Jason Fisher, Champaign, IL

Warm-up Question

• Name some reasons someone might lock themselves in their room?
• What would it be like to live your whole life without leaving that room? What would you miss?

Opening Doors and Hearts

Kristen Berthiaume and her family live in Alabama.  They wanted to promote racial justice in their community. Seeing that  nationwide protests and demands for justice were often met with open racism and ignorance, the family decided to create an Anti-racist Little Library in front of their home. Kristen noticed that books about racial justice were high on bestseller lists.  So, she stocked their library with them, hoping they might educate their community and allow kids to see themselves in a wider variety of books.

Alabama Poet Laureate Ashley Jones was filled with hope when she found her book, Reparations Now!,” tucked inside the Antiracist Little Library. Jones is not only the first person of color, but also the youngest person, to be Poet Laureate of Alabama. 

In an interview, Jones shared, “As a Black woman in America, racism is absolutely inescapable. It shows up in all the little places and all the big places and all the places you don’t expect. Sometimes it’s in a textbook. Sometimes it’s in a purse grabbed as I walk by, sometimes it’s in a question about my hair, my skin. If anyone believes we have even come close to solving issues of racism and discrimination, they’re mistaken. If I’m afraid to go for a run, go buy a snack, go to sleep in my own bed behind my own locked door, we aren’t finished working yet.”

Discussion Questions

• What is the last book you have read by an author of a different race, culture, or religion?
• In what ways do books about other people’s experiences open doors to better relationships with them?

Second Sunday of Easter

Acts 5:27-32

Revelation 1:4-8

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 C at Lectionary Readings.)

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

Gospel Reflection

In this post-resurrection account we find the disciples hiding in fear behind locked doors, in a self-imposed prison. There is no life there, only the fear of death. They’ve spent years watching and participating in the life-giving ministry of Jesus.  Now they hide and cling to what can hardly be called life. Then, right in the midst of their fear, Jesus brings peace and proof, life from death–not locks and doors. After Jesus breaths the Holy Spirit on them the disciples can no longer stay in locked rooms; they go out and share with others what they have seen and heard.

A whole week goes by and they are again in the same house. BUT this time the doors are not locked. They are shut, but not locked. So, we could say they are making progress. Again, Jesus brings proof and peace, but this time it is for Thomas. Instead of rejecting him for not believing the other disciples, Jesus invites Thomas to touch his wounds.  And Thomas believes. 

John says Jesus did many other signs in front of the disciples which are not recorded.  Then he adds,  “…but  these are written in this book so that YOU may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have  in his name.” The very words of this Gospel are written directly to YOU that you might be set free and have life in Jesus’ name. Jesus frees us from fear. He frees us from feeling like we missed out. Jesus makes us look around and figure out who is not in the room with us so that we can invite them in.

Discussion Questions

• Where have you experienced peace this week?
• Whose experiences are missing from your life, and how might you reach out to touch (and learn from) them?
• What do you need God to prove to you right now?

Activity Suggestions

Read a book, memorize a poem, listen to a speaker, or watch a movie created by someone who is a minority voice in your culture. Then ask yourself, “What are their wounds? Are there things to which I’ve had access that are denied to them?” Share what you have learned from that person with your friends and family.  Begin recommending resources that will challenge them as well. 

Closing Prayer

Think of something you are afraid of right now. Find a door that has a lock on it. Begin a prayer by holding onto the doorknob. 

Pray; “Lord right now I am afraid of….” (As you lift up your fear to God, lock the door.)

Pray; “Jesus give me your peace.” (as you ask for peace, unlock the door.)

Pray; “Spirit send me.” (as you finish the prayer, open the door and walk through.)

 

By Professor Mark Swanson

On March 31^st, the ELCA Church Council adopted “A Declaration of the ELCA to the Muslim Community,” uplifting our commitment to friendship and solidarity with our Muslim neighbors.

The idea that the ELCA should develop “A Declaration to the Muslim Community” has been around for some time, especially since the Reformation commemorations of 2017, when there was renewed focus in a variety of forums on Luther’s attitudes toward the religious Other. After the adoption at the 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly of “A Declaration of Inter-Religious Commitment,” the Lutheran-Muslim Consultative Panel began in earnest to discuss the need and possibility of such a document.

