Brett Davis, Washington, DC

Warm-up Question

Are you a creature of habit?  Do you like routine/structure?

Extreme Happiness

Alexsander Gamme is a Norweigan adventurer and explorer who has seen some incredible sights.  He’s summited Everest and been to some of the wildest, highest, and most remote places in the world.  He might be a bit of an adrenaline junkie – but maybe even that can become habit?

A video from one of his expeditions went viral a few years ago and has since been picked up on several news stories because it is one of the purest, most unbridled displays of sheer joy.  The video is self-footage from day 86 of his solo South Pole expedition, and it’s the last leg of his journey.  He’s approaching the spot where his last stash of food and supplies is set.  It’s a routine thing, and although he is probably happy approaching it, he is tired, hungry, and calm.  He mutters and talks to himself as he digs the bag out of the snow, and then you see him calmly opening and describing its contents – until – there’s a pause and then just a shout of sheer joy – “YAAAAAAAAA!”

This is the happiest you’ve ever seen someone, certainly about a bag of Cheeze Doodles but probably anything else.  He then throws the bag high up in the air; it lands on the snow with a soft thud, as he continues screaming his happiness.  He continues unpacking other things, gear, and then another shiny package catches his eye – this time a king-size candy bar.  This discovery, and a couple other sweets he finds, leaves him laying on the snow clutching a bag of candy, giggling and yelling in a free and joyful way.

(The video is called “basic needs – extreme happiness,” and you can watch it here if you’re able.)

Gamme has commented later that he intentionally did not make notes or know what was in each pack, so that it would be a surprise.  He talks to himself and sounds so tired as he approaches and begins opening the pack – one news story about this included a rough translation: “He says in the beginning that he is so hungry. He wonders if they have left any goodies apart from the most important stuff. He finds Vaseline and wishes to find food. He doesn’t know if they have left anything to eat. And then he finds the snacks, cheese and candy. And before that, when he crawls back to the camera, he says he didn’t think there will be any, but you should never lose hope.”

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever experienced joy like this?
• If your packed lunch every day was the same thing, and then one day it was ___(you fill in the blank)___, how would you react?
• Do you think people fake this kind of joy sometimes?
• Can you think of some times, personal or not, when a very routine moment has been interrupted by joy?
• Do you think that real joy has to be a surprise?

Resurrection of our Lord

(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 B at Lectionary Readings

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

We think of Easter as this special day, and this is, of course, a special story.  But not at first.  As the story begins, Jesus has died and everything has changed for his disciples.  What are they to do now?  We’re not sure what the men are doing at this point in Mark’s gospel, but we know what the women do.

The women (Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome), are simply following routine.  Burial practices are a cultural practice, more elaborate than a habit like brushing your teeth or turning off lights when you leave a room, but still, this is a habit.

What’s striking is how normal this scene is.  At the very beginning of the passage is the note “when the Sabbath was over.”  This tells us that the women had done what they had done every Saturday – kept the Sabbath.  Even if grieving, they probably went through all the regular motions of their Sabbath day.  Then it’s Sunday morning, and they get up and do together what they would have done for any loved one who has died.  It seems special to us, but this is what would’ve been done for everyone – spices to prepare the body, caring for the tomb.  They ask the question “who will roll away the stone for us” because they’ve done this before.  As hard as it is, it’s also routine – like family members who might go to visit a loved one’s grave today and have to call ahead of time to make sure the cemetery gate will be open.

Jesus’ death didn’t change their routines.  Maybe the women are trying to use their routines to make sense of Jesus’ death.  While we all react differently to grief and shock, this is something that can be helpful – having things to do, routines to follow, words to say, and practices that help bring meaning.

This is a totally normal story – and should sound pretty ho-hum…  until they see the stone has been moved… and a “young man” sits there and tells them – “do not be alarmed.”  But they are, at first.  Something that was so routine has been totally interrupted.  Such an interruption can at first naturally bring fear – a part of our body’s shock reaction – but can blossom into joy.  Perhaps after everything that happened with Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, the routine practices were needed, so that they could be interrupted by the joy of the resurrection.

Discussion Questions

• Do you find routine helpful in making something meaningful, or does it just get boring? (Possible examples: a bedtime “I love you” from a parent, a special way you and a friend greet each other, etc.)
• Do you find worship to be routine? Are there things that your church community does in worship every week?  Are they meaningful, stale, or both sometimes?
• Have you ever had a time when a routine was really helpful, so that you had something to do?
• Could routine help us notice the moments of sheer joy that happen? Can you think of any examples of this?

