Complete Readings Found Here

This Sunday's Bulletin Found Here

Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17

Naomi’s and Ruth’s family is on the brink of extinction. Both are widows, both destitute, and Ruth is a Moabite, a non-Israelite, an outsider. Naomi, too old to remarry and have children, sends Ruth to see Boaz, an extended family member, in the hope that Boaz will marry her and take them into his household. He does, and becomes the kinsmen-redeemer, and Ruth becomes King David’s great-grandmother.

A significant theme in the book of Ruth is that of outsiders being let in. The loving-kindness of Boaz for those whom he could easily have dismissed (Ruth was more closely related to another man in the community who wouldn’t take her in) is in keeping with Yahweh’s constant refrain throughout the Old Testament on the care for foreigners and the impoverished.

• Who in your life could use some purposeful loving-kindness?
• Who knows what that person, perhaps on the fringes of your social circles or family, could do for the kingdom of God, if you would but invite them in…

Psalm 127

Holy Scripture has a pretty radical view of our world’s dependence on God: if master builder and watchmen don’t have God’s assistance, their labor is a waste of time. Like the reading from Ruth, the Psalm echoes the theme of the Lord’s care and provision for God’s people. This Psalm in particular focuses on children, as the “Lord’s heritage,” as gifts of God: the means to sustain our very species is itself totally dependent on the Lord’s making prosper the fruit of the womb.

Our society at large does not have this view of children. What the Psalmist calls “gifts,” “happiness,” and a “heritage,” our society often calls “inconveniences,” “unnecessary expenses,” or an “obstacle” to your career. Even the most devout Christians fall into this type of thinking from time to time. If we’re honest, those thoughts cross our minds more than we’d like to admit.

Eventually we must come to a conscious choice:

• Where will we be taking our cues from when it comes to how we think about children?
• From the script of that new sitcom, or from our holiest text?
• From the pulpit of pop culture, or from the mouth of God himself?

Hebrews 9:24-28

We can’t pretend that these ancient ideas about how to cleanse a community of the guilt of their wrongdoings are natural for moderns like us to comprehend, but we must try, if Jesus’ sacrifice is going to make any sense to us. Pardon the analogy, but if sin is pollution, then blood is a successful “clean up our streets” initiative. If sin makes us dirty, blood makes us clean. But whose blood, and what kind? That from a pure victim, offered to God by a priest. Like the high priests of old, Jesus appears before God in the most holy place, presenting not the blood of an animal, but his own blood, that which was spilt on the strangest of altars, the altar of a Roman cross. Paradoxically, He is at once priest and sacrificial victim, making a “perfect offering and sacrifice unto God.”

Jesus’ blood is re-presented to us when we receive the Eucharist, our principal act of worship where we proclaim our Lord’s death until he comes again. This is not easy to grasp, in fact, it is “foolishness to those who are perishing,” but it is inestimably worthy of your meditation and devotion. Christian, behold the Lamb of God. Behold him who takes away the sins of the world.

• How do you see this sacrificial act?
• How does that inform your view of the Eucharist?

Mark 12:38-44

Aquinas’ Catena Aurea quotes Bede as saying that the allegorical meaning of the passage is that the “the poor widow is the simplicity of the Church: poor indeed, because she has cast away the spirit of pride and of the desires of worldly things; and a widow, because Jesus her husband has suffered death for her. She casts two mites into the treasury, because she brings the love of God and of her neighbor, or the gifts of faith and prayer; which are looked upon as mites in their own insignificance, but measured by the merit of a devout intention…she understands that even her very living is not of her own worthiness, but of Divine grace.”

More obviously, the literal sense contrasts the religious elite, who are corrupt and hypocritical and donate their money for the spectacle, with the humility of the widow who gave nearly nothing, and yet everything.

• Since the Holy Scriptures are written for the Church, of which we are a part, what does Jesus’ praise of this woman inspire in us?
• How can we imitate her humility?
• What can we give to God, even out of our poverty?

This Bible study, written by the Rev. Ryan Pollock, originally ran November 8, 2015.

1 Samuel 2:1-10

In this ecstatic, prophetic and powerful song we witness a woman’s joy from experiencing a miracle. Her words are familiar, we hear similar ones erupt from the mouth of Mary when she too conceives a special child. In a world colored with grey areas, it can be difficult to say with certainty – This is from God! This is from the touch of the Spirit!