At the Panel’s last in-person meeting on February 22, 2020, we decided that the time was right: Muslim friends were asking for such a statement; the LWF Assembly in 2017 had committed itself to working towards a statement on Lutheran-Muslim relations, but had encouraged the ELCA to develop its own and to offer it to the LWF as a contribution; and, of course, acts of discrimination against Muslims (e.g., the so-called “Muslim ban”) and violence (think of the Christchurch mosque shootings of 2019) were heavy on our hearts and minds. Even then, we were wondering what the 2022 US election season might bring (remembering the ”Ground Zero Mosque” and Qur’an burning controversies of 2010, and the “Muslim ban” of 2016).

Work on a preliminary draft of a statement continued into the pandemic but stalled for a time. But last October (2021) we made a fresh start, asking Panel members and a few Muslim friends and colleagues to name just two or three things that should be included in a possible Declaration. The collected responses provided a remarkably coherent roadmap, and a series of focused Panel meetings led to the statement that you now have before you.

I would like to make a few comments about this Declaration:

• We tried to keep it short and simple, resisting the natural inclinations of the scholars in the group to write excurses and lengthy footnotes.
• We decided to keep the focus on North America and our relationships as ELCA members with our friends, neighbors, and inter-religious partners here. In just one paragraph do we broaden out (partly at the request of LWF and Muslim colleagues), to speak of projects of the LWF and of major inter-religious initiatives by Muslim leaders and scholars.
• We were challenged to speak a word about how we view Muslims, and not just how we think or theologize about them – and the language that seemed right was that of love, respect, esteem, and friendship (and certainly nothing that could be read as simply toleration).
• In speaking about Luther we walked a tightrope, or several at once: acknowledging his painful rhetoric while not going into unnecessary detail about it; avoiding making an apologetic for Luther while at the same time honoring the one from whom our denomination takes its name.
• We build on earlier Declarations of the ELCA, especially the “Declaration of Inter-Religious Commitment” and also “A Declaration of the ELCA to the Jewish Community.”
• And we conclude the Declaration with two remarkable quotations from bishops of this church, from Bishop Eaton and from Bishop Hanson, which point to the “journey” or the “pilgrimage” that ELCA members and our Muslim friends and neighbors are on, together.

The final draft of the document was reviewed by several of our Muslim partners, by Bishop Eaton, and by the Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Committee of the Conference of Bishops and by other key partners within the ELCA.

Over the coming month, during the holy season of Ramadan, we will be sharing this declaration with our Muslim partners and neighbors, and invite you to join us in this effort.

I want to close by acknowledging the members of the ELCA’s Consultative Panel on Lutheran-Muslim relations, which was entrusted with the development of this Declaration: panel members Prof. Jonathan Brockopp; Dr. Carol LaHurd; Prof. Paul Rajashekar; and Prof. Nelly van Doorn-Harder; ecumenical representative Dr. Peter Makari; and churchwide staff: Dr. Kathryn Lohre, along with the Rev. Dr. Carmelo Santos and Ms. Kristen Opalinski. It’s been an amazing team: intellectually stimulating, passionate, unafraid of disagreement, every one with extraordinary experience and contacts among Muslims and others.

 

Professor Mark Swanson is chair of the ELCA Consultative Panel on Lutheran-Muslim Relations. He serves at the Lutheran School of Theology as the Harold S. Vogelaar Professor of Christian-Muslim Studies and Interfaith Relations and  Associate Director of A Center of Christian-Muslim Engagement for Peace and Justice.

 

by guest blogger Judith E.B. Roberts [about the author]

I share this blog from my personal perspective as a Black woman in America and what the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson means to me.

Last week, history was made when the U.S. Senate confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court. She will serve as the first Black woman justice in the 232-year history of the Supreme Court. It is not the only, nor likely the last “historic first” for the highest court in the United States. In 1967, Justice Thurgood Marshall broke through the racial color line by becoming the first African American Supreme Court justice. In 1981, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor shattered the gender glass ceiling, becoming the first female Supreme Court justice. Justice Sonia Sotomayor became the first woman of color and the first Latina to be appointed in 2009. In terms of racial and gender identity, today’s nine Supreme Court justices certainly reflect greater diversity than the first justices of 1790.

When we consider diversity, we consider that we are all complex individuals with differing lived experiences and social identities, such as our race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, ability, religion and socio-economic status. These aspects of our identities are inextricably linked and shape the ways we view the world. Legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw first coined the term intersectionality to help explain the oppression experienced by Black women. Crenshaw explains: “Recognizing that we all carry many identities that come with varying levels of power and privilege is called intersectionality.”

