By Ruth Ivory-Moore, Program Director, Environment and Energy Policy

“Talanoa is a generic term referring to a conversation, chat, sharing of ideas and talking with someone. It is a term that is shared by Tongans, Samoans, and Fijians.” It is also a term that will be linked to the twenty-third United Nations Climate Change conference (COP 23) that ended on November 18.

During this conference, Fiji’s Prime Minister and COP 23’s President, Frank Bainimarama lifted up the experiences and voices of Fijians and communities most vulnerable to climate change. Three critical outcomes of the COP meeting include the creation and inclusion of the Gender Action Plan (GAP), an Indigenous Peoples platform, and moving forward in Talanoa dialogue. These three resolutions will help ensure that the Paris Agreement is inclusive and intersectional in its continued planning and implementation. [Right: photo of The Fiji Pavilion at COP 23]

As a global community, we are facing what is likely one of the most serious threats to all creation: climate change. The time for action around climate change has never been more critical. Human activity is greatly amplifying Earth’s rising temperature and environmental degradation due to increased accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The negative consequences of this degradation disproportionately impact the most vulnerable and marginalized communities, even though they have contributed the least to it. They are also least equipped to mitigate and adapt to the changes in our environment.

We must become a global community that works together to ensure the sustainable and peaceful coexistence of all. Climate change leads to increased poverty, food insecurity, migration (due to necessity for survival), and health issues. To lessen these consequences of climate change, we must all work together. As stewards of God’s creation, the only option is to act, to mitigate, to adapt, and to build resilient communities. The simple fact is that we must step up our game and implement the three mechanisms that were produced to facilitate more inclusive and productive planning.

Critical outcomes of COP23:

The Gender Action Plan (GAP) facilitates the implementation of the Paris Agreement by formalizing the role of women in decision making around climate policy and action. While the role of gender and women was acknowledged in the preamble to the Paris Agreement, the GAP includes provisions for: capacity-building, knowledge sharing and communication, gender balance, participation and women’s leadership, coherence (strengthening the integration of gender in all aspects of implementation of the Paris Agreement), gender-responsive implementation and means of implementation, and monitoring and reporting.

The Indigenous Peoples Platform provides a means for native communities, who are often most impacted by climate change, to have a significant voice in all aspects of discussions around solutions. Discussions and resolutions included strengthening the knowledge of indigenous people, enhancing engagement of indigenous people, sharing of best practices and experiences, and providing means to facilitate the operationalization of the Indigenous Peoples Platform. [Right: photo of Indigenous People March at COP22]

The Talanoa dialogue lays a foundation critical for working toward climate resilient communities. The Talanoa dialogue stresses inclusivity of all, upholds communities most vulnerable, and emphasizes the need for fair and balance processes that will create fair and balanced solutions.

The Gender Action Plan, Indigenous Peoples Platform and Talanoa dialogue are key to ensuring the implementation of an inclusive process and that ensures the achievement of sustainable solutions. We celebrate these important successes; and we should congratulate the COP 23 Fiji Presidency on his leadership as well as the significant progress that was made.

We must now move and act with deep intentionality. No one entity is to be vilified, demonized or otherwise disparaged. We need energy companies, civil society, governments at all levels, trade associations, faith-based communities, policy makers, attorneys, researchers, agriculturalists, and people from every discipline working for a sustainable world. As bridge builders, faith-based communities have a tremendous opportunity! In the words of the Fiji youth who delivered a powerful message at the opening of the COP23 plenary, we must “walk the talk.” [Left: photo of World leaders congratulating the Fiji youth after his powerful speech]

We must proceed intentionally to work on implementation of the Paris Agreement. We have hope, and we have faith. But we know “for just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.” (James 2:26)

To that end, to the Fiji Presidency of COP 23:

• Called to biblical and theological reflection in community
• Called to effective prevention, treatment, and care
• Called to eradicate stigma and discrimination
• Called to walk with companion churches and partners in other countries
• Called to advocate for justice
• Called to build institutional capacity and make strategic choices

The ELCA and each of its members have the opportunity to speak out powerfully against all forms of stigma, discrimination and systemic inequality. Together, we can be affirming communities and engage in open conversations. Collectively, we can raise our voices in advocating for just policies. And as a community of faith, we can begin in worship and prayer.

