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March 31, 2013–Treasure in Plain Sight

Contributed by Sylvia Alloway, Granada Hills, CA

 

Warm-up Question

Have you ever been wrong about someone? Have you ever rejected a person as odd, stupid, or untrustworthy and later discovered that you were mistaken? What was the situation? What happened?

Treasure in Plain Sight

shutterstock_12168025editThe white bowl with the pointy, leaf-like pattern shaped into it had sat on the mantle in a New York state home for several years. The family had paid three dollars for it at a tag sale. A belated curiosity about the trinket’s origin led the family to an assessor and a big surprise. Their humble little bowl was 1,000-year-old Chinese treasure, an example of “Ding” pottery from the Northern Song dynasty.

Given to the famous auction house Sotheby’s to sell, it was expected to fetch around $200,000. A bidding war among four art collectors resulted in a price ten times that much, $2.2 million.

 

Discussion Questions

  • There is an old saying: He knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. What does this mean? What is the difference between price and value?
  • Is there anything in your life that you value, even though it is not worth much money? What? Why?
  • Think about what people without Christ value, compared to what Christians value. Is there a difference? What is it?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, March 31, 2013 (Resurrection of Our Lord Easter Day)

 

Acts 10:34-43

1 Corinthians 15:19-26

Luke 24:1-12

(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

There are two Bible stories that are so familiar to Christians that we hardly pay attention to the words when we hear them. One is the story of Jesus birth, the other is the story of his resurrection. These two miracles are the heart of Christianity, special occasions in the church. We give thanks, sing some songs, and go about our business.

But think about these words: “There were in the same country shepherds, abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night.”

Um, yeah. So?

Shepherds were considered unclean by upper class Jews. They were not invited into homes. They were not allowed to testify in court. They were outcasts. Yet, these despised people were the first to hear about Jesus’ birth. God valued them and their strong, simple faith. He entrusted them with the news of his Son’s arrival. Sure enough, they ran to tell anyone they could find that the Messiah was born.

In today’s lesson we read the familiar story of the women finding the empty tomb. Women, too, were outcasts, thought inferior to men. Women, too, could not testify in court, because they would not be believed. (Notice how the disciples react when they hear the women’s testimony.) Yet God again chooses outcasts as the first to behold the culmination of his great plan of salvation, the greatest event in the history of the world. Again he gives them a message to tell. He shows how much he values those whom the world rejects.

God does not choose people who think they are worth more than others to spread the news of his salvation. He values the humble, the willing, the faithful, as if they were million-dollar treasures. He paid for them, for us, a price immeasurably greater than money. He paid with his lifeblood.

Let us run and tell!

Discussion Questions

  • In today’s world humility is not considered a very valuable trait. Why is this so?
  • What is the value of humility? What can humble people accomplish that those who think they are great can’t?
  • Christians are often considered outcasts in the non-Christian world. How can we follow the example of the shepherds and the women in telling others the Good News?

Activity Suggestions

  •  Think of a way the class can tell the Good News of Christ’s resurrection. Do it.
  • Talk about what makes a person an outcast among young people. How we can value outcasts and not reject them as the world does?
  • Sing any resurrection song

Closing Prayer

God of the humble, Savior of the outcast, we ask for true humility. Convict us when we put someone down or leave someone out. May the joy of your salvation fill us so that others can see and know that there is hope in you. In Our Savior’s Holy Name, Amen.

March 24, 2013–Fit for a King

Contributed by David Dodson, Fort Walton Beach, FL

 

Warm-up Question

Do you think that the way we dress or present ourselves reflects our personalities?

Fit for a King

A few months ago, a fairly small story surfaced about British Princess Kate Middleton and reality TV show star Kim Kardashian.  That these two women would be involved in a single story is surprising enough – they are about as different as possible!

Kate Middleton recently married Prince William, becoming a Princess and the Duchess of Cambridge herself.  She has widely been regarded as a wonderful person to fill that role.  She has a warm smile and a very classy style that many British citizens have expressed great approval of.  Kim Kardashian, on the other hand, is best known as a reality TV star and frequently finds herself on the front of tabloids.  Her fashion style is known for its flashiness and frequent immodesty.

