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December 30, 2012–NO FAITH LENS THIS WEEK

Faith Lens will return next week.

 

 

 

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December 23, 2012–Be Unreasonable

Contributed by Jocelyn Breeland, Fairfax, VA

 

Warm-up Question

Are you a reasonable person? Is that an asset?

Be Unreasonable

Daniel Epstein is an unreasonable man. A self-proclaimed “impatient optimist” and founder of the Unreasonable Institute, Epstein believes entrepreneurship is the key to solving the world’s great problems and his organization is committed to supporting the entrepreneurs who are tackling our most impossible challenges.

For example, the team behind Artificial Vision for the Blind, have invented a way for people without sight – even without eyes – to learn to see using cameras mounted on glasses and a sensory pad that converts signals from the visual cortex into physical sensations. Individuals outfitted with this apparatus have been able to describe their surroundings, even read books.

The Unreasonable Institute supports innovators by giving them advice and help in raising capital so they can bring their ideas to the world. To date, the Unreasonable Institute has helped 70 teams in 36 nations, and they continue to attract new innovators every year.

The Unreasonable Institute gets its name from a quote by George Bernard Shaw, who said, “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” Thanks to the Institute, unreasonable men and women all over the world have some help in changing the world for the better.

 

Discussion Questions

  • Can you name a historical figure who succeeded by being unreasonable? (For example, you might say that Christopher Columbus was unreasonable in believing he could sail around the world to India or that Abraham Lincoln was unreasonable to think he could free the slaves without destroying the Union.)
  • In the instance you named, what do you think contributed to the success of the unreasonable idea?
  • Think of a problem in your congregation, your community, or the world. How could you address that problem? Be unreasonable.

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, December 23, 2012 (Fourth Sunday of Advent)

Micah 5:2-5a

Hebrews 10:5-10

Luke 1:39-45 [46-55]

(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

Today’s Gospel highlights a very improbable situation. We have Elizabeth, elderly and barren but carrying a child, and Mary, a virgin, also pregnant.

It might be a challenge for us to relate to the details of this scene. None of us is likely to be in the exact situation as Elizabeth or Mary. But we are similar in this way: Like these two women, we all have received gifts from God, and we each have a special purpose to do his will.

Although we are unlikely to ever be in the presence of the unborn Jesus, we do see and feel the presence of Christ in our lives every day. Through Bible study and prayer, we can come to know God better, and more easily recognize his constant presence among us.

Like John in the womb, God has given us souls attuned to his presence. If we can understand our world through the eyes of faith, as Mary and Elizabeth did, then we too will leap for joy, like John, in the presence of our Messiah.

Discussion Questions

  • How does Elizabeth know that Mary is “the mother of my Lord”?
  • Explain the blessings Elizabeth proclaims in verses 42 and 45.
  • What does Mary mean in verse 46 when she says her “soul magnifies the Lord”?
  • Does your soul also magnify the Lord? How so?

Activity Suggestions

Write your own Magnificat:

Luke 1:46-55 form a poem (sometimes sung) known as the Magnificat (translated: my soul magnifies). In it, Mary praises God for his blessing to her, and his many great acts on behalf of his people.

  • To write your own, start with a simple expression of praise and thanksgiving for something God has done in your life. Tell what this means to you.
  •  Next, list the qualities of God’s actions towards you (mercy, power, wisdom, compassion, etc.).
  • Finally, list some (at least three or four) of the other ways God has shown his presence to you, your friends and family, and your community.
  • Share your work with the others in the group.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the many ways, great and small, that you show yourself to us every day. We are comforted by your presence, and emboldened to live fully the lives you have planned for us. Teach us to know and accept your will, and let our souls leap for joy to have you near. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

December 16, 2012–Expanding the Promise

Contributed by Steven Alloway, Granada Hills, CA

 

Warm-up Question

What would your life be like if you had extraordinary superpowers? What would you do and how would you use them? What if one day you discovered that everyone in the world had the same superpowers as you?

Expanding the Promise

Amber Case studies the interaction between humans and technology, in a field known as Cyborg Anthropology. This can include things such as prosthetic limbs and electronic implants in the brain, but more commonly deals with computers, smartphones, and other devices that people use every day.

“A cyborg is simply someone who interacts with technology,” says Case. “The technology can be a physical or mental extension, and doesn’t need to be implanted in the person.”

