Contributed by Jack Saarela, Interim campus pastor, Indiana University-PA

Warm-up Question

In your daily life, what are the offenses you find hardest to forgive?  Why?

Rage, Debts, and Forgiveness

This Sunday marks the tenth anniversary of 9/11 – the morning when four commercial airliners were taken over by members of the terrorist faction Al-Qaeda. Many readers can remember exactly where they were and what they were feeling when two planes brought down the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York

Phyllis Rodriguez certainly can. She was returning from a morning walk along the Bronx River when the porter in her building told her there was a fire at the World Trade Center, where her son Greg worked. When she reached  her apartment, she saw, to her relief, that Greg had left a voice message, saying that there had been a horrible accident at the south tower, but that he was safe in the north tower. When she turned on the TV, she saw to her horror that a plane hit the north tower – and she knew this was no accident. She never heard from Greg again.

Phyllis was devastated. But what made everything worse for her was the strong suspicion that, given the ferocious anger and profound sense of having been violated among the American people, the United States government would use her son’s name, along with that of 3,000 others, to take vengeful military action in Afghanistan.

Two months later, a Moroccan immigrant in France, Aicha el-Wafi, was also devastated to see on a TV news clip that her son, Zacarias Moussaoui, had been  indicted on charges of conspiring to plan the attack that killed Greg Rodriguez and so many others.

In 2002, Aicha came to New York for the trial of her son. Phyllis Rodriguez was invited by the government to attend the trial. She went to the federal courthouse, but not to see Moussaoui convicted.  She went, not to “get revenge” or “reach some closure”, but because she knew that another mother, Aicha, would be there.  Phyllis wanted to reach out to a fellow sufferer who was also losing a dear son.

When Aicha arrived at the courthouse, her eyes fell on Phyllis immediately, almost as if drawn by some emotional magnet. The two women  fell into each other’s arms and wept uncontrollably for a long time. Each felt the other’s heart beating as her own.

“When Greg was killed, I thought, I will never forgive the people who murdered my son.” Phyllis says. “But the day I met Aicha changed my life. I have come to see forgiveness as a difficult process. I haven’t forgiven the act, but I have been learning to forgive Aicha’s son because I love her, and I can’t hate someone she loves.”

 Discussion Questions

• Does it seem unnatural for a mother to forgive the perpetrators of her son’s murder? Wouldn’t it have been more natural for her to want to get some “payback” and “her due” instead?  What do you think helped Phyllis go beyond what might be “natural?”
• If you witnessed the events of 9/11 on TV as they were happening, or since, what emotions were you feeling, and how are you feeling towards the terrorists now?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, September 11, 2011 (Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost)

 
 Genesis 50:15-21 

Romans 14:1-12

Matthew 18:21-35

(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

Peter asks Jesus a question about forgiving someone in the community who wrongs him. Jesus answers Peter’s question with a few pointed words, but then illustrates his answer with a great story.

In the process of settling his accounts, a king writes off a rather large debt owed by one of his servants. But then this particular servant runs into another who is indebted to him for a relatively small amount. But because the latter can’t come up with all the money owed on the spot, the one whose debt had been forgiven by the king proceeds to have the guy put in jail for failure to pay. Not exactly doing unto others as another has done unto you, is it?

The servant owed the king ten thousand “talents” (a form of currency, not something that gets you on a television reality show.) It would take a typical servant of this man’s station fifteen years to earn just one talent. So, do the math: the king in the story is owed about 150,000 years worth of the servant’s income! Has this servant maxed out his credit, or what?

How about the other servant’s debt? He owes 100 denarii. A denarius was roughly the daily wage of a servant. One talent is equal to 5,475 denarii. Again, use the calculator on your phone, and you’ll see that the debt that the king forgave the first servant (5,475 times 10,000) was over 54 million denarii! And he can’t forgive the other servant a debt of a mere 100 denarii? What’s wrong with this picture?

But, you ask, what kind of king would loan a servant a ridiculously exorbitant sum equal to 150,000 years’ wages? The answer, of course, is no king worth his salt would, unless he’s wackier than George III. Jesus is deliberately exaggerating here, just as he does with Peter when he tells him that it isn’t enough to forgive someone who has wronged you seven times, but rather seventy-seven times. The man’s debt is unthinkable, and for him to repay such a debt is utterly impossible. So is forgiving someone even seven times, not to mention seventy-seven.