Our story happens when those worlds collide.  Kim Kardashian sent Kate Middleton a gift of several outfits from a fashion line she designs called Kardashian Konnection.  Kate politely thanked Kim for the gift, but sent the clothing back, stating that she preferred not to accept free gifts in her position as Duchess.

Many fashion commentators have claimed that the outfits were likely sent back mostly because of their style.  The Kardashian Kollection is characterized by low necklines, short dress lengths, and other features that the Duchess of Cambridge seems to absolutely avoid.

 

Discussion Questions

  • Have you ever received a gift that you were not sure what to do with?
  • What do you think about Kate Middleton’s decision to return the gift?
  • Based on what you know, do you think that Kate Middleton is a good role model and example in her country?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, March 24, 2013 (Sunday of the Passion/Palm Sunday)

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Philippians 2:5-11

Luke 19:28-40

(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

shutterstock_96298346editWe often use royal language when speaking of Jesus.  We refer to Him as the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings, and the scion of the royal line of David.  But if we really want to understand Jesus’ kingship, we are going to need to reexamine how we define royalty.

Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus constantly turning royal imagery on its head.  It begins with His birth.  Consider the story of the nativity:  When Jesus is born, shepherds and wise men travel from far and near to bow before Him and present Him with gifts.  This is precisely what would have happened with the birth of an earthly prince.  The child of a king would be visited by honored guests and presented with the best gifts after his birth.  With the birth of Jesus, however, it isn’t the richest and most powerful who are invited to the court of the newborn King.  Rather, it is the lowly shepherds and the foreign wise men.  Already, Jesus is an unorthodox King – his court is made up of the poor and foreign!

As if to emphasize the point, when Jesus makes his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, He does so in an unusual way.  An earthly king, arriving in a city as a conqueror, would ride on the back of a magnificent mount (usually a stallion), showing off his power and wealth and demanding adoration from the people.  With Jesus, the King of Kings, things are a bit different.  Jesus rides in with great triumph, cheered on by the adoring crowd, but not on a beautiful horse.  As predicted in Zechariah 9:9, Jesus arrives instead “humble and riding on a donkey”.

What?  A donkey?  Why would the greatest King the world has ever known choose to make his triumphant march into Jerusalem on the back of a lowly donkey?

Perhaps this is a message to us.  Our Lord and Savior humbled himself in lowly birth in a manger, rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey and “humbled himself… even [to] death on a cross” (Philippians 2).  Jesus was concerned with something far, far more important than the appearance of greatness.  Instead, His mission was to those who needed him the most – the poor, the lame, the outcast, and those who felt that God’s love was too far away to reach.

If Jesus could humble Himself to serve those in need in the world, then we are certainly called to follow his example.  If you want to find Jesus, open your heart to a world in need – you will find Jesus there!

Discussion Questions

  • How would the Gospels have been different if Jesus had insisted on being treated like an earthly king?
  • How can you show the humble love taught to us by Jesus in your daily life?

Activity Suggestions

Use resources available on the ELCA website (such as those at https://community.elca.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=607)  to plan an Alternative Gift Fair.  In these events, congregational members can make donations on the behalf of a friend or family member, and this donation is offered as an “alternative gift” to that person.  Many congregations find that these often make the most meaningful gifts they receive all year!

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, help us to be your eyes in the world, looking out for those who are struggling or lost.  Help us to be your feet in the world, carrying your message of love and good news to all of your people.  Help us to be your ears, listening to the needs of those around us daily.  And help us to be your hands, reaching out in joyous love to our brothers and sisters.  Amen.

March 17, 2013–Extravagant Love

Contributed by Dennis Sepper, Tacoma, WA

 

Warm-up Question

What is the most expensive gift you ever received?  Who gave it to you?  How did it make you feel when you received it?

Extravagant Love

Nine-year-old Henry, of Newport, Kentucky, is currently battling Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.  The Make-A-Wish Foundation will provide Henry an escape from his medical treatments as he meets with his heroes.

Henry’s wish is to see the cast of his favorite television show, Animal Planet’s “Tanked”.  Tanked is a program that features two Las Vegas businessmen who build wildly imaginative tanks and aquariums.  Henry will meet the stars of the program, Wayde King and Brett Raymer, and get a behind the scenes look at some of their work.

Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana fulfilled 865 wishes in the last program year.