Activity Suggestions

How could your group share a taste of the experience that Gamme had with the cheez doodles and candy bar?  Brainstorm a few ways that you could bring joy into something that is so totally routine.  This could be as simple as writing encouragement on sticky notes and putting them somewhere that someone will encounter them while doing a very routine task.  This could be a way to bring resurrection joy to someone else today!

Closing Prayer

God of surprise, shock us.  Open us up to find joy in small things – like Cheez Doodles or a candy bar, or a smile – in the midst of the ordinary routines of life.  We thank you for the gift that life is sometimes boring, with peace and no stress.  Tomorrow, on Mondays and in all the ordinary stuff of life, help us to see you.  Give us patience and strength to follow you faithfully like the women at the tomb, and when joy breaks in, to shout like Gamme and let joy free.  Amen.

By Amanda Silcox, Hunger Advocacy Fellow,Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy

Two of my favorite moments in the church year take place during Lent. The first takes place on Ash Wednesday, when everyone receives the mark of the cross in ashes on their forehead and the pastor says, “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” The second is Good Friday at the end of the reading when the pastor quotes Jesus saying, “It is finished” and slams the big Bible shut. I have always looked forward to these moments, but I have never really though about why.

Of course, I enjoy the excitement of the Advent & Christmas season and the joy of Easter, but who says Lent is their favorite time of the church year? Recently, I’ve been reflecting on why I love these particular Lenten moments, and I think it’s simply because they’re different.

These moments are drastically different from other experiences in our society. In the U.S., we don’t like to think about our mortality. We don’t like to think about all the things we’ve done wrong or all of our imperfections. We would much rather talk about our successes and achievements or how we have overcome challenges in our lives.

Because we strive to avoid our problems and imperfections, so much of our society is built on finding something that is wrong with us and then finding an easy fix to sell us. Beauty companies convince us that we need so many different soaps, gels, serums, lotions, toners, oils, razors, brushes, and styling tools to fix the parts of us that aren’t deemed perfect or beautiful by society’s standards. Tech companies advertise new apps, speakers, software, computers, TVs, and social media platforms for problems that I didn’t even know existed. Every time that we’re told just how totally and completely messed up we are, we’re given a quick fix. Something we can buy to fix all of our problems! At least until we discover a new problem.

But God’s response is different. God tells us that there is nothing we can do or a product we can buy to make ourselves perfect. Humans have been messing things up for generations and will continue to do so. Yet, Jesus chose to sacrifice himself for us because we as humans are so dearly beloved. It’s a type of love that I cannot understand.

I love receiving the mark of the cross and being reminded, ”Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” I love the end of the Good Friday service when the pastor slams the Bible shut and says, “It is finished.” But most of all, I love taking time during the season of Lent to reflect on my life, my actions, & my words. Lent reminds me of all the ways I am imperfect but that no matter how many times I fail to make the “right” decision, we all have a God who loves us and chooses us, now and forever.

That’s why I love Lent.

This week, ELCA World Hunger and ELCA Global Mission staff are visiting with companions in Malawi, learning more about the great work local volunteers and leaders are doing with support from ELCA World Hunger. Below, David Mills, the program director for budget and operations on the Diakonia team in the ELCA’s Global Mission unit, shares one of the stories he has heard during the visit.

Alppha Banda, Kristina Stephano, Dorothy Ngamira, Irene Banda, and Martha Kamphata all have children attending the Chibothel Lutheran Nursery School, operated by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi. This school, with an enrollment of 42 students, serves as the base for a feeding center for children supported by ELCA World Hunger.

Every school day, Alppha, Kristina, Dorothy, Irene and Martha show up as volunteers to cook for nearly 70 children aged six months to five years who travel to Chibothel from the surrounding ten villages. Pooling resources, they prepare food that has been donated, cup by cup, from the families of the children.

And because of ELCA World Hunger, food is provided not only when families have enough to contribute, but year-round, even during the months of October to January when food is most scarce in the region.

When we asked Dorothy what inspires the group to devote themselves in service to these children, she said, “Each and every child here is everyone’s child through the bond of love.”

When you support ELCA World Hunger, your support does not stand alone. It buttresses the sacrificial efforts of women like Alppha, Kristina, Dorothy, Irene, and Martha (and their fellow community members) who work relentlessly to ensure that every child in their community has opportunity.