Phyllis Rodriguez, you remember, had thought it impossible to forgive the terrorists who murdered his son and 3,000 others. There’s at least one hurt in my life that I can think of right now that I find virtually impossible to forgive. I’ve been trying, but whenever I visualize the person who administered the hurt to me, I feel the knot in my stomach, and my thoughts about this person are not generous.

Every now and then, I remember to pray to God for strength to do what I cannot do on my own. Peter must have been utterly disheartened when Jesus put before him the impossible instruction to forgive someone who has hurt him not just once, or seven times, but seventy-seven times (i.e. endlessly). He could not have known at the time that 10,000 talents and plenty more was the size of the human debt God would soon forgive through Jesus’ death on the cross. All the sin, of all people, in all the world, through all of time. Huge!

We gain strength sometimes to extend love and forgiveness even when we ourselves feel unable, because the forgiving king wants to love and forgive through us.

Discussion Questions

• Can you think of other instances in the gospels where Jesus uses hyperbole and exaggeration to get our attention?
•  Is it just me, or do you also get the impression that when we talk about “justice” in our legal system, we really mean revenge? Don’t we assume in our culture that each person has a right to retaliate, “get our due” and enjoy “payback time”?  DOES everyone have that right; why or why not?
•  (This one is for you to contemplate privately.) Is there an unresolved hurt in your life? A wrong inflicted on you by someone that you can’t get past? A person, or a group. who causes your stomach to tie in a knot? Someone you just can’t forgive? Then take a silent moment to name that hurt to God, to name that person or group. Then ask God for healing of the hurt and the strength to move toward forgiving. And remember God’s unbounded forgiveness of you, and trust that healing and strength will come.

Activity Suggestions

• To see and hear Phyllis Rodriguez and Aicha el-Wafi talk about their friendship based on forgiveness, go to: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKQA614BA7o or type “Phyllis Rodriguez” in the in Search box.
• Another excruciating tragedy was the killing of five Amish schoolgirls in Lancaster County, PA on October 2, 2006. But the Amish Christians soon turned it into a story about the power of forgiveness. The movies Amish Grace and The Power of Forgiveness tell the story. For a brief and inspiring snapshot, go to: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUuXbHRHbdU or type “Amish Forgiveness in the Search box.

Closing Prayer

God,  it’s just not natural to forgive those who hurt us deeply.  But I am slowly realizing that holding hate just eats me up from within.  It was not natural for you to love a creation which rejected you–but you did.  Make me less natural and more like you, Jesus my Lord, in whose name I pray.  Amen.

Contributed by Dennis Sepper,

University Pastor, Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma Washington

Warm-up Question

Name one thing you spent money on this week.  Why did you spend the money on that one thing?  How did you feel when you laid down the cash and took possession of whatever it was that you bought?

No Strings Attached

A commuter student at the university where I work lost everything in a house fire.  Thankfully, her family and the family pets got out of the house in time and were not injured but the entire house burned down.  They lost everything, their treasured memories in pictures and souvenirs, their clothes and beds, their entire possessions.  Our student even lost her books for the spring semester which, as a nursing student, was a very substantial loss.  Certainly insurance will cover a good deal of the loss and the school has a fund which allowed our student to buy another set of nursing books, but insurance and the good will of others cannot cover everything and it cannot replace the personal items that each family member had collected and now lost.

These kinds of tragedies happen every day from accidents to natural disasters.  It’s funny how we always think our possessions will be there.  We become so attached to them that we deny that one day they could go away.  Even though it happens every day, we still think that we will be able to hold on to everything that is ours.  And should we come to the realization that what we have is transitory, we worry about it and so we invest in alarm systems and fire alarm systems and locked boxes all in an attempt to hold on to our possessions.

(Writer’s note:  if you have a local example by all means use it.  One could use a natural disaster too, such as the flooding in Australia, etc)

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever thought about losing all your possessions?  How does that thought make you feel?  What are the things you would miss most?
• Do you every worry about losing something or having it stolen?  How does that make you feel?
• What steps to do you and/or your family use to make sure you keep your possessions?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, February 27, 2011 (Eighth Sunday after Epiphany

Isaiah 49:8-16a

1 Corinthians 4:1-5

Matthew 6:24-34

(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

With today’s Gospel text from Matthew 6 we are still in the midst of the Sermon on the Mount.  At the beginning of Chapter 6 Jesus warns the disciples against drawing attention to themselves through their piety around almsgiving, prayer and fasting.  Jesus then turns his attention to money and to possessions.  Jesus warns against “storing” up treasures here on earth and encourages us to store up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21).  Today, our text opens again with a warning against money.  “You cannot serve God and wealth,” says Jesus in verse 24.

