Bob Chell, Sioux Falls, SD

Warm-up Questions

When I was young we sometimes played a game we called “Brush with Fame” where we would take turns recounting encounters with famous or well known persons in our community. Remember a time you encountered a well known person? What was your experience like?  What would you say or do differently if you encountered them again. Did the experience change you in any way?

Brush With Fame

At the Silver Jubilee Celebration, marking 70 years of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, Richard Griffin, a Royal Protection Officer assigned to protect her, told an amazing story of two Americans’ unsuspecting brush with fame.  The hikers on a walking holiday met the Queen and Griffen in a picnic area, but had no idea who they were.  After a short conversation–and some pictures–the hikers went on their way, never guessing they had been in the presence of royalty.  You can hear Griffen tell about the encounter here.

Discussion Questions

• Did your ‘Brush with Fame’ change you or your thinking in any way?
• Did your ‘Brush with Fame’ change your opinion about the well known person you encountered?
• Would you like to be well known? What would be a burden? a blessing?
• Why do you think the hikers did not recognize one of the world’s most famous people?

Third Sunday of Easter

Acts 2:14a, 36-41

1 Peter 1:17-23

Luke 24:13-35

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year A at Lectionary Readings.)

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

Gospel Reflection

In their defense, the disciples had just watched Jesus die; he was the last person they expected to see. Keep in mind, too, the disciples were not out for an afternoon walk; they were fleeing for their lives. Who knew? Perhaps the religious authorities would come after them next!

Did you ever run away from home as a child, wishing you could leave your life behind in search of a better one? Or perhaps you’re nearing graduation and pondering what’s next; more school, full time work, enlistment in the military, or volunteer service. We may greet the next chapter with with a note of sadness or despair, or with a sense of excitement and anticipation. Whatever the motivation, change is almost certain to prove difficult and challenging—just as it was for the disciples as they moved into a new reality.

Those times we’ve had all we can take and just want to be done, just want to be somewhere else, just want to leave the pain, shame, or guilt behind are Emmaus times. In those times, when the pain of our present circumstances gets unbearable, we hit the road, figuratively or literally, yearning for change.  These are difficult and dangerous times: Leaving home, changing schools, ending a relationship. Even when it’s a healthy choice, it is difficult. Change is hard, and more so when it involves those with whom we are related by friendship or family. 

Henry Nouwen, a Catholic priest wrote about another Biblical character who, like these disciples, hit the road in search of a new life, the prodigal son. Reflecting on his own life Nouwen wrote,  “For most of my life I have struggled to find God, to know God, to love God.  Now I wonder whether I have sufficiently realized that during all this time God has been trying to find me, to know me, and to love me. …I no longer think of God as hiding out and making it as difficult as possible for me to find him, but, instead, as the one who is looking for me while I am doing the hiding.” 

It wasn’t the empty tomb which convinced the disciples of the truth about Jesus but Christ’s living presence in their lives. It was an intimate meeting on the road.  Unless we too encounter the living Christ, we too are unable to believe.

This doesn’t mean need we need to conjure up enough faith to believe in things which are foreign to our experience.  Nor ought we suspend our intellect or deny our doubt.  Rather, it means opening ourselves to the presence of Christ in our lives. Where is Jesus meeting you? God has always worked in ways unexpected, in places outside the mainstream. God still does.

Meister Eckhart, a Christian mystic of the 13th century said, “Above all else, know this: Be prepared at all times for the gifts of God and especially for new ones.” 

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever had an encounter with someone which transformed the way you looked at life? Was it exciting? disquieting? both?
• Do you find change more exciting or more frightening? One psychologist said we change when we are bored enough, hurt enough, or find out how exciting it can be. Which has been most true for you?
• How does your faith change and shape your life as you look to the future?

Activity Suggestions

• Ask someone you respect if they found a career, or if a career found them. Are they fulfilled? If not, what prevents them from changing.
• Ask a parent, grandparent, or trusted adult if there was a time in their life when they were confused or scared about the future? What enabled them to get through that time?
• How can you tell when God is calling you to move in a new direction?  Is it possible that several different directions might be equally pleasing to God?

Closing Prayer

God, thank you for loving us, even when we feel lost and lonely. Open our eyes to your presence in our lives and especially to the opportunities you set before us. Ease our fears and increase our trust in you. Amen.

Kelsey Brown, Brooklyn, NY

Warm-up Question

When meeting new people, what’s something you share about yourself to help them  know you better? 

Peace to All

Our current news cycle is full of debates around the validity and protections of the LGBTQ+ community, particularly our transgender siblings. While no one’s lives and identities should be used for political fodder, we many shape these conversations around demonizing trans folks, and more specifically weaponizing what God thinks about the diversity God has created.

CNN reports that transgender young adults are 40% more likely than their cisgender counterparts to contemplate suicide. The attack on the rights of trans individuals, mainly youth and young adults, is fueled by bias and misinformation. Many states have introduced bills to restrict gender-affirming medical care for youth. These laws and social commentary have real life affects for our siblings. We know what we can do to counteract this. We can believe people when they tell us who they are, standing together to make sure that all of God’s people receive the  the support, encouragement and hope they need to thrive. As Christians we can affirm that God knows us fully and wishes peace for  all God’s children.

Discussion Questions

• Can you list some of the “God created diversity” you see in your day to day life? 
• When have you been scared? How have you experienced God with you in the midst of this fear?

Second Sunday of Easter

Acts 2:14a, 22-32

1 Peter 1:3-9

John 20:19-31

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year A at Lectionary Readings.)

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

Gospel Reflection

Fear is rampant following the death of Jesus. His closest friends and followers huddle together, deep in fear that they might be next. Their closest friend, their teacher has been executed by the state and their entire lives flipped upside down. The women, the first at the scene, have heard the good news that the Lord has been raised.  While the men wait, Jesus begins his post-resurrection tour. Although the doors to the room are locked he appears among them and breathes a word of peace. He forgives them for fleeing and remaining silent—reminding them of their belovedness. 

One disciple was missing from this “beyond the grave” visit – Thomas. Having heard from his brothers in Christ that the Lord is alive and has visited, Thomas remarks in disbelief. There is no way this has happened!  He cannot fathom this reality without seeing and touching the places where the Lord was wounded. 

Wouldn’t you guess it, a week later Jesus returns, and this time Thomas is there. He places his fingers in the wounds and his hand in Christ’ side. He suspends his doubt and begins to believe. “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” It is this believing which grants us eternal life in Christ Jesus.

Discussion Questions

• If someone showed up saying they were Jesus, how would you know if they were telling the truth? 
• How you think Jesus’ breath of peace soothed the disciples?  Was his mere presence their balm? 
• How do you embody your belief in the risen christ? 