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson represents more than just her accomplishments in the legal realm. Her melanin-rich complexion and natural textured locks speak volumes. This is relevant because historical, deeply rooted racist and sexist views about Black women—views that began with the enslavement of African people—still persist today. Attitudes about the behavior of Black women continue to be represented in media and entertainment by negative caricatures, such as the subservient mammy, the sassy sapphire, the seductress jezebel and the welfare queen. White European beauty standards of fair skin, sharp facial features, straight hair and slender body frames are still culturally and globally dominant. Black women and girls experience microaggressions, judgement, unconscious biases and physical attacks upon our bodies due to our natural hair texture, melanin-rich complexions, body shapes and physical features.

Given all these realities, representation matters. When people from historically marginalized groups see leaders who resemble them in key positions, it builds self-esteem, especially for younger people. Representation fosters greater trust within systems and institutions. It also adds a greater diversity of voices, perspectives and lived experiences to the processes that impact decisions, policies, practices and programs. This is true for businesses, faith communities, non-profits and governments alike.

While Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is neither the first person of color nor the first woman of color to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, she is the first Black woman. As a Black woman in America, she bears the lived experience of the intersectionality of race and gender from a very particular historical perspective. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson represents, in the words of Dr. Maya Angelou’s poem Still I Rise (1978), “the dream and the hope of the slave.” As the daughter of parents who fought against Jim Crow segregation, and as the newest member of the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson represents the best ideals of American democracy and the values of equity, inclusion and diversity. She carries the historical knowledge of laws, policies and practices that held Black Americans in the position of second-class citizenship. Now she will serve from the very bench that overturned racially unjust laws in this nation, from Jim Crow segregation to voter disenfranchisement and school segregation.

For many, this is a hopeful and overdue moment of inclusion, visibility and representation. We rejoice in it! And God calls us to do more. We are not yet a nation that fully reflects and represents all the gifts of diversity. We must not waiver from the commitment of forming a more perfect union. As the ELCA, we too cannot waiver in our quest to increase diversity within congregations, synods and the churchwide organization.

We can notice the people, voices and experiences that are missing from our programs and our leadership. We can support a culture and climate where all people are free to bring their most authentic selves to work. We can expand and share power and voice in decision-making authority by listening to and following the lead of historically marginalized groups. To counter the narratives of negative stereotypes, we can engage in unconscious bias and other Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) trainings both internally and externally. We can intentionally recruit, retain and support leaders that represent historically marginalized groups. We can each champion justice by putting the values of diversity, equity and inclusion into our daily practice because representation matters.

 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Judith E.B. Roberts is Senior Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion with the ELCA

By Kristen Opalinski

For the first time in decades we are witnessing a confluence of significant religious holy days and cultural traditions during the month of April.

As Christians move through Holy Week, we do so knowing that many of our neighbors of other religions are also journeying through their holy days, including Vaisakhi, Mahavir Jayanti, Passover, Ramadan, and Theravada New Year. For Muslims, Jews, Christians, Baha’is, Sikhs, Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and others, this moment of convergence serves as a reminder of our interconnectedness.

As members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America this is also a time to remember the commitments we have made as a church through “A Declaration of Inter-Religious Commitment: A policy statement of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America/ Declaración de compromiso interreligioso: Una declaración de política de la Iglesia Evangélica Luterana en América” which was adopted at the 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

We lift up the first of these commitments (p.10) in this moment of holy confluence:

1. The ELCA will pray for the well-being of our wonderfully diverse human family, including our neighbors of other religions and worldviews (ELW, Prayer for the Human Family, p. 79)

Prayer for the Human Family 

O God of all, with wonderful diversity of languages and cultures you created all people in your image. Free us from prejudice and fear, that we might see your face in the faces of people around the world; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

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We invite you to read about the ways our partners and others are reflecting upon this time:

Spring 2022 Messaging Campaign — The Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign

This April, Chicago has a rare opportunity for interfaith cooperation – Chicago Sun-Times (suntimes.com) 

The Confluence of Holy Seasons: An Opportunity to Grow Together (nationalcouncilofchurches.us)

Home – Religions for Peace (rfp.org)

 

By Giovana Oaxaca, ELCA program director for migration

The announcement of the Biden administration of an end date for Title 42 is a welcome step forward towards restoring access to the right to seek asylum. Rather than promote a safe, orderly or humane process, Title 42 wound up increasing risk and vulnerability. Our Lutheran tradition teaches “hospitality for the uprooted is a way to live out the biblical call to love the neighbor in response to God’s love in Jesus Christ” (ELCA social message on “Immigration,” pg. 3). The human repercussions of Title 42 will be felt for years to come. Hopefully this moment can redirect our policymakers towards rebuilding a humane asylum system.

