Link to the Lectionary, Sept. 22
1 Collect – Hold fast to the environment! “Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure”
2 Proverbs 31:10-31 The ‘capable wife’ is someone whose practicality certainly extends to the necessary negotiation with climate and the environment
In Hebrew tradition, wisdom is embodied. we best understand it best by reflecting on a lived example. This is a way that we can approach Proverbs
“She considers a field and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.”
She looks well to the ways of her household,
and does not eat the bread of idleness. “Give her a share in the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the city gates”
She is able to negotiate the market in terms of price but imports from far away if necessary. Sells in the market. Rises early to provide food and “works with willing hands
“She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
She looks well to the ways of her household,
and does not eat the bread of idleness.”
3 Psalm 1 compares wise and righteous folk to trees planted by streams of water: what a lovely and profound natural image!. Everything they do prospers and contrasts to wicked
4 Wisdom of Solomon 1:16-2:1, 12-22 The option of reading from this apocryphal book encourages a godly community to stand up for the wisdom of justice and God’s love and favor for the poor, and for Creation.
5 Jeremiah 11:18-20 Perhaps drawing from the same source as Psalm 1, Jeremiah squirms and cries out when opponents scheme to “destroy the tree with its fruit”, in a passage which has been traditionally linked to the mission of Christ.