Anne Williams, Ankeny, IA

 

Warm-up Question

• What’s a lot of money for you? Not like being a millionaire, is $500 a lot for you? or $1000? Or maybe even $100.
• Do you give an offering? What’s the right age to start giving an offering to church?

How Much is Enough?

At the end of September, St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Cathedral in Sydney Australia introduced pay as you go offering. Using tap and go technology, like McDonalds does, you can tap your chip enabled debit or credit card on the side of the offering plate. No more need for carrying cash or writing out a check! No need to sheepishly whisper “I already give online” when not putting anything in the plate! Seems like a great idea! Some embraced the new technology saying, “I hate it when I turn up to mass and realize I don’t have any cash, I would love this option at my parish.”

Others were in shock! Not about the use of the technology per se, but how the church decided to implement it. The minimum donation was $10 and the announcement on social media read “Multiple payments of $10 can be made by tapping your card once with several seconds in between each transaction.” Much of the social media storm seemed to be about the minimum offering! One Facebook user commented “If you had made it [a] $2 minimum we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation.

The response on social media was so strong that the initial announcement about tap and go offering was taken off the Cathedral’s Facebook page and this comment was put up in its place: “Thanks to the people who took the time to make rational and coherent comments on our recent post about the new collection plates.”

Discussion Questions

• Would you use or debit or credit card in church to make your offering?
• What is a good amount for a minimum offering?
• Should you even have an idea of a minimum offering?

Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost

(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

Picture this: Jesus and his crew are hanging around the Temple Courts in Jerusalem, they are watching the comings and goings of both the ordinary worshipper and those who make their living working for the Temple or as Temple officials. The worshippers coming in and saying their prayers and leaving their offerings would have been from every class. Some would have been wealthy merchants, some of would been day laborers who worked for enough money to buy one day’s worth of food.

But there’s a group of scribes wandering around together, probably talking about some ancient text they are working on. These scribes make their livings through the Temple system. They copy manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible. They write down the thoughts of smartest Sadducees and priests. They like to flaunt it. As Jesus says in verse 38, they like to walk around in long robes and like to be greeted with respect. Jesus is warning his disciples that the scribes have no time for charity – they devour widows’ houses, and they want only to make themselves look good. According to Jesus, these scribes with receive a greater condemnation (v.40).

The scribes wander off, leaving Jesus’ disciples wondering what this condemnation might be, when Jesus decides to sit down across from where people make their offering. The disciples look for places to sit close by, maybe to catch a glimpse of what Jesus is seeing. They sit and watch people, all kinds of people, make their offerings. Jesus sees a woman start walking up to the treasury, he calls his disciples to watch her. They can see she’s going to make an offering, but she can’t have much – all she has is two small coins. To be honest, it looks like all she has in the entire world. Jesus looks back at his disciples seated around him and says that the widow has put in more than all the others contributing to the treasury. He goes on to explain that since she gave all she had, all she had to live on, she gave more than those who gave their “extra” money to the treasury.

After watching her leave the Temple courts, Jesus stands up and calls for his disciples to follow him, it’s time to see something else…

Discussion Questions

• It’s clear Jesus prefers the poor woman over the scribes, why?
• Thinking back to the warm up question, what would you consider an abundance of money? How much would make a real difference in your life?
• Could you give up your last $5 to your church? Would you?

Activity Suggestions

• Invite your pastor, a member of your church council,  or perhaps the congregation’s treasurer,bookkeeper, or accountant to share with the students how much it takes to keep your congregation running. Have them discuss the important of benevolence – the church giving offering to the synodical or churchwide ministries, like ELCA World Hunger.

Closing Prayer

Gracious and loving God, you give us everything, from the air in our lungs, to the resources we have to spend. Help us make wise choices, as individuals, families and congregations about how to honor the offerings given and shared by your faithful children. Amen.

ELCA Advocacy Office, Washington, D.C.

The Rev. Amy Reumann, director                                                                      ELCA.org/advocacy

RESPONDING TO GUN VIOLENCE AND HATE: Our nation is in mourning this week following the tragic deaths of 11 worshipers and the wounding of law enforcement and others at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. This act was quickly identified as a hate crime, committed by a gunman espousing anti-Semitic vitriol and carrying an AR-15 and other weapons intending to take the lives of people because of their Jewish faith. The same week, two African American shoppers were gunned down by a white man in Kentucky, an act also being investigated as a hate crime. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we cannot become numb to mass shooting tragedies. We are called as God’s own people to promote peace and the dignity of persons all by engaging in prayer, addressing community violence, and vigorously opposing anti-Semitism, white supremacy and all form of hate through our words and deeds. Lutheran bishops in Pennsylvania joined in a shared statement in response to this tragedy. As Pennsylvania Lutherans reflect on recent events, read more about actions taken by ELCA bishops and faith leaders below in the Pennsylvania state-section.

And, when Congress returns to work following the November elections, it is also imperative that we address the gun violence in our nation. An Advocacy Alert facilitating your faithful action is available at elca.org/advocacy/actioncenter.

2018 NOVEMBER ELECTION UPDATE:  Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 6, and it is a critical time to get out and vote! Voting is a first step toward faithful civic participation – a deliberate process of naming our faith values, then acting on them through our vote. Be sure to visit elca.org/votes and the ELCA Facebook page for more resources, Bible studies, shareable graphics and tools in the lead up to Election Day.

INDEFINITE CHILDREN DETENTION, FLORES: On Sept. 7, the administration proposed a regulation change that will undermine existing child protection standards for immigrant children and the standards set by the courts in the 1997 Flores Agreement. While the agreement outlines that children are not safe in detention facilities and should not be detained for longer than 20 days, the proposed regulation allows the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to keep children in detention indefinitely, despite the psychological and physical toll. ELCA Advocacy shared an action alert in October, encouraging advocates to submit comments and share their perspectives on the rule. The current deadline for submitting comments is Nov. 6.

GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY ACT, SIGNED BY PRESIDENT: Earlier last month, the Global Food Security Reauthorization Act unanimously passed in both the House and Senate. Its passage extends congressional authorization for Feed the Future, a U.S. government initiative charged with combating chronic hunger and food insecurity around the world.

Globally, 815 million people suffer from chronic hunger; the majority of whom are women. Approximately 45 percent of deaths of children under the age of 5 are caused by malnutrition. Through initiatives like Feed the Future, participating countries have been able to increase agricultural and nutritional investments. As a result, farmers can feed their families and communities and contribute to their countries’ economic growth. ELCA Advocacy sent a message to advocates who took action on the bill, celebrating the extension following its passage in October.

IPCC UPDATE: The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the international scientific body that assesses the science related to climate change, issued its 2018 report titled “Global Warming of 1.5°C.” The report expressed the urgency of needing to take rapid strategic action over the next decade to limit global warming to 1.5ºC to avoid the risks associated with long-lasting or irreversible change.

ELCA Advocacy will be publishing a blog later in November focusing on Lutheran teachings on good stewardship and how to take action through advocacy. The blog also illustrates the links between the consequences of climate change with other issues such as forced migration, famine, food insecurity and more. This summer, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) was officially accredited by the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Observation Liaison Unit, and will be attending the next UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP) with several young adult leaders.