Activity Suggestions

• On a sheet of paper and using your 5 senses, draw what peace looks, feels, tastes, sounds, and smells like to you?
• Listen to Presiding Bishop Eaton’s video message about our commitment to our transgender siblings and an affirmation about God’s love for all who God has created. 
• Find a comfy spot, close your eyes, breath deep and listen to rain sounds. Reflect on the places of stress in your lives – exhale tension and inhale peace

Closing Prayer

God who once was dead but lives again. We ask you to revive us from our apathy. Breathe new life into our world, that all your people might have what they need. Make us representatives of your love, your grace, and your mercy. May we continue to believe God’s people when they tell us who they are.  May we see you reflected in the eyes of one another. We ask this in your holy and perfect name. 

Blessings as we enter holy week! Many of you have journeyed with ELCA World Hunger through Lent as we have reflected on the Psalms and what meaning that vast collection of hymns, poems, laments and prayers might have for hunger ministry today. As the season comes to a close, thank you for being part of the 40 Days of Giving!

Lent is a common time for congregations to focus on hunger and social ministry. Indeed, almsgiving is one of the traditional “three pillars” of Lent (the other two being prayer and fasting) and is still found as one of the disciplines of Lent observed by Lutherans today. While many of us think of fasting as the core practice of Lent, the history of the church reminds us that fasting and giving are two sides of the same coin. The witness of Isaiah goes even further, describing authentic fasting as intimately tied to love and justice for the neighbor:

Is this not the fast I choose, to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? (Is. 58:6)

Scripture and tradition make a good case for focusing on hunger ministry during Lent. But this upcoming weekend may be an even more important time to reinvigorate our efforts. As pointed as Isaiah’s message about fasting may be, for Lutherans, it is the feast – and not just the fast – that calls to us.

Sharing the Feast

Say what you will about Martin Luther (no, seriously, say whatever you want – he deserves heaps of both praise and blame), but he certainly knew how to craft a pithy phrase or two. One of his most famous couplets comes from his 1520 “Treatise on Christian Liberty”:

A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none.

A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.

As paradoxical as it might seem, what Luther is getting at is that we don’t experience God as humanity’s captor, binding us to rules and obligations, but as our liberator. That’s not to say that there aren’t obligations and demands – the Law is still the Law and still God-given. But within the Gospel, God reveals Godself to be the one who frees us from bondage to sin, death and to the notion that we can save ourselves, hence “perfectly free.”

This is a dramatic shift in Christian ethics. Why do we do “good works”? Certainly, for Lutherans, we know that those works won’t save us. No amount of fasting or almsgiving will merit a reward (or even make us good people.) And it’s not merely because the Law, with its rules for righteous living, is so compelling (we can’t fully follow it anyway.) Instead, what motivates Lutheran ethics is the experience of being loved and set free from the burden of trying – and failing – to overcome our own sin. The foundation of loving a neighbor, of striving for justice and of working to end hunger is nothing more or less than gratitude.

To play a bit with Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s popular phrase “cheap grace,” this isn’t “cheap thanks.” It’s not the kind of gratitude for all the great things we have or, worse, the gratefulness that “at least we aren’t like them.” It’s deeper than that. What moves us to choose for ourselves being “subject to all” is the realization that our entire lives, our eternal salvation, is an undeserved gift. We don’t have to worry about our own salvation, or feeling as if we aren’t enough, or fearing that the world around us will corrupt our souls or separate us from God. Instead, we can freely and boldly love and serve one another. Social ministry is not a legalistic requirement but a response to an invitation to be part of what God is doing in the world: “Come and see!”

Easter, then, isn’t the celebratory end to the sacrifice of fasting and almsgiving in Lent but the very foundation of a new life lived in gift and promise, the free gift to be bold in our love of one another and the assured promise that in so doing, we are bearing witness to God’s building of a just world where all are fed. The feast of Easter nourishes us for the work ahead.

Surveying the Cross

We can’t get there too quickly, though. All too often, our Holy Week moves from Good Friday to Easter Sunday without giving us time to hang in the liminal space of Holy Saturday. Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar says that the church needs to avoid this temptation of moving too quickly from Good Friday to Easter Sunday. We have to be in that Holy Saturday moment with the disciples, von Balthasar writes, even just for a bit. For those disciples, that first day after Friday, Jesus is dead. The one they’d given up their lives to follow is now laying in a tomb. A quote often attributed to Luther describes the moment: “God’s very self lay dead in a grave.” For the disciples, there is no Easter Sunday. The messiah is dead, and hope seems lost.

Living after the resurrection, it’s difficult to fully understand that kind of grief, but we must because in that grief is honesty. For all the joy and hope and feasting of Easter, we live in a world where the number of people facing hunger is growing, not declining, where income inequality continues to rise, and where justice and opportunity seem further and further away, especially for communities whose strides toward progress are often stymied by violence, marginalization and oppression.

It’s a grief not only for our world, though, but also for our own shortcomings. As the church, the death of Christ reminds us of our own complicity in human suffering. Sure, the church has done some wonderful things, but the cross confronts us with the ways we have fallen short, the ways we have contributed to rather than alleviated injustice, the communities harmed by the church’s good intentions, and the people pushed aside, sometimes violently, as we have pursued what we call “mission.”

Living and Serving in Holy Week Tension

Living in Holy Saturday means living into that grief and honesty about ourselves and our world. Where Easter inspires joy in God’s promise, Holy Saturday fills us with a sacred longing for that same promise. In Easter, we celebrate it. In Holy Saturday, we yearn for it.

That movement between celebration and yearning, between joy and grief is the tension that grounds our work together as ELCA World Hunger and as a church accompanying neighbors in need. We are caught between the cross and the empty tomb, embodying the grief and longing of a long Holy Saturday before we see the promise fulfilled. And we should be. We celebrate as God works through communities near and far to create new opportunities for abundant life through neighbors joining together with determination and hope. And we lament for a world where the crosses of injustice, violence, marginalization, inequity, racism, heterosexism, sexism, ableism, ethnocentrism, exploitation and more continue to dot the landscape.

This is where the ministry of the church in a hungry world begins. Not in the self-sacrifice of Lent but in in grief and joy, in lament and hope, in yearning and thanksgiving, in the tension between Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday. It’s a costly faith that we find there, with no easy answers – but with the assurance that even then, God is still at work.

What might that mean for our day-to-day responses to hunger? What might it look like for hunger ministry to be grounded in both hope and lament? As we emerge into the season of Easter, I pray that that those questions can stay with us, that we can carry a bit of both Easter Sunday and Holy Saturday with us into the rest of the year.

Our journey through Lent doesn’t end at the cross or even the empty tomb but continues in the long walk with one another toward the future that is both promised and deeply, deeply needed.

Ryan P. Cumming, Ph.D., is the interim director for education and networks for the Building Resilient Communities team.

Jen Krausz, Bethelehem, PA

Warm-up Question

Does the good news of Easter—Christ is risen!—still hit you with fresh meaning each year? Do you consider Easter the most important holiday of your faith?  Why?

