Why Don't You Join Us in the Parlor?

Prime Timers is a St. Martin's Adult Christian Education (A.C.E.) group, or an A.B.F. (Adult Bible Fellowship). Our group description says we are people in the Prime of Life, age 50 and beyond, but I promise you we don't check! Class meets in the Parlor near the Church Offices each Sunday from 10:15 am to 11:00. We are following a program based on the Revised Common Lectionary and you are invited to join us as we explore the same Bible readings as a large group of Christian Churches worldwide!

Prime Timers Monthly Dinner

Each month we get together for dinner at an area restaurant. This month we meet at the Nit Noi restaurant, 6395 Woodway, (281) 606-0470, on Tuesday, October 27. Please let Lynn Swaffar, (281) 495-3832, know if you plan to come.

Prime Timers Celebrate Good News

We celebrate our members Good News at Prime Timers with a $1 contribution to Henny Penny, our Good News chicken. Periodically Henny donates the money she collects to a charity, currently the Amistad Mission in Bolivia. This week Lynn described the birthday party for her 94 year old mother, who is in fragile health. Forty people attended and Lynn describes the event as pretty much a miracle, Mom was able to enjoy the event and it sounded like no one wanted it to end.

A Sacrifice for Us All

Prime Timers is a Lectionary based class, consisting of the readings used in the Worship Services this Sunday, and some history and discussion. This web page is devoted to providing some of the flavor from the class, and wherever possible using the web to link to supplementary material furthering the discussion.

Carol Hartland conducted class today as we work our way through Mark 10. James and John are asking for favored status in the Kingdom, showing that they misunderstand the messiahship of Jesus. Matthew 20:20-21, chronicles this same event but Matthew makes it a request from James and John's mother! "Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. ²¹'What is it you want?' he asked.
She said, 'Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.' "

What is our place in God's kingdom and where does Jesus' sacrifice fit in? Carol asked what we thought of this and the discussion turned to heros. Some people make the ultimate sacrifice for others. War brings out the best and worst in people. George reminded us of Sgt. York, specifically the movie with Gary Cooper. Sgt. Alvin York was a pacifist drafted into the army in World War I, a sharpshooter who only wanted to buy a piece of bottom land in Tennessee and marry his childhood sweetheart. He overcomes his qualms about killing and in one incredible day kills 25 enemy soldiers threatening his buddies and takes 132 (!) German soldiers captive.

Marty brought up Chelsey "Sulley" Sullenberger, the pilot who saved everyone on board U.S. Airways Flight 1549 after a flock of birds disabled both engines. Marty mentioned this article in the Wall Street Journal about Capt. Sullerbergers's upcoming book where we realize that his entire life and concern for safety made this amazing feat possible.

Speaking of safety, George mentioned a method used by the military to ensure parachute safety. Periodically they take one random parachute and one random parachute "packer" and have him jump from an airplane! Talk about taking a personal interest in safety!

Carol then led us through the reading from the book of Job and the Psalm, both of which deal with our place relative to God. Job's suffering reminded Marty of the Greek Gods, who would make bets with each other and walk among the mortals while treating them like playthings. In the book of Job you have God and the Devil acting in quite a similar way, putting Job through the wringer to test his faith. This isn't the God we think of today!

As an example of "imperfect disciples" like James and John, someone mentioned Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan. The link takes you to a web-readable version of the classic tale from 1678 describing the trials of the early settlers.

Carol mentioned the reading from Hebrews 5:1-10 where Jesus is designated a high priest in the order of Melchizedek. In the Old Testament the patriarch Abram, after rescuing his nephew Lot and his family and possesions, received a blessing from Melchizedek, a "priest of God Most High"; (Genesis 14:17-20 ) after which Abram pays a tithe, or ten percent, to Melchizedek. This is the basis for the tradition of tithing to the church. Yes, it's Stewardship time!

The material helping us make sense of the readings contains this interesting passage. I can't think of a better way to say it so here it is...

Dorotheos of Gaza, a sixth-century teacher, once preached a sermon for the monks in his monastery who were grumbling that they were unable to love God properly because they had to put up with one another’s ordinary, irritating presence.

No, Dorotheos told them, they were wrong. He asked them to visualize the world as a great circle whose center is God, and upon whose circumference lie human lives.

“Imagine now,” he asked them “that there are straight lines connecting from the outside of the circle all human lives to God at the center. Can’t you see that there is no way to move toward God without drawing closer to other people, and no way to approach other people without coming nearer to God?”

Carol closed class today with a short benediction.

The Readings for Sunday, October 25th are from Lectionary Year Two, Proper 25 B. "A New Way of Seeing"

The Old Testament Readings are Job 42:1-6, 10-17; and Psalm 34:1-8 (19-22). The New Testament readings are Hebrews 7:23-28 and Mark 10:46-52. The text is from the New International Version.

Job 42:1-6, 10-17

¹ Then Job replied to the LORD :

² "I know that you can do all things;
no plan of yours can be thwarted.

³ You asked, 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?'
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.

⁴ "You said, 'Listen now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.'

⁵ My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.

⁶ Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes."

¹⁰ After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before. ¹¹ All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the LORD had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.

¹² The LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. ¹³ And he also had seven sons and three daughters. ¹⁴ The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. ¹⁵ Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job's daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.

¹⁶ After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. ¹⁷ And so he died, old and full of years.

Psalm 34:1-8, 19-22

¹ I will extol the LORD at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.

² My soul will boast in the LORD;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

³ Glorify the LORD with me;
let us exalt his name together.

⁴ I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.

⁵ Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.

⁶ This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.

⁷ The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.

⁸ Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

¹⁹ A righteous man may have many troubles,
but the LORD delivers him from them all;

²⁰ he protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.

²¹ Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.

²² The LORD redeems his servants;
no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.

Hebrews 7:23-28

²³Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; ²⁴but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. ²⁵Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

²⁶Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. ²⁷Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. ²⁸For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.

Mark 10:46-52

⁴⁶Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. ⁴⁷When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

⁴⁸Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

⁴⁹Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called to the blind man, "Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you." ⁵⁰Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

⁵¹"What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to see."

⁵²"Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

NIV