Women and children first?

M. Christopher Boyer 9/20/2015 1 When I read the assorted passages suggested by the Revised Common Lectionary for this week’s worship services, I was struck by the way in which both the Psalm and the primary Old Testament reading provide contrasts to where the apostles seem to be in their discussions amongst themselves and a strong backup to what Jesus is trying to teach them. The lectionary epistle reading is from James this morning and it carries some of the same themes but not, I thought, in quite as interesting a fashion. I also wanted to deal with our Psalm and with the selection from Proverbs this morning because I’ve not touched on these in a sermon previously and also because I think it is always important to look at how the teachings of Jesus spring from the Scriptures that he knew; that is to say, what we call the Old Testament. There are still too many folks out there in the broader society, Christians and non-Christians alike, who would have you believe that the God of the Old Testament is different from the loving Father about whom Jesus taught. I’d like to feel that I’m giving you all some ammunition against that misunderstanding of the character of our Loving Creator.