Truth of the Resurrection

A study by Christian publisher Lifeway showed that while most people (66%) say they believe the biblical accounts of the physical resurrection of Jesus are completely accurate, most young people ages 18 to 34 (59%) say they don’t believe the physical resurrection really happened.

“Young adults are less likely to be cultural Christians than their parents or grandparents, partly because identifying as a Christian isn’t seen as positively by folks outside the church as it once was,” said Rebecca McLaughlin, author of 10 Questions Every Teen Should Ask (and Answer) About Christianity.

There are exceptions to the trend.  There have been reports of a revival  sweeping college campuses.  Thousands of students participate in days or weeks-long campus chapel services where they pray, sing praise, are baptized, and give testimonies about God’s involvement in their lives.  

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever wondered if the physical resurrection of Jesus is true? What made you question or doubt?
• What evidence have you found that Jesus was physically resurrected?
• Why do you think younger people find it harder to believe in Jesus today? What would  convince them or help them come to faith?

Resurrection of Our Lord

Acts 10:34-43

Colossians 3:1-4

Matthew 28:1-10  or John 20:1-18

(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 A at Lectionary Readings.)

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

Gospel Reflection

When thinking about the events of the first Easter Sunday—namely Jesus’ resurrection and the disciples’ reactions to it—it’s important to understand that the disciples had no way of expecting the resurrection. Nothing in their understanding of the scriptures their rich religious tradition prepared them for a savior who would die for their sins and be resurrected. It’s true that Christians now read some Hebrew scriptures (like Isaiah 53) to be prophecies of Jesus’s sacrificial death.  However, they were not understood in that way during Jesus’ earthly ministry. And even though Jesus told them he would die and be raised again, the disciples clearly did not understand what he was saying and did not accept his statements until what he told them had taken place. 

Believers have the whole story now, and have heard it numerous times if they have attended church for years.  But for those first witnesses it would have been a brand new concept. 

When the angel told the women about Jesus’ resurrection, something started to click in their minds. This was what Jesus had said would happen.  Now they could see that his body was no longer in the grave. They were still afraid, but joy began to take hold. 

Then, as the women went to tell the other disciples what they had seen, Jesus came and met them. Now they understood. Divine help is often necessary for us to gain an understanding of God’s ways. When we try to understand deep matters of faith with only our own strength and intellect, we just can’t do it.

The resurrection is important because it shows that because Jesus defeated death, we can also defeat death by putting our faith in him. Just as some theologians have said the crucifixion is important because there Jesus pays the price for our sins, the resurrection shows death defeated once and for all.

As the disciples encountered the risen Jesus, it soon became clear to them what had happened.  They joyfully shared the truth about Jesus with the rest of the world with such conviction that, nearly 2,000 years later, billions around the world believe it.

Christ is risen—he is risen indeed! A most blessed Easter to you.

Discussion Questions

• How would our faith be different if Christ died for our sins, but was not resurrected? What does his resurrection mean for us and our relationship with God through Christ? 
• What biblical truths has Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, helped you to understand? 
• What makes it hard to accept that you need  Jesus’  death in order to be saved from your sins, as well as his resurrection to defeat death?  

Activity Suggestions

• Write the story of the resurrection from the point of view of someone who is hearing about it for the first time. What questions would they have? What would convince them it was real? This can be done in smaller groups or individually, if students feel more comfortable. 
• Wish one or more people you come across (a friend or the cashier at the grocery store, for instance) a blessed Easter. If they ask you questions about what Easter means for you, be ready to answer their questions. 

Closing Prayer 

Holy God, we are filled with awe and gratefulness that you offered your son Jesus to die for our sins and that you raised him after three days. May we never stop meditating on that greatest sacrifice and sharing the good news about the resurrection with others. Amen.

This post, “Dear ELCA, We Must Speak and Act for Trans Lives,” is reprinted in full by permission of the author, originally posted to the author’s blog on March 27, 2023.

By Jamie Bruesehoff [about the author]

During this week leading up to Transgender Day of Visibility as legislative attacks terrorize the LGBTQ+ community with many targeting transgender young people, consider our call as a church and how we might live that call out in proclamation and action for the sake of our siblings. This post is specifically directed at my siblings in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) although the action steps apply to all.

My daughter, Rebekah Bruesehoff, with her dad an ELCA pastor at the New Jersey State House. She was 10 years old then. She is now 16 years old. Trans lives continue to be under attack.

People of faith continue to do the most significant harm to the LGBTQ+ community, personally and politically. People of faith must loudly and boldly speak and act against it.

I have watched as parents, lay leaders, deacons and pastors, and bishops mobilize in action against these sinful attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, especially our transgender and nonbinary siblings. Public posts, sermons, email campaigns, being present at protests, and testifying in the legislature and more.

Thank you Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton for your statement. 

Thank you to Bishop Kevin Strickland (Southeastern Synod), Bishop Mike Rinehart (Texas – Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod), and Bishop Sue Briner (Southwestern Texas Synod) for showing up at state capitals and testifying and mobilizing your people to do the same. I’m certain these aren’t the only Bishops mobilizing, but these are the ones I’ve spoken with or heard from.

Thank you to ELCA Vice President Imran Siddiqui for repeatedly using your voice to lift up who we are as a church and to vocally support our transgender siblings and oppose discrimination.

Thank you to leaders and ministries like Pastor Dawn Bennett at the Table in Nashville and Technicolor Ministries in the Southwestern Texas ministries. I know so many others are doing this work on the ground; I am grateful for all of you.

I am deeply grateful for every single person, every statement, every act of advocacy. I am grateful for the way our church is looking to understand what a more faithful and just future looks like in the realm of our polity. And we need to do more. Right now.

Our transgender siblings are crying out for justice, they are begging for mercy and protection, for support, for people to care with their words and their actions. Our rostered leaders, our seminarians, families with transgender youth, and the transgender people in our pews need the church to show up at this moment. What are we going to do? There is a genocide happening. There is blood on the hands of those who do not act.

WHAT DOES THE ELCA SAY?

For this we can turn not only to recent statements from Bishop Elizabeth Eaton but to our social statement on Faith, Sexism, and Justice.

Faith, Sexism, and Justice: A Call To Action – English

Faith, Sexism, and Justice: A Call to Action – Spanish

In this social statement the ELCA commits itself to the following (among other things):.