Coming together on Dec. 1st, or at our usual worship times on Sunday, Dec. 3rd, we join our neighbors around the world as we honor all who have lost their lives to AIDS-related illnesses; we seek encouragement to take bold action; we rejoice in scientific advances in effective prevention, treatment and care; and we are sent out in peace, freed to act.

As we gather this World AIDS Day, remember that on this and every day, we are called to respond.

You can find ELCA Worship resources here. The full ELCA Strategy on HIV and AIDS, along with other resources for World AIDS Day can be found here. You can also stay connected with the ELCA’s Strategy on HIV and AIDS on social media @ELCAHIVandAIDS, and can share what your congregation is planning for World AIDS Day 2017.

We thank you that by the life-giving power of your spirit you bestowed upon us, your people, such gifts as are needed to respond to the situation at hand. Pour on us all that we need to stop AIDS and reach out to everyone affected with compassion, healing and hope.

May we know your call to be leaders in this struggle and employ the courage, wisdom and resources you have given to respond to HIV and AIDS.

Chris Heavner, Clemson, SC

Warm-up Question

Do you ever find yourself doing something a particular way and not really knowing why?  (Like putting on one sock and then one shoe rather than putting on both socks then both shoes.)  Athletes work to develop muscle memory.  Is it possible to develop human interaction memory?

Doing What Comes Naturally

The Jewish observance of Seder involves the young participants asking a series of questions.  One of these is “We normally eat standing up.  Why do we do eat this meal lying down?”  (The practice of lying down is to remind us of God’s protection and thus our ability to be at leisure.)  This instructional tool allows the elders to explain actions and their origins.

Each of us has automatic responses to situations which come up with some regularity.  We may (or may not) always take time to consider our response and how it has developed over time.

What is our programed response when we see a homeless person?  Do we have muscle memory which causes our feet to move us away from persons extending a beggar’s cup?

Pastors in my home Synod applauded the presenter at our conference, but shied away from his request for us to share stories about our visits to persons in prison.

The world teaches us many lessons which are antithetical to the message of Jesus.  Jesus was more concerned with caring for the other than with self-protection.

Discussion Questions

• How would you characterize your own “muscle memory” when it comes to interactions with the hungry, the homeless, those in prison?
• Let’s make it very clear that “muscle memory” needs to be in place to protect the innocent from exploitation and abuse.  There is no excuse for emotional, physical, or sexual abuse!  How do we make sure that we don’t over-react?  Have we allowed the need for personal safety to justify our turning a blind eye to the needs of others?
• Caring for those naked or thirsty is a task which also falls to the systems and structures of our society.  What might Christians say to policy makers about availability of health care and/or protecting our sources of drinking water?

Christ the King Sunday

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

Ephesians 1:15-23

Matthew 25:31-46

(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

The context for this passage is important.  For several chapters, Jesus has been engaged in a discussion with or about those who occupy positions of leadership among the faithful.  The scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadducees – all had come or sent their lackeys in an attempt to discredit Jesus and trap him in his words.  No attempt had worked.  Jesus consistently returns to the truth of God’s word and the claim God’s grace has upon our lives. When Jesus finishes this exchange, Matthew’s gospel moves to the Passion Story.

Matthew 25:31-46 serves as the closing to a message which began with Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  “Blessed” are those whose natural reaction is to do what Jesus has done.

