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April 1, 2012–Deserving Death?

Contributed by Brian Hiortdahl, Chicago, IL

 

Warm-up Question

Do you wear a cross?  Why or why not?

Deserving Death?

The African nation of Uganda continues its ongoing debate on a proposed bill, reintroduced last month, that would make homosexual acts under certain circumstances punishable by death. An advocacy group in Uganda has now filed a lawsuit in Massachussetts, USA against a Christian pastor, claiming that he has violated human rights through his leadership in creating  fervent  local support for the popular bill:

http://news.yahoo.com/lawsuit-us-pastor-runs-anti-gay-effort-uganda-190148480.html

 
 
 

Discussion Questions

  • What, if anything, do you believe is so heinous that it should warrant the death penalty?
  • What examples can you name from your country that illustrate difficult entanglements of religious belief and civic law?  What do you think about them?
  • Is homosexuality sinful?
  • What are the strengths and dangers of a democratic process that enacts laws based on the will of the majority?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, April 1, 2012 (Sunday of the Passion/Palm Sunday)

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Philippians 2:5-11

Mark 14:1–15:47

(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

This Sunday we will enter Holy Week, turning to read Mark’s Passion account of Jesus’ betrayal, trial, condemnation, and death.  The story happens quickly:  Jesus is charged, tried, convicted and executed in less than 24 hours.  All of this transpires despite conflicting evidence and the fact that the Jewish authorities who sentenced Jesus did not have the power, reserved by the Roman Empire, to enforce the death penalty.  Moreover, Jesus is found guilty of blasphemy, a crime against Jewish religious law (see Leviticus 24:16), not imperial law.  (Presumably Jesus would need to be sentenced for treason against the emperor.)  The Roman governor, Pilate, consents to the death penalty only after the offended authorities have sufficiently stirred up the crowd against Jesus.

Along the way, Jesus is betrayed by one of his disciples, denied three times by another, and abandoned by nearly everyone; he even cries out asking why God has forsaken him.  As Martin Luther King, Jr. once put it, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”  In a final ironic twist, the real verdict in this case is spoken by a Roman soldier who sees Jesus on the cross, dead:  “Truly this man was God’s Son.”

Discussion Questions

  •  According to John’s gospel, the high priest Caiaphas views Jesus much like certain Ugandan leaders view homosexuals:  as a threat to the life of the whole society.  Caiaphas concludes, “It is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.” (John 11:50).  Is Caiaphas right?
  • What parallels do you see between the situation in Uganda and the passion story?  Are there other current situations in the world that remind you of what happened to Jesus?
  • Who are the scapegoats for society’s problems today?
  • Does following and enforcing God’s law ever conflict with doing God’s will?
  • When have you felt abandoned?  When have you regretted failing to stand up for someone else?

Activity Suggestions

Closing Prayer

God of unsearchable grace, the death and resurrection of Jesus give us hope that your hands can reshape the violent mix of human life, law, danger, and death into the story of our salvation.   Give us the courage to follow you wherever you lead, even when you are leading us to the cross.  Amen

March 25, 2012, Shiny and New!

Contributed by David Dodson, Fort Walton Beach, FL

 

Warm-up Question

Have you ever been one of the first to purchase a brand new product;  have you watched a TV show or movie before it was officially released?  What excited you?

Shiny and New!

photo by Katherine Welles / Shutterstock.com

There is just something about Apple products, isn’t there?  Whenever a new iPhone or iPad is announced, millions of people all over the world begin anticipating its arrival.  The more recent version of the iPhone – the 4S model – is no exception.  During the three days following its launch, over 4 million iPhones were sold.  That’s over twice as many as were sold for the launch of the original iPhone 4.  In the weeks that followed, many stores had to use a reservation system, requiring customers to reserve their phones a day or more in advance.  There weren’t enough to go around!

 

Discussion Questions

  • What do you think made the iPhone 4S such a high-demand item?
  • Would you be willing to travel and wait in line to get a new, state-of-the-art phone, video game, or other tech toy?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, March 25, 2012 (Fifth Sunday in Lent)

 Jeremiah 31:31-34

Hebrews 5:5-10

John 12:20-33

(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

John’s story of Jesus’ ministry reaches a climactic point in today’s gospel reading.  This passage tells the story of the pivotal moment when Jesus’ message of the love of God becomes a message to the entire world.  To fully understand the meaning of this moment, we ought to break it down and consider each part in turn.