• Advocate for and support laws, policies, and practices that respect diverse bodies rather than discriminating against, objectifying, or devaluing them. (p. 60)

• Advocate for and support medical research, health care delivery, and access to equitable and affordable health care services, including reproductive health care, that honor how bodies differ and eliminate discrimination due to sex (biological), gender, or sexual orientation. (p.62)

• Advocate for and support portrayals in entertainment, media, and advertising that do not objectify or stereotype people but rather show all people as capable of the wide variety of human characteristics and roles. (p. 67)

And in implementation of those commitments, we resolve to:

1 – To urge members, congregations, synods, churchwide ministries, social ministry organizations, church-related institutions, ecumenical partners, and all people of good will to be guided by this statement’s convictions and commitments to resist and dismantle patriarchy and sexism, and to transform life in the church and in society; (p. 81)

2 – To call upon members of this church to pray, work, and advocate for justice for all those affected by sexism and patriarchy and to draw upon this statement in forming their judgments and actions in daily life; (p.81)

4 – To call upon all members of this church to reflect on how mass media (films, video games, etc.) and social media distort sex, gender, and sexuality and to address this problem in their own actions (especially their care for children); (p.81)

10 – To call upon this church’s advocacy and related ministries, such as ELCA Advocacy and ELCA World Hunger, to support and advocate for measures, policies, and laws consistent with this social statement and to give sustained attention to its convictions and commitments in the creation of programs and projects; (p. 82)

15 – To call upon rostered and lay congregational leaders, synodical and CWO staff, social ministry organizations, and faculty and staff at ELCA colleges, seminaries, and universities to renew their efforts to welcome, care for, and support the lives and gifts of LGBTQIA+ persons and to oppose discrimination against these persons so that they may live into the promise of gender justice envisioned in this social statement; (p.82)

ACTION STEPS

It is clear what we believe as a church. In light of the above directives, we must advocate against: gender affirming healthcare bans, transgender athlete bans, curriculum and book bans, bathroom bans, bills disguised as parental rights efforts that jeopardize the health, safety, and humanity of LGBTQ+ young people.

So what do we do? We give of ourselves, our time, and our possessions for the sake of our siblings. The following action steps are by no means exhaustive. Honestly, they are a starting point. But may they be a jumping off point for you to commit time, money, and energy to the fight for transgender lives.

Learning

• Visit www.trans-week.com for learning and action steps. 

• Consume content created by LGBTQ+ people, especially

  • transgender and non-binary people

  • BIPOC LGBTQ+ people

  • Disabled LGBTQ+ people

• Check out this reading list assembled by the Transgender Seminarian Cohort of the National LGBTQ Task Force.

• Order and read the latest expanded and updated edition of Austen Hartke’s book Transforming: The Bible and The Lives of Transgender Christian that was released last week.

Advocacy

• Find what’s happening in your state (ACLU leg tracker linked). You can google other resources. Here’s a look at healthcare bans that have been passed or introduced across the country.. 

  • Call your legislators. Tell them as a constituent and a person of faith, you oppose bills that discriminate against LGBTQ+ people.

  • Plan to show up to testify

• Find what organizations are doing on the ground work related to what’s happening in your state. Google it. Ask on social media. 

  • Reach out to ask how you can best help in this moment. Listen to them and do what they tell you to do.

  • Plan to show up at public actions and protests as a person of faith.

  • Donate funds to them and encourage others to do the same.

• Communicate what you’ve learned in both items above and the next steps with colleagues and congregation members.

  • Speak it from your pulpit.

  • Mobilize your people.

  • Share widely on social media.

• Tell your story publicly. As a person of faith, as a Lutheran church leader, as a parent and a community member… I oppose discrimination against my transgender siblings of any kind, not in spite of my faith, but because of it. I support LGBTQ+ people. I support science. I support truth.

  • Write op-eds.

  • Speak to your neighbors.

  • Be bold, because your faith calls you to this.

Funding

• Donate to local, state, and national organizations working for the full justice and safety of LGBTQ+ people, especially transgender and non-binary people. 

• Donate to direct aid requests for families or individuals seeking safety, seeking healthcare, or otherwise in need.

Transgender and nonbinary people are called and claimed children of God. The church and the world is a better place because of them. And it is our responsibility as Christians to actively and relentlessly work for justice.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jamie Bruesehoff (she/they), a member of the ELCA Church Council, is an award-winning LGBTQ+ advocate, nationally known speaker, and mother of three, including a transgender child. Her family and work have been featured by media outlets and organizations around the world, including Disney, NPR, Good Morning America, USA Today, The Today Show, CBS News, Human Rights Campaign, The Trevor Project, and The GenderCool Project. With a master’s degree from The Lutheran Theological Seminary-Gettysburg and twenty years of experience working with youth and adults in and outside of the church, she strives to create a world where LGBTQ+ young people thrive. She lives in New Jersey with her spouse and children. Her upcoming book, Raising Kids Beyond the Binary: Celebrating God’s Transgender and Gender-Diverse Children, is available for pre-order wherever books are sold.

Amy Martinell, Sioux Falls, SD

Warm-up Questions

Who is someone you completely trust? What organizations (school, clubs, health system, etc.) do you trust? What organizations do you not trust?  Is it easier to trust people or organizations?

Broken Trust

The last few weeks have brought worry and panic to the banking world. The panic began with the sudden collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank over a three-day span. These bank closures led anxious customers to withdraw their money from other smaller regional banks and place it with bigger institutions that are better capitalized.

These smaller banks then had to scramble to have enough money to cover the withdrawals. Many banks sought emergency loans from the Federal Reserve. Some of these banks then saw significant drops in their stock and credit rating. This problem is not limited to the US. Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second largest bank, was bought out by UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, in order to prevent a collapse.

All of this action leads to concern about global and personal finances and worry that we are headed into a prolonged recession. While Global financial regulators state that the banking system is secure and healthy, many cannot help but wonder.

Discussion Questions

• Distrust of banks has been common especially after the Great Depression. Have you experienced friends or family distrusting banks.  What stories have you heard about this?
• Do you worry about the current financial situation? How do you think money is tied to our sense of security?
• What things help you feel safe and secure, especially when you are feeling anxious?

Sunday of the Passion/ Palm Sunday

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Philippians 2:5-11

Matthew 26:14—27:66

(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 A at Lectionary Readings.)

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

Gospel Reflection

From one story of worry and panic to another. The story of Jesus’ passion is filled with tension and broken trust. We begin with Judas agreeing to hand over Jesus, his teacher and friend, for thirty pieces of silver. Judas is not the only disciple who lets Jesus down. When the disciples gather with Jesus for the passover meal, Jesus warns that one gathered there will betray him. Peter swears he will die for Jesus before he will desert him, but he quickly breaks this pledge. When Jesus is arrested, Peter loses his resolve and denies Jesus three times.

The road to the cross is a lonely one. When the High Priest and Pilate question Jesus, no one speaks a word in Jesus’ defense.  The very crowd that welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem calls for his death. In the end, even God seems silent. The desertedness of the story reaches its climax as Jesus’ cries out to God in anguish, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

The story of Jesus’ passion is hard to read. We want to rush to the good news of Easter, but it is important to sit with the story of Good Friday first.  In this story we see everyone fail Jesus—from his friends, to political and religious leaders, to the ambivalent crowd. These failures teach us that the ways of the world are imperfect at best and deeply flawed at worst.