Too often, this story is dissected as a means of determining whether one is a sheep or a goat.  There is certainly this undertone to the exchange.  The part of the story to which we might give greater attention is that members of neither group were aware of their action or inactivity.  They were just doing what came naturally.  To one group, it was muscle memory to help and to care for others.  The other group had taken to heart lessons about self-advancement or self-protection.

We miss the opportunity to grow in our discipleship when we use the examples Jesus lifts up as a way of deciding who is the saved and who is the damned, who are the blessed and who are the cursed.  This story presents us with the opportunity to examine what resides in our hearts and gives rise to what we do with our hands.

Discussion Questions

• These are the appointed lessons for Christ the King Sunday.  What does it mean, to label as our “king” the Christ whose concern repeatedly returns to those who live along the margins of our society?
• Can you share an exchange between yourself and someone who was hungry/thirst/naked/in prison?
• How do we set and enforce prohibitions against abuse and exploitation, while avoiding being so fearful of others that we close our lives and shut our eyes to the needs of others?

Activity Suggestions

• Develop an elevator speech (this is a 45 second script which you rehearse) which can be used the next time you encounter someone asking you for money or food.  Give your “speech” to another member of your group, and allow them to critique.
• Ask your pastor if they have ever visited someone in prison.  Take a simple survey of five church members, asking if they know anyone who is in prison.
• Talk to an athlete about muscle memory and discuss whether it might be possible to alter our social responses by practicing and rehearing different responses.

Closing Prayer

Giving and loving God; open our eyes to the ways we interact with others and to the motivations which lie behind our actions.  Help us to see and to care for the lost and forsaken, the abandoned and abused. Amen.

Today’s post is from Kelly Sherman-Conroy (Oglala Sioux), Luther Seminary student and member of the American Indian/Alaska Native Lutheran Association.

In August of 2016 the ELCA made a promise to the Native people.  The Churchwide Assembly, made up of members of the ELCA, passed a resolution written by ELCA Native American clergy Bishop Guy Erwin (Osage Nation) and Pastor Joan Conroy (Oglala Sioux) to recognize and celebrate contributions of Native Americans in the life of the church and community.

The whole body of the ELCA confessed that they were wrong and repudiated, explicitly and clearly, the European-derived Doctrine of Discovery, a document that has been used to justify racism against and enslavement of indigenous peoples since it was written in 1493.

This papal bull, known in Latin as “Inter Caetera,” gave Christian explorers the right to claim lands they “discovered” for their Christian monarchs. Any land discovered that was not inhabited by Christians could be exploited. If pagan inhabitants could not be converted, they could be enslaved or killed. Indigenous people have felt the sting of that papal edict since Europeans first landed in North America. The Native culture, according to early missionaries, did not fit the Christian religion, and belief in the Gospel required them to give up who they were in order to become something they could never be… white.

When the ELCA passed the resolution formally repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery, one of the commitments that was made was to “encourage the Office of the Presiding Bishop to plan an appropriate national ceremony of repentance and reconciliation with tribal leaders, providing appropriate worship resources for similar synodical and congregational observances with local tribal leaders, at such times and places as are appropriate.”

This Native American Liturgical Celebration and Service of Reconciliation was created by Kelly Sherman-Conroy, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe in Pine Ridge South Dakota, who attends Nativity Lutheran Church in St. Anthony, MN and also currently attends Luther Seminary. This liturgy, with the help of many people, was put together to in a meaningful way integrate Native culture and spirituality, and also keep some boundaries of the Lutheran Christian traditions. The result is that a profound and deeply spiritual experience has been created for all involved, not just in the worship practices themselves but in relationship with God and the other. In other words, inculturation (the adaptation of worship to various cultural settings) aims to deepen the spiritual life of the assembly through a fuller experience of Christ who is revealed in Native people’s language, rites, arts, and symbols.

On November 22^nd this service will be live streamed from Nativity Lutheran Church in its entirety. You will be able to join the live stream at Nativity’s web site, and more information about the event is available on Facebook. It is my hope that this service and celebration will serve as an example as to how this liturgy can be used in regions across the ELCA, and that the participants will have a blessed, faith-filled and formative experience.