The support we offer together through ELCA World Hunger isn’t about instilling determination, nor compensating for a lack of ingenuity or motivation among our neighbors. Rather, it is a reflection of the ELCA’s commitment to walk alongside communities in Malawi and around the world through our companion church partners, knowing that we will go further together, and that we can only be transformed in relationship with one another.

You can learn more about how to support ELCA World Hunger projects supporting health and wellness in Malawi through ELCA World Hunger’s “40 Days of Giving” by visiting the site here: http://elca.org/40days.

As we journey toward Easter, ELCA World Hunger’s “40 Days of Giving” is an important opportunity to remember that we do not journey alone.

In March 2018, the 62nd session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW62) brought together leaders from around the world. Established in 1946, the CSW is the principal international intergovernmental body dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. The annual session is the largest UN gathering each year. This year, CSW62 focused on rural women and, specifically, two themes:

Priority Theme: Challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls; and

Review Theme: Participation in and access of women to the media, and information and communications technologies and their impact on and use as an instrument for the advancement and empowerment of women (agreed conclusions of the forty-seventh session).

Below, guest writer Angela Marie Dejene, president of Dejene Communications, reflects on these themes, her time at CSW62, and the critical importance of narrative – “truth told well.”

Even in the United States in 2018, women still face very different challenges and live very different lives than men.

But the stories the media has told, until very recently, have rarely reflected those female narratives and the daily inequalities with which they struggle.

I am the granddaughter of South Dakota farmers, and I grew up on the prairie in Crookston, Minnesota – a farm town of fewer than 8,000 people in the far-away northwest corner of the state.

You knew you were getting close to reaching the edge of town when you started to smell the odor of rotten eggs from the sugar beet plant.

Health complaints from local mothers were ignored – it was and still is a mostly male world in the sugar beet plant and in the fields … and only the local land-grant university had a greater impact on the local economy.

The local newspaper, the Crookston Times, reflected the male-dominated agricultural industry mostly when I was young – and still does today. The front page story last Wednesday featured a meeting of the Mid-Valley Grain cooperative and showed a group shot of male-farmer members.

My grandmother held up “half the sky” on that remote South Dakota farm where my mother grew up and where I spent wonderful summers as a young girl. But where is that female narrative if I don’t find it … if I don’t tell it?

Without truth-telling narratives, there is rarely progress.

Progress for women in rural northwestern Minnesota remains bleak today:

• According to the US Census Bureau, fewer than 1 in 4 (23%) of residents there, in Crookston, Minnesota, have a bachelor’s degree or higher.
• Full-time male employees make 1.34 times more than female employees in Crookston.
• According to the Minnesota Department of Health, in isolated rural areas of northern Minnesota (the greater region surrounding Crookston) there is only 1 physician for every 3,191 people.
• Only 4 percent of the state’s physicians are located in the northwest counties of the state, the most rural part of the state.
• About 1 in 5 people still live below the poverty line and the largest demographic living in poverty are females ages 18-24.

But you have to dig deep for that statistic and deeper still for the story behind it. Without narratives, there is no progress.

I was raised by a single mother who worked full-time as a university professor. Still, she had to struggle to make ends meet. I remember going to the local grocery store, HUGOS, on Saturday mornings with my mom and brother, and with my mother’s purse-sized calculator in hand, we would add up the prices of each item we put into the cart. She needed to make sure she had enough in her bank account to get us fed until she got paid the following week.

I always did well in school, and fortunately, those grades and perhaps a compelling narrative in my applications helped me qualify for academic-based scholarships when I started applying for college. With the generous help of those scholarships, I enrolled in Augustana University, an extraordinary liberal arts university affiliated with my Lutheran faith, located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. At Augustana, I double-majored in journalism and government/international affairs and served as an editor for the school newspaper.

I’ve always had a passion for uncovering and telling true stories. When women are in charge of the narrative, policies change, communities are empowered and the lives of women and girls are transformed. I started my career as an unpaid lobbying intern in Washington, DC, advocating for health care policies that would improve the lives of women and children. I spent most of my time on Capitol Hill finding and sharing the true stories of how the U.S. healthcare system at the time was failing women, families and children.

These were stories that reported on real families, some forced into bankruptcy because a mother, a wife, or a sister was diagnosed with breast cancer and their health insurance policy had a “lifetime limit” on how much of the treatment would be covered.

These were stories of real families who relied on the Children’s Health Insurance Program for their children’s critical visits to the doctor to manage a chronic condition like asthma or Type 1 diabetes.