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Lutheran Office for World Community, United Nations,New York, N.Y.

Dennis Frado, director

WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY WEEK: Different side events took place Oct. 21-25 on the sidelines of the annual Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security. The events emphasized the vital role of women in preventing conflict and helping to forge peace. Despite that, women are far too often prevented from participating fully in peacemaking processes. Between 1990 and 2017, women constituted only 2 percent of mediators, 8 percent of negotiators, and 5 percent of witnesses and signatories in all major peace processes.

In 2020 the 20th anniversary of Resolution 1325 of the Security Council will be celebrated. The resolution highlights the nexus between long-lasting peace agreements and the participation of women in peace negotiations.

HOUSTON CONFERENCE AFFIRMS AN INCLUSIVE JERUSALEM: A conference on “Jerusalem: What Makes for Peace?” organized by Bright Starts of Bethlehem was held in Houston on Oct. 11.  Different panels emphasized the realities of Jerusalem today; the importance of inclusive religious discourse involving Jews, Muslims and Christians; how to achieve a balanced U.S. policy on Jerusalem under the Trump administration; and the need for urgent action. The Rev. Dr. Mae Cannon, executive director of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) emphasized six tasks: 1) pray for the peace of Jerusalem; 2) heed the cry of the church in Jerusalem that is Palestinian; 3) repent and lament; 4) be prophets; 5) be pragmatic and strategic; and 6) be willing to not give up hope. A concluding statement by the four sponsoring organizations – Bright Stars, the National Council of Churches, CMEP and the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference – included a nine-point call to action.

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California

Mark Carlson, Lutheran Office of Public Policy – California                lutheranpublicpolicyca.org

DOCTRINE OF DISCOVERY, INDIGENOUS RIGHTS CHALLENGES, CLIMATE CHANGE: Synods that include California held their professional leadership conferences in October, and LOPP-CA director Mark Carlson participated in Theoasis in Palm Desert, which brought together the Pacifica and Southwest California synods and the Sierra Pacific Synod’s gathering in Olympic Park (still predominately known as “Squaw Valley,” an infamous, negative name in the experience of American Indians). Prairie Rose Seminole, ELCA director for American Indian and Alaskan Native Ministries, discussed her work, with a focus on the Doctrine of Discovery.

Prairie Rose Seminole at Shasta Dam overlook

Before meeting in Olympic Park, Carlson and Jane Affonso, an LOPP-CA Policy Council member, Southwest California Synod Council member and synod Green Faith Team co-chair, invited Seminole to join them in Sacramento for a Methodist-sponsored lecture by White House correspondent April Ryan and the annual Acorn Day at the State Indian Museum. They then made a pilgrimage to Shasta Dam, the McCloud River and the lower slopes of Mount Shasta, near sites sacred to the Winnemem Wintu Tribe threatened by the renewed push to raise Shasta Dam to quench thirsty farms and cities in Central and Southern California – the Doctrine of Discovery in current application, driven in part by climate change. The photo of Seminole at the dam is similar to one of Winnemem Wintu Chief Caleen Sisk that appears in a 33-minute segment of the documentary Standing on Sacred Ground

NOVEMBER ELECTION: We are hopeful that voters will approve funding for housing, Props. 1 and 2!

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Colorado

Peter Severson, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry–Colorado                                                  lam-co.org

FINAL BALLOT PUSH: Colorado voters received their ballots in the mail during the week of Oct. 15. Now comes the push to fill out and return ballots by Nov. 6! We continue to advocate in favor of Amendment A, Amendment 73 and Proposition 111. In addition, we have taken opposing positions on Amendment 74 (property compensation) and Proposition 109 (fund road and highway repair through bonds).

REGISTER NOW: Lutheran Advocacy reminds all Colorado voters that it’s not too late to register to vote! You can register all the way through Election Day and still receive a ballot. Remember to vote all the way down on your ballot – in fact, start from the bottom! You can find our voter guide and resources at lam-co.org.

MINISTRY VISITS: Peter Severson, LAM-CO director, has been on the road visiting congregations and ministries of the Rocky Mountain Synod. Thank you to Augustana, Denver; Glory of God, Wheat Ridge; Lutheran Episcopal Campus Ministry at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley; and Lutheran Episcopal Campus Ministry at Colorado University–Boulder!

CHRISTIAN UNITY GATHERING: The National Council of Churches held its Christian Unity Gathering in Washington, D.C., Oct. 14-17. Severson was appointed to serve as the ELCA representative on the Joint Action and Advocacy Committee. This year’s event was focused on acting in Christian unity to combat racism in all forms in both church and society.

Photo: ELCA participants at the National Council of Churches Christian Unity Gathering. From left: Rev. Brenda Smith, Prof. Michael Trice, Rev. Russell Meyer, Peter Severson, Joel Pakan, Aimée Pakan, Kathryn Lohre.

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Minnesota

Tammy Walhof, Lutheran Advocacy–Minnesota                                   lutheranadvocacymn.org

2019 ISSUES AGENDA: At October’s meeting, the LA-MN Policy Council determined broad agenda areas within our mandate of work on issues of hunger, poverty and care of creation.

STATE ISSUES (PROACTIVE AND DEFENSIVE WORK)

• AFFORDABLE HOUSING, HOMELESSNESS AND RELATED SERVICES: Despite wins at the Minnesota Legislature, significant shortages of affordable housing still exist across the state. Rapid loss of Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH), high (and rising) rental rates, and wages that have stagnated or declined mean housing continues to be the most severe hunger/poverty issue facing Minnesota.

Walhof has been helping evaluate 44 policy proposals to recommend a few for the Homes for All collaborative agenda. Also from the LA-MN office, Amy Shebeck is engaged with the coalition’s communications team and managing some of the social media.

• CLEAN AIR, CLIMATE AND CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: Severe consequences of climate change are happening more rapidly than scientists believed would be the case due to pollution caused by fossil fuels. Many countries and states (including Minnesota) have already started transitioning to a clean energy economy, but that process needs to be greatly accelerated. Transitions will be difficult for some industries and workers, but changes will also create new economic opportunities, businesses and jobs.

LA-MN will be focused on education and legislation related to a) renewables, b) efficiency and c) mitigation to protect those most vulnerable.

FEDERAL ISSUES (DEFENSE OF PROGRAMS/PROTECTION OF THOSE MOST VULNERABLE)

• Anti-poverty programs in danger of severe cuts.
• Environmental protections in danger of severe cuts.

Lutheran Advocacy-MN website: Check out the content we’ve been adding to the site! ‘

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North Carolina

GeoRene Jones, North Carolina Synod Social Justice and Advocacy Ministries nclutheran.org/congregations/justice/

After hurricanes Florence and Michael decimated eastern North Carolina communities, Rosemary and Bill Pate led a team of 55 DISASTER RECOVERY volunteers from Christ the King (Cary), which put boots on the ground in Fayetteville to help clean out flooded homes. Collaborating with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and North Carolina Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (NC VOAD), Ascension (Wilson) and St Mark’s (Lumberton) are responding as collection and distribution sites for food, adult and infant diapers, and personal hygiene kits.