As we interact with this technology, it gives us abilities that just a few years ago were purely in the realm of science fiction, from sensors that turn lights on and off as we enter or leave a room, to camera phones that allow us to speak face to face with someone on the other side of the globe.

“A cyborg is not a Terminator or Robocop,” says Case. “Everyone that uses technology is a superhuman. It’s not so strange anymore because it’s the norm—most everyone else around us is also a superhuman.”

 

Discussion Questions

  • What kind of technology do you use in your everyday life? What does it allow you to do?
  • What can you do with technology now that you weren’t able to do five years ago? What can you do that your parents couldn’t do when they were your age?
  • Are there disadvantages to this technology? What do you do when your batteries run out unexpectedly, or you’re in a place where you’re unable to connect?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, December 16, 2012 (Third Sunday of Advent)

Zephaniah 3:14-20

Philippians 4:4-7

Luke 3:7-18

(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 Jews were God’s chosen people: the children of Abraham. He had set them apart from the rest of the world, blessing them and giving them a rich inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey. As such, it was hard not to feel superior. But John tells the people something different. Being children of Abraham doesn’t make them superior. The Lord can raise up children of Abraham from the stones!

It seems an odd passage to study in the middle of Advent. Where’s the “peace on Earth, good will to mankind”? Instead, we get, “You brood of vipers!” and promises of axes and fires poised for the judgment. But if you look more closely, it’s actually a very appropriate passage. Advent is the preparation for the coming of the Savior. And that’s exactly what this is. John was sent to prepare the way of the Lord: to get the people ready for the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. It’s just not what we’re used to at Christmas.

Still, at its core, it’s a very hopeful passage. It’s a foreshadowing of what Jesus came to do: to take the promise given to the Jews, and open it up to everyone. To make us ALL children of Abraham, and recipients of a rich inheritance—salvation.

But that doesn’t make it easy. Though anyone can now receive the inheritance of salvation, John makes it very clear that not everyone will. Only those who bear fruit will receive the promised blessings. The rest will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So how do we bear fruit? First we must be baptized. Baptized not only with water, but with the fire of the Holy Spirit. This isn’t like the fire that will burn up the refuse that produces no fruit. Rather, this fire burns within us. Through the Holy Spirit, we are able to be “on fire” for the Lord, filled with the joy of salvation and spreading that joy, that fire, to those around us. And that’s what the coming of the Savior is all about.

Discussion Questions

  • Do you tend to feel superior to the people in your life who aren’t Christians? Or do you try to spread the good news of Christ to them, so that they can have the same fire that you do?
  • “Baptism by fire” is sometimes used to mean a painful or harrowing ordeal which makes us better people, once we’ve come through it. In what way has your Christian life been a “baptism by fire”? What are some difficulties you’ve had to endure for your faith, and how have they made you a better person, or a better Christian?
  • What are some things that you have now, or are able to do now, that wouldn’t be possible without Christ in your life?

Activity Suggestions

Read the promise first made to Abraham in Genesis 17. Compare it to the promise in Romans 4, that we can all be children of Abraham.

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you for the promise that you made to include us in the inheritance of Abraham. Make your Spirit burn in us, so that we may bear fruit, sharing that promise with those around us and spreading the joy of your salvation.  Prepare our hearts for your unexpected coming into our lives and our world. Amen.

December 9, 2012–What’s the Point?

Contributed by Jay McDivett, Thiensville, WI

 

Warm-up Question

What is the most important thing on your “to do” list between now and Christmas?

What’s the Point?

As the economic recovery continues to be slow, the U.S. “shopping season” got off to a huge start on “Black Friday” (11/23, the day after Thanksgiving) this year, with record numbers of shoppers lining up in person and shopping at home online.

Each year, analysts and business owners, together with stock-watchers and folks looking for signs of economic hope, wait to see how big an event “Black Friday” will be – as an indicator of how the rest of the holiday retail season will pan out. In recent years, Black Friday has been joined by “Cyber Monday” (the Monday after Thanksgiving, when online retailers offer deals for shoppers who prefer to stay home and purchase things while wearing their pajamas) and “Small Business Saturday” (the Saturday after Black Friday, when folks are encouraged to shop locally and support small businesses).