If you would like to host this liturgy in your own synod or congregation, the worship resources themselves and a list of guidelines created to aid in the use of the liturgy may be found from ELCA.org. The American Indian/Alaska Native Lutheran Association is also available for conversation via email at ELCANATIVE@gmail.com.

Images:

Image 1 is a photo of Kelly Sherman-Conroy, taken at Luther Seminary during worship

Today’s post is from Julie B. Sevig, an ELCA deacon, communications specialist at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and a member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Chicago, IL.

Sunday, November 26, is soon here. In some congregations it is hailed as Christ the King Sunday, in others it has become known as the Sunday we focus on the Reign of Christ.

Some will sing “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name!” (ELW 634) or “Crown Him with Many Crowns” (ELW 855) with gusto. Others will choose “Soli Deo Gloria” (ELW 878) or “Evening and Morning” (ELW 761), more gentle and subtle in both music and message. In my own congregation, the focus will be the end of the church year: Last Sunday of the Year.

Having a king doesn’t always turn out well for everyone, after all. Back in 1996, Gail Ramshaw, a scholar of liturgical language, wrote this when suggesting we call this “Last Sunday of the Year”: “I find the myth of the crown, like the crowns themselves, more greed and glitter than divine design.”

Throughout history, crown and throne have been associated with power that was misused and evil. And we’re sensitive to abuse of power and evil more than ever these days. It’s as palpable as the morning news.

So I look forward to November 26 as an opportunity to bid the year farewell, collectively and individually. Much like December 31, we have the chance to take stock of how we’re doing.

Don’t wait until New Year’s to make resolutions, theologian Karoline Lewis says: “Make this New Year’s Resolution Sunday.” On this Sunday (whatever we call it), we look back and look forward, and imagine God’s future and our role in it.

No, we won’t be singing “Auld Lang Syne” that week. But before shifting to Advent and all the anticipation it brings, my faith community will sing “Christ Is Alive! Let Christians Sing” (ELW 389):

“In ev’ry insult, rift, and war,

Where color, scorn, or wealth divide,

Christ suffers still, yet loves the more,

And lives, where even hope has died.” (v. 3)

 

Perhaps Dawn Chesser, preaching director for Discipleship Ministries of the United Methodist Church, says it best in her liturgical reflection for The Last Sunday of the Year: “Affirm the victories and name the demons, but then let it all go and move on. Hope is coming. New life is just around the corner. God’s grace is the hope of the world.”

——-

Sources referenced:

“Transfiguring Monarchy” by Gail Ramshaw in “Liturgy Christ Reigns” Journal of The Liturgical Conference, Volume 13, Number 2.

Karoline Lewis, “Throne Mentality” from Working Preacher, Luther Seminary, November 16, 2014.

Dawn Chesser, Preaching Notes for Christ the King Sunday, Year B (November 22, 2015).

Issue 55 of Administration Matters

Stories of Faith in Action 2017-2018 is here!

Stories of Faith in Action is an annual publication highlighting how God is changing lives through ministries funded by Mission Support. Mission Support is a portion of ELCA members’ unrestricted offering dollars that is shared with their synods and the ELCA churchwide organization. This collection of stories is a tool to help ELCA members understand how important their weekly offering is in sustaining and growing global and local Lutheran ministries. Stories, videos, bulletin inserts and an infographic explaining “Where does my offering go?” are tools congregations can use to encourage giving. Order free printed copies of the resource—just pay shipping and handling—or download a free pdf. Visit ELCA.org/SOFIA  now to read Stories of Faith in Action and download additional resources.

Plan ahead for 2018 payroll withholdings

If you provide ELCA benefits through Portico and your employees changed their 2018 pretax retirement, supplemental life insurance, and/or other voluntary benefit elections during Portico’s Annual Enrollment, you’ll need to adjust payroll withholdings for 2018. In December, this summary of 2018 payroll withholdings on EmployerLink can help you determine how much to withhold from paychecks in January.

