Contributed by Seth Moland-Kovash, All Saints Lutheran Church, Palatine, IL

Warm-up Question

Have you ever spoken up for someone else? Maybe it was for a younger sibling to your parents… maybe a new student to a teacher?

Speaking Up

An advocate is defined as “a person who pleads for or in behalf of another.” In other words, advocates speak up about something that isn’t directly about them. Usually it means speaking for someone who couldn’t speak for themselves. Lawyers are advocates. Most people do not have the training, expertise, and knowledge of the law to speak for themselves in court.  Lawyers advocate for them.

Your church (the ELCA) is a bunch of advocates. We have advocates who work in Washington, DC, in state capitols, and even at the UN.  They speak for peace, the environment, or fair budgets for the poor. Advocacy (speaking up for those who can’t speak for themselves) is part of our calling as disciples of Jesus. For instance, you can read at http://capwiz.com/elca/issues/alert/?alertid=46674501&type=CU about a “season of prayer” for the people of Sudan leading up to the planned independence of South Sudan on July 9.

Discussion Questions

• What faith-connections do you make with public or political advocacy? What biblical stories or ideas come to mind?
• What is an issue or cause that motivates you? Why?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, May 29, 2011 (Sixth Sunday of Easter)

Acts 17:22-31

1 Peter 3:13-22

John 14:15-21

(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

Jesus promised his disciples that he wouldn’t leave them alone forever. Jesus was talking with them before his arrest, trial, and crucifixion about leaving them… but not alone. Still, his disciples were getting afraid. They weren’t sure they would know what to do, what to say.  So Jesus promised them an Advocate. This Advocate (which we call usually call the Holy Spirit) will be with God’s people forever and is called “a Spirit of truth.” This Advocate will help us find the truth, will help us live the truth.

Discussion Questions

• Do you ever feel the Holy Spirit’s presence with you? Is it comforting?
• What truth or truths would you like the Advocate to help you find?
• What things would you like the Advocate to advocate for you? With God? With someone else?

Activity Suggestions

Visit the ELCA’s Legislative Action Center at http://capwiz.com/elca/home/ to find out about the things that need your voice in advocacy. Or, you can “like” ELCA Justice Town on Facebook.

Closing Prayer

Good and gracious God, we thank you that you have sent the Holy Spirit to comfort us and to advocate for us. Inspire us, by your Spirit, to speak for others as you give us the ability.

Contributed by Aaron Matson, Leganger Lutheran Church, Toronto, SD

Warm-up Question

Have you ever been a part of a great celebration? What were you celebrating? How did feel to be a part of such a celebration?

From Mountaintop to Spring Training

A few short months ago, the San Francisco Giants were on top of the baseball world, celebrating a World Series Championship. Winning the World Series is the dream of any baseball player from the first time he picks up a baseball and bat. It is the pinnacle, the mountain top, of achievement for a baseball player. It is an experience that can never be taken away:  the final out,  the celebration on the field and in the locker room,  the parade in front of the cheering hometown fans.

But right now, the Giants, like every other Major League Baseball team, are going through the daily grind of spring training. Like everybody else, the Giants are taking grounders, running sprints, and practicing bunting and base running. While they are hoping for another championship at the end of the season, they know that the life of a baseball player is not primarily mountaintop celebration, but the daily routine of honing his skills to be the best player he can be. The life of a baseball player is filled with ups and downs, but through the ups and downs, baseball players do what they have been trained and coached to do – play baseball.

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever had to practice or rehearse for an activity in which you were  involved?
• Do you ever get tired of practicing or rehearsing? Was the joy of being a part of the activity worth it?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, March 6, 2011 (Transfiguration of our Lord)

Exodus 24:12-18

2 Peter 1:16-21

Matthew 17:1-9

(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

Have you ever had a mountaintop experience? That is, have you ever had an experience where you felt the presence and love of God in a way you never had before? Maybe you felt that way at a week at camp, or at a retreat. Maybe you  had one at a conference or Bible study with a particularly engaging and insightful speaker or teacher.

Mountaintop experiences are wonderful things. They can renew your spirit, refresh your faith, and inspire you to live a more healthy, faithful life. In the rhythm of the life of the Church, weekly worship services are meant to be mini-mountaintop experiences.  Hopefully you leave worship renewed, refreshed, and inspired—at least some of the time. Ideally, somewhere in the liturgy,  scripture readings, fellowship, hymns, or sermons you hear the Gospel preached and your faith is renewed and refreshed for the next week.

