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Occupation Nation

Contributed by Jocelyn Breeland , Fairfax, VA

 

Warm-up Question

Is there a cause so important to you that you would risk arrest to defend it?

 

Occupation Nation

Since September 17, hundreds of protesters have congregated at Zuccotti Park in New York City, holding an ongoing series of demonstrations known as “Occupy Wall Street.”  The protesters are speaking out against economic and social inequality and against corporate greed. Some have called for raising taxes on the rich, ending corporate welfare, protecting Medicare and Social Security, and an audit of the Federal Reserve or its elimination. Their rallying cry, “We are the 99%!” refers to the vast income and influence disparity between the top 1% of wealthiest Americans and everyone else. They say it is time for the 99% to inspire change.    (photo by L Kragt Bakker / Shutterstock.com)

The protesters are largely peaceful, although there have been isolated skirmishes with police. Hundreds of protesters have been arrested. The movement has spread from New York City to more than 70 other cities in the U.S. and abroad.

Politicians and pundits from all parts of the ideological spectrum have commented on the situation. President Obama said the protests reflected frustration that the same people whose irresponsibility caused the financial collapse are fighting efforts to “crack down on the abusive practices that got us into this crisis in the first place.” Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain responded to the protests saying, “Don’t blame Wall Street; don’t blame the big banks. If you don’t have a job and you’re not rich, blame yourself!”

At the time of this writing, protesters have avoided an attempt by the owner of Zucotti Park to remove them, ostensibly to clean the park, and the protests continue to spread.

Discussion Questions

  • Do you support the justification offered by the organizers of Occupy Wall Street, that the vast majority of Americans – the 99% – need to be heard regarding solutions to the economic crisis?
  • Do you think Occupy Wall Street can be effective in shaping government or corporate policies?
  • How do you think Jesus would respond to the protests? Would he be in Zuccotti Park with the protesters or do you imagine he would have some other response?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, October 30, 2011 (Reformation Sunday)

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Romans 3:19-28

John 8:31-36

 

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year C at Lectionary Readings.)

 

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

 

Gospel Reflection

It seems everywhere we turn we’re bombarded with sharply divided opinions. Each side appears earnest and is backed up with research, expert opinion, and statistics. In the face of this information overload, how are we supposed to decide who is telling the truth? Is government spending the best way to fix the economy, or is lowering taxes the answer. Is that egg you had for breakfast an excellent, low-fat source of protein or a dangerous dose of cholesterol? How are we supposed to sort out answers to complex questions?

Unlike these topics, the truth that Jesus offers in today’s gospel is unambiguous. If we are really his disciples, he says, we will know the truth and that truth will set us free.

Despite this assurance, the rigors of discipleship can sometimes feel more like a burden than the freedom we’re promised. Discipleship comes with the responsibility to read and understand God’s word, to pray and worship regularly, to show compassion and care for our fellow humans, to forgive our enemies. Add these to all the other claims on our time and attention, and it can be tempting to see discipleship as just one more demand.

But if we live in the word as Jesus suggests, it’s easy to see that discipleship is not the burden. Rather, our burden is a whole host of human ideas and emotions that are binding us like slaves and keeping us from living God’s truth–fear, laziness, apathy, hatred, and peer pressure.

The truth is as simple as it is challenging. As we study God’s word, humbly seeking there the answers to our questions (“How can I serve God?” “What should I do?”), we begin to discover the path of righteousness and know the freedom that Christ’s sacrifice purchased for each of us.

Discussion Questions

  • What does it mean to be a slave to sin?
  • What are the things that keep you from living fully in God’s word?
  • What is this truth that will set you free?
  • We say that America is a free country, but are there aspects of American culture that can enslave a Christian?

Activity Suggestions

 In Alexandria, VA, there is a church with a sign out front that reads “Occupy King Street.”  (King Street is the “main drag” in town.) Imagine your congregation decided to occupy a street or square in your community. What would be the focus of your occupation?  What would be your demands? How would your behavior reflect a distinctively Christian vision? Who would speak at your rally? How many people would attend? How would the community in which you live respond to such a public witness?

Now consider completing your plans and making your occupation a reality. What would it take to make your occupation happen?  In your group discuss whether this is the most effective way to work for justice; are there alternatives?  When is such direct action demanded of a Christian?  Perhaps this path seems very difficult or radical. Before you dismiss the idea of such action, try to discern whether Jesus is indeed calling you to a new path of discipleship and freedom in pursuing your cause.