In addition, non-profit organizations are getting into the holiday spirit with “Giving Tuesday” (the day after Cyber Monday…after Small Business Saturday…after Black Friday…after Thanksgiving), encouraging folks to “cut through the noise” of retail and spend the day (or season) learning how to “give more, give better, and give smarter” during a season when people express their generosity in lots of different ways, including both gift-giving and charity.

It remains to be seen how many of these money-charged “festival days” have staying power – or generate any “real” hope for economic recovery in this country or around the world. And, of course, we’re several paragraphs into this story about the “holidays” (Christmas being at least one of the biggest holidays celebrated this time of year), and with all this talk about hope, no one has yet mentioned Jesus.

 

Discussion Questions

  • How many of your friends and family did some (or most, or all) of their shopping over the Thanksgiving weekend? Was it fun? Stressful? Exciting? Meaningful? Anyone have a shopping story they want to share?
  • Why do you think we focus so much energy and interest on the shopping aspect of this season?
  • How do you feel about “Giving Tuesday” as a part of (or response to) the shopping emphasis of the kick-off to the holiday shopping season?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, December 9, 2012 (Second Sunday of Advent)

Malachi 3:1-4

Philippians 1:3-11

Luke 3:1-6

(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

Talk about “cutting through the noise.” The reading in the Gospel of Luke for this day begins with a long list of totally unpronounceable names. Luke places the story of John the Baptist (son of a very important priest) in its context – the context of empire, politics, religion and rule. These are the people who have power over the lives of the people surrounding Jesus: people like Tiberius, Herod, Pilate, Philip, Lysanias, Annas, Caiaphas… and so on. These were important people, who demanded attention, homage, and obedience from the poor folks living in Galilee and the regions surrounding the Jordan River. People like Mary and Joseph.

Into this noisy and complicated time, God sent John – an important man who threw away his power and prestige and devoted his life to pointing. John’s job was to point: to point out the dumb and dangerous nonsense that clouded people’s lives; to point to the water where they could be washed and changed and given another shot at living a meaningful and faithful life; and most of all, to point to the One who was coming into the world who would make all things new – for us and for all of creation.

Pointing – that’s the job of the church and its faithful few. Our job is to cut through the clatter and clutter and point: to point out how silly it is to think that the future depends on how many people line up at the crack of dawn to buy mostly useless stuff; to point at how many people are living in poverty and hunger while the rest of us are wearing our pajamas in a warm house and clicking away on Amazon or Etsy; to point out that real, lasting hope cannot be purchased; and more than anything, to point to the fact that real, lasting hope will mean a total re-arranging of the world as we know it… which means, of course, that we might not want to spend so much time worrying about the ups and downs of the world as we know it.

John tells us that the coming of God into the world will mean filling in valleys and tearing down mountains. That makes environmentalists cringe – if, of course, they are taking these things literally. But maybe what John is really saying is that repentance (that is, a changed mind/heart/life) is something that totally rearranges how we understand our world, our lives, and the things we value. What better time than this season to be reminded of what really matters. (Hint: you can’t buy it in a store. It is a gift, but it is one that can only be given to us, by God.)

Discussion Questions

  • What, in your opinion, “really matters”? How does the “holiday season” help and/or hurt your ability to focus on the things that really matter?
  • Where do you think you would find Jesus on the Friday-Tuesday (and beyond) following Thanksgiving?
  • If John the Baptist showed up at your school, what would he point to that would need to be changed? What would he point to that would be a sign of hope and joy and life

Activity Suggestions

Materials needed: cardstock, writing utensils, current newspapers and/or magazines.

Using cardstock, invite each participant to cut out 5-10 “pointer fingers” (number varies according to the time you have allotted for this activity), about 1” square (these can be decorated, or not). Then, invite each participant to rifle through the news sources for stories/ads/images that s/he thinks John the Baptist would point to in his effort to call people to repentance and hope. Include both signs of danger and nonsense as well as signs of life and hope and joy. Cut out those pictures/ads/stories and tape a pointer finger to each one. Assemble these into a collage, clumping together signs of danger and signs of hope. Invite participants to share why they chose the items they chose.

Closing Prayer

God, you send us people like John to point to what’s really important – and to remind us of all the stuff that isn’t. Help us to listen to those voices, so that we can spend less time on stuff that doesn’t matter and more time on the things that do. Help us learn how to become pointer fingers ourselves. But most of all, remind us during this crazy beautiful season that you – and you alone – have given us hope; and you – and you alone – will give us life, now and forever. Amen.