Congregations including Grace (Hendersonville), First (Greenville), Mount Pisgah (Hickory) and Our Saviour’s (Welcome) included the University of North Carolina–Wilmington and Lutheran Disaster Response in their OUTREACH MINISTRIES and financial contributions. Lutheran Church of the Reconciliation (Wilmington), itself facing recovery of their heavily damaged campus buildings, also took on collection and distribution of food and cleaning supplies to neighbors in its community.

St. Mark’s (Asheville), Lutheran Church of the Reconciliation (Wilmington), and Christ the King (Cary) lent support for DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH with educational opportunities, including topical discussions held on social media.

Again, St. Mark’s (Asheville) continues to support the ELCAVotes! initiatives to get members registered to vote and provided early voting information and candidate guides. At Christ The King (Cray), knowledgeable volunteers staffed tables in the atrium after services with information on early/absentee voting and ballot examples. Voting education focusing on proposed North Carolina constitutional amendments gave Sunday school classes an opportunity for discussions around needs for advocacy as a public witness ministry of the church.

 

LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF QUILTS: Congregations created hundreds of quilts on behalf of Lutheran World Relief. Grace (Hendersonville) sent 100 to LWR and another 50 to hurricane relief, Christus Victor, Durham completed 200, and at Christ the King (Cary) quilts were displayed, ready to go, in their atrium.

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Ohio

Nick Bates, The Hunger Network in Ohio                                              www.hungernetohio.com

DID YOU KNOW: One in 3 families in Ohio are struggling to make ends meet. There is an entire alphabet soup of acronyms of underfunded programs that should help many of these families put food on the table, purchase needed medicines and fix a car when it breaks. But the state of Ohio is holding hostage $500 million from the federal government that could help our neighbors. The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program was designed in 1996 to “end welfare as we know it,” but through out-of-date funding formulas, misdirected priorities, and harsh time requirements and sanctions, many of our neighbors don’t have access to the resources that we have invested in to help lift our communities out of poverty. We encourage you to join us for our Advent Advocacy Day on Nov. 28 at the Ohio Statehouse to meet with state officials to learn and discuss this and other important issues. Register at www.hungernetohio.com/advocacy

PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE YES ON ISSUE 1: When Ohioans are struggling, we help each other out. After 40 years of a failed war on drugs, we need a new strategy that is smart on crime and doesn’t go after those who are the most vulnerable in our communities – especially people of color and those struggling with poverty. These communities already lack the resources to access addiction treatment programs. Incarceration puts up even more walls to employment, treatment, education and housing. Issue 1 is a first step for our communities to create a more positive future where we invest in treatment over incarceration and we remove unnecessary blockades that trap our neighbors in poverty. You can download a bulletin insert on issue 1 here.

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Pennsylvania

Tracey DePasquale, Lutheran Advocacy – Pennsylvania                 lutheranadvocacypa.org

Members of Trinity, Camp Hill, signed 425 letters in favor of a just federal Farm Bill.

LAMPa advocates celebrated the passage of Safe Harbor legislation protecting child victims of sex trafficking. The bill redirects victims away from prosecution for prostitution or other crimes related to their trafficking and into appropriate services. Women of the ELCA organizations throughout Pennsylvania were especially supportive in this advocacy over several legislative sessions. The bill was the last one addressed before the General Assembly recessed, effectively meaning all pending legislation has died. Among end-of-session highlights for LAMPa’s work was passage of legislation requiring firearms to be turned over to police within 24 hours in cases of domestic violence. Advocates prevented two bills with costly barriers to food and medical assistance from becoming law and stopped legislation that would have rolled back environmental regulations on oil and gas drilling for three decades.

Seven Pennsylvania synods joined in a shared statement in response to the violent crimes at the Tree of Life synagogue on October 27th. The statement rejected anti-Semitism as an affront to the Gospel, and issued a call to work towards peace. An interfaith statement expressing solidarity from religious leaders across the state, including Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania, was also released.

Pennsylvania hunger leaders are signing requests for increases in 2019 anti-hunger programs. DePasquale joined other members of the Pennsylvania Anti-Hunger Coalition executive team in meetings with the budget secretary, policy secretary and governor’s chief of staff to outline goals for next year.

Alaide Vilchis Ibarra teaching at the migrants’ journey simulation training.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS: Lynn Fry from the LAMPa office attended the Pennsylvania Health Action Network annual conference. DePasquale taught at St. Matthew, York; the Wittel Farm, Lititz; and attended an event featuring Dan Rift, director for ELCA World Hunger and Disaster Appeal, at Trinity, Camp Hill, where LAMPa equipped the congregation to gather 425 letters in support of a just farm bill. She also connected with advocates at a migrant’s journey simulation training led by Alaide Vilchis Ibarra, ELCA Advocacy program director for migration, at St. Peter, Lancaster.

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Southeastern Synod

Hilton Austin, director 

VOTE!: Midterms are upon us and Election Day is Nov. 6, but several states allow early voting. While Alabama and Mississippi do not participate, Georgia voters can cast early ballots up to Nov. 2, and Tennessee voters up to Nov. 1. Voters can look up their state’s sample ballots, check registration, find their polling sites and register to vote at headcount.org/your-ballot/.

SYNOD CONVOCATION: This month we attended and spoke at the Southeastern Synod Convocation at Lutheridge Camp and Conference Center in Arden, N.C. Hilton Austin and Jordan Slappey were able to give short presentations about advocacy and hunger in the synod and tabled for advocacy and ELCA World Hunger throughout the meeting.

CARE FOR CREATION: Austin attended the Georgia Interfaith Power and Light (GIPL) “Coastal Green Summit” in St. Simons Island. The event was well attended and very informative. GIPL provides a multitude of program and educational offerings to congregations and religious schools across Georgia. Two programs in particular were highlighted:

Powerwise.

Our Powerwise program is a way that we help congregations reduce their energy footprint and save money! Through this program, we provide low-cost professional energy audits for congregations. After receiving one of these audits, your congregation can apply to GIPL for up to $10,000 in matching funds to implement recommended efficiencies.

Green Team Coaching/Green Team Registry.

Start a Green Team or Sustainability Group at your congregation! Green Teams are groups of three or more people who lead the sustainability work in a congregation. GIPL provides free Green Team coaching for a 12-month period to congregations forming a Green Team for the first time or to those that are relaunching a Green Team.

RESOURCE UPDATE: The synod advocacy office has finished writing and is in the process of producing and making a few informational documents available to the public. One document details the importance of the Lutheran call to be active advocates in our communities, and the other explains how to make an effective visit to a state’s capitol. Keep an eye out for them on the synod website.

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Washington

Paul Benz, Faith Action Network                                                                                        fanwa.org

CLUSTER GATHERINGS: Every fall, FAN convenes the 21 geographic clusters that make up our Network of Advocating Faith Communities, of which we now have 144! These gatherings are a great time to connect with our members to hear what they are doing around advocacy, and for FAN to share social justice opportunities. So far we have had 14 meetings around the state!

