"Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." (Matthew 16:28)

Prime Timers is a Christian Education group at St. Martin's for Episcopalians aged fifty and above. We follow 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. Next week's readings are right here, at the bottom of the page! You are invited to join us in the Parlor near the church offices, Sunday after the 9:00am service, 10:15am to 11:00.

Domenico Fetti, Moses before the Burning Bush, 1613-14, Oil on canvas, at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Prime Timer Good News!

A Prime Timer tradition is hearing what others are up to, and charging a dollar for the privilege! We donate the money we collect to charities supported by the church. Marty asked forgiveness for updating this page two weeks ago with Luke 15 (the Prodigal son) instead of Matthew 15 (the Caananite woman), since corrected!

Peter's Confession of Christ

George Laigle led the Prime Timers discussion of the passage in Matthew where Peter is "the rock" where Jesus intends to build his church. Class agrees that Peter is the disciple who is always "up front" with his opinions, except possibly when he lost faith for a moment when he walks out on the water to be with Jesus. (Matthew 14:28-33) There is also a play on words in both Aramaic and Greek as Peter or "Petros" is similar to the Greek petra, which means rock. As our class notes mention, it is only here and in Matthew 18:15, 17 and 21 where the the word ekklesia, or church appears in the Gospels!

All the Prime Timers present today had been at the 9:00 service and we all enjoyed Rev. Field's sermon, where he drew the distinction between speaking of faith in the third person: "people believe in Jesus" and the first: "I believe in Jesus." We can talk all we want about faith, but until we put this faith into practice, make ourselves a living sacrifice as Paul puts it (Romans 12:1), our faith is pretty empty. Class discussed "finding your gift" in this sense. Each of us has a unique role to play in our faith journeys.

George told us about his experience as a Sunday School teacher many years ago. He started with little kids and tried to "follow" them up through junior high, but at that point they became too unruly and even keeping order was a challenge, so it was back to the little ones! One touching moment was with a three year old who asked George "are you my grandfather!" George answered that he would like to be, but moments like that bring the reality of some little ones lives, that they may not know or have already lost some people who could play an important role in their lives.

For the next couple of weeks our Old Testament readings will follow the story of Moses. Today we have Moses the baby set out in the reeds at the order of Pharaoh, but saved by Pharaoh's daughter. Class remarks how this Pharaoh's orders are not carried out very well! First we have the order to the Hebrew midwives to kill all the male babies being ignored, the midwives were more scared of God than the Pharaoh! Then there is the Levite woman who hides her Hebrew baby for three months before putting him in the water. This of course is the baby Moses.

Cynthia A. Jarvis is Minister and head of staff at the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania. She wrote in The Christian Century (July 31, 2002):
“Like Helen Keller when she realizes ‘that w-a-t-e-r meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand,’ Peter connects God’s word with the person of Jesus Christ. Says Keller of her moment, ‘The living word awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free!’ So said the disciples of Jesus Christ
when the remnant of believers gathered around him.”

Linda concluded class with a short prayer.

Lectionary readings

The Readings for Sunday, August 28th are from Lectionary Year One, Proper 17-A, "The Cost of Following Jesus": Exodus 3:1-15; Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c; Romans 12:9-21 and Matthew 16:21-28. The text this week is from the New Revised Standard Version.

Exodus 3:1-15

¹Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ²There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. ³Then Moses said, ‘I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.’ ⁴When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ ⁵Then he said, ‘Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ ⁶He said further, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

⁷ Then the Lord said, ‘I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, ⁸and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ⁹The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. ¹⁰So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.’ ¹¹But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’ ¹²He said, ‘I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.’

¹³ But Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your ancestors has sent me to you”, and they ask me, “What is his name?” what shall I say to them?’ ¹⁴God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am.’ He said further, ‘Thus you shall say to the Israelites, “I am has sent me to you.” ’ ¹⁵God also said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the Israelites, “The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you”:
This is my name for ever,
and this my title for all generations.

Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c

¹ O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
² Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wonderful works.
³ Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
⁴ Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually.
⁵ Remember the wonderful works he has done,
his miracles, and the judgements he has uttered,
⁶ O offspring of his servant Abraham,
children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

²³ Then Israel came to Egypt;
Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.
²⁴ And the Lord made his people very fruitful,
and made them stronger than their foes,
²⁵ whose hearts he then turned to hate his people,
to deal craftily with his servants.

²⁶ He sent his servant Moses,
and Aaron whom he had chosen.

^45cPraise the Lord!

Romans 12:9-21

⁹ Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; ¹⁰love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. ¹¹Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. ¹²Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. ¹³Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. ¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. ¹⁸If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. ¹⁹Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ ²⁰No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Matthew 16:21-28

²¹ From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. ²²And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.’ ²³But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’

²⁴ Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ²⁵For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. ²⁶For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?

²⁷ ‘For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. ²⁸Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.’

NRSV