We may not think that we worship money in the same way we worship God but, if you take the time to reflect on it, we do come awfully close.  Have you ever seen someone accidently rip a one, five, or ten dollar bill?  If you look at the faces of the people around when that happens you would think that the person just blasphemed the Lord.  We are taught at a very early age that money is sacred and that it has a power all its own.  In our day there are a number of people who prefer to serve money rather thank God.  (For a humorous and insightful treatment of this worship of money see Health, Money, and Love and why we don’t enjoy them by Robert Farrar Capon especially pages 87-91.)

From that point Jesus goes on to explore the root causes of our dependence upon possessions and money; we human beings cannot predict or see the future, therefore, we have a deep rooted anxiety about the future.  We simply believe that money and possessions will keep us secure or can protect us from that unknown future.  However, as can be seen in our opening discussion, money and possessions have no power to protect us, for they are as temporal as we human being are temporal.

The words of Jesus in Matthew 6:25-33 are addressed to his disciples who did leave everything behind to follow Jesus.  Jesus reminds his disciples that they are of more value to God than the birds of the air or the lilies of the field.  God has called them into this life of discipleship and God will care for them as God cares for all creation.

That message is valuable to modern day disciples too.  One of the things Jesus came to show us is that all of our lives are in the hand of God—a gracious and loving God.  It is interesting to note that the word “worry” comes from an Old English word that means “to choke”.  That is certainly what worry can do to our lives.  Worry can cause sleepless nights and paralyze us into inactivity.  Jesus came to call us to action in the world and Jesus promises that God will take care of us so that we are free to serve God and neighbor.

While Jesus can be very hard on possessions and wealth, he isn’t saying that every disciple is called to life of poverty.  Jesus simply wants us to keep our priorities straight.  Even today, our lives are in God’s hands and God still continues to care for each and every one of us.  Earlier in the chapter Jesus says, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Our hearts should be centered on God for that is indeed a treasure no one can take away from us.

When Jesus speaks of not worrying about tomorrow, he is not advocating a “don’t worry, be happy” Bobbie McFerrin kind of attitude.  Rather, he calls us to a sure and confident faith that the God who calls us his children and into the world will care for us today, tomorrow, and in the months and years ahead.

Discussion Questions

• Do you believe people worship and serve money?  Give an example of something you have seen or experienced.
• What kinds of things do you worry about?  Have you ever been so worried about something that it causes you not to take action?
• What are some other things that people do to try to be secure against the unknown future?  What do some people do to try to control the uncontrollable future?  (Think about athletes and coaches who have favorite hats or ties that can “guarantee” a victory)
• On the whole, do you have hope for the future or not?  Why?

Activity Suggestions

• Assemble a group of current newspapers, news magazines or, if you are in a position to have internet access, bring up the homepage of CNN or some other news website. As an individual or as a group look for news articles that would cause you or others to worry or be anxious about the future.  After you have identifies several, as an individual or as a group write a short prayer for people who might be worried about that issue or news event.  When we do this at our university we call this activity “praying the headlines” and we try to do it about once a month.
• Another thing you can do is link this week’s discussion to Luther’s explanation of the fourth petition of The Lord’s Prayer.  Note how Luther says that when we ask God for “daily bread” God provides much more.

Closing Prayer

(Use the prayers from the above activity, “praying the headlines,” or the following.)

Loving God, we know that you provide for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field and indeed they are well kept and beautiful.  However, even in the midst of such evidence of your care we still worry about so many things and sometimes that worry dominates our thoughts and actions.  Fill us this day with your Holy Spirit, a Spirit of power and might.  Install in us a sure and certain faith that we can cast all our worries and anxieties on you, knowing that you will give us your peace, a peace that will allow us to confidently walk into the future to serve you and our neighbor.  In the name of Christ Jesus we pray.  Amen

Contributed by Paul Baglyos, St. Paul, MN

Warm-up Question

When is a gift not really a gift?