These were stories of real high school girls who were experiencing teen dating violence but had nowhere to turn because the local legal system had failed them.

The re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act was signed into law on March 7, 2013. The new law made targeted expansions to address the needs of especially vulnerable populations and help prevent violence in future generations.

The Affordable Care Act was signed into law on March 23, 2010, giving millions of families new-found hope and access to affordable, high-quality health care.

Narratives – truths told well – were the empowering difference.

Stories of horror and struggle.

Stories of compassion and empowerment.

Stories of survival and success.

If we strive to find and to communicate, if we work to broadcast the truth about women from and to even the most remote of places – we fuel and ignite progress everywhere.

Narrative – truth told well – by women and about women – can advance and empower the lives of all who live on this planet.

The ELCA World Hunger team welcomed three new colleagues to the team in the last few months!

Jenny Ackerman, Coordinator for Network Engagement

Hello! My name is Jenny Ackerman, and I am excited to be joining the ELCA World Hunger Team as Coordinator for Network Engagement. I was most recently Volunteer and Outreach Manager at Habitat for Humanity of Northern Fox Valley in Elgin, Ill., coordinating a variety of volunteers to participate in construction activities and beyond. My favorite construction activity is anything involving a circular saw!

Though I am a lifelong Lutheran, I also spent a few years at Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago working in both the communications and development departments. I have lived in the Chicago area for the majority of my life and studied Organizational Communications at Elmhurst College here in the Chicago Suburbs.

I am looking forward to addressing the issue of hunger with a comprehensive approach. I love working with people who are passionate about making a difference, and I already know I am surrounded by some great thinkers and problem solvers – both on staff and within the network.

When I am not at the office, you might find me reading a book, playing my clarinet in a community band or cheering on the Chicago Cubs. I am always looking for my next travel adventure; there is a lot of the world to see, but Guatemala holds a special place in my heart. I am looking forward to being in partnership with all those working to a world where all are fed.

Juliana Glassco, Manager for Community Engagement and Granting

Hi! I’m Juliana Glassco, and I am thrilled to join the ELCA World Hunger team as Manager for Community Engagement and Granting. I come to the team straight from the ELCA’s Fund for Leaders, which is a scholarship program that supports students attending ELCA seminaries. Fresh off the challenge of transitioning the scholarship application process into a digital format, I’m energized to be involved with some of the exciting initiatives and partnerships that are in the works for ELCA World Hunger’s domestic programming.

My first exposure to the ELCA was as a participant in Lutheran Volunteer Corps, working with the interfaith environmental non-profit Faith in Place here in Chicago. My work there touched on the connections between justice, education and access to healthy food. I then moved back to Washington, DC, (my home turf) to work for the Lutheran Volunteer Corps national office and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, where I participated in the work of building healthier communities on an international scale. Bitten by the international bug, I moved to Canada to complete a graduate program in heritage conservation, which culminated in nine months working with UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre in Paris, France.

Living outside of the U.S. highlighted for me how deeply I care about the people and communities in this country, and the issues that we are facing together. I am grateful to be back in my beloved city of Chicago, working with all of you toward a just world where all are fed.

Mae Helen Jackson, Coordinator for Community Engagement and Granting

Hi! I’m Mae Helen Jackson, and I was born and raised and currently reside on the South Side of Chicago, Ill. I have served with ELCA World Hunger as Coordinator for Community Engagement and Granting on the Domestic Hunger Strategy team since November 2017. I have been active in the ELCA throughout my life. My first known experience was an ELCA Youth Gathering in utero. In 2014, I served as a Young Adult in Global Mission in their Southern Africa program with a placement in the KwaZulu Natal region. Today, in my current role with ELCA World Hunger, I am excited for the opportunity to grow professionally in both new and old ways.

Dave Delaney, Salem, VA

Warm-up Questions

• Who doesn’t love a parade? When was the last time you saw one, or even were in one? Have you ever seen a passing motorcade of an arriving dignitary, either in person or by video?  What is going through the minds of those who pause to watch motorcade cars go by?  If you knew someone famous was coming to town who was either going to be the featured rider in a parade or arrive by motorcade, what would inspire you to go out of your way to go watch it in person?
• When you cheer for someone – say your school’s or city’s sports team – what kinds of things do you find yourself yelling to generate the most excitement? A lot of professional or even college teams have standard cheers that their fans have developed.  What kinds of cheers would we make up and yell if we knew that Jesus was coming to town?
• We are coming toward the end of the Lenten season. Did you take on any special extra faith-forming activities for Lent this year as people often do, such as depriving yourself of a certain food or treat?  How has that Lenten discipline gone this year for you?

