It's a New Season at Prime Timers!

Prime Timers, a St. Martin's Adult Christian Education (A.C.E.) group, also known as an A.B.F. (Adult Bible Fellowship), is for people in the Prime of Life, age 50 and beyond. Class meets in the Parlor near the Church Offices each Sunday from 10:15 am to 11:00. We are beginning a new class year based on the Revised Common Lectionary adopted formally by the Episcopal Church in 2006, and you are invited to join us! Readings in church and our class will span a large group of Christians worldwide! Why don't you join us on this journey?

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. Today Anne celebrated our class, the teachers and the joy of seeing all the little children as they return to Sunday School. Lynn gave thanks for the miracle of her mother going into rehabilitation instead of hospice after some severe medical problems.

Our new class mentor, the Rev. Dick Elwood, made a short appearance in class today, explaining his schedule for today. Rev. Elwood was about to hop in his car and drive to Fredericksburg, 270 miles away, to perform a marriage ceremony at 5pm, and then to come back and lead a class with the docents Monday morning! We all pray for a safe journey and a great story.

Epicure Cafe

The Prime Timers monthly dinner get together will be Tuesday, September 22, at 6:30pm at the Epicure Cafe, 2005C West Gray, Houston 77019, (713) 520-6174. Click on the name above for their web site and to check out the menu. This looks like another nice dinner, why don't you join us? Please let Anne Berry, Ann.Berry@comcast.net or Lynn Swaffar ((281) 495-3832) know so they can get an idea of how many people are coming.

Who is Jesus?

Donn Fullenweider taught class today as Prime Timers and all the St. Martin's ABF classes begin our fall schedule. Class is now Lectionary based, so we discuss the same things that are being preached in the sermon. Donn first read all the Old Testament readings and then had class members read from the New Testament.

Donn first asked the class why wisdom is always referred to as a woman, and if anyone wasn't awake before, they were after that! Sure enough though, Proverbs 1:20-33 has wisdom as a woman, calling on people to abandon their foolish ways and to follow the ways of wisdom. Wisdom in those ancient times was understood differently than what we think of today. We believe in wisdom as understanding the world as it is, while then it was more following the ways prescribed in the sacred texts, the Bible. George recalled teaching children how they could each be their own best friend and worst enemy, and how they rarely understood what he was trying to tell them.

Water was precious in Biblical times, as it is today, but being so close to the desert must have made water an even greater concern. Another class member is studying books from before the time of the Bible as was struck at how Wisdom and God can be thought of as the source of a well of deep spring waters. Wisdom flowing from God is a theme in our Old Testament readings today as well.

Our New Testament reading asks the question who is Jesus, and this was echoed in Rev. Levenson's sermon as THE question asked through the ages. As Jesus asks the disciples this he gets several answers, but Peter's calling Jesus the Messiah is the correct one. Jesus tells the disciples not to tell anyone else this and Donn asked the class why. Many times Jesus wants to keep his miracles secret from others. Jesus felt this was not important and took attention away from spiritual matters. The class opined that people were looking for more of a military leader to bring Israel back to greatness, like David, and Jesus teachings of forgiveness and service did not fulfill that need.

George offered the thought that knowledge is not wisdom, although it is mistaken for as much by many intellectuals.

Donn asked us, as did Rev. Levenson in his sermon, to think about what we feel is Jesus role in our lives. What is in yours? Class concluded with a short prayer.

The Readings for Sunday, September 20th,  are from Lectionary Year Two, Proper 20-B

The readings from the Old Testament are Proverbs 31:10-31, Psalm 1. Alternate readings are Wisdom of Solomon 1:16—2:1,12-22, Jeremiah 11:18-20, and Psalm 54.

The New Testament Lessons are James 3:13--4:3 and Mark 9:30-37

The text is from the New International Version (NIV)

Proverbs 31:10-31

¹⁰ A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.

¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.

¹² She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.

¹³ She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.

¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.

¹⁵ She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her servant girls.

¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.

¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.

¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.

²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

²² She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

²³ Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.

²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.

²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.

²⁶ She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.

²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:

²⁹ "Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all."

³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

³¹ Give her the reward she has earned,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Psalm 1

¹ Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.

² But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

³ He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

⁴ Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.

⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

⁶ For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

James 3:13--4:3

¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. ¹⁵Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. ¹⁶For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

¹⁷But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

¹What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? ²You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. ³When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Mark 9:30-37

³⁰They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, ³¹because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise." ³²But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

³³They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?" ³⁴But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

³⁵Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."

³⁶He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, ³⁷"Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."

NIV