ELCA HUNGER ADVOCACY FELLOW SARAH VATNE has been leading many adult education hours, workshops and forums over the last month. She has been focusing on the Washington State Initiatives, as well as the proposed Public Charge rule change. One conversation she led looked at the intersections of hunger and poverty, using the Presbyterian Church’s “Food Week” as a guide. To read more about this conversation, check out her blog post “Hunger is Not a Single Issue” sarahvatne.wordpress.com/2018/10/26/hunger-is-not-a-single-issue/.

ELECTION SEASON: FAN always coordinates candidate forums during this time of year. We have had several forums that we led before the August primary, but most of them occur during October. One highlight was an ELCA congregation from the Southwestern Washington Synod hosting a candidate forum for the first time, moderated by Bishop Rick Jaech.

Our ballots began arriving in homes Oct. 19 for people to start voting. Every fall ballot in Washington has a couple of statewide initiatives. The three main initiatives that FAN is working on are:

• I-940 reforms our state law to include training law enforcement in violence de-escalation and reframes the law regarding the use of deadly force. FAN encourages a YES vote.
• I-1631 establishes a fee of $15/ton on the highest carbon emitters in our state and creates a board to govern these funds, which would be reinvested in communities. If approved, we would be the first state in the country to have a carbon fee law passed by voters! FAN encourages a YES vote.

I-1639 helps reduce gun violence by increasing the age to purchase semiautomatic rifles to 21, enhances the background checks and training for these purchases, and establishes liability for gunowners whose gun has caused physical harm for not being properly stored. FAN encourages a YES vote.

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Wisconsin

Cindy Crane, Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin                                      loppw.org

FARM BILL:  Cindy Crane led a two-hour workshop on advocacy that included letter writing on the farm bill in the Northwest Synod of Wisconsin. Our hunger fellow, Kelsey Johnson, led a similar workshop in the Greater Milwaukee Synod. Crane preached and co-led a workshop with Johnson and our intern, Sarah, at a church in the South-Central Synod of Wisconsin.

IMMIGRATION:  Sent out a message to our Listserv on the Flores Settlement and Public Charge

THE CARE FOR GOD’S CREATION team organized a half-day event, “What’s Working in Wisconsin” (with renewable energy). We included leaders from interfaith traditions, a county, two cities, a school district and secular nonprofits. LOPPW discussed how to advocate to duplicate what is working

VOTING:  Sarah, via a grant secured by Lutheran Campus Ministry, helped organize a Wisconsin voting campaign. She created a student brochure, a poster inviting congregants to pledge to vote and interviewed students in a video that Kelsey edited: youtube.com/watch?v=f94CrYQuCak&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR10wyMBnUVqidh55ShjN4daRfgV5BmqFD8sPUbvnx2pgp7gxUShV36_b_Q. We made resources known via synod newsletters, email, social media and phone calls, and lifted up ELCAVotes resources.

Kelsey videotaped Crane and a volunteer with a message on voting in Spanish:   youtube.com/watch?v=7JHFTlLYOt8&fbclid=IwAR1hAw8Zy8-w94G9fgex0Bp-xiIYrmLkA6OTZlCMZ4c3nwdkTIL5BCvc-io.

PARTNERING TO MAXIMIZE EFFORTS:  We strategized with our Public Benefits Coalition to find common ground for a proactive agenda; with People of Faith United for Justice to prepare for advocacy day; and with the Wisconsin Anti-human Trafficking Consortium, which included a review of possible upcoming bills.

LOPPW ADVISORY COUNCIL RETREAT:  Planned and held with council members.

Coming soon: Regional advocacy retreat for college students.

 

With the 501st anniversary of the Reformation calling us out into the world, ELCA World Hunger is excited to announce the completion of our confirmation lesson series, “Hunger Catechisms.”

The Hunger Catechisms are intended to encourage understanding of the Small and Large Catechisms as they relate to our faith, our personal life and our public life for confirmation, high school youth groups and mentoring programs.

Each lesson begins with Martin Luther’s interpretations in both the Small and Large Catechisms and discusses their spiritual implications and social applications. At the end of each lesson is an example of how the ELCA is working alongside neighbors within the U.S. and around the world through the ministry of ELCA World Hunger.

Each lesson focuses on a variety of topics related to our call to justice:

• Economic justice
  • (1st Commandment)
• Food insecurity
  • (5th Commandment)
• Wage theft
  • (7th Commandment)
• Immigration rights
  • (8th Commandment)
• Gender equality
  • (9th + 10th Commandments)
• Environmental justice
  • (1st Article of the Creed)
• Food waste
  • (Daily Bread)

 

The ELCA defines confirmation as, “…a pastoral and educational ministry of the church that helps the baptized through Word and Sacrament to identify more deeply with the Christian community and participate more fully in it mission.”

It is our hope that these lessons encourage your ministry to dive deeper in your faith conversations and inspire the youth of your community to participate more fully in our shared mission of working towards a just world where all are fed.

Suggested uses

Although you know your ministry best, here are some ways that other folks have used this resource:

• Youth group discussion guide
• Leader’s script (turn the main points and facts into slides)
• Supplemental curriculum during Catechism instruction
• Youth Advent or Lenten study
• Adult forums
• Mentor conversations

Please contact us at hunger@elca.org and tell us how you used these lessons in your ministry!

Learn

If you’d like to learn more about other resources that ELCA World Hunger offers to congregations,  please visit www.elca.org/Resources/ELCA-World-Hunger.

Give

Gifts to ELCA World Hunger are acts of love towards our neighbors living with hunger and poverty both here and around the world. Together, we are creatively and courageously working toward a just world where all are fed.

Give now

Connect

Sign up here and receive news, information and the latest resources from ELCA World Hunger.

 

 

 

 

The Word

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God…” (Romans 12: 2)

“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest? He said to him, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind,’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22: 36-38)
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Kyle’s Story

I turned 18 in the summer of 2008, as the race for the presidency echoed on every newsstand and network. That fall, on one rainy September afternoon, Obama’s calls for hope & change rang across my small college campus, where 26,000 gathered to watch him speak. Street corners burst with signage for national and local political leaders. I spent hours watching debates, reading articles and having conversations with my classmates, all in preparation to cast my first ballot.

As is the case with many young people, most of my voting has been done by absentee ballot as my schedule often finds me away from home on Election Day. I still feel a surge of pride when I drop my ballot in the mailbox. I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of something bigger than myself. However, voting in person provides a visceral connection to this imperative responsibility of being a citizen. We walk or drive or bike through our neighborhoods on the way to the polls, passing those affected by the policies that we elect individuals to uphold or reform. Scripture tells us that whatever we do unto the least of these, we do unto Christ himself. In this way of seeing, we immerse ourselves in a community where Christ is our neighbor. We must not look away.

Called to Renew Our Minds

We are called in faith to be active, informed participants in the communities of our lives – our churches, our neighborhoods, our country and our world. When Jesus charges his disciples to love their neighbors as themselves, he asks us to consider the neighbors that don’t look like us, or speak like us, or attend the same churches as us. The gospels constantly remind us that the community, the KINdom of God, is vaster than we allow ourselves to imagine. We are called to constantly be “transformed by the renewing of our minds”. To me, this renewing looks like a call to pray & discern, to do our research, to become informed about the issues that impact our neighbors here and abroad.