Put Out the Red Carpet

Even before television got involved, the Academy Awards ceremony, held around the first week in March each year, has been preceded by “the red carpet,” where arriving celebrities are greeted by fans and the press as they enter the theater.  This has been going on at the Oscars since roughly 1922, although the tradition of putting out a red carpet as a sign of honoring dignitaries was common in medieval Europe and dates back possibly as far as 5th century BC Greece.

In recent years, the Oscars red carpet has been a place where making political statements has been possible, either by wearing some kind of extra decoration – a ribbon or a badge – or by giving (or denying!) an interview to one of the countless media outlets there.  Sometimes wearing a particular color or style has been taken up as representing support for a particular cause.  In 2018, with several high-profile concerns still in recent memory, including things like MeToo/Time’s Up and gun control, a number of celebrities took the opportunity to make statements, either aloud or symbolically, to call fans and the larger culture to awareness of some of these concerns.

Some history of the red carpet:  https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/08/red-carpet-history

Discussion Questions

• Does anyone watch red carpet coverage any more?  If so, is that kind of scrutiny – especially for appearance and style – sound like something you would want for yourself or are you just not cut out to be the celebrity type?
• Some think that entertainers in general have no business using their fame to advocate for any particular political stance, since they normally do not possess any special expertise in the causes they represent.  So if someone is that well known, does s/he have a responsibility to speak up for an important matter just because they’re famous, or should celebrities leave political opinions to policy makers and the general public?  When would it be okay for someone to use fame as an opportunity to advocate for a social or political position?
• Does it make a difference when the matter of concern is something that really affects the lives of the performers, like the treatment of women or inclusion of under-represented communities in the entertainment industry?

Palm Sunday/Sunday of the Passion

(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 B at Lectionary Readings

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem a few days before he was to be arrested, tried, and executed shows that he was already well-enough known that his presence could attract a red-carpet-like crowd.  Do we, then, see him using that notoriety to make statements of any kind?  We do, actually, but the messages he sends are subtle and perhaps not obvious to modern readers.

In ancient Israel, animals had some strong cultural associations.  In our own time, think of the lion at the beginning of MGM pictures or German Shepherds as police and military dogs.  From Israel’s earliest days in their promised land, the average subsistence level farming family living in the hilly center of the country would mostly likely have a donkey as one of their agricultural tools, a simple work animal that was stable on a hilly slope and did not require a lot of the farmer’s grain resources to be healthy, reliable, and effective.  Farmers working in flatter areas might use oxen to plow and thresh, but only in the flattest parts of the coastal plain next to the Mediterranean or the flattest valleys in Galilee would horses be present, requiring a lot of grain to be fed and representing military and political power far more than farming.

A king entering either a loyal or a newly-conquered city would almost certainly be seated on a horse.  The prophetic passage that is echoed in this story, however – Zechariah 9:9 – envisions the messianic king not on a horse but on a donkey – a humble hill-dweller’s animal – even on a colt of a donkey, so clearly would this king’s identification with common people be.  And so this king, Jesus, rides into the city not on a horse but very specifically on a donkey colt.

We don’t know exactly what the original onlookers meant when they were throwing branches and coats on the path, shouting “Hosanna!” and proclaiming the rebirth of great king David’s reign from a thousand years earlier.  To be sure it meant that they regarded Jesus as royalty, and “hosanna” basically means “please help (or save),” something that might well be shouted at a king. They could have meant that they were hoping for a revival of those old, glorious days, a rule that would mean the end of the Roman Empire’s occupation and a purification of worship and public life.  Or they could have meant that they understood quite well that this king was going to be different, reigning not from a place of superiority, but from a place of humility.  In either case, Jesus makes no red-carpet-like speeches, choosing rather to return back to his guest house in Bethany and, perhaps, contemplate the painful week that he knew was ahead of him.