The season of Epiphany is a season of mountain top experiences, and in today’s Gospel lesson, we literally see a mountaintop experience in the transfiguration of Jesus. Six days after he predicts his suffering, death, and resurrection, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to a high mountain. Jesus is transfigured before them; that is, his appearance and very being are changed.  His clothes are a dazzling white and Moses and Elijah appear with him. A voice from heaven speaks words very similar to those uttered when Jesus was baptized, “This is my Son, the beloved, listen to him!” And then, as suddenly as the experience started, it ends; Jesus is alone again, and he tells them to tell no one what they have seen until he had risen from the dead.

And in the middle of this miraculous event, the disciples are terrified, scared stiff–as  I imagine any of us would be. This is the mountaintop experience to end mountaintop experiences, an Epiphany overload of awe and wonder and revelation. They have an experience where Jesus is revealed to be divine, the Son of God. Shown in the presence of the two biggest names in the Old Testament, Moses and Elijah, Jesus is revealed as the completion and perfection of what God had been doing throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and Israel’s collective history.

In the middle of this awesome and amazing event, Peter, not knowing what else to say, proposes building dwellings for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. As terrified as he is, he knows what a miraculous event he witnessed and he doesn’t want it to end. In his mind, this is a mountaintop experience that can’t be topped – and won’t be, until he had seen the risen Christ.

But the experience did end; Jesus and the disciples had work to do. Jesus did not come to this world to stay on mountaintops; he came to bring God’s kingdom to earth in his ministry, death, and resurrection. Like Peter, we too want to stay in mountaintop experiences.  That is understandable. Who wouldn’t want to stay in the place where we can see the glory and power of Christ in amazing ways?

But the life of faith is not meant to be spent on mountaintops, it is meant to be spent in active engagement in the life of the world – in getting our hands dirty, in using our voices to speak for the oppressed, in speaking truth to power, and speaking words of compassion and love to our neighbors. Sometimes words of love need to be a kick in the pants so that others straighten up, and sometimes they need to be words of gentle understanding and comfort. But either way, they need to be words of Christ’s love and compassion. Put simply, it is our work to be engaged in the world, proclaiming the Gospel by loving and serving the neighbor.

A boat in a port is safe, but that is not what boats were made for.  Jesus could have stayed on the mountaintop, but that’s not what he was sent for. Life on the mountaintop is safe, but that is not what our Christian vocation is. Our vocation, our calling, is to spread the Gospel of Christ in word and deed, and to be engaged in the world in lives of love and service, so that the light of Christ shines through us.

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever had a “mountaintop experience” in your faith life? Did you wish you could stay there?
• Has that experience helped you to live out your faith in the daily grind of life?
• What are some ways you can live out your faith and be engaged in the world?

Activity Suggestions

• Review the promises that parents and sponsors make in Baptism and that people make when they affirm their Baptism (pages 228 and 236). Talk about how theses faith practices help sustain and strengthen a Christian’s faith in between mountaintop experiences.
• Bring newspapers or news stories from the Internet and find stories of people in your community and around the world that need us to be engaged in the world as signs of God’s loving presence. Go to the ELCA Advocacy (http://www.elca.org/Our-Faith-In-Action/Justice/Advocacy.aspx) page to find some ways you can be engaged as Christ’s hands and feet in the world.

Closing Prayer

Everlasting God, we thank you for all those mountaintop experiences where we have felt your presence in amazing and incredible ways. Holy Spirit, help us sustain our faith as we come back down from those mountaintops to engage the world. We pray for all those that need the help of your Church and we pray that you awaken the compassion within us so that we may bring your love and healing presence to them. Amen.

Contributed by David Delaney, Salem, VA

Warm-up Question

If we move away from the word “blessed” for a minute and think of the word “happy” instead, what kinds of things come to mind when you imagine yourself as happy?  Think about experiences right now rather than a definition of the word.  Are you more likely to think of something you already occasionally do or experience or are you more likely to think of your future, a vision or goal for the good life?  If you and your group write all of these things down, do you see things in common or are you all over the map?  Do they tend to be things that give you immediate pleasure, recreation, and thrill, or things that turn you outward, relate to deeper meanings, or reorient your attitudes in a way that have longer value?  Do any of your experiences sound like anything in Matthew 5:1-12?

As we start to build an understanding of the meaning of the word “blessing” or “blessed,” what other words besides “happiness” and “happy” can you associate with those ideas?

