The evolutionary universe is a sacred text revealing God’s purposes, intentions, and very being. Christians have another sacred text, of course: the Bible, that library of books that is the witness of God’s people to their relationship with God throughout history.

In the congregation I serve, the person reading the scripture ends by saying, “This is the witness of God’s people.” In an evolutionary paradigm, to say that the Bible is a “witness” of the people is to acknowledge that the original scribes could not help but reflect the social, political, psychological, and spiritual worldview of their day. In other words, scripture, like nature, reflects an evolutionary dynamic.

~ Bruce Sanguin, Darwin, Divinity, and the Dance of the Cosmos, p.131

“The heavens are telling the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims God’s handiwork.”

The first verses of Psalm 19, the focus passage for today, may be familiar to many adults. The psalm then extols the wisdom of God’s law which seeks harmony among people and between people and God. The wisdom of this law echoed in the cosmos and in the smallest gene, is something “sweeter than honey” and something that revives the soul.

This week’s sessions offer opportunities to explore more deeply what it means to live in God’s ways, particularly when they are contrasted with the ways of the world. Pray as your group explores Psalm 19 and the other scriptures for this day that they will discover that God is constant in all God’s work, and that God’s creative action and grace can be seen everywhere.

Access Spirit Sightings for connections between current events and the focus passage.

• Option: use the paraphrase “The Ten Commandments” (p. 84) based on Exodus 19-20 and “The Moneychangers” (p. 86) based on John 2:13-22 from the Lectionary Story Bible, Year B; also available as an mp3 and projectable art download
• Adult: “Reflecting on God’s Laws” resource sheet: the story of Rosh Hashanah, “Ten New Commandments for the 21st Century,” and “God’s Wise Ways.”
• Ages 15-18: “From the Rabbi” and “God’s Wise Ways” resource sheets.
• Ages 12-14: “God’s Law: What is the Torah?,” and “Rosh Hashanah” resource sheets.
• God’s love is as powerful as…
• God’s peace is as deep as…
• God’s rules are as fair as…
• God’s ways are as beautiful as…
• Bring slices of apple and a dish of honey for sharing.

• Lenten Calendar (Ages 3-5) Bring a variety of items from nature in a small box.
• Lenten Stepping Stone Pathway (Ages 6-8) See p. 88 for instructions.
• Prayer ritual: “Praying the Psalms” (Ages 15-18, p. 88)
• Lenten Gathering Prayers (Adult, p. 87)

Some of the many options for celebrating God’s creation and presence:

• Ages 3-5: drawing a creation mural, or sun streamers, or seed pouches
• Ages 6-8: loving ways poster, and/or creation mobile, and/or planting seeds
• Ages 9-11: exploring a psalm and/or learning about Rosh Hashanah, and/or service project
• Multiage: Rosh Hashanah, and/or creation mobile and/or evening prayer
• Ages 12-14: Rosh Hashanah, and/or tile images and/or sentence images
• Ages 15-18: learning about Torah and Rosh Hashanah and/or tile images
• Adult: biblical research and/or contemporary “ten laws”

• Rainbow over Pilbara poster: If you were going to paint a picture of God’s wonderful world what would you include?
• Camp Stump poster: for Zach Pine, art is a matter of noticing. Pine creates environmental art – sculptures made of natural objects arranged outdoors, and designed to be changed or even discarded by the elements. Pine saw beauty in the decaying stump. By arranging flower caps in rays outward from its empty centre, Pine draws our attention beyond the present reality. New life is here as well, within the stump as it changes. Have you considered creating a piece of nature art?
• Listen to the songs “To You, O God” (#17),“Don’t Be Afraid” (#2), and “I am Amazing” (#7) on the Seasons Music CD, Volume 7 or available as an mp3 download.

Lent 3: March 18 – Rich in Love

(Focus: Psalm 107: 1-3; 17-22)

God wants us whole, healthy, sound, and in harmony with all. What counts is not what causes harm or pain but what brings hope and healing. This represents a profound theological revolution. Instead of a God who watches our behaviour to zap us for wrongdoing and reward us for good deeds, we are called to see God as sharing our suffering. God is with us in the pain, because the pain is not God’s will. God always responds with steadfast love, no matter what. This is good news indeed.

“Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me...” Legend has it Saint Patrick was on his way to Tara, the sacred hill of Celtic gods, along with eight of his clerics. The way was fraught with ambushes and so he cast a spell over them; their enemies saw only eight deer. Afterward the “Deer’s Cry” became the name of Patrick’s hymn of protection, or lorica. 

~ Donna Sinclair, The Long View: An Elderwoman’s Book of Wisdom, p. 76.

• “Holy Week Stories”: look ahead at this resource sheet and the stations that are involved.

For SeasonsFUSION (which inspires worship in a setting for all ages) see the SeasonsFUSION blog and sign up to receive the SeasonsFUSION tip of the week.