Faith Lens, a lectionary based resource for youth and young adults, is not published during the summer. Faith Lens returns in the fall.
The article for Sunday, September 8 will be posted on September 3. Join us then for reflection on the intersection of current events and the Word.
Contributed by Brian Hiortdahl, Chicago, IL
Do you believe in ghosts?
So proclaims the title of a local newspaper article reporting the memorial services for Sean Collier, a beloved young police officer at MIT killed in the wake of the bombing at the Boston Marathon:
http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/local/ci_23103732/his-caring-spirit-lives
(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.
This week’s gospel reading gives us the words of someone who died too young, the victim of someone else’s political statement: Jesus. On the night before his death, he tells his friends that he has so much more to tell him than he has time to say it or they have capacity at the moment to hear it, but he also promises that the Spirit of truth will come to them. Since Jesus is himself the truth (and the way and the life), the Spirit of truth is his Spirit, coming “to guide you into all the truth.” This Spirit is identified in Christian theology as the third person of the Trinity, sometimes named the Holy Ghost. In a way, the Holy Spirit is Jesus’ way of haunting us. Or, to phrase it as the news article does, “his caring spirit lives on” among us.
Yet this Spirit is more than a spook, a vapor, a legacy, or a memory. The Holy Spirit is God fully (though not bodily) present with us. It is nearly as mystifying and beyond our comprehension as the larger teaching we celebrate on Sunday that God is Trinity: one God in three persons, a unified community of generous, trusting love. Those of us who cannot fully grasp these deep truths–who cannot bear them now–can hold onto the promise that (somehow, over time) the reliable Spirit will guide us into all the truth.
Blessed Trinity, keep guiding us into the truth that you are. Shepherd us into and share with us your holy and beautiful dance of powerful life and perfect love. Grant that your caring Spirit live on in us and bless the world with your abundant grace. Amen.
Contributed by Bob Chell, Brookings, SD
Is God present when disaster strikes? If not, why not? If so, how and where?
Periodically the news carries a story about someone finding evidence of Jesus in a very ordinary place. One man saw the face of Christ in his cheese toast; another discerned Jesus in a splatter of grape juice on the wall. Recently, fabric conditioner on a t-shirt has prompted lively discussion. Is it Jesus or a juggler? Read the story and think the questions below.
(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.
Anthony De Mello, a Jesuit priest and psychotherapist, told a story about a monastery in decline whose leader sought help from a Christian hermit. The hermit told him the decline was due to the sin of ignorance—the messiah was among the brothers and they were not aware of this. The leader went home astonished—and wondered who it might be. He shared the news with the other brothers and each began wondering who it was. Mentally each begin ruling out those with obvious faults, the crabby cook, the surly gardener, and so on but after ruling out everyone they realized the messiah would be in disguise and begin treating each other as if each were the messiah. You can guess what happened. Soon the monastery flourished as others were drawn to the joy and happiness of the place.
Our gospel lesson is set in the dark days before Jesus arrest and crucifixion. Jesus has just told them that one among them will betray him and rather than being appalled, each wonders if they are the one. It is a time of doubt, not certainty. Phillip speaks not only for the disciples but for us, when he says, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” A popular hymn, “Open Our Eyes Lord” asks for much the same thing.
It would be cruel and insensitive to tell someone who is discouraged, in deep pain or grief to cheer up because God is with them. Yet, looking back at the dark places in our own lives we can sometimes see where God was present, often through the kindness of others.
This year during spring break Lutheran campus pastor’s all over the country, took students on trips to stand alongside people in poverty, marginalized or pushed aside. Students from South Dakota State University, where I serve, visited men in Tijuana, Mexico who had been recently deported from our country and heard their stories, played with children at an orphanage in Tecate, Mexico, visited people living atop and alongside the Tijuana dump, and fed the hungry in downtown San Diego, California. Each evening when we gathered to discuss the day we began with “Junk, Joy, Jesus.” It was a cutesy way of saying highs, lows and where it was we saw Jesus that day. Like the monks in Anthony De Mello’s story, it gave us a new perspective. Some students continue the practice as they say their prayers each evening.
Sit in silence for a few minutes and share “Junk, Joy, Jesus” with your group or a friend.
God, so many who claim to follow you spew out anger, violence and hatred, It’s hard to trust in you when those who claim to know you best are mean and judgmental. We share the disciples yearning to see you more clearly. Your challenge to love others touches our hearts and we want to do this even though we find it difficult to love our families, let alone those who wish us ill or hurt us deeply. Use us, as you used the disciples, in spite of their wavering faith and their fear of the future. Help us to let go of our doubt and rest in your promises. Amen.
Contributed by Paul Henrickson, Salem, VA
These are some Lutheran bodies in the United States. What do you know about them? Can you explain the primary differences between them:
The St. Mark’s Church and Life Center of Marion, Iowa, (along with its pastor) has been removed from the roster of ELCA Lutheran Churches. St. Mark’s attempted to associate with both the ELCA and the LCMC. In news accounts, different interpretations of the situation have emerged. Read this news story and respond to the following questions
Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21
(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.
John 17 is the “High Priestly” Prayer of Jesus. The whole prayer might be separated into three parts: vs 1-5 are about Jesus and His Father; vs 6-19 are about Jesus and the Disciples; vs 20-26 are about the unity of the church. “That all may be one” has been the theme of countless conferences and programs about Christian unity. Despite all the energy for unity, Christianity remains more like a stained glass window than a cross-etched, clear glass window on the world.
The key phrase is “…that they may all be one.” This article in this study uses the Lutheran Church as an example of church disunity; but the larger focus is on the whole Christian community. The question should not be what separates us, but what binds us together.
God our Father, your Son Jesus prayed that his followers might be one. Make all Christians on with him as he is one with you, so that in peace and concord we may carry to the world the message of your love, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. (Evangelical Lutheran Worship, page 61)