Psalm 62:5-12 reminds us that the “bottom line” is not about finances or politics. The bottom line by which all things are reckoned is God alone. When the psalmist poetically recalls that “Once God has spoken; twice I have heard this: that power belongs to God” (verse 11), we are challenged to remember that even though God’s word may appear as a one-time moment, we hear it at different times and in different ways.

	What difference would it make in your life if you were to wait for God alone, if you were to put your confidence only in God?

Jonah 3:1-5, 10 calls us to look, not at the prophet Jonah, but at the exceedingly large city of Nineveh and at its surprising acts of repentance. Yes, the political scene can change overnight. The change is so abrupt, so dramatic. Nineveh’s turning moment was certainly unexpected by Jonah. This unexpected mercy will challenge Jonah about his own need for radical conversion in the next chapter of the story.

What does it mean that God changes God’s mind (verse 10)? How easily we forget that human agency is so intertwined with our perceptions of God’s actions that the assertion that “God changed God’s mind” may be the best we can do to explain God’s acts that do not meet our expectations. We envision the time when much of the church reports that “God changed God’s mind” about LGBT persons and non-heterosexual relationships, pronouncing us blessed instead of cursed. Of course, some of us are clear that such is the truth already. God’s mind does not need to change, only people’s perceptions of God’s mind.

	When, perhaps, has God’s unexpected acts prompted you to radical conversion or change?

1 Corinthians 7:29-31 speaks to how we as people of faith live in a world that is changing. The answer: hold everything lightly. Don’t try to cling to what you think you have. Stay in the midst of your emotions, your relationships, your business, without allowing those things to define your life or expectations.

	How would it change your priorities, actions and commitments if you were to live as if God’s realm was the coming reality instead of basing your actions on the known world which is passing away?

Mark 1:14-20 seems to call attention to the radical response of Simon, Andrew, James and John when they hear Jesus’ call. Yet we found ourselves asking what makes it possible for some to respond immediately while for others the response is more difficult. What kept father Zebedee and the hired workers from responding to the call? The answer may not be as simple as believing that Jesus extended the call only to those specific individuals.

Judith Hoch Wray comments that “When I am tempted to believe that God’s call to me to be publicly out as a Christian lesbian is a universal call, I am reminded of the power dynamics that make it difficult, if not impossible, for some LGBT persons to respond to that same call to be out.” Not everyone responds at the same time or in the same way. Each of us experience moments of being ready to respond to transformation. Such moments are not always concurrent with the call extended to us. What grace that the call does not go away! God’s invitation comes back again and again until we are truly ready to respond (compare with Jonah 3:1 “a second time”).

	How do our responsibilities and our power in the community either inhibit us or allow us to respond to the call of God? How do we respect and challenge each other’s responses without judging another’s faithfulness to God’s call?