What’s a Gift?

Recently, a woman addressed the following question and comments to an advice column: “How can I get my significant other to be fair to my kids at Christmas? He always makes sure his kid gets really nice stuff and then he will get something really expensive for himself. But my kids and me? For example, last year he got his 10-year-old daughter an iPod Touch that cost $300, but my kids got $50 gift certificates. Then he bought something for his guitar that costs over $400, and I got nothing. This really bothers me.”

Implicit in the woman’s question and comments is the popular sense that the value of a gift is determined by its monetary cost and that gift-giving should exemplify fairness and equity.  In that regard, gifts and gift-giving lose all character of grace and instead become  matters of obligation.

Discussion Questions

• Imagine the larger story behind the woman’s question and comments.  What do you suppose the man might say in response to the woman?  What do you suppose his daughter and her kids might say to each other, or about each other, after they have opened their gifts at Christmas?
• Is the man being selfish and cheap?  Is the woman being too demanding?
• The response to the woman published in the advice column included this opinion: “We don’t think this guy sounds like significant other material.”  Do you agree with that opinion?  Why, or why not?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, December 19, 2010 (Fourth Sunday of Advent)

Isaiah 7:10-16

Romans 1:1-7

Matthew 1:18-25

(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

Quite a lot was expected of Joseph.  He was told to assume responsibility for his pregnant wife-to-be, and for the unborn child conceived in her womb, even though the child was not his own.  Joseph’s plan “to dismiss [Mary] quietly” was reasonable and fair; after all, her pregnancy might be regarded as a breach of pre-marital trust between them, releasing him from all further obligations.  The angel’s instruction to Joseph, however, required him to surrender all reasonable claims to fairness and to act with a generosity that exceeded obligation.

God, too, acts with a generosity that exceeds obligation.  God’s Christmas gift to the world, the gift of Jesus the Messiah, demonstrates sheer grace on the part of God.  The gift is neither owed nor deserved; it cannot be demanded and it cannot be priced.  God’s generosity is described in this well-known verse from the Gospel according to John: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Discussion Questions

• What is the difference between grace and obligation?
• Think about a time you received a gift you did not deserve–or felt coerced into giving a gift by the demands or expectations of others?    How does the contrast between grace and obligation change the character of “gift”?
• Why does it seem easier to understand obligation than to understand grace?
• How do Christians understand life in relation to God’s grace?  How do Christians demonstrate grace in relation to others?
• In what ways might the church become more fully a community a grace in the world?

Activity Suggestions

• Imagine that you are Joseph; write a brief letter to an advice column about your situation in relation to Mary and the unborn child she carries.  Now imagine you are an advice columnist responding to Joseph; write a brief reply to his letter.
• Think of a gift that your church group might give in celebration of Christmas.  What is the gift, and to whom will you give it?  Make plans to do so.

Closing Prayer

O come, O come, Emmanuel.  Be with us, God, in all our days and all our ways, that we might be with you now and forever.  Amen

.

Contributed by Jen Krausz, Bethlehem, PA

Warm-up Question

How do you decide whether to help someone?

Doing More Harm Than Good?

Nine months after a devastating earthquake killed over 250,000 people, many Haitians and international experts say that the millions of dollars given in aid has actually caused infrastructure and business shutdowns, and may be hurting the nation more than it has helped.

After the 7.0 magnitude earthquake, food, shelter and medical assistance poured into the already poor country.  American and French doctors came and treated thousands of injuries.  Although many Haitians still live in tents after their shacks and cement brick homes were destroyed, most people now have access to food, clean water and basic medical care.

The unfortunate and unforeseen drawback of all this generosity, however, is that existing hospitals, stores and pharmacies have had to shut down because there is much less demand for their products and services. Some fear that the aid will actually leave the country worse off than it was before.

Nurse Beth Middleton says she has doctors handing her resumes, forced to live in tents despite their education and experience. “The healthcare that was in place before the earthquake was crippled by the relief effort,” she says. “Pharmacies closed because of all the free drugs, and doctors lost all their patients.” The middle class is finding it hard to find jobs, she says, and pay for their housing and their kids’ school fees.