More Than Happy

In mid-January an elderly couple won more than 300 million dollars in the Mega-Millions lottery, which they took in a lump sum rather than annual payments.   In an interview, they said they are determined not to go the way of so many other large lottery winners who have ended up on welfare after a few years because of reckless spending.  In spite of the plans they’ve announced to give a lot of their winnings away to charities and other major gifts, they have still already been inundated with hundreds requests for money and the simple task of responding to those requests has required a huge amount of time.

Not too many days after that lottery win, a woman in Tucson named Patricia Maisch probably saved more than a dozen lives by grabbing the extra gun clip from deranged killer Jared Lee Loughner in the middle of his January 8^th shooting spree.   She has since been interviewed by more than two dozen news  organizations from around the world, including live television interviews.  She insists that she is not a hero, but this event has allowed her to speak out about gun violence, extreme political rhetoric, and the courage of those around her during the shooting.

Discussion Questions

• Do you think that any of these people would describe themselves as “blessed”?
• One couple had a dream come true – a huge amount of money dropped in their lap.  The other woman was unhurt in an incident in which 19 were shot and helped prevent the shooting of many others.  How does that help our emerging understanding of the being “blessed”?
• What other examples can we think of where something that looks at first like a “blessing” might have another side to it, or on the other hand, something that sounds difficult and disruptive ends up providing a blessing we didn’t expect?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, January 30, 2011 (Fourth Sunday after Epiphany)

Micah 6:1-8

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Matthew 5:1-12

(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

Even though verse one of Matthew 5 suggests that Jesus is to be seen as the new Moses, the content of this set of teachings does not really parallel Exodus 19 and 20 very closely.  The commandment words in this chapter consist of things like “Rejoice and be glad!” and “Let your light so shine!”  As these chapters progress through what is called “the Sermon on the Mount,” they are more *descriptive* of what life following Jesus is like rather than *prescriptive* in the sense of dictating a set of do’s and don’t’s.   The call in 5:20 that the Christian’s righteousness must exceed that of the hyper-law-keeping Scribes and Pharisees is a strong clue that this righteousness of which Jesus speaks can only come as a gift from God and not from one’s own hard work and good behavior.

This attitude of receptivity and dependence on God’s grace that serves as the key to the entire Sermon on the Mount points back to our passage, where one wonders how it could ever be possible that the “poor in spirit” would be the very ones destined for heaven, or the meek would inherit the earth.  We are naturally suspicious of claims that showing mercy will elicit mercy from others, because our world does not appear to work that way.

This is what makes being a follower of Christ both the joy and the challenge that is described here.  To trust God for the fulfillment all of these promises is both our greatest unburdening (because it doesn’t depend on us!) and our greatest test (because such trust is an enormous risk!).

Discussion Questions

• In verse one, Jesus goes up on a mountain to teach and invite his followers to a new kind of “law” for life.   Who does this remind us of from the Old Testament (answer = Moses) and what do we think the gospel writer wants us to understand about Jesus from this connection?
• What does it mean to be “poor in spirit”?  Does our understanding of this phrase change if we paraphrase it as “those who know they need the spirit of God”?
• What are some synonyms for “meek” ?  Some possibilities are “humble,” “gentle.”
• It is possible to make two lists from the characteristics of the blessed in this passage:  one list contains the things that are more like life-experiences that happen *to* us – mournful, persecuted, slandered;  the other list contains things that have more to do with our attitudes and actions – meekness, mercy, purity in heart, peacemaking.  Some, like “poor in spirit” and “hungry for righteousness” could be both, because they can come from a natural humility or the experience of being deflated from our pride or self-righteousness.  What do we learn about following Jesus from this?  Is the blessed life an active and willful life, or passive and receptive, or both?
• Return to the question of what “blessed” means.  Many translations of Matthew 5 actually use the word “happy,” which is one perfectly correct rendering of the Greek word makarios which appears here.  It may be, however, that “blessed” is still a better choice because it suggests that this condition of well-being is something that happens to a person  or comes as a gift rather than something that someone does to attain happiness or blessedness.  Which of these is the better way of describing the result of following Christ, trusting the gospel, and obeying Christ’s commands?
• Some have noted that Matthew’s version of these “Beatitudes” differs from the list in Luke 6:20-31 particularly in that the Lukan list seems more deeply based in the actual experience of physical poverty, hunger, and persecution.   As if to emphasize the point, Luke also contains a list of warnings to those who have all of their needs currently met.  How literally should we take these descriptions of human conditions in Matthew 5 and Luke 6?  Can blessedness come from spiritual hunger just as much as physical hunger?
• How do we imagine that these blessings become real in the lives of people who experience the hardships Jesus describes?  Is it simply a direct line from God to the individual?  Or do we who have experienced these things before or who are already equipped with the good news of the gospel and the means to relieve suffering play a role on God’s behalf in bringing blessing to others?
• Some have been critical of these promises in Matthew because they can be seen as self-centered or unrelated to a community of relationships.   Yet if we take the example of verse 12, the blessing experienced by the prophets of Israel  even while they were being persecuted or killed was not simply a personal heavenly reward, but that the nation and the people heard the word of God, which – as the scriptures promise – is effective whether we see it or not!  Is it possible that the blessedness that is promised to *you* as someone who experiences these things really becomes a fuller blessing in the experience of those around you who share in it also?