 

Lifting Our Voices, Lifting Our Votes

The privilege to vote is one of the most active ways we as people of faith can take our hopes and prayers for the world outside the church walls. When we open our eyes to the concerns of our communities, listen to those whose voices are marginalized by political systems and consider the way our government impacts individuals, we are striving to be the type of neighbor Jesus describes in Matthew’s Gospel. Repeatedly throughout the gospels, Jesus challenges assumptions about the disciples’ roles in community, calling to their attention the ways they can step outside their personal circles to be better servants in the world. Still today, Jesus challenges our assumptions and calls us out into the world every day.

Study, listen, pray, discern, lift your voice, and lift your vote – the world needs it.

Discussion Questions:
1. Have you taken time to listen for the Holy Spirit in your life lately?

2. How are you making space for the Holy in your daily life?

3. How are you actively engaged in your community, locally & nationally? How is your church or ministry engaged in the community outside its walls?

4. How do you understand the relationship between your faith and your vote? Why?

5. Do you have a voting plan? Make time this week to read up on your midterm ballot initiatives and candidates.

 

Kyle Lefler serves as the Program Coordinator at Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp in Lakeside, MT. Her work at FLBC includes overseeing year round retreat programming, onsite summer camp operations & making sure all the ice cream in the canteen is fit to sell, among other things. Kyle is passionate about working with young people in God’s Creation and striving to create intentional community spaces where they are unconditionally loved & accepted, empowered & advocated for. She loves early morning lake swims, handwritten letters & the Avett Brothers.

Bryan Jaster,  Winchester, VA

 

Warm-up Question

What is something traumatic that happened in your life?  What did you do in response?

Beyond Death’s Stench

Mikah Meyer is on a 3 year journey to visit all 417 national parks and discover the power of healing and love.

Imagine being 19 years old and having one of your parents die.  When Mikah Meyer was 19 his father died suddenly of esophageal cancer at the age of 58 years.  He was devastated.  His father would never see him grow up and be able to celebrate life with Mikah.  The assumption that his father would live to be 80+ years old was shattered.  The realization that life isn’t infinite and that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed hit hard.

His father loved to travel and Mikah set a goal that when he was 30 years old he would hit the road and set the world record for being the youngest person to visit all the national parks while sharing along the way that life is worth living and to appreciate time and people while we have it. So, at 30 he did.

Once he started his national park tour something happened that had begun in his life as a 19 year old. That year was the first year when he met an adult who was openly gay.  Gay before that was a topic that wasn’t even spoken of.  So after meeting more people in his 20s and making public that he was a gay Christian, he began to encounter many who felt they weren’t loved by their church or by God.   He thought that sharing that part of his life during his tour of national parks would decrease financial support from congregations.  Living out of his van, he visited congregations on Sunday mornings and relied on the hospitality of friends and strangers to continue his journey.

However, he decided to share that part of his identity after being contacted via social media by a young teen who was in the closet about being gay. The teen reached out after finding out about his past work setting up “Queers for Christ” in Washington, D.C. The teen thanked Myer for letting him know he wasn’t alone and that he could accomplish his dreams, just as Meyer was accomplishing his.

So now honoring his father’s life, he travels living out of a converted van as an openly Gay Christian,  performing as a contra tenor singer who sings for his supper.  He preaches at congregations about living God’s limitless, boundary-less love and proclaims that we are all children of God, worthy of love. He has been able to stay on the roads because America’s Christians have funded a gay man to set a world record.   He has currently visited 368 of the 417 national parks and will finish April 29, 2019 at the Lincoln Memorial.

Check out more of Mikah’s journey at https://www.mikahmeyer.com/

Discussion Questions

• How many national parks have you been to?  What would be a challenge to trying to see all 417?
• What is a favorite place you like to go to experience the beauty of creation?
• Mikah Meyer experienced death face-to-face when his dad died. How did he respond? What can we learn from his actions?   What big dreams do you have that God might be calling you to do?
• What is something that you feel is “off limits” to talk about at church, in school, or in your family? What is one way you can start a conversation about it and promoted loving people who may be different in some way?

All Saints Sunday

(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

“There is a stench”

Death stinks. Literally, death stinks.  Bacteria quickly break down proteins in dead bodies into cadaverine and putrescine—and the stench rises.   Death stinks too for those who mourn as the reality of loss and death of a loved one takes hold.  There is a stench in death.

Before our story begins in John 11, Jesus made mud and healed a man of blindness.  This action made “the Jews” or perhaps we could say “the religious authorities” irate.  When they ask if he is the Messiah, Jesus’ answers do not appease them.  They accuse him of blaspheming and try to arrest him.

The stench of death continues.  Jesus gets word that Lazarus, whom he loves, is ill.  Jesus says this illness will lead to God’s glory.  He waits a few days and the disciples are puzzled that he would go back to the place where he was to be stoned to death.  He goes anyway, and finds Lazarus to be dead four days. Martha says, “If you had been here my brother would not have died.”  She proclaims Jesus to be the One, and then goes back and tells Mary that Jesus is in town.

Here is where our text picks up the story, John 11:32-44.  The Jews and Mary are weeping.  Jesus is disturbed, first when seeing their pain, and then upon arriving at the tomb of Lazarus. Jesus being “disturbed” in Greek is like him making the snorting sound of a horse when he encounters the stench of death in the grief of the Jews (remember they were the ones who tried to arrest and stone Jesus), Mary, and Martha.  Greatly moved by Lazarus’ death and the love for his friends is Jesus when surrounded by the stench of death.

Jesus stands at the cave and commands for the stone to be taken away.  Martha protests that “there is a stench” because Lazarus has been dead four days.  There is nothing to be done for Lazarus now and he can do nothing for himself in death.

Jesus response to the stench of death is startling:  “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”  Jesus next prays, thanking God for hearing him and hoping that the crowd might believe God sent him.

Then he shouts, “Lazarus, come out!”

With those 3 words Jesus flips the stench of death upside down and writes a new script where death is defeated by the way of resurrection, life, and love.  With the words “unbind him and let him go” we see the completion of the seventh sign in John’s gospel of Jesus’ identity.  From now on being in relationship with Jesus means we face death and pain with him.  It means learning that, in spite of the stench of death, Jesus can and will bring life.  Nothing is ever so dead that it keeps Jesus from bringing life for us.  Abundant life is always ever now.

Discussion Questions

• Why do you think Jesus delayed in going to Lazarus’ tomb? When was a time when if felt like God waited too long and then something truly good happened after all?   How can we trust that God will bring life out of death in our world?
• Abundant life is now and resurrection is now. What is one way you can share the abundant life that God gives with someone in class or your neighborhood?   Make a plan and do it!

Activity Suggestions

Find a dead, decaying animal.  Really. Find an animal that smells like death.   Be smart about handling it and smell the stench of death together.  Unlike our recent ancestors, most of us don’t come in close contact with the death of animals or human family members.   If you are adventurous, take a trip to a morgue or schedule a visit to see cadavers in a research lab.