‘Cybersecurity Best Practices for Churches’

Cybersecurity is the body of technologies, processes and practices designed to protect networks, computers, programs and data from attack, damage or unauthorized access. In a computing context, security includes both cybersecurity and physical security. In order to protect your constituents’ data, it is critical to understand cyber security threats and vulnerabilities and have the ability to defend your computer systems against cyberattacks. >More

‘You Need a Disaster Communications Plan’

This practical guide to developing a congregational disaster communications plan was written by the Rev. David Hansen, serving at Spirit of Joy! Lutheran Church in The Woodlands, Texas. Based on his experience at the congregational and synodical level responding to Hurricane Harvey, this blog post offers tips for communicating before, during and after a disaster. >More

1 in 10 Protestant congregations experiences embezzlement

While it’s easy to believe fraud could never happen in your congregation, the truth is that no congregation is invulnerable.>More

Planning safe events

Anyone who has hosted a gathering knows how much goes into even a simple get together with family and friends. Putting on a successful and safe church event takes planning to a new level. This resource from Church Mutual provides some steps to take as you manage your event planning.

On Tuesday, October 31, rostered ministers of the Saint Paul Area Synod & Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA joined together in commemoration of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation. The theme for the day, Turning 501, we examined the question, “What Does the Church Need to be Passionate About As the Reformation Turns 501?” Six speakers from across this synod – theologians, professors, artists, & even a former bishop – challenged us to approach this question through a new lens and with wider scope. I , Rev. Jen Collins from the Saint Paul Area Synod was one of those six speakers. Having recently attended and completed the Transforming White Privilege (TWP): A 21st Century Leadership Capacity training in Chicago with other ELCA affiliated members, this laid the groundwork for reflection and envisioning the answer to the proposed question. “What does the church need to be passionate about?”

You see, I am a Latina who grew up in the southwestern desert in Albuquerque, New Mexico and has since then traveled all over this nation. Minnesota being my home since 2010 where I’ve attended seminary, met my now husband and have the most incredible daughter. We have a wonderful array of culture and heritage within our small family which is why I am so passionate about sharing my story and adding my colorful voice to the sea of many white ones within our ELCA church.  Being “Lutheran” is more than whiteness.

An answer to a question:

Greetings to you my family in Christ.

I am so elated and on fire to share with you a vision I believe the church should be passionate about as us Lutherans turn 501.  We just celebrated on Sunday this the Reformation- the congregation I serve had 12 young people stand before the community and affirm that God chose them- that they are the next set of reformers to help us shape God’s church.

We though. Those of us here and in our communities, are reformers too! When I was ordained just a couple of years ago, I was taking on two calls at the same time. My half African American, half Latina daughter, Faora blessed our lives. Faora was just barely a month old when I became a mother and a pastor. These calls have been intimately intertwined and have changed everything- the past couple years have been challenging in both my roles. The world’s climate has not been a breeze– if anything it’s been an ever-changing storm. I’ve have never felt so much heart ache – too many black bodies, night clubs and concerts, immigrants, refugees, #allarewelcome, hurricanes, #metoos, fake news, #hatehasnohomehere and most days I don’t even want to know what’s next. I pray that my African-American husband makes it home, I pray my family or others- are not harmed, judged, persecuted, marginalized just for the shade of skin God has gifted us.

God has shaken me, I’m now woke; meaning – I have been made aware of internal and external injustices constructed and uplifted by individuals, systems and institutions. I’ve been thinking and rethinking for myself, woke to the injustices my multi-ethnic family has endured. It is my prayer that the Lutheran Church, that the whole church of God becomes woke and stays woke to the racism and privilege that our- yes, our Lutheran Church has allowed to cultivate in the pews, in our seminaries and in the pulpit. We’ve reinforced stereotypes and limit who is “Lutheran” and who is not. We keep making cultural assumptions which continue to advantage some groups and disadvantage others.