 

Closing Prayer

Most kind and compassionate Father, who anticipates all our needs, thank you for your Word, revealed in scripture and embodied in Christ. Release us from the bondage of sin. Help us to shake off the fear and complacency that makes it difficult for us to act according to your will. Always lead us in your way. We ask this in the name of Jesus, who is the truth and the way of everlasting life. Amen

October 23, 2011–Proactive Love

Contributed by Dennis Sepper, Pacific Lutheran University

 

Warm-up Question

Did you help someone out today?  How?  How did it make you feel?

Proactive Love

Dateline El Cajon, California…By Brian Flores, FOX 5 San Diego Reporter
More than 600 El Cajon students created signs and formed a human chain around  an elementary school Thursday, pledging to make it a “bully-free  school.”  “This is a no  bullying zone, and we’re not going to put up with it,” said Bostonia  Elementary School principal Cindy White.  White’s school held several events on campus during the week to  remind and teach students about bullying and how to prevent it.  “We haven’t had as much of a problem as  we have now,” said White. “We do have bullying incidences that happen  down to our kindergarten level.”

 It’s not just in  El Cajon where students are taking a stand. Bullying remains a nationwide  problem.  According national statistics,
more than 13 million students have experienced some form of bullying.  In San Diego, about 10 percent of students  drop out of school because of repeated bullying, according to the San Diego  Office of Education.  “Sometimes it’ll be racially motivated. It may be motivated by how a student looks, how a student acts,” said White.  “When you have one child that’s more  dominant that tends to over and over confront another student, than that is  bullying.”  White said this is a  statement that students, staff, parents, and the community need to make bully-free schools.  “We are  committed to ensuring a bully-free school and every one of us has a part in making that happen,” said White.  [end  of article]

Bullying is a serious problem in our schools from  the elementary level right through college. According to the National Education Association 160,000 students stay  home from school everyday due to bullying.  Think about that for a moment…every day160,000 students are so afraid that they do not have the  courage to go to school.  Can we agree  that this statistic is not only nuts, but unacceptable?

The  month of October is National  Bullying Prevention Awareness Month.  As  Christians who are called to love all, even our enemies, and to speak up on  behalf of those who cannot speak up for themselves, can’t we do something about  this?  I’m not talking about “going rogue”  which is the world’s response, but working together as the “Body of Christ” to  bring some hope to those who live in fear.

Discussion Questions

  • Why do you think some people become bullies?
  • Does your school have an anti-bullying program?  Do you think it works?
  • What do you think might help reduce bullying in your school?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, October 23, 2011 (Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost)

Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18;

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8

Matthew 22:34-46

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year C at Lectionary Readings.)

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

In the twenty-second chapter of Matthew Jesus is confronted by the religious authorities on a number of occasions.  Today we are told that after Jesus had quieted the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together to test Jesus by trying to force Jesus to pick one of the commandments over the others.  Jesus doesn’t fall for the trick.  Instead Jesus quotes two very well known (to the Jews of Jesus’ day) Old Testament passages.  The first is called the Shema which every Jew recited often.  It is from Deuteronomy 6:4-5: “Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”  Jesus then adds a passage from Leviticus 19:18 (our first reading for today): “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Now, you may note that while the Pharisees asked for one commandment, Jesus gave two commandments.  That is the unique thing about this passage.  Jesus links the love of God with the love of neighbor and self.  Don’t be fooled by the phrase “and a second is like it.”  For Jesus the two are equal and flow in and out of each other as if it were one commandment.  As we love God with all we have, we are naturally drawn to love our neighbor.

When Martin Luther reformed the Church, he too linked love of God with love of neighbor.  In his Small Catechism (which many of you are now familiar with, right?) Luther’s explanations to the commandments state how we should love our neighbor and be “proactive” in our serving of neighbor.  For example, Luther’s explanation to the eighth commandment “You shall not bear false witness” (which seems to apply to the bullying issue!) Luther states:  “We are fear and love God, so that we do not tell lies about our neighbors, betray or slander them, or destroy their reputations.  Instead we are to come to their defense, speak well of them, and interpret everything they do in the best possible light.” (italics mine).