Another option:  Duckweed or other high-protein plants emit smells like decaying flesh when decomposing.   Get some duckweed and let it rot for a week in advance.  Then smell it.

Once you have allowed your noses to recover, talk about what death smells like.
When else have you smelled something dead?

Have you had a close friend or family member die?  What was that like?   Were you sad?

When has a relationship died?  When has a relationship healed or experienced new life?

Closing Prayer

Oh God, the stench of death is real and so are your surprising ways of bringing abundant life.  Challenge us to live and love like your son Jesus today in your creation and with the people we encounter now.  Thank you for rolling away the stones in life, calling us to “come out” of our tombs, and unbinding us so that we might live again each day.  Amen.

 

Today’s post is by Linda Witte Henke, an artist specializing in the creation of liturgically purposed work for congregation, synod, and churchwide settings (www.lindahenke.com). This is the first of quarterly posts by Linda that will provide suggestions and templates for an expression of liturgical art.

When asked, most congregants would likely describe Advent as a time of “preparing for Christmas.” While this description may be technically accurate, the reality is that most people’s experience of the month of December is focused on extensive “to-do” lists that, at best, are only distantly related to the essence of Advent.

Thankfully, the lectionary texts for Advent in Year C offer stirring words and rich imagery to draw us into deeper understanding and appreciation for these precious four weeks. Advent is a time of preparing our hearts and lives for the coming of Jesus the Christ encompassing past, present, and future:

• On Advent I, Jesus speaks of “signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars” and urges us to “stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (Luke 21)

 

• On Advent II, the voice of John the Baptist crying out in the wilderness directs us: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth.” (Luke 3)

 

• On Advent III, the one who is coming is heralded by John the Baptist using language that calls for us to repent the brokenness of our relationships with God and one another in order that our lives may “bear fruits worthy of repentance.” (Luke 3)

 

• On Advent IV, Mary lifts her voice to proclaim God’s greatness in turning our up-side-down world right-side up. (Luke 1)

This post offers a way to incorporate imagery of the season into the assembly’s worship through use of a four-panel design linked to the weekly texts. The panels may be used as stand-alone designs, one per week, or as a composite that evolves from one to four panels over the course of the four-week season.

Some possibilities for utilizing the design include:

• Creating banners, using silver markers and silver paint on blue “fadeless” paper (available by the roll in craft stores or education-supply outlets) or using silver lamé and silver organza fused or stitched/appliquéd onto blue fabric
• Using a “print on demand” service to reproduce the digital design on paper or fabric
• Incorporating the digital design in the congregation’s projected worship slides
• Including the digital design in the congregation’s print and/or electronic communications

Regardless of the way(s) in which you choose to integrate the design into your congregation’s Advent journey, the effectiveness and impact of the design’s use will be enhanced by intentional references to the design throughout the season, particularly within the context of worship. For example:

• How might it feel to lift up our heads and hands in anticipation of Jesus’ coming? (Advent I)
• How might heightened awareness of the sun, moon, and stars awaken our longing for God’s coming close to reside within and among us? (Advent II)
• How might repentance of our human brokenness pave the way for faith’s fuller fruition in us? (Advent III)
• How might Mary’s song engage our more enthusiastic participation in the in-breaking reign of God’s up-side-down order? (Advent IV)

The attached PDF includes a modest-resolution image of the complete design, as well as patterns that can be enlarged to create banners in whatever scale is right for your congregation’s space. A higher-resolution image for large-scale reproduction may be downloaded from:  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/x69s78odh0gqcks/AACdV0LxnzVn9BvvoRwgwaFya?dl=0.

I don’t know the whole story, but I do know what I saw and heard through my kindergarten eyes and ears. I know what I learned from adults that day. And I know that it left an indelible mark and questions without satisfying answers. I can without a doubt remember the day in kindergarten when I realized that race was a thing that mattered and that I had one.

A class mate of mine was carried out of the classroom by his hands and his feet. He had been throwing a tantrum on the dark blue rug that had the numbers of a clock around the outer edge. (I loved that rug) He was sent to the principal’s office. He never came back to class that day or any day afterwards. I don’t remember his name. I do remember that his skin was darker than the other black kids in my class. I remember thinking that I would never be subject to the same kind of discipline. I remember feeling very uncomfortable.

I was white.

I didn’t have the language of privilege at that age, but that’s what I was learning about.

I am not always good at paying attention to discomfort or heading into situations that might make me encounter it. But it’s worth the attention. It’s worth noticing. Like I told a kid who had just run his first mile before coming to church for Wednesday evening programing, “if it hurts, you have to stretch or it will hurt more.” You have to pay attention to what your body is telling you. Discomfort offers and opportunity for growth. Avoiding it does no such thing.

“This life therefore is not righteousness, but growth in righteousness. Not health but healing. Not being, becoming. Not rest, but exercise. We are not what we shall be, but we are moving toward it. The process is not yet finished, but it is moving on. This is not the end, but this is the road. All does not yet gleam in the glory of God but all is being purified.” -Martin Luther

In my ministry as a parish deaconess, friends with young children and congregation members regularly ask me if I know of or have good resources for talking with their children about race. They share stories of struggling with how to raise their children to recognize and celebrate human diversity as a gift without relying on the language of “color blindness” that they, more often than not, were raised with. Mostly I listen to their stories and celebrate with them the good things they’re already doing. Their questions keep me wondering about what ways the church can partner with parents as they strive in this arena. I know we can meet communities, families, congregations, and children where they’re at and encourage healthy conversations around race where faith and grace are at the center of the conversation. I also know it’s hard to know where to start.

Younger Children & Elementary Children

·       Consider doing a resource audit and see what you notice. This is not meant to make you feel guilty, but to help provide a mirror. I recently had middle schoolers go through the children’s books on my shelf at church and put them into 2 piles: books that had persons of color in them at all and books that had mostly white characters. It was informative. We had great conversations as a result.

·       If your congregation is in the habit of celebrating the saints (or even if it’s not), consider using a children’s sermon to highlight MLK Day, the birthday of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, or Saint Augustine. These leaders in the church were persons of color. There’s a great children’s book by Archbishop Desmond Tutu called “God’s Dream” that you could read on his birthday each year. There’s even a board book version that you could give out as a baptismal birthday gift.

·       Children love to dance and bang on drums. There are great global music songs in the ELW that you can break the ice with by inviting the little ones to dance in the aisles. Setting 7 has a great “Glory” that even a congregation unfamiliar with Latin music can get into. We can celebrate the gift of the gospel with our whole bodies.

 

Middle Schoolers

·       Middle schoolers are capable of deeper conversations than we sometimes give them credit for. Three days of confirmation class could be spent on race, culture, and class. ELCA World Hunger has downloadable resources on Hunger and the Catechism.

·       Middle Schoolers are busy struggling to broaden their worldview beyond their own “bubbles.” Give them the tools to be courageous by setting an example. The ELCA also has missionaries across the globe. Maybe your congregation could consider sponsoring one and your middle school Sunday School could write them letters.