 

REQUESTING ASYLUM

Asking for asylum at the border is a right guaranteed under the Refugee Protection Act of 1980, as well as a right widely recognized as a U.S. international obligation. It is a lifeline many vulnerable migrants rely on when they reach ports of entry, usually as a last resort and after having travelled hundreds of miles by foot to escape personal danger. An asylee is an individual who meets the international definition of refugee – a person with well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group, who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war or violence. In the United States, asylum seekers apply for protection from inside the country or at a port of entry.

 

WHAT IS TITLE 42

Title 42 is a part of an U.S. public health code that authorizes the federal government to take “emergency action” to prevent the spread of communicable diseases, a power first invoked by President Trump in March 2020. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an order under Title 42 barring certain noncitizens arriving at U.S. borders, even over the objection of leading public health officials in the CDC who saw no valid public health rationale to issue the order.

The public health effectiveness of this measure is questionable. In the United States, community spread was far more likely to be the source of transmission than newcomers. During the time Title 42 has been in effect, millions of people have continued to legally cross the U.S.-Mexico border at ports of entry for tourism and work. People continue to travel to the United States and to foreign countries by plane with little fanfare. Some have argued that Title 42 authority has been used far beyond its intended use as a public health measure.

 

WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW

On April 1, the CDC officially announced May 23 as an end date for Title 42. A potential increase in the number of border encounters is anticipated with this policy shift due to demand and expected seasonal fluctuations.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a comprehensive strategy in anticipation of the expected high volume of arrivals as Title 42 ends. The strategy is a blueprint for ramping up operational capacity, deploying more staff and resources, creating new processing centers and making asylum processing more efficient. The United States is also preparing a new system of adjudicating asylum decision. Of note, it advances an integrated regional approach to migration management. Unfortunately, it relies too heavily on raising the costs of migration instead of working to address the underlying drivers of migration.

Migrants, advocates in the faith community and public health experts have exhaustively argued that restoring asylum and protecting public health can be done together. The U.S. has the ability and resources to welcome humanely, efficiently and safely. Welcoming people in need of refuge is woven into the U.S.’ national identity. Lutheran experience in the United States reflects the continuity of this movement, as at one point after World War II one out of every six Lutherans was a refugee.

The bluntness of Title 42 underlines the U.S. immigration system’s penchant for neglecting human dignity and deflecting responsibility for humane border management. Its uneven use calls into the question even the public health rationale it purported to have. “Too often we perpetuate the racism, the fear of, and the animosity towards newcomers that show themselves in our society,” reads the ELCA “Immigration” social message (pg. 1). Between March 2020 and March 2022, Title 42 was used over 1.7 million times to expel migrants back to Mexico by land and by plane to Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Haiti, Brazil and Columbia.

Even now, Congress is considering an amendment to a COVID-19 supplemental bill that would reinstate Title 42. Historically, exclusionary policies have been most pronounced during moments of social anxiety. However, the choice is not to double down, but to reach out with grace and work towards the common good. Martin Luther once said, “I will give myself as a kind of Christ to my neighbor, just as Christ offered himself to me. I will do nothing in this life except what I see will be necessary, advantageous, and salutary for my neighbor, because through faith I am overflowing with all good things in Christ” (The Freedom of a Christian, pg. 29).

 

UNTOLD HUMAN SUFFERING

There many reasons Title 42 exacerbates human suffering. A paper by the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) underscores how long-term measures to close borders only reduce options for safe and regular migration and may increase the likelihood of irregular migration, smuggling and trafficking, especially as the drivers of migration increase.

Crossings have turned increasingly deadly as migrants have attempted to enter without inspection outside of ports of entry. A June 2021 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) also acknowledged that Title 42 expulsions have led to “some individuals trying to cross the border multiple times per day.” Owing to the exception for unaccompanied children, the use of Title 42 has also driven families to separate in the desperate attempt to send their children to safety in the United States. No family should ever have to make such a tragic choice.

Migrants are exposed to extraordinary danger upon return. Human Rights First published a report identifying 9,886 reports of kidnapping, torture, rape and other violent attacks on people blocked or expelled to Mexico due to the Title 42 policy. In Mexico, stranded Black migrants and migrants of African descent reported frequent racially motivated attacks and harassment.

According to the IOM the vast majority of Haitians were returned to “highly vulnerable situations with few if any resources” to Haiti, a country most had not lived in recently or at all. Returned and deported migrants to Guatemala and Honduras were equally vulnerable. Some NGOs, including ELCA AMMPARO companions Asociacion Pop No’j and the Mennonite Central Action Committee in Honduras, were able to assist, although COVID-19 set-backs and the sheer scale was considerable.