In 501, we should be passionate and strive for EVERY member of the church to be aware of and respect all the voices in the room, not just the most evident or numerous.

We have a need, an urgency and commitment to God and our children that when we say, we are the ELCA Lutheran Church it means we are about the Reformer who changed it all- Jesus. The Word became flesh- a colorful, wonderfully made brown body, a middle eastern Jew that God embodied. Jesus is not a white savior- is not a dusty blonde with flowing locks, not a white European! Our mighty reformer, Jesus challenges us – invites us to tell the right story not a white story. To re-frame the narrative so, the whole church can honestly be welcoming, where ALL God’s people are valued, beloved creations. We are the church in 501. Germans- Swedes- Norwegians- White Europeans are not the only one’s who write the narrative about what it means to be Lutheran!

Jesus shows us we are to reform the world so children- black, brown, indigenous are not seen as less than, second-class, dangerous or a commodity to be used. We NEED to speak – We NEED to stop being silent. We need to be the beacon of hope this world needs. Luther said- “our office involves much toil and work, many dangers and attacks, and in addition to little reward or gratitude in this world. But, Jesus will be our reward, so long as we labor faithfully.” Being silent for fear of backlash, intimidation, ignorance, loss of employment at the utterance of “Black Lives Matters”- Taking a knee- support of LGBTQIA community – anything deemed “political” – not talking, that is being unfaithful to the gospel.

Will we just have to wait another 500 years to consider reforming?

Now is the time. Did Jesus wait? Jesus rocked the boat- stretching the imaginations of God’s people from the beginning and still this day as Lutherans enter 501. Do you see it- Jesus schooled sin, death and the devil to keep setting the marginalized, and demonized victims FREE.  Jesus pardons the prisoners and crosses ethnic and cultural lines, so people will SEE. Jesus changes lives- every life is SEEN, every life – every shade of flesh is VALUED- RESPECTED-DEEMED BEAUTIFUL- filled with Grace! Every life is worth the cost– Jesus endured being slapped around, insulted, assaulted, named “criminal” and led off to the cross- to breath his last breath but not for a loss.

Jesus endured for us – body and blood for us. Jesus rose for us- THIS IS GREAT, REFORMING, LIFE-CHANGING NEWS! We respond because what Jesus has done! We are reformers- called, gathered and sent by the Spirit- she helps us bring hope, love and life to a broken and sinful world. So that one day as Dr. King envisioned, my daughter, will not be judged by the color of her skin but by her heart, whose she is, as was dreamed just some 54 years ago.

 In 501, let’s Reclaim Jesus. Reform Lutheranism. Renew Hope. 

This is my passion and NEEDS to be our passion. This work is HARD and challenging but if we do not do the deep and investigative work within ourselves and with each other – then we aren’t being faithful to the gospel. We all – people of color and white folks have got to open ourselves up to talk productively about racial equity, take ACTION to address whiteness- the dominant culture narrative, privilege and the consequences. It is a goal to utilize this TWP Leadership Capacity to accomplish the ideas stated above. This program will be a monumental tool for our Synods, churches and communities. Let’s keep moving forward in 501 – be motivated!

#Reformation501 #DecolonizeLutheranism #Blacklivesmatter #TransformingWhitePrivilege

Faith Lens

Warm-up Question

What is the riskiest thing you did last week, something that could have cost you time, money, or health.

Risk and Trust

The stock market has been booming of late.  That has a lot of people excited, but analysts remind us that what goes up will ultimately come down.  Investments in the market have potential to make great gains–or lose a lot of their value overnight.  Generally speaking, riskier investments have the potential for a higher payoff.  Safer investments are less likely to lose their value, but they seldom create vast fortunes.