·       Middle Schoolers LOVE to inform adults about things they “know more” about. What if your middle schoolers were to do a poster series on “You Could Be a Lutheran If . . . ” that explored Lutheranism in America and the world. For example, one poster could be “You Could be Lutheran if you live in Tanzania” because there are more Lutherans in Tanzania than the United States.

 

High Schoolers

·       ELCA Racial Justice Ministries has a number of downloadable resources that are created for adults, that I think you could adjust for conversations with high schoolers in youth group.

·       Equipping leaders and mentors to engage in conversations around identity, race, culture, class and how we attend to those conversations as persons of faith is perhaps one of the harder things to do. However, youth will want to talk about identity – it’s edgy. Maybe prep your leadership with ELCA Racial Justice Ministries resources like “One Body, Many Members.”

·       In some places Lutherans are reclaiming the practice of sharing personal faith stories and giving testimony. What might it look like to have a testimony series that intentionally asked questions around the intersection of identity, race, culture, and class? What if adults and youth shared stories that were truly vulnerable and didn’t always tie up in a neat bow?

Bio: Claire Schoepp (she/her/hers) is a parish Deaconess at two congregations in Chicago serving as Director of Child and Family Ministries at Luther Memorial Church of Chicago and Administrative Assistant at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church of Logan Square. Claire is grateful to First Immanuel Lutheran Church and Rev. Harry Therwanger for everything. Claire and her spouse, Isaac Schoepp, love living in Chicago where they take in as much theatre as possible.

 

As Reformation Sunday approaches and the winter months ensue, do you find yourself already daydreaming about summer? ELCA World Hunger would like to encourage that habit by offering a sneak peek into ELCA World Hunger’s newest VBS program, “Who is My Neighbor?”

Based on the Good Samaritan story, “Who is My Neighbor?” engages participants in a week of fun, laughter and play while learning about how we are called by God to love and care for our neighbors within our communities and around the world.

Each day focuses on a different character from the Good Samaritan story, with Day 1 introducing the main character—the lawyer who asks Jesus the question, “Who is my neighbor?”

This full, five-day curriculum will be free and available in print or through download. You’ll find skits, family time, games, snacks, crafts and stories that will help participants explore what it means to be a neighbor in Christ by learning about neighbors in six parts of the globe!

Please enjoy this Day 1 sample and be on the lookout for the full “Who is My Neighbor?” VBS curriculum to be available in mid-November!

We pray that the children in your VBS will see the ways God has blessed them and their neighbors—and the role they can play in God’s promise of a just world where all are fed.

Learn

If you’d like to learn more about other resources that ELCA World Hunger offers to congregations,  please visit www.elca.org/Resources/ELCA-World-Hunger.

Give

Gifts to ELCA World Hunger are acts of love towards our neighbors living with hunger and poverty both here and around the world. Together, we are creatively and courageously working toward a just world where all are fed.

Give now

Connect

Sign up here and receive news, information and the latest resources from ELCA World Hunger.

Andrew Karmann, Omaha, NE

Warm-up Question

• Have you ever felt like a slave to anything?
• What does it mean to be free?

Freedom of a Christian

When things in our lives happen to us we can often feel out of control and pushed in directions we never thought we could go. Since losing their daughter in the Aurora, Colorado shooting, Sandy and Lonnie Phillips have gone to the locations of many mass shootings. They know lots about the challenges grieving families face, and have information only people who have lost someone to a shooting can know.

In a recent radio broadcast of This American Life, Sandy and Lonnie arrived on the campus of Santa Fe High School, just outside of Houston, TX just days after the May 18, 2018 school shooting. They were wearing buttons showing a picture of their daughter Jesse as they walked up to the ten wooden crosses with red hearts for each of the students and teachers who had lost their lives in the shooting. It doesn’t take long before students and faculty begin coming up to them and opening up about their experiences.

As I listened to the students and parents heart wrenching stories of loss and confusion, it’s easy to think that Sandy and Lonnie would have been perfectly justified to let their lives stop after learning of their daughter’s death. But the tragedy of their experience doesn’t stop there. They are subjected to people who call themselves “truthers” who proclaim that victims of these shooting never existed or are being put up by the government in a resort somewhere.

So what makes these parents relive the worst night of their lives over and over again? Five months later they were asked to visit the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. They decided they would go because all they wanted in the aftermath of their daughter’s death was someone to talk to that could understand what they were going through.

Despite the awkwardness they felt upon arriving at Sandy Hook, they recognized the pain on the other parents’ faces. It was exactly where they had been five months ago. They wanted nothing more than to help these parents acclimate to their new reality. So to help parents in these situations find each other for support they started an organization called “Survivors Empowered.”

Sandy and Lonnie felt a calling to help people experiencing what they had already been through. Their family and friends wanted desperately for them to move on and get back to normal. But something inside them just wouldn’t allow the tragedy of their daughter’s death go by unforgotten. The brokenness of their world was not going to stop them from being there for others.

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever experienced the grief of losing someone that you loved? Did anyone talk to you about a similar experience they had which made you feel a little better?
• Have you or someone you know been affected by school shootings?
• Have you talked with your friends about school shootings you’ve heard about in the news?

Reformation Sunday

(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 is a text which is heard a lot in Lutheran churches on Reformation Sunday. It starts out with Jesus telling his followers that if they just continue to follow what he’s been teaching them, that they will be set free. However, this idea of being set free didn’t seem to make too much sense to those whom Jesus was talking to, because they immediately say that they have never been slaves to anyone. So they ask what Jesus could possibly mean by saying, “they will be set free”?

Jesus goes on to say that anyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. What could that possibly mean? Does that mean that we can simply live a perfect life and not have to worry about being a slave to sin? What does Jesus even mean when he says sin? Sometimes it helps to get a little context from the things that are happening around our selected readings.

In the case of today’s gospel lesson we can move back to the beginning of chapter 8 to see what Jesus meant when he was talking about sin and how that differed from the understanding of sin that the people around him had. The chapter begins with the story of a woman caught in the act of adultery being brought before Jesus. The scribes and Pharisees then ask Jesus what he thinks should be done about this sinner, knowing that the traditional punishment is to stone the adulterer to death. Jesus says that anyone who has never sinned can go ahead and be the first one to throw a stone at her. After this everyone leaves because everyone has sinned. Jesus forgives her and tells her to go on with her life and sin no more.

This story shows us a couple of things that are relevant to today’s Gospel Lesson.

• Everyone has sinned, and is therefore a slave to sin.
• Sin isn’t limited to doing something against the laws of the scriptures, but part of the world we live in.

Martin Luther struggled with many of these same difficult questions regarding sin. He was confused by his inability to stop sinning and the idea of being able to make up for it in a satisfying way. Luckily, our Gospel doesn’t end with the statement that everybody sins. Rather it goes on to say, “So if the Son makes you free, you are free indeed.”

This tells us that because of Jesus’ death on the cross, and subsequent resurrection, we are no longer slaves to sin. Whether it is our own (as in the case of the woman who committed adultery) or a result of the broken world (as in the case of Sandy and Lonnie’s daughter’s death). Instead we are free to continue our lives. We are free to allow Christ’s light to shine through ours and the world’s brokenness.