 

LEGAL QUESTIONS

Legal scholars have continuously called into question the validity of the CDC’s order, given that it supersedes congressional intent by granting the CDC near unilateral power to decide who can be deported. At a minimum, Title 42 is not consistent with U.S refugee law or treaty obligations under Article 33 of 1951 Refugee Convention. Article 33 prohibits expulsions back to countries where a person’s life is in danger (what’s known as a nonrefoulement obligation). The United States ratified the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, creating an obligation back to the 1951 Refugee Convention. At least two high-ranking government officials have resigned over the categorical expulsions they saw as inhumane and illegal, especially to the country of Haiti. The prevailing international standard on deportations prohibits collective expulsion back to danger and urges a dignified returned and reintegration process (Objective 21 of the UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration).

Huisha-Huisha v. Mayorkas challenges the overall use of Title 42 to return families back to danger. The D.C. Circuit Court on March 4, 2022 ruled in Huisha-Huisha that the government cannot use the public health order to expel families back to countries where they are likely to suffer persecution or torture. The Huisha-Huisha ruling dropped just as district court in Texas issued another ruling on Title 42 in Texas v. Biden blocking the ongoing Title 42 exemptions for unaccompanied children. The Biden administration averted having to expel unaccompanied children by officially terminating Title 42 expulsions for unaccompanied children on March 21. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees condemns any measure that infringes on the right to ask asylum. Public health experts argue that evidence-based public health safeguards like the use of vaccines, masks, hand sanitizer and other screening tools are strong countermeasures so that Title 42 is not necessary.

On the other hand, following the CDC order terminating Title 42 by May 23, the states of Missouri, Arizona, and Louisiana jointly sued the Biden administration for failure to rescind Title 42 through the proper procedure. While governing authorities have the responsibility to protect the nation’s borders and maintain its security, Title 42 goes too far.

 

ADDITIONAL POLICY RECONSIDERATION

Soon, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear a case over the Biden administration’s rescission, or repeal, of the Migration Protection Protocols (MPP). MPP, known as “Remain in Mexico,” leads to people who are legally seeking protection being stranded in perilous conditions in Mexico while they await their court hearing. MPP deprives migrants their opportunity to have their cases fully and fairly considered. This is a deeply flawed program that exposes children, families and vulnerable migrants to serious harm.

 

VISION FOR BETTER

The experience of Title 42 shows that the solution to human struggle and migration is not deterrence-based mechanisms, but addressing the drivers of migration, creating safe and orderly pathways to migrate, strengthening access to protection, and retooling how the government provides reception for those who are forced to come to the border. Any strategy must not bank on deterrence at U.S. borders or even within countries of transit to mitigate the flow of people migrating to save their lives, in search of opportunity or to reunify with family. International coordination and collaboration are essential for any effective migration policy.

Our faith is the strongest compass we have for guidance on how to treat newcomers. Scripture calls us to love our neighbor: “The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:34). ELCA social teaching describes our serving presence in society that “holds power accountable, advocates justice, stands with those who are poor and vulnerable, provides sanctuary, and meets human needs” (ELCA social statement For Peace in God’s World, pg. 5).

 

WHAT’S NEXT

We must continue to show support for restoring access to asylum and continuing the U.S.’ legacy of providing refuge as consistent with U.S. law and international agreements. Some lawmakers support keeping Title 42 over concerns about border security. People’s lives cannot be used to escalate reliance on detention, deportation and border militarization, or to try to dismantle the asylum and refugee system.

While lawmakers will likely never reach a consensus on what a secure border looks like, we can agree that essential immigration reforms must be made – and Title 42 proved to be an unjust and harmful policy. Beyond just denying access to asylum, Title 42 engenders the conditions for an even greater humanitarian crisis at the border and in countries of origin. Communities of faith, through ELCA AMMPARO and across the ELCA, are ready to work together to address the plight of migrants.

Lutheran congregations have responded to newcomer neighbors, welcoming people fleeing conflict in Southeast Asia, war, targeted violence in Central America and very recently have welcomed Afghan families displaced by conflict and Ukrainians in Eastern Europe. This love of our neighbor is our steady guide in uncertain and difficult times.

Chris Heavner, Clemson, SC

Warm-up Question

How many times have you heard the Easter story?  What is happening in your life this day which makes it possible for you to hear the story as if for the very first time?

