St. James Lectionary Bible Study for 09 27 2026

St. James Presbyterian Church Bible Study Companion Guide
Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time · Year A
September 27, 2026
Scripture Focus: Psalm 78.1–4, 12–16 · Exodus 17.1–7 · Philippians 2.1–13 · Matthew 21.23–32

​WHY THESE TEXTS FOR THIS SUNDAY
This week’s readings invite us to notice the distance between what a community remembers, what people need now, what they say, and what they do. Each text approaches that distance from a different place.
Psalm 78 calls the community to tell the coming generation what it has heard and known. It remembers the sea opening, the guiding cloud and fire, and water flowing from rock. This is a lesson shaped by memory: what will be told, and how will the story be carried forward?
Exodus 17 returns us to the wilderness before that memory has settled. The people are thirsty, and their demand for water is urgent. Moses fears what may happen next. God directs him to the rock at Horeb; water comes forth, yet the question remains: “Is the LORD among us or not?”
Philippians 2 turns toward the life of a community. Paul asks people to attend to one another’s interests and points to Christ, who does not exploit status but empties himself. They are to work out their salvation together, trusting that God is already at work among them.
Matthew 21 takes place after Jesus has disrupted the Temple and returned to teach there. The chief priests and elders question his authority. Jesus answers with a question about John and a story of two sons: one refuses and later goes; the other agrees and does not. Jesus asks them to consider who responded to the call.
TOGETHER
The psalm remembers water as part of a story passed down; Exodus lets us hear the people who need water before they know how this part of their story will end. Philippians asks what shared life looks like when status is not grasped for personal advantage. Matthew asks whether those who claim authority can recognize a response to God beyond their own expectations.
Across these readings, words matter, and so does what happens after they are spoken. What does a community learn when it listens to thirst, looks at how power is used, and remains willing to change its mind about who has answered God’s call?
FOR REFLECTION
·       What does Psalm 78 choose to pass on to the next generation, and what might the wider story ask us to notice?
·       How do you hear the people’s question in Exodus 17 when you begin with their thirst?
·       What might it mean to look to another’s interests in the way Philippians describes?
·       In Matthew 21, why might seeing the response of tax collectors and prostitutes still leave the authorities unwilling to change their minds?
A PRACTICE FOR THE WEEK
Listen for the space between an answer and a response:
·       Hear the Need: Notice where someone names a need before deciding what you think of their words.
·       Notice the Claim: Pay attention when a person or institution claims the right to decide who belongs or who may speak.
·       Watch the Response: Look for what people actually do, including those whose voices are usually discounted.
·       Remain Open: Ask where something you have witnessed might call you to change your mind.
Then ask: What becomes possible when we make room for a response we did not expect?
CLOSING PRAYER
God who meets your people in the wilderness, hear the thirst beneath our questions. Teach us to remember with care, to hold power without grasping, and to attend to the lives of those we too easily dismiss. Keep us open to your work among us, and give us courage to respond. Amen.
© 2026 Rev. Derrick McQueen, Ph.D. All rights reserved.