Discussion Questions

• The long tradition of the Christian faith has often presented the city of Jerusalem as a symbol of our own hearts and lives.  How do we welcome Jesus into the places of our lives, both in the world of our inner spirit and thoughts as well as the places where we live and learn and play?  As silent as Jesus appeared to be (at least in Mark’s account of this day), those who welcomed him were not!  Do we welcome his presence in all areas of our lives or are we more likely to turn away or shut him out or try and turn him back for certain portions of life?  Do we hope that he’ll come in as a conqueror, sweeping all sorts of trouble from our lives, or do we see him as a disciple-maker, calling us by his example to a life of humility, service, and love for others?
• In all four gospels, we see crowds cheering Jesus’ at his entry into Jerusalem, but then calling for his crucifixion later in the week.  What expectations do you think they had that caused them to turn against him?  Have you ever felt let down by God when things you hoped or prayed for did not come to pass?  Did you feel let down enough to turn hateful?   It is tempting to think that we would never have been part of that Thursday crowd calling for Jesus to die, but at those times when we admit we might have, how then do we return to God, and how does God regard us despite our frustration and anger?
• Jesus showed tremendous courage by appearing in Jerusalem during Passover because of the political tension present during that time.  Strong feelings of desire for Jewish independence, stemming from the memory of Israel’s release from Egyptian slavery 1200 years earlier, could easily spark unrest, and someone like Jesus who could serve as a rallying point was exactly the kind of person the Roman rulers would hate to see appear.  What kind of courage do we need to show in representing God’s presence,  promise, and call to stand firm for justice and merciful treatment of those who are often not treated fairly?  Does the Palm Sunday story help us do that?

Activity Suggestions

• If you have a group that loves to dig through their Bibles, have them compare Mark’s very sparse account of Palm Sunday with the accounts in Matthew 21:1-9, Luke 19:28-38, and John 12:12-19.  What details does each gospel writer bring out?
• Invite your group to imagine what this event would look like in our own day and setting, say if it were made into a movie or short video and the place of entry was our own city or town.  How would Hollywood portray this story?  What elements (like the donkey or the palm branches) would have to be translated into modern equivalents and what would they become in our modern version?
• This is the beginning of what we call “Holy Week.”  What opportunities for extra worship, study, or devotion are available in your congregation or your community?  How do students plan to observe this week?  What will be different about it from an ordinary week?  Are there things we can do as a group to help each other take this week seriously and let it enhance our faith and understanding of being Christ’s followers?

Closing Prayer

Gracious Father, as your Son Jesus prayed to you at all times, but with special urgency during the last week of his life, we ask you to draw us into diligent and attentive prayer this week.  Let this Holy Week become for us a deep root from which a strong tree may grow and flourish.  We pray for all of God’s people in every place, that even if we find ourselves sometimes full of disappointment and hurt, you would turn our voices to Christ in praise and adoration, for he is our king, and we offer our worship, with you and the Holy Spirit.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

By Dennis Frado, Director of Lutheran Office for World Community

After spending many years here at United Nations headquarters in New York, I suppose I could be excused for expressing disappointment – disappointment that governments tend to give priority to their national interests instead of the global common good, disappointment that the Security Council all too often is unable to end barbarous conflicts that leave innocent civilians as casualties in their wake.

But, thinking about Lenten renewal, each year around this time I find my spirit renewed and refreshed as we welcome women — and some men — to the annual session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Our office is fortunate to be able to host these visitors each year with the generous assistance of the Lutheran World Federation, including our member church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  

These folks do not disappoint. These people of faith – almost all Lutherans – look at the UN with fresh eyes and speak to those who would hear a word of hope and excitement about the work they are undertaking in their own contexts.  They may be acting to prevent gender-based violence, holding accountable the perpetrators, seeking justice and comforting the victims of gender-based violence or telling the stories of the empowerment and resilience of rural women and girls who too often lack access to capital, education, services, health care, etc.   It is the spirit, active engagement and advocacy of these sisters and brothers in Christ that renews my faith and, despite a shattered world, underscores a Christian word of hope for a better future for humankind.

Issue 57 of Administration Matters

ELCA Directory is now online

The 2018 ELCA Yearbook is now online and known as the ELCA Directory. Just as the printing press changed the world during Martin Luther’s time, so are the digitization of data and the internet changing the way we publish and access information. This digital, online solution will provide the same content as the ELCA Yearbook with added features of accessing the information from any computer (including mobile devices), filtering and annual reporting. Find this free resource at https://directory.ELCA.org.

May 15 is an important ELCA Youth Gathering deadline!