Lessons from a Crooked Tree

In my part of the world, dogwood trees bloom at Easter.  My Sunday Church School teachers told an old Christian legend to explain why: 

“See those four petals?  How they form a cross?  Notice that there is a mark of shame at the tip of each pedal. The lumber used to build the cross on which Jesus was hung was from a dogwood tree.  Now in Jesus’ day, dogwoods were tall and straight and strong.  The dogwood was embarrassed to be used in this way, so it shriveled itself into a small tree with a twisting trunk.  Never again could it be used to kill one of God’s children.  The dogwood’s petals not only form a cross, but they have dark marks on the ends as reminders of Jesus’ wounds.”

In my part of the world, dogwood trees are among the first indicators that new life is happening.  They assure us that the death associated with the winter has been pushed aside.  Their blooms brighten our yards and our lives, reminding us that nothing will stand in the way of God’s goodness and promise of new life.  That crooked tree is a powerful witness to the Easter promise of hope beyond despair.

Singer and song-writer Molly Tuttle recently came to my town.  She has a song which reminds me of the strength, beauty, and power of a small and twisted trunk.  Her music video, “Crooked Tree,” is posted on YouTube.  The lyrics celebrate what we too often consider of lesser value.  Lumber mills demand tall, straight trees and turn them into profit, Tuttle celebrates crooked trees (and people) who “won’t fit into the mill machine.”  In the lyrics one finds a reminder that the Easter message lifts up those of low degree and champions those who embrace their God-given individuality.   

In my part of the world, dogwood trees bloom at Easter.  And they encourage each of us to bloom, too.  They teach us that what others may value is not always what God values.

Discussion Questions

• No tree grows perfectly straight.  Can you figure out some of the reasons why?
• Some think the world is less than what God intends when force everyone into the same mold.  Do you agree?
• Name some of the “really different” personalities who have helped you  or simply brought deep joy into your life.

Resurrection of Our Lord

Acts 10:34-43

1 Corinthians 15:19-26

Luke 24:1-12

John 20:1-18  (Alternate)

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

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

Gospel Reflection

For a desolate and haunting place, Jesus’ gravesite sure attracted lot of people.  Many of our congregations will read from Luke on Easter; others will read from John.  Matthew and Mark also recount the events of Easter morning.  In each, there are a lot of folks present.  

In Luke some characters are waiting when the visitors arrive.  We often call them “angels,” but that is not what the Bible says.  Its designation is “men.”  Yet there is something different about these “two men.”

Verse 11 states the obvious – the Easter story seems  to be an “idle tale.”  Perhaps the writers of the Gospels included as many eyewitnesses as possible in order to overcome the tendency to dismiss those telling this improbable story.  When others  bear witness to the something I want you to accept, it becomes more believable.

Another line of note is verse 8;  “Then they remembered.”  Jesus had tried to tell them what was going to happen, but words don’t have the power of experience.  What experiences have you had since, you last heard the Easter story, which make it possible for you to hear and remember what God is doing in your life?

The earlier references to dogwoods and crooked trees in this Faith Lens lift up another aspect of the story.  The events of Easter do not erase our individuality.  Each of the Easter morning characters are, well, characters.  Peter confessed Jesus as Lord and then immediately argued with Jesus over how best to save the world.  Mary Magdalene had been the host of seven demons.  Characters each.  And they are our witnesses to the Easter events.

Too often we see the story of Jesus as one which tries to make us into perfect replicas of something we are not.  The Easter story bursts forth with reminders that it is the unique and distinctive traits of person each which give these events their eternal significance.

By His death and resurrection Jesus destroys the  death of failing  to experience the beauty and the blessings of our uniqueness.   Your particular voice is beautiful and needed.  Use it and bear witness to the wonder of Easter.

Discussion Questions

• Among the characters present on that first Easter morning, which tends to make it most likely that you will accept the things described?
• Make a list of the ways in which the life of Mary Magdalene differed from that of Peter.  What stands out?  What impact might their life experiences have on their seeing an empty tomb?
• The Church teaches that eternal life  has already begun, that it is more than something which happens after death?  How is eternal life is linked to the sacrament of Holy Baptism.
• What religious, political, or social pressures make it hard for you to stand firm in your individuality?

Activity Suggestions

• Take a good, long look at some trees.  Ask a few questions about what makes a tree grow the way it does.  Perhaps invite an arborist (tree specialist) to talk to you about the unique characteristics of different trees (like why we use oak for furniture but tend to use pine for building walls).
• From a distance, soak up the beauty of a bunch of flowers.  Maybe your congregation has dozens of Easter Lilies around the altar.  Now, look more closely at one individual flower.  Compare it to an adjacent flower.  How are the similar?  What makes them different?
• Ask your teacher or pastor why there are four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).  Ask what makes each of these different from the others; what is it that each gives us that would be missing if we only had three?
• In anticipation of Pentecost Sunday, identify those who are least likely to know that the Easter story is intended for all.  Speak with those persons and share how the events which lie at the center of the Jesus’ community affirm our uniqueness.