Discussion Questions

• In light of today’s gospel reading, how would you define sin?
• What are some examples of ways we could sin ourselves?
• What are some examples of how sin is found in the broken world around us?
• What do you think it looks like to be set free by Christ?

Activity Suggestions

Gather strips of soft cloth to tie the hands and ankles as well as to make blindfolds. (Strips torn from an old sheet work nicely) You’ll need enough strips for each person to have one.

Distribute the cloth strips to kids and have them form three groups. Instruct one group to tie each other’s hands behind their backs. (You will have to help the last person.) Have another group use the strips to loosely tie each person’s ankles together. Have the remaining group use its strips as blindfolds.

Provide instructions to the youth letting them know that as you call out various actions, they are to do each one in the best way that they can.

• Shake hands
• Touch your toes
• Walk across the room
• Wave to a friend
• Take one giant step
• Sit cross-legged on the floor
• Hop on one foot
• Point to the west
• Wink at someone

Debrief with the follow questions:

1. What kinds of problems were you having? Explain.
2. What can be done to solve these problems?
3. This game has taken away some of your freedom. What kinds of things bind us or take away our freedom in real life?
4. How can we be freed from these things?

Closing Prayer

Loving  God, Thank you for this chance to come together to learn more about you and your word. Thanks, also for your amazing gift of freedom from sin. Although we often feel stuck in fear or grief we know that you call us to continue living. We know that you hear our prayers whether we shout them with joy from the mountaintops or hold them inside with sighs to deep for words. Thank you for listening.

Amen.

 

John Hougen, Elkins Park, PA

Warm-up Question

What are your ambitions? Name three: one ambition you have for this week, one ambition you have for this year, and one ambition you dream of fulfilling in your lifetime.

Ambition

All of us have ambitions: goals we are working toward, hopes for the future, dreams of success. Our ambitions can be good or evil, noble or crass. Ambition can lead to addressing the root causes of violence and building a better community. And, ambition can lead predators to boast of how many victims they’ve lured into bed. Ambitions can express our best selves or something less. They can contribute to the common good or fulfill our most shameful selfish desires. I knew two families who seemed to be in competition for which would adopt the most children with special needs. I admired them greatly.

In American culture today, competition is everywhere. Ambition is defined as wanting to win, to come out on top, to be the best. Children vie for their parents’ attention. Families plan everything else around youth sports schedules. Network television seems dominated by series that start with auditions and end with a winner. We each have our teams, our candidates, our favorite competitors. When we aren’t competing ourselves, we are cheering for those with whom we identify. When our side wins, we feel like we have won too. They are in the limelight and we bask in their glory.

It is a challenge for those of us who are spiritual to align our ambitions with the values of our faith. It may be harmless to indulge in the competitive games people play, but if we are true to our faith, our focus will be elsewhere. As Christians, our ambition should be to imitate Christ who revealed the God-given potential of life in this world. This does not mean we should aspire to wearing robes and performing miracles. It means we should open our minds and hearts to becoming aware of God’s presence with and within us. It means we should use our brains, muscles, and empathy to help others. It means our ambitions will include seeking and speaking the truth, offering and accepting forgiveness, peace-making, befriending the marginalized, binding up what is broken, and mending creation.

Discussion Questions

• Why do you think there are so many television shows which feature competition (such as American Idol, The Voice, and America’s Got Talent)?  If you watch any of these, what is their attraction to you?  What attributes do these shows reward?
• Would you like to be famous? If so, what do you dream of doing that would command attention and earn the admiration of others?
• Name people with ambition whom you admire, and tell why you admire them. Include some examples from your family and friends.
• Will any of your ambitions lead you toward being more like Jesus? If so, which ones? If not, why not?

Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost

(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

James and John were ambitious. Their ambition was to be like Jesus: to be close to God and able to pray, to speak God’s truth, heal, forgive, inspire, and lead. They knew they would never be exactly like Jesus, so the next best thing was to stay as close to him as possible. They believed that one day God would establish a great kingdom with Jesus seated on its glorious throne. In both the present and future, they wanted to be by Jesus’ side, one on his right and one on his left. So, they asked Jesus to grant them their wish. James and John hoped that when glory came to Jesus, they would be nearby, soaking up the glory that comes to a winner.

Jesus responded to their request with a question. “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?” We can know what Jesus meant in that moment by turning a few pages ahead in the Gospel of Mark. Mark 14 reports that on the night before Jesus’ crucifixion, kneeling in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed: “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.” (Mark 14:36. NRSV) When Jesus asked James and John, “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?” Jesus was asking whether they understood glory was not going to happen just yet. He was asking them whether, on the way to glory, they were willing to suffer and die as he would. Would they be willing to be tortured and killed for being like Jesus, eliminated when those in power would no longer put up with truth and love?

The other disciples, surely as deserving of glory as James and John, objected to their trying to claim the honor for themselves, “cutting in line” to get the best seats. Jesus then told all his disciples they were acting like politicians whose ambition for power and fame is motivated by the desire to enrich themselves and bolster their own egos. The politicians of their day (and some in our day) wanted power so they could force others to abide by their selfish whims rather than using their power for good.

Jesus teaches his disciples (and us) that those who are his most faithful followers will lose what their culture considers essential for a successful life: the ambition to gain fame, riches, power, and glory. Jesus teaches his disciples (and us) that his most faithful followers will be like him–ambitious for greatness in service, gaining the success that comes from giving away all they are and all they have to make life better for others.

Discussion Questions

• Do you think Jesus was too hard on James and John for wanting to be with him in glory?
• Is it possible to have ambition for fame or wealth and still be most focused on serving others?
• If you were to sacrifice time, energy, and money to help others, what would you gain? What would make your sacrifices worthwhile?

Activity Suggestions

There are many passages in the Bible that encourage Christians to use the gifts God has given them for the sake of others. (Read one of the following: Matthew 5: 14-16, Romans 12: 3-8, 1 Corinthians 12: 1-11) If you are meeting in a group, let each person have a turn while others in the group identify the gifts God has given her or him and how those gifts are being used or could be used to serve others. If you are by yourself, list your gifts and how they might be used to help others.

Closing Prayer

I wrote the following text to be sung at a gathering of Lutheran college and university students. Some of the lines are inspired by Scripture passages such as today’s Gospel reading which invites us to follow Jesus, and to become his presence in the world today. Other lines are inspired by passages such as Matthew 25: 34-40 which teach us that when we serve others, we are serving Jesus who is present with them in their need.

 

Meditate on these words in silence or by finding a simple melody to which they can be sung.

1. We are free to be – like Jesus.

We are free to be: Jesus in the world.

 

2. We are free to see – like Jesus.

We are free to see: Jesus in the world.

 

3. We are free to serve – like Jesus.

We are free to serve: Jesus in the world.

 

4. We are free to love – like Jesus.

We are free to love: Jesus in the world.

 

5. We are free to heal – like Jesus.

We are free to heal: Jesus in the world.

 

6. God has set us free – like Jesus.

God calls us to be: Jesus in the world.