(Contributor’s note:  If you have a local Make-A-Wish story or even one for your state, I would suggest using that story instead of Henry’s.)

 

Discussion Questions

  • What were you thinking about as you read the story of Henry?  How did you feel?
  • According to their website (www.wish.org) the Make-A-Wish Foundation “grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.”  Make-A-Wish grants a wish somewhere in the country every 38 minutes.   What do you think about organizations like Make-A-Wish?  Is their work helpful and meaningful?
  • Is it possible that the dollars spent on fulfilling the wishes of the children might be better spent on, say, cancer research?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, March 17, 2013 (Fifth Sunday or Lent)

Isaiah 43:16-21

Philippians 3:4b-14

John 12:1-8

(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

While I am a huge fan of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, I have to admit that I understand the point Judas makes in regards to this Gospel text from John…at least at first.  As you heard or read, Mary took a pound of perfume costing some three hundred denarii and anointed Jesus’ feet with it, so much so that the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.  To put the cost of the perfume in perspective, my Bible has a footnote which says that a day’s wage at the time of Jesus was one denarius, so Mary’s 300 denarii perfume would be worth almost an entire year’s wages.  According to the U.S. Census Bureau the median household income in the U.S was just over $50,000 in 2011.  Now just imagine someone going out, buying a $50,000 bottle of perfume and then pouring it over someone’s feet.  It just doesn’t make sense!  It just isn’t right!  Certainly the money could have been used for the poor or some other good cause.

However, consider the context of this act of Mary and one can see how she may have been moved to not count the cost of her perfume.  Just one chapter earlier (John 11:1-44) Jesus had raised Mary’s brother Lazarus from the dead…from the dead!  At this dinner in Jesus honor we are told that Lazarus was at the table with Jesus and Mary and Martha.  How could Mary not look at her beloved brother who was once dead and not feel a very deep and abiding love for the one who raised him from the dead?

What is more, we are told that this dinner took place “six days before the Passover.”  That may seem insignificant but in John’s gospel it is on this Passover day that Jesus is crucified.  This meal is Jesus last supper, not with his disciples, but with his best friends.  We also know from the Gospel writer Luke that Mary was a very good student and disciple of Jesus (Luke 10:38-42).  Perhaps Mary connected the dots and knew that Jesus was determined to go to Jerusalem and that things could go badly there.  It seems that Jesus thought so when he said “Leave her alone.  She bought it [the expensive perfume] so that she might keep it for the day of my burial.”

It was out of an extravagant love that Mary poured the expensive perfume over Jesus’ feet and then wiped his feet with her hair.  It was a custom of those times for the women to anoint a dead person with perfume.  Mary’s great love for Jesus caused her not to count the costs.

And Mary was right.  For six days later, Jesus would show extravagant love for the world by giving up his life on the cross.  In the life, death and resurrection of Jesus you and I have been forgiven and set free from sin.  We have been given a new life in Jesus Christ.  How can we possibly give rightful thanks for all that God and Jesus have done for us?

So, while indeed Judas may have a point concerning the expense of the perfume, Judas couldn’t grasp what was going on in the moment.  Judas had no understanding of the depth of Mary’s love for Jesus or of the love Jesus had for all people.  Sometimes we have to do the extravagant even when it seems crazy by worldly standards.

Discussion Questions

  • What was your first reaction to Mary’s anointing Jesus’ feet?  Was it okay for you or do you think the money could have been better spent?
  • Has anyone ever sacrificed something for you (such as time, money, something significant)?
  • Has anything motivated you to give more (time/talents/treasure) then you intended because you were so moved?
  • What possession do you most treasure?  Can you imagine ever giving it away for another person?

 

Activity Suggestions

There are many stories of extravagant love in the Bible.  Choose one or more of the following examples and either act out the scene or create a contemporary version of the story.

  • Abraham is willing to sacrifice his son Isaac (Genesis 22:1-18)
  • The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)
  • The Widow’s Mite (Mark 12:41-44 or Luke 21:1-4)
  • Joseph forgiving his brothers (Genesis 50:15-21)
  • The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)

Closing Prayer

All merciful God, as we come to this Fifth Sunday in Lent we begin to see Jesus’ determination to go to Jerusalem and to the cross.  Open our eyes and minds and hearts to the depth of your love for us.  We can never repay the debt we owe to Jesus but we can, by the power of the Holy Spirit, commit our lives and all that we have to showing forth your extravagant love to others.  In the name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.