“We wish to see Jesus”

For Jesus (and for Paul after him), an important part of God’s love was that it is open to all people, everywhere.  In this passage, we see that Jesus’ ministry has awed so many people, that news of his preaching and healing has reached partway around the Mediterranean to Greece.  These Greeks have traveled hundreds of miles to the Temple in Jerusalem, and the most important thing to them is to meet this miraculous, loving Jesus.

“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”

The visit by these Greeks is certainly an amazing thing for the disciples to see.  How amazing that people from so far away are traveling to see one man!  For Jesus, however, this is a sign of something more.  The arrival of these Greeks shows that the time of his ministry is complete.  Jesus has spread the word of God and has told the people what they must do to show their devotion to God.  He has told the people that God calls his people to care for “the least of these” – those whom society has all but forgotten.  And he has showed the people what it is to be truly holy – forgiving, loving, and healing, even when others thought it impossible.

Now, however, the second part of Jesus’ mission begins.  It is time for Jesus to show the world the true glory of God by not only giving himself over to die for the sins of the world, but by defeating death, rising again and guiding his people to eternal life in God.

“Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for an eternal life.”

As Jesus prepares to make this sacrifice, he calls God’s people to make their own kind of sacrifice.  If we are attached to our own “lives” – our wants, our desires, our comfort – then we are doomed to lose them.  Instead, we are called to view these things as secondary to something much more important: our commission from God.  We are called to lay our own selfish desires aside and act as Jesus taught us, looking after the poor, the weak, and the oppressed, and bringing the message of God’s love to the world.

“Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also.”

Jesus’ call for us to lay our own desires aside is hard, but it comes will the best news we could ever here: If we follow Jesus, he will be right there beside us.  As we go into the world, we stand at the right hand of the one who taught us to love, Jesus of Nazareth.  This is good news indeed!

Discussion Questions

  • What do you think it was about Jesus and his message that led the Greeks to travel so far to see him?
  • Why does Jesus say that we have to make personal sacrifices in order to carry out God’s mission to us?
  • How can Jesus’ words in this passage offer us strength?

Activity Suggestions

Create movie-style posters that show the people of God doing the work that Jesus called us to do.  Put NOW PLAYING or COMING SOON at the bottom, and explain your poster to the group.  Display these posters prominently in your church!

Closing Prayer

God our Father, we thank you for the many gifts you have given us; especially do we thank you  for sending your son to invite us into your kingdom.  Watch over and guide us this week.  Most of all, Father, prepare us at all times to represent your love and grace to those around us.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

March 18, 2012–Remembering Lloyd

Contributed by Bob Chell, Brookings, SD

 

Warm-up Question

What would you like to be remembered for when you die?

Remembering Lloyd

To access this week’s news item click on

http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=13724&page=80

 Discussion Questions

  • What question would you want to ask Lloyd about his life?
  • What in Lloyd’s life sounds challenging and rewarding?
  • What in Lloyd’s life sounds boring and unimportant?
  • What in your life is challenging and rewarding?
  • What in your life is boring and unimportant?
  • What does it mean to be saved now, today?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, March 18, 2012 (Fourth Sunday in Lent)

Numbers 21:4-9

Ephesians 2:1-10

John 3:14-21

(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

The first time I met Lloyd I had trouble understanding him. He talked quickly and his stroke made his words a mumble to me. I didn’t connect him with Pedro and Anna for months. Anna was a graduate student at the university. Pedro, and their son, Lwin, seemed to be walking every time I drove anywhere, to the school, to the park, to the store. When both our children won Radio Flyer wagons in the local radio station’s Christmas promotion they wanted to give one to Lwin. We delivered it to the apartment they shared with Lloyd. That’s when I made the connection.

The apartment was not small. It was tiny. It was clearly meant for one. I didn’t want to be nosy and never asked, but I suspect Lloyd  slept on the couch, while his long term guests had the bedroom. Whatever the arrangements, it was clear that with his meager income, Lloyd had welcomed a family into his life as well as his home.

Our gospel lesson is so familiar it sometimes seems to have lost it’s power to break through the routine of our lives to shape and change them. Someone once told me that anywhere the Bible says ‘believe’ you can substitute the word ‘trust.’ I like the truth that doing this reveals. I live in the Upper Midwest where an unusually warm winter has left the ice on lakes and rivers unsafe. You can stand on the shore and determine whether you believe the ice can hold your weight but it’s an entirely different matter to take the first step trusting it will sustain your weight.

Lloyd lived this truth, trusting in God’s promises, not only for him but for all people.  In trusting he took the hands of others, inviting them to join him in trusting God’s promises to undergird, support, and sustain them.