We experience that in our own lives. We’re tempted to put our trust in earthly things. Things like banks, insurance, and retirement funds can make us feel safe and secure, but the current banking issues and history have taught us that they are not infallible. We put trust and care into our relationships with friends and family, but we know that while these relationships are wonderful and needed, they are not perfect. Forgiveness is such a big part of human relationships because even those with the best intentions, like Peter, will fail us and we will fail them.

It is only Jesus who never breaks our trust. Even when Jesus is betrayed and abandoned, he does not give up on humanity. Instead, he goes to the cross and takes on our sin and death, so that we might have new and abundant life. In Jesus, we have a God who has experienced every heartbreak we face: loneliness, betrayal of friends, and times when even God seems silent. Jesus knows our every pain and joins us in our suffering. 

In the story of Jesus’ passion, we also find the promise that God’s love is there for us no matter what. Jesus welcomed Judas to his table, knowing he would betray him.  The resurrected Jesus sought out Peter to offer love and forgiveness. Jesus’ actions promise us that nothing we can do can separate us from God’s love for us.

Discussion Questions

• What stood out to you as you read the gospel reading? Were there parts that were hard to read?
• Recall a time someone broke your trust? How did it make you feel? How did you respond to the situation?
• When was a time that you felt God was with you amid a challenging situation?

Activity Suggestions

While only Jesus never breaks our trust, it is so important to have spaces where we feel safe and where we can trust each other. Help to build trust within your group by doing the activity below or other trust building activities.

Have everyone stand in a circle and hold out their hands parallel to the ground. They also stick out their index fingers. Gently place an object on their index collective fingers, like a hula hoop or a stick. Now ask them to lower the object to the ground but make sure their fingers do not lose contact with the object. The group may find it difficult at first. The idea is that they must formulate a strategy where they are working together and trusting everyone to do their part.

Closing Prayer

Dear Jesus, we thank you for the love you poured out for each one of us on the cross. May we put our trust in you in order to hear your call and follow your mission. Amen.

Session 5 — Psalm 130

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in [God’s] word I hope.” —Psalm 130:5

The 40 days of Lent are drawing to a close, and so, too, is our journey through the psalms. From the plaintive cries of Psalm 32 to the quiet comfort of Psalm 23, we have glimpsed the spiritual depth of these hymns and reflected on what they might mean for us today, centuries after they were first recorded.

The psalms can often seem dated, repetitive or obscure. Many of them originated from liturgies or festivals long since passed from memory. Others may be so familiar that we tend to skip over them. Yet within them we find the spiritual turmoil of a people who have experienced the heights of joy at being God’s chosen and the depths of despair at being victims of war and exile. We find lofty praise and pleas for mercy and peace. The psalms reflect the richness of worship and earnest prayer, the spirituality of our ancestors in faith.

Within them, we also uncover the close links between liturgy and community life. Though many of the psalms are tailored for use in religious ceremonies, they paint a portrait of a God who, above all, cares about God’s people. The God of the psalms provides abundantly, loves fiercely and pursues relentlessly, at once the restorer of Jerusalem (Psalm 122), the executor of justice (Psalm 146), the unceasing keeper of Israel (Psalm 121) and a “hiding place” for those stung by stigma and shame (Psalm 32:7).

Each of these images points us toward the realization that our many attempts to divide our life as people of faith from our life as neighbors and citizens of the world fall short of what God calls us to be. True worship, authentic worship is worship lived out in the world. Liturgy finds its most complete expression not in beautiful ceremonies but in beloved community.

The stories we have shared of work supported by ELCA World Hunger throughout the world are stories of worship come to life, of the living liturgical presence of God in our midst. Each of these stories could be its own psalm, filled with earnest prayers, with lofty praise and thanksgiving, and with new insights into who God is.

As we look ahead to the passion of Jesus, the pain of Good Friday and the joy of Easter Sunday, the psalms remind us that we are still discovering who God is and who we are called to be. They remind us too that we find the surest answers by carrying our faith into the world, God’s creation and the many communities we are invited to accompany around the world.

The psalms express what our ancestors found in their search for answers. What will we find as we continue the search? As we encounter new neighbors, as we hear stories of God at work through our partners, companions and congregations, what song will we sing?

We face great challenges. Rates of hunger are no longer falling but rising. Price increases make it harder for us and our neighbors to save for the future — or, in many cases, even envision one. With the psalmist, we “wait for the Lord, my soul waits” (Psalm 130:5). Yet like the psalmist, we find hope in God’s word because “with the Lord, there is steadfast love” and the promise of redemption (Psalm 130:7).

What psalms will sustain us? Perhaps more urgently, what new psalms are being written in our hearts now, as we bear witness to — and share in — God’s ongoing work toward that future?

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Think about the lessons and stories you’ve read this Lent. What did you, your group or your congregation learn about the psalms, the work of ELCA World Hunger or other perspectives?

What is something that challenged you, your mindset or your group? How did you lean into that discomfort?

How will you begin or expand your support of the ministries described in this study?

As you wrap up this journey through Lent with ELCA World Hunger, what is shaping your experience of Holy Week? How does the death and resurrection of Christ bear witness to our hope in God’s promised future?

Sesión 5 — Salmo 130

“Espero al Señor, lo espero con toda el alma; en su palabra he puesto mi esperanza”. — Salmo 130:5

Los 40 días de Cuaresma están llegando a su fin, y también nuestra jornada por los salmos. Desde los clamores lastimeros del Salmo 32 hasta el consuelo apacible del Salmo 23, hemos vislumbrado la profundidad espiritual de estos himnos y reflexionado en lo que podrían significar para nosotros hoy, siglos después de que fueron anotados por primera vez.

A menudo los salmos pueden parecer anticuados, repetitivos u oscuros. Muchos de ellos se originaron en liturgias o fiestas que hace mucho tiempo desaparecieron de la memoria. Otros pueden ser tan comunes que tendemos a omitirlos. Sin embargo, dentro de ellos encontramos la confusión espiritual de un pueblo que ha experimentado las alturas del júbilo por ser el elegido de Dios y las profundidades de la desesperación por ser víctimas de la guerra y el exilio. Encontramos alabanzas sublimes y súplicas por misericordia y paz. Los salmos reflejan la riqueza de la adoración y la oración ferviente, la espiritualidad de nuestros antepasados en la fe.

Dentro de ellos también descubrimos los estrechos vínculos entre la liturgia y la vida comunitaria. Aunque muchos de los salmos están diseñados para ser usados en ceremonias religiosas, pintan un retrato de un Dios que ante todo se preocupa por su pueblo. El Dios de los salmos provee abundantemente, ama intensamente y persigue implacablemente; al mismo tiempo es el restaurador de Jerusalén (Salmo 122), el ejecutor de la justicia (Salmo 146), el guarda incesante de Israel (Salmo 121) y un “refugio” para aquellos punzados por el estigma y la vergüenza (Salmo 32: 7).

