"Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' ⁴³He replied, 'Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.'" (Luke 23:42-43)

Prime Timers is a small group at St. Martin's for Episcopalians aged fifty and above. We are following a course of study based on the Revised Common Lectionary, the 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!

During the season of Advent the Prime Timers class will be suspended several times as we celebrate the events of this wonderful time of year, however this page will continue to update the Lectionary readings class or no class. For instance, next week, November 28, St. Martin's celebrates Thanksgiving and there are no Christian Education classes, including Prime Timers. So Happy Thanksgiving to all, Prime Timers resumes December 5, and the readings are up to date!

The Granite Cross in front of St. Martin's Church

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. Jean gave thanks for "potential good news" on getting a preliminary contract to sell her house. It's not a done deal!

Prime Timers Christmas Dinner!

Christmas is a very busy time of year and getting everyone together for events gets more difficult as we get closer to Christmas. The Prime Timers Christmas dinner will be on Tuesday, December 7, 6:30pm at Masraff's new restaurant, 1753 Post Oak Boulevard, (713) 355-1975. Dinner organizer Lynn Swaffar needs to know if you are coming as soon as possible, you can call her at (281) 495-3832, or email to lynnswaffar@yahoo.com. Many Prime Timers remember our last event at Masraff's old location, we were one of the last groups to eat there, and the new location promises to be a very special evening.

Christ the King

Carol Hartland led the Prime Timers today as we wrap up Lectionary Year Three with the reading from Luke describing Jesus on the cross where the man recognizes his own guilt and Jesus innocence, asking (Luke 23:42) "...'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.'"

George, ever the engineer, when asked what "jumped out" from this Scripture, noticed that Jesus told the man he would be with Jesus in paradise TODAY, where in three days Jesus is resurrected and walking around! He resolved this by saying that since he was Jesus he could be in many places at once!

In place of a Psalm today we read a Canticle from the prophet Zechariah, where he recalls the fulfillment of God's promises to Israel to send the One who will bring a message of forgiveness and salvation. This is in keeping with our theme today of Christ the King. The prophet Jeremiah continues this theme in Jeremiah 23:5 "The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land."

Finally, Paul in Colossians 1:11-20 eloquently proclaims that Jesus is "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. " This lead George to recall a book about the atrocities committed by the Viet Cong in the Hanoi Hilton. The prisoners there would write down passages of scripture with burned matchsticks on toilet paper, and through prayer were able hold themselves together through the sometimes brutal torture they endured.

Someone asked if there were churches in Arab lands, and it was pointed out that Jesus came many years before Muhammad, and Murray confirmed that there are in fact Christian churches in Arab countries today, although they do not have an easy time of it.

Class discussion turned to how we fulfill our roles as missionaries, how do we respond if someone asks why they should become a Christian? The parable of Doubting Thomas is mentioned, that those who haven't seen and believe are truly special. There is a great example in the author C. S. Lewis, a professor who went out to prove that Christianity was bunk and ended up one of its most fervent defenders. There is great comfort in Christianity, summed up beautifully in John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life."

Class agreed that the best way to spread the word of Jesus is through a good example.

Keith D. Herron is pastor of Holmeswood Baptist Church in Kansas City, Missouri. He wrote in The Christian Century (Nov. 14, 2006):
"Perhaps the heightened sense of God's presence is best found outside the sanctuary, where Jesus is king not in places of power, but in places where people try to serve him. Perhaps we will see him most vividly not among those who choose violence as a solution, but among those who practice peace-filled solutions. Yes, Jesus is king not where people seek advantage, but where people seek to be helpful; not where people seek security, but in a working and breathing community.
"This is good news. If Jesus is king not just once a year and on a throne but throughout all of time and in every place, then we don't have to be king, or seek another king. We no longer have to judge one another. We don't have to control what other people think and feel or force them to fit our expectations. When that happens, the kingdom of God is here and now, here in our hearts, here among us—and out there wherever we carry it."

Carol concluded class with a short prayer.

The Readings for Sunday, November 28th are from Lectionary Year One, Advent 1-A, "Walk in the Light of the Lord"

The Readings for this week are Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14 and Matthew 24:36-44. The text this week is from the New Revised Standard Version.

Isaiah 2:1-5

¹The word that Isaiah son of Amos saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

² In days to come
the mountain of the Lord's house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it.

³ Many peoples shall come and say,
'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.'
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

⁴ He shall judge between the nations,
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.

⁵ O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!

Psalm 122

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

¹ I was glad when they said to me,
'Let us go to the house of the Lord!'
² Our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem.

³ Jerusalem—built as a city
that is bound firmly together.
⁴ To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord,
as was decreed for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
⁵ For there the thrones for judgement were set up,
the thrones of the house of David.

⁶ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
'May they prosper who love you.
⁷ Peace be within your walls,
and security within your towers.'
⁸ For the sake of my relatives and friends
I will say, 'Peace be within you.'
⁹ For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your good.

Romans 13:11-14

¹¹ Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; ¹²the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light; ¹³let us live honourably as in the day, not in revelling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarrelling and jealousy. ¹⁴Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Matthew 24:36-44

³⁶ 'But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³⁷For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, ³⁹and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. ⁴²Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. ⁴³But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

NRSV