This is the link to the bullying issue mentioned above.  Our fellow students are our neighbors.  We are not only to comfort those who are being bullied (reactive love which is very, very good and helpful) but we are also called to show proactive love, a love that works against the evil of bullying.  We can do that by praying for the victims of bullying (and for the bully…remember we are to also love our enemies!), we can band together with one another, teachers and parents to work against bullying as the folks in El Cajon are doing, and we can speak out as we feel safe and able against bullying.  If we totally ignore the problem we only allow it to continue.  Jesus and Martin Luther suggest we do more than that…that we show forth our love of God by loving and protecting our neighbor.

Discussion Questions

  •  Do you agree with Jesus linking the love of God with love of neighbor?  Why or why not?
  • The prophets often spoke a proactive love to the people of God and were treated badly for it.  What are some of the obstacles to showing proactive love toward our neighbor especially around the issue of bullying?
  • What is one thing you will commit yourself to this week to work against bullying?  For suggestions visit this website:  www.StopBullyingNow.hrsa.gov

Activity Suggestions

Gather your Youth Group or friends, write a script and make your own anti-bullying video!  For inspiration watch this YouTube video by
“the Mustache Man”. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1ZGx6aBJG0&feature=player_embedded

 Closing Prayer

Gracious and loving God, send you Holy Spirit upon us.  Fill us with a strong and sincere love for you.  May it be so strong that it empowers us to love our neighbor and work for the common good.  Be with all those who are afraid this day to even do the simple task of going to school.  Give them courage and hope and if it be your will, use us as instruments to work against the evil of bullying.  We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, Love incarnate.  Amen.

October 16, 2011–Gonna Serve Somebody

Contributed by Bob Chell, Brookings, SD

Warm-up Question

What do you want from your life’s work?

Gonna Serve Somebody

Forbes magazine (‘information for the world’s business leaders’ is how it defines itself) recently published a list of the Ten Most Hated Jobs and the Ten Happiest Jobs. It took me less than five minutes on Google to find competing lists where one person’s ‘happiest’ was listed as another persons most ‘hated.’

As our son headed off to the university this fall I paid close attention to the articles Time and Newsweek publish nearly every spring listing the best jobs—meaning those with high salaries and lots of job openings.

Whether it’s the happiest, the hated, or the best, chances are good you can find your career of choice on at least two out of the three lists.

 

Discussion Questions

  • Generations of young adults have despised the question, “What do you want to be/do when you graduate?”  How and why does the opening question above differ from this conversation stopper?
  • What is your greatest fear as you consider career options? Does your family raise your confidence or your anxiety as you contemplate your choices? Has anyone suggested how faith may shape your choice?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, October 16, 2011 (Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost)

 Isaiah 45:1-7

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Matthew 22:15-22

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year C at Lectionary Readings.)

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

 

Gospel Reflection

As a college student I loved the liberal arts and feared the hard sciences. (There’s a reason they’re called hard sciences, I figured.) I loved essay tests and loathed multiple choice and fill in the blank which required me to know the answer. With essay tests if I had only the sketchiest notion of what the question was asking I began: This question is best answered by looking at the broad context… On the other hand, if I knew but one detail I would begin by writing: This question is best answered by examining a microcosm…. With essays I was in control and could lead the professor wherever I chose.

I loved the courses where there were no answers: philosophy, English literature, sociology, psychology. Any class where the teacher said, “Well, it could be this, but on the other hand…” Ah, ambiguity! It was precision I feared.

It was only when I became a campus pastor, and later when I married, that I realized what St. Paul meant about each of us having different gifts.  I married someone who loved the hard sciences; chemistry, math, biology; classes where there is one correct answer. Today she administers drugs which can kill or heal. Precision makes the difference and she gets the details right every time.

I love the diversity of students I work with as they discern where their personalities and passions (their gifts from God)  meet the wide variety of opportunities available to them.

You may wonder what this has to do with paying taxes (the issue in the gospel text). I think Dylan says it best. (For folks of my generation Bob Dylan always says it best.) In his song. Gotta Serve Somebody he writes

You may be a state trooper, you might be an young turk

You may be the head of some big TV network

You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame

You may be living in another country under another name.

 

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes

You’re gonna have to serve somebody,

Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

Jesus told the Pharisees to give the coin to the emperor because it had the emperor’s image on it, and to give to God those things which were God’s. The Pharisees were detail people, masters of minutiae, and it sprang to mind immediately, where God’s image could be found. They knew what was to be given to God. They knew it by heart, “So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Gen. 1:27

You, too, have been created in the image of God and marked with the cross of Christ forever.