 

March 10, 2013–Craigslist Joe

Contributed by Jocelyn Breeland, Fairfax, VA

 

Warm-up Question

Have you ever depended on the generosity of strangers?

Craigslist Joe

In the 2012 documentary Craigslist Joe, a young man named Joe Garner decides to take a month away from his life and live entirely off the website craigslist.org. During that month, everything he needed – food, clothing, transportation, a place to sleep – would have to come from craigslist. He found a cameraman on craigslist and the two set off from Los Angeles on their adventure.

shutterstock_38881042editOver the course of the month, Joe traveled from Los Angeles to New York City and back, with numerous stops along the way. (There are apparently lots of people on craigslist who are happy to offer rides in exchange for some company on the trip or help with driving.) Joe met people from all walks of life: students, artists, businessmen. He did some unusual and interesting things like taking a breakdancing class, doing standup comedy, and sharing an evening with a family of Iraqi immigrants. In one city he organized a toy drive for needy children. In another he helped a woman with cancer reorganize her living space. He even made time to go on a date.  None of the dangers you’d imagine were evident; Joe didn’t meet any scam artists or criminals or psychopaths. Everyone was kind and generous.

When he finally got back to his apartment, Joe was welcomed home by family and friends. He said the realization of how we all take care of each other was “the most inspiring thing.”

Discussion Questions

  • Could you do what Joe did, live for a month entirely off craigslist?
  • Joe Garner is young, white and male. Do you think his experience would have been different if he were a different age, gender or race?
  • We often hear or read about our society’s isolation, loneliness and lack of a sense of community in America. Does the story of Craigslist Joe challenge this conclusion?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, March 10, 2013 (Fourth Sunday of Lent)

Joshua 5:9-12

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

(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 tale of the prodigal son is one of the best-known stories in the New Testament. Perhaps this is because its principal message says something so important about God’s love for us: no matter how much we sin or otherwise wander away from him, he will always joyously welcome us back into his arms. The good news is not just that God’s love comes to us completely unearned, but that it remains steadfast even if we walk away.

This story also has important things to say about family relationships. How good parents allow their children to make and learn from their own mistakes, and these parents don’t hold those mistakes against them. How a sibling should understand that a parent can love his children equally, while not treating them the same. And how a son can approach a parent humbly and admit he was wrong.

There’s at least one more way to understand this story. Remember that this is one of three stories Jesus tells in response to criticism from the Pharisees and teachers of the law that Jesus welcomed sinners and ate with them. Jesus’ critics believed that a person who associated with sinners would himself become unclean. But Jesus counters with an example that makes clear that, just as God welcomes sinners, so should we welcome others. We shouldn’t distance ourselves from people who have made mistakes in life. Instead, we should welcome them into our lives, our congregations, our communities. If we are to truly love one another as God loves each of us, then we have to learn to accept the mistakes others make. We can’t hold grudges; we have to be willing to forgive. What better way to thank God for the love he shows us, than to share that love with one another?

Discussion Questions

  • What one word describes what the story of the prodigal son is all about?
  • Does the father in this story behave like a typical father?
  • What attributes of God does the father demonstrate?

Activity Suggestions

Leaders, scour your local newspaper or online news ahead of time and collect a handful of stories that involve one person or group being wronged by another. It could be the victim and the perpetrator of a crime. It could be a politician abusing public trust. Maybe a business accused of harming the community (damaging the environment, sending jobs overseas). It could be any one of many stories of international conflict.

Divide the participants into small groups and give one of the stories to each one. Ask them to act out a reconciling conversation for that situation. Do this one at a time, so that the rest of the group can witness each scenario.

After each presentation, discuss as a group whether the conversation was realistic, then whether the participants reacted according to the lessons of the prodigal son.

Closing Prayer

Merciful Father, you have forgiven our debts, even though we have not always forgiven our debtors. Thank you for never, ever giving up on us. Thank you for being patient with us, and for always welcoming us home when we stray. Fill us with your reconciling spirit, so that we can embrace others – sinners like ourselves – and so they might know your love, through our actions. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.