• Registration fees must be paid in full. To check your congregation’s balance, log in to your congregation’s registration account and print the payment letter. Don’t forget to make sure checks are mailed to the correct address in Hagerstown, Md., – many checks have been mistakenly sent to our old P.O. box in St. Louis!
• Hotel reservation forms and deposits are due to your hotel! The reservation form can also be found on your congregational account. If you would like to request housing assignment changes, you must email gathering@elca.org. Hotels are not authorized to increase or decrease your assigned rooms or change the room type (e.g., a king for a double).

Tithe.ly

Enable members of your congregation to give in seconds using Tithe.ly’s suite of giving tools. Online, mobile and text giving are quick and easy. The ELCA churchwide organization has negotiated special pricing for ELCA congregations using these giving and engagement tools. Learn more about Tithe.ly and the special ELCA offer today. >More

Updated Hammar tax guides now available through Portico

Portico Benefit Services offers the set of annually updated Richard R. Hammar tax guides at no cost to pastors and congregations participating in the ELCA benefit program.

• “Federal Reporting Requirements for Churches” helps congregations understand federal reporting requirements. The 2018 version includes Hammar’s extensive analysis of the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 on congregations and staff.
• “Clergy Tax Return Preparation Guide” gives special attention to tax-related topics relevant to ministers.

Find links to these guides on both EmployerLink and myPortico.

ELCA-endorsed property and liability insurance program

Did you know that over 3,200 congregations and 48 synods are currently insured by the ELCA Endorsed Property and Liability Insurance Program underwritten by Church Mutual Insurance Co.? The program offers competitive rates, excellent claims services and other valuable features such as its sensor program to help further protect your property. For more information, please refer to this link concerning the ELCA endorsement and to this brochure further explaining the program. Obtaining a quote is easy. Just call 800-554-2642 and select option 1. >More.

How to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning and use generators correctly

Backup generators can provide an emergency power supply enabling you to keep important equipment running during a power outage. It’s important to make sure generators are properly installed and operated to prevent health and safety risks for you, your staff and members of your congregation. Remember: Carbon monoxide is an invisible, poisonous gas. Make sure that there is proper ventilation and do not operate your portable generator in any closed space. Installation of carbon monoxide detectors is critical to avoid deadly accidents. >More

Save money while saving the planet: ENERGY STAR for congregations

Did you know that most congregations can cut energy costs by up to 30% by investing strategically in efficient equipment, facility upgrades and maintenance? There is a well-known, but under-utilized program that can help congregations do this. Join this webinar during the afternoon of March 28th for an overview of how congregations can make optimal use of EPA tools such as Portfolio Manager, which can benchmark and track energy and water use as well as savings and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. >More

Today’s post is by the Rev. Anne Edison-Albright, College Pastor at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.

My daughter, Sally, is four years old, and very interested in and concerned about Jesus’ death. At her favorite museum there’s a large crucifix and a painting that includes the image of Jesus on the cross. Sally is drawn to this room in the museum, and, on a recent visit there, she pointed to these images and solemnly announced: “Look. God died.”

Photo credit Jane Clare. Luther College prayer chapel crucifix

There’s a big part of me that wanted to rush right in with Easter assurances. OK, let’s be real, I did rush in with those assurances. She put her little hand up to stop me. She wanted to be in that moment, surrounded by artwork that revealed one of the most profound incarnational truths of our faith. She didn’t want to be rushed.

There’s a no-rush approach to understanding how kids handle difficult feelings or ideas called The Train Analogy. The difficult feeling or situation is a tunnel, and the child is a train going through the tunnel. Well-meaning adults often want to pull an emergency switch to get the child out of the tunnel faster, but the tunnel is the length that the tunnel is. The adult’s role is to ride through the tunnel with the child, however long it lasts.

The experience of worship on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil is, in many ways, a tunnel we ride through together. It is a shared experience of Jesus’ loving final acts, his death, and his resurrection. The services are designed to be one liturgy, best experienced together, coming back again night after night. It’s an unusual pattern for us—“See you tomorrow night!”—always feels a bit weird and wonderful: when else would we set aside this kind of time for each other as the Body of Christ, for worship, for prayer, for singing and hearing the story of God? Encourage your congregation to ride through Holy Week together. The tunnel is as long as it is—there’s no rush!

Photo credit: Paul Edison-Swift. Pastor Annie and Sally

Dave Dodson, Fort Walton Beach, FL

Warm-up Question

How is punishment decided in your household?  Does the punishment fit the crime?