Cada una de estas imágenes nos lleva a darnos cuenta de que nuestros muchos intentos de separar nuestra vida como personas de fe de nuestra vida como vecinos y ciudadanos del mundo no están a la altura de lo que Dios nos llama a ser. La verdadera adoración, la adoración auténtica, es la adoración vivida en el mundo. La liturgia encuentra su expresión más completa, no en ceremonias hermosas, sino en preciada comunidad.

Las historias que hemos compartido sobre la obra que ELCA World Hunger respalda en todo el mundo son historias de adoración que cobran vida, de la presencia litúrgica viva de Dios en medio de nosotros. Cada una de estas historias podría ser su propio salmo, lleno de oraciones fervientes, de alabanza sublime y acción de gracias, y con nuevas percepciones de quién es Dios.

Al mirar hacia adelante a la pasión de Jesús, el dolor del Viernes Santo y la alegría del Domingo de Pascua, los salmos nos recuerdan que todavía estamos descubriendo quién es Dios y quiénes estamos llamados a ser. También nos recuerdan que encontramos las respuestas más seguras cuando llevamos nuestra fe al mundo, a la creación de Dios y a las muchas comunidades que estamos invitados a acompañar en todo el mundo.

Los salmos expresan lo que nuestros antepasados encontraron en su búsqueda de respuestas. ¿Qué encontraremos a medida que continuamos la búsqueda? Cuando nos encontremos con nuevos vecinos y escuchemos historias de la obra que Dios hace a través de nuestros socios, compañeras y congregaciones, ¿qué canción cantaremos?

Estamos enfrentando grandes retos. Los índices de hambre ya no disminuyen, sino que aumentan. Los aumentos de los precios hacen que sea más difícil para nosotros y nuestros vecinos ahorrar para el futuro —o, en muchos casos, aun visualizar uno. Con el salmista, “esper[amos] al Señor, lo esper[amos] con toda el alma” (Salmo 130:5). Sin embargo, al igual que el salmista, encontramos esperanza en la palabra de Dios “porque en él hay amor inagotable; en él hay plena redención (Salmo 130: 7).

¿Qué salmos nos sostendrán? Tal vez más urgentemente, ¿qué nuevos salmos se están escribiendo ahora en nuestros corazones, mientras damos testimonio —y somos parte— de la obra continua de Dios hacia ese futuro?

PREGUNTAS DE REFLEXIÓN

Piense en las lecciones e historias que ha leído esta Cuaresma. ¿Qué aprendió usted, su grupo o su congregación sobre los salmos, el trabajo de ELCA World Hunger u otras perspectivas?

¿Hubo algo que le fue difícil a usted, a su modo de pensar o a su grupo? ¿Cómo se hizo cargo de esa incomodidad?

¿Cómo comenzará o aumentará su apoyo a los ministerios descritos en este estudio?

Al concluir esta jornada por la Cuaresma con ELCA World Hunger, ¿qué está moldeando su experiencia de la Semana Santa? ¿Cómo la muerte y resurrección de Cristo dan testimonio de nuestra esperanza en el futuro prometido por Dios?

BACKGROUND | LISTENING SESSIONS UPDATE | LEARN MORE

Select to view short video.

The U.S. Congress is working to draft a new, five-year Farm Bill. “You may already know Farm Bill reauthorization is underway,” says John Johnson, ELCA Program Director for Domestic Policy. This impacts all of us who eat, including those of us who struggle with hunger. Beyond our bellies, we’ll feel the impact of farm bill policy decisions through our vocations. “Many of you work on farms, in businesses, and help to feed hungry people not only in the United States but around the world,” he observes.

What Is the Farm Bill and Why Now?

The farm bill is legislation that is critical to addressing hunger in the United States and globally. It covers federal nutrition programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), environment, trade, foreign aid and rural development. The bill impacts the lives of Lutherans and their communities – among us are farmers and ranchers and Indigenous communities and global partners and low income Americans.

Congress is preparing to reauthorize the bill in 2023. Each reauthorization provides an opportunity to improve or expand programs that ensure access to fresh and healthy food while addressing root causes of hunger.

UPDATE: JANUARY 2024 – The 2023 Farm Bill reauthorization is delayed. Since the 2018 Farm Bill was enacted on December 20, 2018, an extension has allowed authorized programs to continue through Sept. 30, 2024. USDA Farm Service Agency assures that “[the] Farm Bill continues its strong support for America’s farmers, ranchers, and forest stewards through a variety of safety net, farm loan, conservation, and disaster assistance program.” However, our faith-based advocacy in the process remains active toward passing a 5-year Farm Bill.

What Is a Listening Session?

ELCA farm bill listening sessions are virtual gatherings where ministry leaders, members of congregations, and those with valuable lived experiences gather our opinions and experiences informed by faith values on stewardship, justice and serving our neighbor. This input will equip one another and the many communities of this church for farm bill advocacy that reflects those values, including our ELCA Witness in Society advocacy staff. These viewpoints, opportunities, concerns and hopes for a future farm bill will inform ELCA advocacy and help shape the ultimate law that Congress passes.

Listening Session Update

UPDATE: Listening sessions held in 2023 have concluded. We heard from hundreds of Lutherans across the country who asked that their voices reach policy makers in the farm bill reauthorization process. Members brought their vocational, ministerial and civic experiences from varied parts of this country to ELCA listening sessions. They emphasized their deep concern for neighbors at home and abroad — especially the most vulnerable — and for faithful stewardship of God’s good creation.

Find resulting Farm Bill asks in: “2023 Farm Bill” leave-behind resource.

At this time, four 1.5 hour listening sessions are scheduled in April and May 2023. Register for any, but each session will feature some discussion specific to the region of a particular time zone or demographic of constituents.