Closing Prayer

Merciful God, it was upon a tree that you were hung and left to die.  We confess our complicity in that horrible mistreatment of your truth and your promise.  Deepen our awareness of the endless ways in which your resurrection sets us free and sets us on a new path.  Amen. 

 

Welcome to “More than Food,” the podcast of ELCA World Hunger’s Global Farm Challenge!

Find out more information below about the Global Farm Challenge and how you and your group can become involved. Links to the podcast episodes are also below.

What is the Global Farm Challenge?

The Global Farm Challenge is a youth-centered, whole-church effort to raise awareness and gifts to support the work of ELCA World Hunger with farming communities around the world. ELCA World Hunger works through congregations, companion churches and partners to accompany smallholder farmers around the world. This work includes adapting to climate change and sustainable farming practices. But it also includes helping farmers learn new techniques for increasing yields and decreasing costs, build collectives for shared power and gain access to land, seeds and tools. By joining the Global Farm Challenge, you can be an important part of supporting this work!

Why the Global Farm Challenge?

We know that the world produces more than enough food to feed everyone person. But hunger is on the rise, and the very people who produce the world’s food – farmers and farmworkers – face higher levels of hunger and poverty. They are vulnerable to climate change-related disasters, health risks and laws and policies that lock them out of access to land or financing they need to expand their farms.

With the war in Ukraine causing global food shortages and rising prices making it harder for vulnerable families to feed themselves, meeting immediate needs now and building resilience for the future are critical steps. The Global Farm Challenge, by empowering ELCA World Hunger to accompany farmers around the world, is a key way we can all be part of God’s work toward a just world where all are fed.

What is “More than Food”?

“More than Food” is a podcast designed to go along with the “Global Farm Challenge To-Go Card Game,” a game your group can play anywhere – even on the road! In the game, players follow stories of smallholder farmers and farmworkers and learn about the challenges and opportunities farmers face. Each of the stories in the game is based on real stories of neighbors involved in the projects supported by ELCA World Hunger and the Global Farm Challenge. In the podcast, we will dive into these stories and learn more about the projects and the communities involved.

You can share this podcast on your congregation’s website or social media, listen to episodes as part of a group study or play episodes in the car while you travel to a service site this summer.

Play the game, talk about your experiences and hear about our neighbors’ experiences as you consider supporting ELCA World Hunger’s Global Farm Challenge!

Join us in learning more about the many ways God is at work through us and our neighbors!

 

Episode 1 – In this episode, learn more about the Global Farm Challenge and how to get involved.

Transcript: Ep 1 Introducing More than Food Transcript

Episode 2 – In this episode, Brooke and Ryan talk about why justice is at the very foundation of faith and why it is so important to think about ending hunger as “more than food.”

Episode 3 – In this episode, Ryan talks with Franklin Ishida, the director for the Asia and Pacific regions for the ELCA, about growing pumpkins – and a whole lot more – through a project in Cambodia. This project is one of the stories featured in the Global Farm Challenge To-Go Card Game.

Transcript: Episode 3 – Pumpkins and Cambodia Transcript

Episode 4 – In this episode, we hear from Giovana Oaxaca, the ELCA’s program director for migration policy, who shares some of the ways ELCA World Hunger supports farm workers in the US. This work part of the story of citrus fruit in the Global Farm Challenge To-Go Card Game.

Transcript: More than Food Episode 4 – US Farmworkers Transcript

Dennis Sepper, Rosemount, MN

Warm-up Question

What is the greatest power in the world?  How did you come to your answer and why?  

Humble Servanthood

Just over one week ago, the Oscars were held in Los Angeles California.  While the televised part of the event covered the statues given, before and after the Oscars many special dinner events took place.  Famous chefs like Wolfgang Puck created outstanding meals for the celebrities and other “A-list” people.

One famous chef who wasn’t in L.A. for the Oscars was Chef José Andrés.  Chef José Andrés is an award winning chef with a number of restaurants in the United States and Europe.  Chef Andrés could have been in L.A. or comfortably resting at one of his restaurants in New York or Washington D.C.  But he wasn’t.  Chef José Andrés was on the border between Ukraine and Poland serving up thousands of meals for the Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war.