In the aftermath of the earthquake, over 12,000 non-governmental organizations have provided aid. Some of these are doing good work, but it is difficult to tell what many are doing, if anything at all. Furthermore, some say these organizations are not doing very well working together or working with governmental agencies to best help the people of Haiti. Some fear  that many organizations will pull out of Haiti without making sure that the people are able to help themselves.

Dig a little deeper:  http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69O2T320101025

Discussion Questions

• Do you know anyone who has helped or donated money to the Haiti relief effort? (The ELCA has donated over 4.6 million dollars to Haiti Relief—http://www.theliberalspirit.com/?p=2177)
• How does it feel to help someone, whether face-to-face or by giving money?
• Have you ever seen someone get helped and be worse off afterward?
• How can we Christians help in ways which leave others better off and ultimately independent?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, November 7, 2010 (All Saints Sunday)

 Daniel  7:1-3, 15-18

Ephesians 1:11-23

Luke 6:20-31

(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 hard teaching some of this is for those of us who live in America! You might not feel rich, but the average American is in the top 1% of the world as far as income level. All those “woe to yous” could very well apply to us. That’s something to think about next time we go to the all-you-can-eat buffet, isn’t it?

Jesus isn’t saying that we will be punished for having stuff or that it’s wrong to eat a big meal. It’s when we focus on getting more stuff, or better stuff, while neglecting the really important things in life that Jesus has a problem with us. If our focus is on caring about people, taking care of our responsibilities, helping those who truly can’t help themselves, and loving God, then we will be blessed. And if we focus on material things and ourselves, then we’ve already had our reward. That’s pretty simple.

The last part of this teaching is definitely the hardest. Loving those who love us is hard enough. But loving our enemies? Doing something nice for someone who is going to turn around and stab you in the back is just about the hardest thing Jesus asks us to do. It goes against everything in us! It’s exactly the opposite of what the world does and expects us to do. Are we really supposed to just let people take our stuff and not do anything about it? Who does that?  Almost nobody.

Elsewhere in scripture Jesus makes it clear that Christians are supposed to be different from the rest of the world. (See, for example, Matthew 5:13-16) We’re supposed to go so far beyond the way the rest of the world behaves, that the world will look at us and say, “Maybe they are really about something real and special.” When we are unlike anything else in the world, people sit up and take notice. Some even get drawn in when they realize that they want what we have.

Discussion Questions

• What part of the gospel reading seems the hardest to you? Which part do you most identify with?
• Have you ever done something nice for an “enemy” (meaning someone you don’t like, or who doesn’t like you, or who has treated you badly in the past)? What happened, if anything, as a result?
• As a Christian, what makes you different from other people you know?
•  Do you think God wants us to help people even if it makes them dependent or if it makes their situation worse? Is it possible that sometimes the best way to help someone is to do nothing so that they learn to help themselves?

Activity Suggestions

One way to truly help people is to provide the resources they need to become independent—to help others help themselves. There are organizations which do this.  For example, Heifer International provides animals to families struggling with poverty. Providing something as simple as a flock of chicks or a goat enables that family to make an income from the eggs, the milk, and later the meat of those animals. Part of the agreement in receiving an animal is to share its offspring with neighbors, “passing on the gift.”

Brainstorm ways your group or class could help someone in your community or elsewhere in the world. There are probably organizations right in your community to which you can donate money or volunteer time—your leader or pastor may be able to help. Even writing letters of encouragement can be a great help to someone in need

Dear God, Thank you for hard teachings. May we have ears to hear them. Help us to be willing to do the hard things, to show love even to our enemies. We pray that others will sense your presence in our lives as we follow you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Closing Prayer

Dear God, Thank you for hard teachings. May we have ears to hear them. Help us to be willing to do the hard things, to show love even to our enemies. We pray that others will sense your presence in our lives as we follow you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Contributed by Bob Chell, Lutheran Campus Pastor, South Dakota State University

Warm-up Question

What’s your favorite reality show? Why?

Schadenfreude

Google “why we love reality TV” and you will get 50,500,000 results in 0.24 seconds. Type in “list of reality TV shows” and you’ll find 500+ shows in 13 categories encompassing life from cradle (Toddlers in Tiaras) to teens (My Super Sweet Sixteen) young adults (Cribs) dating, (the Bachelor) marriage (Bridezilla) and the aftermath (Cheaters). The last is only one of the twenty two ‘hidden camera’ reality shows.