• Young Adult-focused sessions
  Session #1 –
  Tuesday, May 23 – 1 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. CT
  Register – https://bit.ly/ELCAfarmbilllisteningYAmay23Sessions #2 –
  Thursday, May 25 – 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT
  Register – https://bit.ly/ELCAfarmbilllisteningYAmay25

• Eastern & Central Time Zone focus
  Tuesday, April 18 – 6 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. CT
  Register – https://bit.ly/ELCAfarmbilllisteningEasternCentral

• Pacific Time Zone focus
  Friday, April 21 – 12 noon PT [3 p.m. ET)
  Register – https://bit.ly/ELCAfarmbilllisteningPacific

• Mountain Time Zone focus
  Tuesday, April 25 – 6 p.m. MT (8 p.m. ET)
  Register – https://bit.ly/ELCAfarmbilllisteningMountain

• Enfoque nacional bilingüe (español/inglés)
  UPDATE: 5/18/23 – session cancelled | sesión cancelado
  Miércoles 24 de mayo – 18.00 horas MT (20.00 horas ET)
  Inscríbase – https://bit.ly/ELCAreunionLeyAgricola
  • El equipo de incidencia política federal de la ELCA desea solicitar la colaboración de diversos sectores de la ELCA que deseen participar en una sesión de sensibilización sobre la Ley Agrícola. Esta legislación es clave para abordar la problemática de la conservación y el hambre tanto en Estados Unidos como en el resto del mundo. Estas sesiones son reuniones virtuales en las que los líderes de los ministerios, los miembros de las congregaciones y aquellos con valiosas experiencias vividas proporcionarán información al equipo de Witness in Society en Washington, DC. Sus puntos de vista, iniciativas, inquietudes y esperanzas respecto a la futura ley agrícola servirán para informar nuestra incidencia y ayudarán a dar forma a la ley final que se apruebe en el Congreso. ¡Dialoguemos y actuemos junta/os!

Conclusion

Current legislation is set to expire in September 2023, and our faithful action can impact reauthorization decisions. On Capitol Hill, our faith-centered perspectives will inform ELCA advocacy as we advance priorities toward a just world where all are fed. “We need your expertise, and we need your comments, hopes and dreams for how this Farm Bill can make a better world,” invites Johnson. Please be part of a Listening Session to Inform ELCA Farm Bill Advocacy.

Want to learn more?

• “What is the farm bill?” – With an overview on basics using infographics including the legislative process, see page on sustainableagriculture.net. “The farm bill connects the food on our plates, the farmers and ranchers who produce that food, and the natural resources – our soil, air and water – that make growing food possible.”
• The ELCA is in partnership with Bread for the World which has prepared useful overview pieces on both “Nutrition: Building a Healthy, Equitable, and Sustainable Food System via the Farm Bill” and “Fact sheet: Farm Bill International.”
• And written in 2018 as that prior farm bill reauthorization process was underway, ELCA advocacy staff prepared this “ELCA Advocacy Farm Bill Introduction.”

March 22 marks the 31^st annual World Water Day, a United Nations observance to celebrate the progress the world has made in providing access to clean, safe water for all and to remember how far we have to go as a global community toward that goal.

This week, the UN will host an international conference on water in New York City to commemorate World Water Day and to encourage “bold action” in pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goal of “clean water and sanitation for all.” The ELCA will be represented at the conference by staff from the Building Resilient Communities team and the Lutheran Office for World Community, learning and sharing together with other faith-based groups, governmental actors and organizations. Reaching the goal of clean water and sanitation for all is critical. As the conference announcement shares, “Water is a dealmaker for the Sustainable Development Goals, and for the health and prosperity of people and planet.” Indeed, without access to clean water and sanitation, many of the other Sustainable Development Goals will be out of reach.

Water and Hunger

This is especially true of the goal of ending hunger. Projects and initiatives that provide access to clean water and sanitation have long been part of the work supported by ELCA World Hunger. And with good reason. Northwestern University anthropologist Hilary Bethancourt notes, “In some cases, the most sustainable way to improve food security may be through improving water security.” Bethancourt and a team of researchers found in a 25-country study that people who frequently faced water insecurity[1] were nearly three times as likely to face food insecurity as those who did not.

What might be surprising is that one of the few longitudinal studies of water and food insecurity found that water insecurity actually precedes and may predict future food insecurity. So, rather than occurring together due to a single cause, water and food insecurity interact, with water insecurity actually occurring before food insecurity.

Similar dynamics are found in research in the United States. A study published last year examining tap-water avoidance found that food insecurity was more than 20% higher among the 61.4 million Americans who do not use tap water than among those who do use tap water.[2] What the study suggests is that access to – and use of – clean, safe, affordable tap water can help reduce the risk of hunger.

Addressing access to water is important, too, for solutions to hunger. As Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF Director of the Office of Emergency Programmes, has said bluntly, “No matter how much food a malnourished child eats, he or she will not get better if the water they are drinking is not safe.”

Perhaps even more startling are the results of a study involving 69 experts from around the world. When asked by researchers to identify the top threats from extreme events to global food security, the four most common responses involved water, while 6 of the 32 threats identified directly mentioned water.

Water and Sanitation by the Numbers

Where do we stand with progress on clean water and sanitation? What are some of the realities that are behind the “global water crisis”?

• 2 billion people lack access to safely managed water.[3] The rate of people with access to safely managed water services increased from 70% in 2015 to 74% in 2020.
• That number includes 2 billion people who lack access to basic drinking water services.[4]
• By 2025, half of the world’s population could be living in water-stressed areas.
• 6 billion people around the world lack access to safely managed sanitation services, which puts them at higher risk of waterborne illnesses.
• Diarrhea resulting from unsafe water and insufficient access to adequate medical care claims an estimated 829,000 lives every year.

Some progress has been made, but we are not yet on track to reach the Sustainable Development Goal of clean water and sanitation for all. This makes the question raised Rev. Philip Vinod Peacock of the Church of North India, in his reflection on the words of Jesus, all the more poignant: “While the offer of living water is made, how come many still cry, ‘I thirst’”?[5]

Water and Power

Water scarcity affects communities in nearly every country around the globe, and the number of people facing water crises continues to grow. But that doesn’t mean the burden is shared equally. As Peacock notes about his context in India,

“The issues of water scarcity and pollution and its resulting impact…are closely connected with issues of justice and peace, caste and gender.”[6]

In discussions of water crises, Peacock writes, “another issue that has to be taken seriously…is the place of power relations.”[7] His co-authors in Waters of Life and Death: Ethical and Theological Responses to Contemporary Water Crises offer examples of the many ways water scarcity reflects and springs from marginalization and injustice, from the displacement of Dalit and indigenous Adivasi communities by large dam projects (J. Jeremiah Anderson) to the theft of groundwater in the village of Plachimada by Coca-Cola (Philip K.J.)

Their sentiments are echoed by Catholic ethicist Christiana Zenner:

“Clean water flows toward power.”[8]

Without a doubt, there is a global water crisis – or, rather an interlocking set of water crises – with a rippling impact. But the water crisis is not just a hydrological or ecological crisis. It is a political and economic crisis. We see this in the racial disparities in water access here in the United States, where people of color are more likely to live in homes without full plumbing for clean water or sanitation and where water systems are more likely to violate the Safe Drinking Water Act in communities of color and in communities with households with low-income. The likelihood of a water system protecting residents from unsafe water decreases in communities as the proportion of people of color and households with low income increase.