Suggested Activity

On a sheet of paper that you will fold up and carry with you this week as a reminder, list the names of actual people you know to whom you can relate in a new way according to this list of promises from Jesus.   Is there someone in your life for whom you only have contempt or conflict?  How can you be “poor in spirit” in your conversations with them?  Do you know someone who is consumed by a lifestyle of destructive behavior or shallow thrill?  Can your “hunger and thirst for righteousness” provide a suggestion of another way to live?  Is there someone in your life who needs mercy and forgiveness from you or others?  Can you show mercy and forgiveness to that person, knowing that it may not be received or returned?   Are you afraid of the consequences of representing the love of God in Christ Jesus to others in word and/or deed?  Recall that the promise of verses 11 and 12 are not just that you have a heavenly consolation for your courage and trouble, but that there may be others nearby who have desperately needed to hear and see the witness of someone who believes that God’s grace can really make a difference.   Who in your life could benefit from that witness?

Let this list of people be your personal prayer list for the week and also your reminder that God’s promises for following Christ as described here in Matthew 5 are true!

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, giver of every blessing, we rejoice that the wisdom and promises you first shared with your disciples has come down to us and still remains true today.  Help us to come to you as your followers did in those days and to welcome your word with gladness, even as it calls us to repentance and service.   We lift before you for your blessings all those whose spirits call out for relief and righteousness, all who mourn the loss of loved ones, who feel disenfranchised and isolated, and whose fondest desire is that they could feel strong enough to show mercy and forgiveness in the face of persecution and hatred.  Give us, along with all your people, joy and gladness for the reward that is ours in your kingdom.

Contributed by Seth Moland-Kovash, All Saints Lutheran Church, Palatine, IL

Warm-up Question

Have you ever been fishing? Are you a “catch-and-release” or “keep-and-eat” fisher?

To Fish or Not to Fish

It seems that we’ve been concerned for decades about overfishing. Commercial fisheries have depleted the stocks of valuable fish for human consumption to the point that the stocks have dried up. Businesses and ways of life for people who depend on commercial fishing have dried up. That could be changing.

Steve Murawski, who was, until recently, the chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service, believes that this year will be the first time on record (since 1900) that US fishermen won’t overfish any species. Read more at http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=12571607&page=1

Through management and quota systems, Murawski and others believe that the US has balanced the need to fish now with the need to preserve fish supplies for future years and future generations. Obviously, only time will tell if that is true.

Discussion Questions

• Do you think the government should regulate how much people can fish? Why or why not?
• What do you think is the biggest danger in overfishing? Is overfishing  a greater danger than people losing jobs in fishing?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, January 23, 2011 (Third Sunday after Epiphany)

Isaiah 9:1-4

1 Corinthians 1:10-18

Matthew 4:12-23

(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

Jesus met some commercial fishermen. Simon Peter and Andrew weren’t just hobby fishermen. They weren’t having a relaxing day out on the boat. This was their job and their livelihood.  Their families and those they loved depended on them to make a good catch, sell it at the market,  and bring the proceeds home. Jesus invited them to a different way of life.

He invited them to lay down their fishing nets and pick up their people-fishing tools. Of course, in that moment, he did not describe to them how to fish for people or tell them what would be involved. They could only learn that through being with him all through his life: in fact, all the way through his death and resurrection.

And yet, with these seemingly large holes in their knowledge… they did it! They dropped their fishing nets and left their business behind. They left everything behind and followed.

Discussion Questions

• Why do you think Simon Peter and Andrew followed?
• Would you have followed if Jesus had said this to you?
• What is the best “bait” you have to fish for people as Jesus commanded us to do?

Activity Suggestion

Create an imaginary tackle box. Think of all the bait and tackle you have at your disposal to fish for people? What’s in it? What tools has God give you, personally and as a group?

Closing Prayer

Good and gracious God, we pray for your guidance as we fish for people. Give us the words and the tools we need. Most of all, give us the passion and the desire to share your good news with all those around us.  Amen.