As television mirrors real life, real life returns the favor with the recent posting of a Duke University student’s web power point of her sexual partners titled “An Education Beyond the Classroom: Excelling in the Realm of Horizontal Academics” listing names and evaluating the sexual prowess of those with whom she shared her body.

It doesn’t stop there. Much like the twenty two “hidden camera” shows, a  Rutgers University student thought it would be funny to leave his webcam on when his roommate had a romantic encounter, twittering other friends to ‘tune in.’

His roommate, the unwitting star of the video, Tyler Clementi, took his life the next day, jumping off the George Washington Bridge.

YouTube now has a video about “the two worst people in the world” meaning, of course, those who posted the webcast on the internet…and, as day follows night, articles, video’s and, of course, Facebook groups condemning or defending all of those listed above. One cannot tell the victims from the victimizers.

Discussion Questions

• How do you feel about yourself when you find yourself delighting in the misfortune of others?
•  Why do people consent to be on a reality TV show. What does it say about them?
• What does the proliferation of internet sites devoted to the misfortune of others say about our culture? About you and me?
• Will you surf the net differently for having read this article?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, October 24, 2010 (Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost)

Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22

2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

Luke 18:9-14

(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

I love words and this text calls to mind two of my favorites; “supercilious” (soo-per-sil-ee-uh s) meaning “disdainful: having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy” and the German word, “schadenfreude” (\ˈshä-d^ən-ˌfrȯi-də\), meaning pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others.

It is easy to see the Pharisee as supercilious. I love the word because pronounced aloud it contains the word ‘silly.’  And how silly for one person to think they are better than another, right? (Do not answer this question aloud.  I, like Jesus, am setting a trap for the unwary.)  Schadenfreude is the feeling we get when the trap is sprung.  Surely you’ve had the feeling, haven’t you? If you’ve ever been passed by a reckless driver going 30 miles over the speed limit only to see them pulled over by the state trooper five miles later, I know you have.

To be a Pharisee one had to be devout, taking faith seriously and working to live as God would have one live. Tax collectors did, in fact, impoverish others as they enriched themselves.  Both can be, and were, scoundrel or saint in different contexts.

Jesus didn’t come to tell bad people to be good people. When my children were young I remember driving by the county jail one day with them when one of them pointed to the jail saying, “That’s where they keep the bad people.” I wouldn’t have thought much of it if I hadn’t spent the previous afternoon visiting a student there. “No,” I said, “that’s where they keep good people who make bad choices.” Don’t get me wrong. I, like you, know there is evil in the world. Only a dolt would believe otherwise. Yet, at the end of the day there is only one kind of people not two. Jesus didn’t come to tell bad people to be good people, Jesus came to forgive sin and call us into discipleship.

If we are honest with ourselves, we can and do play both parts in Jesus’ parable.

Discussion Questions

• Would you answer the warm up question differently after having read the news article and reflection?
• Do you know people who, because they are smarter than others, believe they are better than others? How many words can you substitute for “smarter” in the above sentence?
• What does it say about us when we find ourselves delighting in the misfortune of others?
• Martin Luther said we were simul justus et peccator, both saint and sinner. What does this mean in the context of this parable?
• Have you ever gone to a pastor, teacher, or someone else in authority to take responsibility for having hurt another? Did that ease or add to your burden? Why?
• What is the significance of Jesus forgiving sin and calling us into discipleship versus calling us into discipleship and forgiving sin. 

Activity Suggestions

• Read what this Wikipedia article says about simul justus et peccator, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theology_of_Martin_Luther, and discuss whether you agree with Martin Luther.  Why or why not?
• Keep a log of the time you spend watching reality shows this week, and another of the time you spend texting, chatting via the internet and on facebook. Next week talk about how these activities  enrich and impoverish your life.
• Identify those places where things contrary to God’s way of living are portrayed as glamorous on TV and in your school or workplace.
• Pray for the saints and scoundrels you see on TV, in your school or workplace, and in your homes. Include yourself.

Closing Prayer

Forgiving God, I have mocked and teased others and relished their misfortune. Forgive me and break open my heart so I can feel the pain of another. Healing God, I know the pain of my brokenness and work to hide it from others, from you, and from myself. Help me face my pain and give me the courage to share it with someone of trust, that your grace and forgiveness may become real in my life. Amen.