• When have you been able to say “the Almighty has done great things for me?”
• When have you (or someone you know) experienced a miracle?
• In our world we may have heard others tell us what is or is not from God. How do you discern when the Spirit has touched you or your community in a special way?

1 Samuel 1:4-20

Hannah can hardly pray without getting harassed! For her infertility she is mocked; for her prayers she is called a drunkard. “I am a woman deeply troubled,” she asserts, as she pours out her “great anxiety and vexation” (1 Sam. 1:15-16).

• What prayers and anxieties of today are too stigmatized to bring to the temple?
• What are we too ashamed of to pray for beyond a whisper?
• Women’s health has often been mythologized, ill-funded and provoked to cast to shame. Many of us have been touched by miscarriage, unwanted pregnancy and infertility. The God of Hannah calls us to cry out when our communities, partners or Church shame, stigmatize and mock the anxieties of our hearts. In this passage we see a testimony that God is a God of hope, transformation and solidarity – who is with us in whatever trial we find ourselves in?

Hebrews 10:11-14

This section of Hebrews has a clear message for us: Jesus’ sacrifice was unique a “single offering” (Heb. 10:14). We are confronted with an analogy of Jesus’ singular and special sacrifice made for sinners.

• How have you experienced the sacrificial and healing love of Jesus?
• Perhaps in the Eucharist or perhaps in your own experience of sin and forgiveness?
• How often do we think we can ‘save’ others or ourselves by our own sacrifice, sweat and blood?
• Or reform others through punishment?

We often have a destructive understanding of sin and sacrifice. Many think their own salvation comes from how much they take care of others, forsaking their own wellness. Our understanding of punishment can also carry violent notions of sacrifice. A friend of mine who was incarcerated for years for a minor crime stated that his experience imprisoned was so dehumanizing he felt as though “my very life blood was being squeezed out of me.”

• Where do we personally and socially see dehumanizing sacrifice; where do we need more grace?

Mark 13:1-8

This apocalyptic prophecy from Mark’s Gospel calls forth the question: how tied are we to our institutions and the present order? My experience as a human being tells me that I am addicted to comfort. I worship my own sense of safety and control over my life, image and wealth.

• How much does vulnerability scare us?
• How hard do we work to keep the walls of our lives up?

Our passage from Mark though tells us that “all will be thrown down.” As a culture we invest so much in keeping things the same. How many truth-tellers, from Malcolm X to our Lord Jesus Christ, have been executed in a vain attempt to maintain the present order? Our selfishness, addiction to comfort and desire for control guard us from entering into vulnerable spaces of change.

• What if instead of acting on our instinct to protect the walls that we construct, we acted first out of love?
• How would we be willing to change to accommodate refugees fleeing terror and violence?
• Instead of worshiping the idols of our institutional walls and status quo, let be transformed by the God of change and love, for indeed, “all things will be thrown down.”

This Bible study, written by Leigh M. Kern, originally ran for Proper 28B in 2015.

The newlywed couple has returned from Palm Springs, where they were married on November 2! This past Sunday, we got to celebrate together at St. Francis. Thank you to everyone that joined us! 
(photos courtesy of Phyllis Gray)

We have been given the opportunity to partner with Michelle Whiteside of Leveling Up with Michelle to host the first annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner. This free dinner will take place in Block Hall on Thanksgiving Day from 11am to 2pm. We are hoping to serve approximately 100 guests. To do so, we will need volunteers to help prepare and serve the food. We would also be so grateful for any food donations you can contribute to this wonderful event. Please contact Nova at Nova@StFrancisNovato if you would like to help! Thank you to those who have already contributed! We are grateful for your support.

Please use this link if you would like to donate towards this cause:  

https://givebutter.com/NDcHjN

Please use this link if you would like to sign up as a volunteer!  https://signup.com/mobileweb/2.0/vspot.html?activitykey=882426350053#choose_jobs_page

It’s that time of year again!

If you haven’t already you should be receiving shortly your pledge reports for 2024. Please review them for accuracy and contact Nova if there are any discrepancies. Please consider completing your pledges by year end and begin discerning what you can commit to St. Francis for 2025. We will have more on the subject of Stewardship later.
As a reminder, we will have our Annual Meeting in January of 2025. Only current pledging members can vote and we will have some exciting things to discuss this year.