Contributed by Bill King, Blacksburg, VA

Warm-up Question

Share a time when you anticipated a special day or event and were disappointed?

Waiting for the Second Coming

They believe he will some day return and are waiting patiently.  They are the tribesman of Tanna, one of 83 islands that make up Vanuatu, formerly the Anglo-French territory of the New Hebrides.  The person they are awaiting is Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II.  For reasons that are not entirely clear, the people of this South Pacific island believe Philip is a descendant of their spirit ancestors and for the past half century they have worshipped him as a god.  The adulation began in the 1960s and is believed to be a synthesis of traditional religion, the idea of a returning messiah figure introduced by Christian missionaries, and respect for the royal family dating from colonial days.

Philip’s birthday, June 10, is celebrated on the island every year, but there was special anticipation in 2010 because many believed this was the year he had promised to return.  The tribesman prepared a traditional bamboo hut, with dirt floor and thatched roof for him.  Siko Nathuan, the village chief, said, “I’ve been preparing this place for when he comes to live among us.  I know that in England he has a palace and servants. But here he will just live simply, like us.”

Whenever Philip returns (he did visit the New Hebrides on the royal yacht in 1974) the islanders anticipate amazing events.  Kirk Huffman, an anthropologist familiar with the cult writes about the expectations, “At the very moment that he sets foot ashore, mature kava plants [from which an intoxicating spirit is brewed] will sprout all over the island; all the old people will shed their skins like snakes and become young again; there will no more sickness and no more death … a man will be able to take any woman he wants.”

For more on this story

Discussion Questions

• What is the difference between the inhabitants of Tanna’s expectations and the Christian hope of a “Second Coming” of Christ?
• How do you the think the inhabitants reacted when June 10, 2010 came and went without the return of Philip to Vanuatu?
• The return of a hero is a common motif in both religion and literature (think The Return of the King); why do you think we find that hope across many faiths and cultures?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, November 28, 2010 (The First Sunday of Advent)

Isaiah 2:1-5

Romans 13:11-14

Matthew 24:36-44

(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

Did Jesus expect a “second coming” to occur before the first generation of Christians had died?  That is a question which provokes lively discussion among biblical scholars.  What is not debatable is that popular culture tends to get the priorities of this week’s text exactly reversed.  Matthew’s Jesus calls us to focus on faithfulness in the here and now, but too often we get distracted by pointless pondering about what the last days will be like.

Jesus could not make it any clearer, “Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”  But that does not keep bad literature such as the Left Behind novels from promoting lurid, morbid obsession with the final days.  The problem with focusing on the last days is that we become pessimistic spectators to the world’s pain rather than engaged disciples of Jesus who are concerned with easing that suffering.

We periodically read about a small group of fanatics who believe they have discerned the date the world will end.  They gather on a mountain top and wait for the cosmic fireworks to begin.  Such folks are simply the most bizarre example of an attitude which can take root in any Christian community, an attitude which says, “This world is so bad, let’s just hunker down in our holy bunker—safely apart from the sinful corruption of society—and wait for God to make everything right.”

Such thinking is 180 degrees from what Jesus desires from his disciples.  In God’s good time all will be made right, but in the mean time our calling is not speculation about the future, but faithful ministry in the spirit of Jesus.  If we are serious about following Christ, our concern is not just who will be “left behind” on a distant judgment day, but who gets “left behind” every day as the despairing fail to hear of God’s love in Christ, the poor go to bed hungry, students are bullied because they are somehow different, and good educational opportunities go only to those lucky enough to live in affluent suburbs.

There is no need for us to worry about the specifics of the last days.  If we live faithfully in each present moment the future will take care of itself.

Discussion Questions

• Why do you think novels such as the Left Behind series are so popular; what longings or fears do they tap into?
• If you knew the “second coming” was tomorrow, how would it change how you spend today?
• Jesus says we must be ready at all times, what would being ready look like in your daily life?
• Who are the people most likely to be left behind in our world—out of sight, out of mind?

Activity Suggestions

Look at the list of those who are most likely to be “left behind” which you generated in response to the last discussion question.   Plan an action which you can do within one week which will show Christ’s concern—then do it.

Closing Prayer

Lord of History, all time is in your hands; the future belongs to you.  Preserve us from fears which lead us to despair, apathy which saps our resolve, and speculations which have no purpose.  Instead, focus our eyes on the example of our Lord Jesus Christ that we, like him,   may bear witness to your abiding love in all we say and do.  Amen