Rev. Patricia Templeton is rector of St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church in Atlanta. Abraham Joshua Heschel (January 11, 1907 – December 23, 1972) was a Warsaw-born American rabbi and one of the leading Jewish theologians and Jewish philosophers of the 20th century.

Patricia Templeton has written that "although God's anger is a fearsome thing, it would be far worse for God to be indifferent to evil and injustice—not to care enough about us to get angry at all. 'The punishment of being discarded, abandoned, ignored or rejected is worse than the punishment of God's anger,'
[Abraham] Heschel notes. 'Anger is a form of God's presence. Anger is an expression of God's concern.' Every time that scripture describes God's wrath—and there are many such times—it is because humans have turned away from God and toward evil, or because we are giving lip service to God while condoning or
ignoring injustice."

Carol concluded class with a short prayer.

The Readings for Sunday, August 22th are from Lectionary Year Three, Proper 16-C, "Woman, You Are Set Free"

The Readings for this week are Jeremiah 1:4-10; Psalm 71:1-6; Hebrews 12:18-29 and Luke 13:10-17. The text this week is from the New Revised Standard Version.

Jeremiah 1:4-10

⁴ Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,
⁵ 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.'
⁶Then I said, 'Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.' ⁷But the Lord said to me,
'Do not say, "I am only a boy";
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you.
⁸ Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
says the Lord.'
⁹Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me,
'Now I have put my words in your mouth.
¹⁰ See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to pull down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.'

Psalm 71:1-6

¹ In you, O Lord, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
² In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline your ear to me and save me.
³ Be to me a rock of refuge,
a strong fortress, to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.

⁴ Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.
⁵ For you, O Lord, are my hope,
my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
⁶ Upon you I have leaned from my birth;
it was you who took me from my mother's womb.
My praise is continually of you.

Hebrews 12:18-29

¹⁸ You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, ¹⁹and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. ²⁰(For they could not endure the order that was given, 'If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.' ²¹Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, 'I tremble with fear.') ²²But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, ²³and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, ²⁴and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
²⁵ See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! ²⁶At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, 'Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.' ²⁷This phrase 'Yet once more' indicates the removal of what is shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. ²⁸Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; ²⁹for indeed our God is a consuming fire.

Luke 13:10-17

¹⁰ Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. ¹¹And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. ¹²When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, 'Woman, you are set free from your ailment.' ¹³When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. ¹⁴But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, 'There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.' ¹⁵But the Lord answered him and said, 'You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? ¹⁶And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?' ¹⁷When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

NRSV