Discussion Questions

  • The gospel also talks about being condemned. What does that mean for our lives now? Does it mean forever?
  • Who is the Lloyd in your life, who quietly lives trust in God’s promises?
  • When were you ‘Lloyd’ for another–listening, helping, or encouraging someone?
  • How does your experience illustrate what Jesus meant when he said; “…those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.” (Luke 9:24)

Activity Suggestions

  • Write a thank you note to the “Lloyd” in your life telling them why you see them as inspirational.
  • Determine a time or place this week where you can be a “Lloyd” for someone. Give it a try and talk next week about how that experience went (and what it means if it went terribly, as some are bound to)!
  • If you are reading and discussing this in a group, determine how you can be a “Lloyd” in your congregation, school or other setting

Closing Prayer

God, you have gifted us with many things and we take your greatest gifts for granted, the gifts of life and loving friends and family. Thank you for those people who “get us” and understand what it means to struggle with pain and problems. Turn us away from our own struggles so that we recognize the pain of others and reach out to them in encouraging support.  We pray in Jesus name, Amen.

March 11, 2012–Best President Money Can Buy?

Contributed by Jocelyn Breeland, Fairfax, VA

 

Warm-up Question

Should corporations and millionaires be able to make unlimited contributions to political campaigns?

Best President Money Can Buy?

As the Republican presidential primaries roll on, Mitt Romney remains the presumptive nominee, but he’s been unable to close the deal. Many observers point to one explanation for this failing: money. The newest actors on the political scene are Super PACs, and they’re having a big impact.

In 2010, the Supreme Court ruled in a case known as Citizens United that the law prohibiting corporations, unions, and nonprofits from producing political ads violated their right to free speech. This ruling led to the proliferation of so-called Super PACs–-political action committees that can accept unlimited contributions and spend that money in campaigns, as long as they don’t collaborate with the candidates.

All of the candidates have benefited from Super PAC spending, but some credit super PACs with keeping the non-Romney candidates alive. In Iowa, the super PACs easily outspent the candidates. Much of the Super PAC funds is coming from just a few committed individuals. Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson gave $11 million to a pro-Gingrich Super PAC. Pro-Santorum Super PACs are planning big ad buys in Ohio in advance of that state’s primary.

Campaign finance reformers are appalled, but it looks like, for now at least, big money will remain a key player in the political landscape.

 

Discussion Questions

  • Do you agree that corporations should have the same right to free speech as individual citizens?
  • Does the law give the wealthy and corporations unfair influence over elections?
  • Does the influence of big money diminish the value of the individual voter?
  • How can politicians avoid the perception that big campaign contributors are buying influence over their decisions once in office?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, March 11, 2012 (Third Sunday in Lent)

 Exodus 20:1-17

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

John 2:13-22

(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

What a scene it must have been at the temple. The crowd of Jews from far and wide was in Jerusalem preparing to celebrate Passover. Moneychangers and livestock salesmen noisily went about their business. And there was Jesus, with his whip, thrashing about in a furious rage.

What’s wrong with this picture? The Jews present that day might have said Jesus was the problem, he was the one causing trouble. But Jesus saw something different. He saw a system that was taking advantage of the worshipers, distancing them from God rather than drawing them nearer.

In that time, worship required sacrifice and to complete that task the pilgrims would have had to exchange currency and purchase animals for slaughter – all at extortionary rates that enriched the merchants and the temple. This not only excluded poor Jews from participation, but it also placed the emphasis on the ritual instead of on what was happening in the hearts of the worshipers.

Here and throughout his ministry, Jesus makes clear that the path to God is not through the doors of a building, no matter how holy, but through following the path of Christ himself. And Christ doesn’t require ritual or sacrifice of us. All he asks is that we seek him with open hearts and a desire to follow his example.

Discussion Questions

  • What was the value of sacrifice in worship during the time of Christ?
  • The Temple was hardly the first or the last religious institution to harbor abuses.  What are some things that can distract modern Christians from worship?
  • If the space where you worship, your “temple,” were destroyed, what would happen to your congregation?

Activity Suggestions

Consider your congregation and your place of worship with the eyes of a newcomer, a stranger. Are there things that make it difficult for an outsider to join in? Would a street person in soiled clothes feel welcome? Would someone unfamiliar with the liturgy be able to easily participate? Are there language barriers or access challenges for people with physical disabilities?

Also consider steps your congregation is taking to be more accessible. Give yourselves a grade. Consider what further steps you might take.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, we welcome you into our lives every day. Help us to also welcome others into our lives and into our worship, so that we can meet you as one united body in Christ. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.