Discussion Questions

  •  Is God giving you a clue to your vocation hidden in your hobbies and interests? (For example,  if you love to figure your batting average you may be called to be a baseball player…or an accountant…or a statistics teacher…or a manager. You get the idea)
  • Where would your friends and family say your gifts and interests might lead you vocationally?
  • In Forbes’ list of the happiest and most hated jobs, most of the happiest were lower in salary and status than those which were hated. Does this surprise you? Just how important is money when choosing a career?
  • Lutheran’s celebrate two sacraments, places where Christ promises to be present: Holy Communion and Baptism. Can you name two other places Christ promises to meet us? (See Matt. 18:20 and Matt. 25:37-40 for two answers—are there others?)

Activity Suggestions

Ask each person in the group to make their own list of  five jobs they would most like to have and five which they most most hate.

  • Have each person share their list with at least one other person.  If your group is small, each can share with the whole group; you may want to break a large group into smaller groups.
  • Next, tally all the individual lists into group lists.  Is there a clear consensus on what is viewed as desirable and disgusting.
  • Look at the top jobs on each list; what characteristics do they share?  (For example, top jobs may pay well or offer a lot of flexibility in working hours, while unpopular jobs may pay poorly or involve a nasty work environment.

Closing Prayer

O God, we feel more confused than gifted when we think of the future. We love the security money which routine provides and are anxious about what it would mean for us if we trusted in you completely. Guide are hearts and minds as we explore the future and keep us open to those things which stretch our boundaries and push us to lean on your promises. Help us to let go of our comfortable security that we may grasp the exciting opportunities you call us to.  Amen.

October 9, 2011–Homecoming… Going out? Or Coming Home?

Contributed by Jay McDivitt, Mequon, WI

WE HAVE HAD TECHNOLOGY ISSUES OF LATE.   APOLOGIES TO THOSE WHO WERE EAGERLY AWAITING FAITH LENS

Warm-up Question

When were you happy to be invited to a party or dance, or asked out on a date? When have you been disappointed not to be asked? [It’s okay – we’ve all been there… but if you like, you can tell a story about ‘a friend of yours’ instead.]

Homecoming… Going out? Or Coming Home?

In my corner of the country, it’s “homecoming” season. I assume that’s true most everywhere in the US.  High school or college, this is the time for parades, football games, dances, parties… and lots of expectations and pressure.

Now in my early 30s, I honestly can’t remember all the people I went to homecoming, prom, or other important dances with when I was in school. Sometimes I went with a date, sometimes a group of friends, and sometimes I didn’t go at all. I probably have pictures somewhere that could help me construct a list of my “dates” (I only remember going to a dance once with someone I was actually “dating”), but some of those might bring back faint memories at best.

I do, however, remember every one of the people I asked who turned me down. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like rejection is one of the most powerful experiences we can have. We all want to belong. Even if we take pride in being different (as I have many times in my life and still do), we like to be different together with other folks who choose not to fit in. Very few people live happy and rewarding lives being always and forever on the outside.

And yet, this world never tires of finding ways of making us feel like we don’t belong – like we’re not good enough, popular enough, rich enough, beautiful enough. This is especially true in adolescence, but [spoiler alert] it certainly doesn’t end there.

So, back to my homecoming dates or lack thereof.   I remember like it was yesterday writing a very heartfelt note [we didn’t have texting then] to a girl I really liked, asking her to homecoming. I knew she didn’t have a date yet. It was only polite that she should accept, right? But no. In front of a whole group of her very popular friends, she laughed and said, “Keep dreaming.”

In retrospect, I’m glad she said no. We now live very different lives – and I’m very happy with the life and family I have today. But in that moment, I was devastated. And although I have little interest in knowing where she is today or what would have happened if she’d said “yes,” I still remember her name, the words she said, the laughter of her friends, and the piercing hurt I felt in that moment of rejection.

I also, however, remember the life-changing feeling I felt when the person to whom I am now privileged to be married said “yes.” Yes to an invitation to coffee. Yes to dinner. Yes to a life together. Yes to being parents together.

Such little words: “yes” and “no.” But in huge and tiny ways, these words make all the difference.

 

Discussion Questions

  •  What does it feel like to be welcomed or included? What does it feel like to be rejected or left out? Why are these such powerful feelings?
  • Do you think of yourself as “popular” or “an outsider”? Have you felt both? Who or what tells you whether you’re an “insider” or “outsider”?
  • When have you helped someone feel like they were welcome or included? When have you helped someone feel like they were excluded or on the outside? What does it feel like to welcome and/or exclude other people?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, October 9, 20011 (Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost)

Isaiah 25.1-9

Philippians 4.1-9

Matthew 22.1-14

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year C at Lectionary Readings.)