Along with racial and economic disparities are clear gender inequities when it comes to water. In areas without basic drinking water services, the burden of water scarcity and lack of sanitation often falls on women and girls, who are typically responsible for collecting water for their households. The time spent on this, according to UNICEF, could be as high as 200 million collective hours each day.[9] A study on sanitation found that girls also bear the brunt of lack of sanitation facilities in schools. In a study of West African countries, WHO/UNICEF found that 15-25% of girls missed school during their period, in part due to a lack of adequate sanitation facilities and resources, such as running water, soap, sanitary supplies or waste bins.

Ripples of Hope

The communities ELCA World Hunger is invited to accompany inspire hope that change is possible, despite the complex undercurrents of injustice that flow beneath the global water crisis. This hope is rooted in movements that not only provide clean, safe water but that open opportunities for local communities and neighbors to make meaningful decisions about their own ecological future. Each of these stories – from microbasin restoration in El Salvador to awareness-raising and advocacy to reduce lead contamination in Milwaukee, from drought-resistant agriculture in Bangladesh to rainwater harvesting in Zimbabwe – is a step toward providing clean water or sanitation and an invitation to bear witness to the effective solutions that can come from communities working together for change.

We have a long way to go. But in faith, we journey together with neighbors and companions, taking seriously the words of Rev. Atle Sommerfeldt, the former General Secretary of Norwegian Church Aid:

Water is too important a matter to be left to politicians and technicians alone. Water must be an integral part of our spiritual and social agenda in every local community and nation.”[10]

Commemorating World Water Day

This World Water Day, and the gathering times that follow it, set aside time to pray for neighbors near and far facing water scarcity and water injustice, and give thanks for the local leaders whose tireless efforts inspire us with hope.

With your congregation or your household, use one of ELCA World Hunger’s educational resources to learn more about water and hunger:

Water and Hunger Toolkit

River of Life Vacation Bible school

Want to plan a larger event for this Spring or Summer? You can also check out ELCA World Hunger’s Walk for Water, an interactive track experience with a complete DIY guide.

Ryan P. Cumming, Ph.D., is the interim director of education and networks for the Building Resilient Communities team in the ELCA churchwide organization.

—————-

[1] “Water insecurity” can be defined as lacking reliable access to clean, safe and sufficient water to support livelihoods and human well-being. This is related to other terms such as “water stress” or “water scarcity.” Water scarcity generally describes the relationship between supply and demand, while water stress is a bit broader, encompassing not just adequate availability but dependable and sufficient access. See Young SL, et al.. Perspective: The Importance of Water Security for Ensuring Food Security, Good Nutrition, and Well-being. Advances in Nutrition. 2021 Jul 30;12(4):1058-1073.

[2] The reasons for tap water avoidance can vary. This can include a lack of adequate plumbing, safety or contamination concerns, shut-offs due to lack of payment, and lack of trust in municipal services and government.

[3] The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) define “safely managed drinking water service as “an improved water source that is accessible on premises, available when needed and free from faecal (sic) and priority chemical contamination. Improved water sources include: piped water, boreholes or tubewells, protected dug wells, protected springs, and packaged or delivered water.”

[4] WHO and UNICEF define a basic drinking water service as “drinking water from an improved source, provided collection time is not more than 30 minutes for a round trip.”

[5] Philip Vinod Peacock, “Water Conflict,” in Sam P. Mathew and Chandran Paul Martin, eds. Waters of Life and Death: Ethical and Theological Responses to Contemporary Water Crises (Chennai: UELCI/ISPCK, 2005), 65.

[6] Ibid, 64.

[7] Ibid, 63.

[8] Christiana Zenner, Just Water: Theology, Ethics, and Fresh Water Crises (Maryknoll: Orbis, 2018).

[9] This estimate was derived by calculating the number of women and girls living in areas where water sources are more than 30 minutes away from the home.

[10] In Mathew and Martin, eds., xi.

Brenda Henry, Carnegie, PA

Warm-up Question

What issue in your community would like to see addressed and why?  Are there others who have a different perspective than you? What are some of their reasons for their position? 

Invitation to Care

In the city of Dumaguete, Negros Oriental Island, in the Philippines, groups of people have come together to fight against a proposal that they believe will severely impact their community. This proposal, P23-B, is a land reclamation project that seeks to develop the coastlines of the city. Proponents of the project argue that the development project dubbed “The Smart City” will bring new residential and commercial businesses that are beneficial for community growth. 

Opponents of the proposal, using the rallying cry, “No to 174 Dumaguete,” argue that the project will destroy the marine life along their coastline, disrupt the livelihood of the fishing community, and impact the quality of life for the fisherfolks. To them, the harm to the community is not worth the alleged gains of the project. 

Discussion Questions

• Do you know of development projects in your community? What are some of the stated benefits of those projects? Who will benefit? What is the potential harm of the project to people and the environment?
• How can you be a part of advocating for the care of your community and the environment?

Fifth Sunday in Lent

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Romans 8:6-11

John 11:1-45

(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 A at Lectionary Readings.)

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

Gospel Reflection

In our gospel we read the story of Lazarus, a friend of Jesus, who dies and is brought back to life by Jesus. We are invited into Jesus’ conversation with the disciples and with Lazarus’ sisters Mary and Martha. Jesus tells the disciples that Lazarus’ illness is not fatal, yet we learn that Lazarus dies. Both Martha and Mary challenge Jesus by saying “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”  The sisters’ statement implies that Jesus failed their expectations:  He could and should have done something to save their ill brother who was Jesus’ friend. 

This narrative also shows a community that comes together to care for Lazarus’ family and comfort them in their grief. Jesus responds by acknowledging the sister’s grief. He weeps, revealing his grief and compassion. Jesus also acts; he reassures Martha by saying “I am the resurrection and the life.”  A response Martha perceives as a future answer. 

However, the response actually promises Martha an action which attends to the immediate need of the sisters, while also pointing to eternal hope. Jesus models compassion and concern, as well as taking action to care for the life and well-being of others. We too are invited to care for and attend to the gift of life granted to us through Jesus’ resurrection.  That care begins now. It may entail facing opposition and challenges that defy immediate, easy answers.  The outcome we seek may be long in coming. Yet as a community, with faith and trust in Jesus, change is possible. 

Discussion Questions

• Can you recall a time when you experienced a difficult situation and others did not respond in the way you thought they should?  How did that make you feel? How did your feelings change if you realized their actions were helpful?
• How can working together with others who may share a different perspective from yours help to address individual or community concerns?

Activity Suggestions

• Take the community activity that you named before and identify two strategies that you can do to make a change.  Invite someone to help you design the strategy. 
• Identify a community group or organization whose work interests you and see if there are any volunteer opportunities.  Ask to shadow the leaders to learn what they do.

Closing Prayer

Gracious and loving God, thank you for giving us the promise of life through your son Jesus. Help us to see the ways that we can care for our neighbors and our environment. Grant us the courage to advocate for justice, the wisdom to seek support, and the heart to trust that you are with us always. In Jesus’ name. Amen