The Weakness of God

After the 2018 Olympics ended with the Closing Ceremony, one country was given a reason to celebrate.  On February 28^th, the International Olympic Committee ( IOC), reinstated Russia as a country permitted to compete in Olympic competition.  In the 2018 Winter Games, Russia had been prohibited from competition due to a doping scandal uncovered after the last Olympic Games.  It came to light that widespread doping was promoted by coaches and officials in the Russian Olympic organization.  As a result, no athletes were permitted to represent Russia or show the Russian flag or colors during the 2018 Winter Olympics.

On the day that Russia was reinstated, the Russian Olympic Committee breathed a sigh of relief.  ROC president Alexander Zhukov called the period of the ban one of the “most challenging ones in Russian sports history” and congratulated Russian athletes and fans for Russia’s return as a “full-fledged member of the Olympic family.”

The 2018 Olympics were not without some drama from Russian athletes, however.  Two Russian athletes (competing independently from Russia) tested positive for banned substances.  One of the two was even forced to return a bronze medal due to the doping.  The IOC, however, ruled that these two doping incidents were done by the individuals on their own.  The Russian Olympic Committee was considered innocent.

Not everyone was happy with this decision.  US lawyer Jim Walden complained that the IOC was “[treating] Russia and its glaring acts of aggression with cowardice and appeasement.”  Furthermore, Walden predicted that the IOC’s reinstatement of Russia would cause Russia to resort to doping again.  As Walden claimed, “Weakness in the face of evil results in no good outcomes.”

Discussion Questions

• Do you think that Walden is correct in his claim about weakness?
• Consider the example of world leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Ghandi, and Nelson Mandela. These men practiced nonviolent techniques that many considered weak.  Why did they result in such positive outcomes?

Fifth Sunday in Lent

(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 B at Lectionary Readings

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

Today’s Gospel reading sets us up for Good Friday.  We know that as Lent progresses we grow closer and closer to the day on which we remember Jesus’ death.  In today’s reading, Jesus foreshadows his death on the cross.  Jesus knows that the time ahead will be hard.  He alludes to his death in verse 24, and then admits his own inner turmoil in verse 27.  “My soul is troubled,” Jesus says, before he resolves to stand strong, for “it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.”

It is passages like these in the gospels that lead  some theologians to write about an astonishing interpretation of Scripture called “the weakness of God”.  As theologian and profession John Caputo notes, in The Weakness of God: A Theology of the Event, it is in passages like these that Jesus, God on earth, chooses to act in weakness.

How could God be weak?  The answer comes when we consider all of the power that God (and Jesus) has.  Jesus was not intrinsically powerless to prevent his arrest and crucifixion.  As we know well from Jesus’ many miracles, he had power from God that he surely could have used to escape this fate.  However, Jesus actively chose to be powerless in the situation.  He allowed himself to be taken and killed.  Jesus submitted, and chose to be weak.

It cannot be true, then, that “weakness in the face of evil results in no good outcomes”.  Jesus embraced weakness as the method by which he defeated evil once and for all.  Weakness isn’t worthlessness; it is the way in which you and I are saved!

Caputo pointed this out in his theological works.  “The powerless power of the kingdom prevails whenever the one is preferred to the ninety-nine,” Caputo passionately writes, “whenever one loves one’s enemies and hates one’s father and mother while the world, which believes in power, counsels us to fend off our enemies and keep the circle of kin and kind, of family and friends, fortified and tightly drawn.”

Notice that Caputo’s words put us at odds with what popular society considers admirable.  The world tells us to be strong; Jesus tells us to make ourselves weak.  The world says we should gather and use power; Jesus tells us that power comes from powerlessness.  The world tells us to surround ourselves by those who can make us stronger; Jesus teaches us to value to the weak.

In the coming weeks, as we see Jesus’ inexorable march to the cross and his death on Good Friday, we do well to remember that Christians celebrate weakness – and that, indeed, we are saved by it.

Discussion Questions

• What attributes do we generally consider to be “weak”? Are there any of those that Christians should actually show?
• How does embracing weakness change how Christians act in society and politics?

Activity Suggestions

Create a poster advertisement for a gym.  Instead of promoting physical strength, however, try to promote the sort of weakness that we have discussed today.  What sort of “activities” would go on in a facility that promoted this sort of weakness?

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, as we proceed through this Lenten season, we continue to humble ourselves as we strive to follow the footsteps of Jesus.  Teach us, God, to be weak, so that we may stand with those who are marginalized in our world.  Help us to learn every day to value the real strength that comes from walking with Jesus.  In His name we pray, Amen.