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

 

Gospel Reflection

In Matthew’s gospel there is an intensity, an edge to Jesus’ ministry and teaching (think “weeping and gnashing of teeth”) which is sometimes hard to hear. The community for whom this gospel was written was at a major crossroads in its life together; believers faced lots of pressure to give up the faith. In the midst of that, Matthew’s gospel has an urgent message to those tempted to fall away, a decision that Matthew considered one of life and death seriousness. Today it takes a certain amount of massaging to hear Matthew’s uncompromising words as good news. Yet we also have to be careful of the tendency to take the edge out of this gospel, forgetting  that the Word God offers is indeed a matter of life and death.

The readings from Isaiah and Matthew are full of danger and full of promise. This week’s parable is about being invited – or not – to an important event. While it is tempting and meaningful to think of ourselves as the ones doing the inviting or feeling the rejection, flip it around and consider: What if it is Jesus who is the One who musters up the courage to ask us to the dance, to ask us to a party, and we are the ones who had better things to do than hang out with a loser like him. What if it is God who feels the sting of rejection when we decline the invitation?

That’s where we find God in these stories. God invited the chosen people to a feast to end all feasts, the party to end all parties. But, like those invited in the parable, the Chosen People found all kinds of reasons to say “no.” They had other, hotter, more popular, more alluring offers. Things like wealth, power, popularity… and the false illusion of safety and security and self-worth that those other gods seem to offer.

This hurt and angered God. Like the king in the parable, God appeared to have given up on Israel which he had promised to protect, allowing its nasty neighbors to destroy its cities. People do crazy things when they are publicly shamed and dishonored when they’re trying to be kind and gracious. And so it seemed with God.

And before we move on to the “good news,” it is important to pause and reflect on all the ways that we too ignore, refuse, and decline the gifts God ffers, all the ways we go after other gods when the Source of Life is offering us God’s own hand and heart to have and to hold. God wants to honor us with this invitation.  Too often we dishonor God by having better things to do. This invites us to confession, an honest reflection on the ways we’ve left God standing on the edge of the dance, red-faced with shame, wondering if it was a mistake to ask us to dance in the first place.

But thanks be to God, the story doesn’t end there. Isaiah and Matthew both tell us  of a God who never stops inviting, a God who musters up the courage to ask us again and again to join in the feast of life, the feast that “swallows up death forever,” the feast “for all peoples” that is overflowing with “rich food and well-aged wines.” God calls us to the feast that “wipes away all the tears on all the faces” of people who have been on the inside and the outside and know the disgrace, shame and loss that comes from saying “no” when we should have said “yes.”

The invitation goes out into the streets, where “both the good and the bad” are invited to the party. That’s right, it goes not just to the pretty perfect people, but to all the regular, average, sometimes downright stupid people like you and me. God wants everyone to share in this feast. And God gets what God wants – eventually. Thanks be to God for that. Amen.

Discussion Questions

  •  How have you said “no” to God and “yes” to other gods in your life?
  • What does it mean to you to be one of the “good and bad” people that God keeps inviting to the party? When have you felt that invitation?
  • When do we practice giving and receiving this kind of invitation? How does the church help God invite people to the party? How has the church sometimes failed to help God welcome all people to the table?

Activity Suggestions

  •  Gather craft supplies (magazines, markers/pens/crayons, glue, scissors, construction paper, etc.). Pretend you’re God [don’t do this very often, it can get a little weird]. Make invitations to the Feast of Life (the real “Home-coming” dance). Who is invited? How does God invite them? What will happen at the party? When and where will it happen?
  • If you have a pastor around (or if you have a pastor who can help you do this with your group), celebrate Holy Communion. Pile the invitations on the table. Pass the bread and wine around the circle and feed each other. Say something like, “God invites you to the Feast of Life. The body of Christ, given for you.” [Leader: This should be obvious, but you may want to drive home the point that this Meal is the Feast of Life – and it is given freely and weekly to all who gather. Thanks be to God!]

Closing Prayer

God, you invite us to join you in the Feast of Life. Forgive us for the times when we find better things to do with our time. Help us to hear your word of forgiveness, grace, and constant welcome and invitation. Bring us back, always and forever, to the table of your grace and mercy. Amen