Some wonder why you should even be in the market.  If you want safety, why not put your money in the proverbial mattress?  Not investing has its own risks.  If inflation is running at 2.2% (the rate for the past twelve months) and you are not making any interest, you are losing buying power.

Whether and how you invest in the market is driven by your “risk tolerance.”  Some people get very anxious at the prospect of losing any money at all, and they are happy with modest, but steady returns.  Others like to roll the dice and see if they can score big gains, living with possibility that they will see big ups and down over the short run.

Discussion Questions

• Do you have any money invested (perhaps in a college fund, mutual fund, or money market account)?  How closely do you watch how it is doing?
• If someone gave you $1000 with the condition that it had to be invested in the market, would you look for safe, less potentially lucrative investments or would you opt for riskier investments with a bigger potential for quick, large gains?  Why?
• What might allow someone to make a risky investment without feeling too anxious?

Twenty-fourth 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

I’ve always thought this would be a much better story if the first two servants had lost their shirts.  A man goes on a journey, but before he leaves he entrusts some of his wealth to three slaves (or servants).  One gets five talents (a unit of gold or silver), one gets three, and the last servant gets one.   The first two slaves double their investment and–surprise, surprise–get a rousing affirmation from their master.  The third slave, who just returns his master’s investment intact is called lazy and wicked.  The key question is this:  What is the master affirming, the success of the first two slaves or their willingness to risk?  I think it is their willingness to risk, and indirectly the trust in their master which made them willing to go out on limb.  That is why it might be a better story if the first two had not been so insanely successful; then it would be clearer what Jesus values.

Few parables have been more abused than this one.  It has been the proof text for many “slot machine” theologies:  put in your coin and God guarantees riches.  But when you look closely you realize that the first two servants are just the set up, not the focus of story.  The focus of the story (and thus Jesus’ concern) is the poor fellow who was so paralyzed by his fear that he did not dare to do much of anything.

The tragedy of the story is that the one-talent man assumes his master is harsh and unreasonable–too often exactly the image many have of God.  But the story itself belies that assumption.  A talent was a tremendous amount of money, and the master entrusted it to this fellow.  True, he did not give him as much as the others, but maybe that is because he was not as competent.  Yet, there is no suggestion that the master expected him to do anything more than take a risk with what he has been given.  It is not his lack of success but his refusal to dare which brings his master’s wrath.

The gospel is not a magic amulet which guarantees that life will be smooth as we attempt to follow the way of Jesus.  There is genuine risk that we will be misunderstood, thought a little crazy, or put in the position of standing alone against a crowd.  Sometimes it may well look like we have failed.  God can live with that.  What is much more unfortunate is letting our fears keep us from bearing witness to the way of Jesus.  Whether we are entrusted with five talents or just one, the invitation is the same:  live boldly, love boldly in Christ because it is fear, not failure which is the great tragedy.  Christ came to set us free from fear and assure us that we can dare to take risks because the one who judges us is the one who loves us beyond measure.

Discussion Questions

• What is your greatest fear?  How might really knowing you are loved beyond measure help you deal with it?
• With whom do you identify in the parable?
• Why do you think the master gives the one-talent man’s money to the other servants?
• What do you need to know or feel in order to take a risk for your faith?

Activity Suggestions

Create a “stock exchange” of faith.  Brainstorm some activities which you might engage in as part of your Christian faith and talk about the risk/benefit of each.  List the “offerings” in which you might invest.  For example,

• How risky is it for you to worship regularly and how much potential is there for it to make a big difference in your life or the world?
• What are the potential costs and benefits of taking a stand against the bullying of a classmate?

Talk about what you learned about your own “risk tolerance” when it comes to discipleship.

Closing Prayer

Giver of all good things, you have promised that perfect love casts out fear, yet we often find ourselves very fearful of failing, of other’s harsh opinions, of not being good enough.  Give us courage and confidence to dare in your name, confident that your care undergirds all our efforts.