You see, it’s Chef José Andrés’ calling to travel wherever there is a disaster to serve up restaurant quality meals for those who are victims of tragedy.  It all began in 2010 when, in response to a devastating earthquake in Haiti, Chef Andrés founded the World Central Kitchen, with the purpose of providing healthy food to the survivors of that earthquake.  Since then, World Central Kitchen has organized and served meals wherever a tragedy has happened around the world, including in the United States and Puerto Rico.

Chef José Andrés doesn’t brag about his volunteer work (though well he could, it’s so important).  He is a humble person who serves by doing what he can, where he can.  That doesn’t mean his work is not noticed by others who join him to make and serve meals.  As Chef Andrés was preparing to go to Poland, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos donated $100 million dollars, which Andrés will use in his humanitarian effort to assist the Ukrainians.

Discussion Questions

• Has there ever been a disaster in your city or town (even a house fire that displaced a family)?  How did people respond?
• Are there humble servants in your city or town who regularly help others?  Who are they?  Are they celebrities or just regular people?
• Should the wealthy and those who are famous use their wealth or popularity to help people in need?

Sunday of the Passion/Palm Sunday

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Philippians 2:5-11

Luke 22:14–23:56

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

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

Gospel Reflection

When a king or president comes to a town it is often a very big deal.  In ancient times a king arrived riding a large impressive stallion surrounded by armed soldiers as a sign of might.  Banner bearers carried the crest of the king’s family and trumpeters blew their horns to announce the king’s arrival and to draw everyone’s attention to the king’s presence. The image suggests grandeur, importance, power, and might. 

In light of that, it may seem strange that Jesus rode into Jerusalem for the last time on a colt (or a donkey as is often pictured).  The donkey has been a work animal for thousands of years and, since Jesus used every day examples and items to proclaim God’s kingdom, it makes sense that he would use an ordinary animal to make his entrance to Jerusalem.  Also, being as well versed in Scripture as he was, Jesus may have been intentionally trying to bring to mind a passage from the Prophet Zechariah, “Tell the daughter of Zion, look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9).  

There were no banners or trumpets, no show of military might and no bodyguards.  The people following Jesus were not the beautiful people of the day, but ordinary folks. They did greet Jesus as a king saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”  The image speaks loudly that Jesus is a humble king riding a humble animal.

The clash of those two images, those two kings, will play out the entire week of Jesus’ passion.  There is the power of the Chief Priest, Herod and Pilate, in contrast to the humility of Jesus.  In the gospel of Luke, humility is a quality Jesus lifts up for the disciples then and now.  In part of our reading for this week, when the disciples argue among themselves as to who is the greatest, Jesus encourages them to be humble and to be servants (Luke 22:24-27). 

In today’s scripture from Philippians, Saint Paul writes, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.”

When these two kingships collide, it appears that power and might win over humility and love, but we know the truth.  In the resurrection, Jesus becomes the victor.  As disciples of Jesus we are called to follow Jesus’ way of humility, love, mercy and peace.  Those virtues still win the day…every day!   

Discussion Questions

• Read the following two passages from Luke’s gospel:  Luke 9:46-50 and Luke 14:7-11.  What is Jesus teaching the disciples?  What do the passages say about being humble?
• Do you believe there is still a conflict between the two styles of kingship mentioned above?  Why?  What are the consequences of that conflict?
• Do you consider yourself a humble person?  Are there times when it is hard to be humble?

Activity Suggestions

In the first set of discussion questions, you identified some humble servants in your city or town.  Many times we don’t notice humble servants or thank them for their service.  Choose one of the humble servants you identified and take a selfie of yourself or your group holding up a thank you sign.  Then text, message or email that thank you to the person you identified.  Tell them how much you appreciate their service and how they are a shining example of humble servanthood.  If you use USPS mail, you could send them a card with the same recognition and thank you (and have the group sign the card).

Closing Prayer

Loving Jesus, throughout your life you sought to be humble and loving and to teach your disciples and followers to do the same.  As we enter into the week of your passion, assist us to learn from you and to trust in God in all things.  Bless us in the week ahead. Amen

 

ELCA World Hunger’s 40 Days of Giving

Lent 2022

In English and en Espanol

Week 5: A Way in the Wilderness

“Do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19)

Read

• Isaiah 43:16-21
• Psalm 126
• Philippians 3:4b-14
• John 12:1-8

Reflect

Each of the sessions of this Lenten study has been grounded in a verse from this week’s readings:

I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert (Isaiah 43:19).

From the first-fruits offering of Deuteronomy to the teaching of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, our reflections have pointed to how God continues to “make a way in the wilderness” and calls us to be part of that journey for ourselves and our neighbors. The Scripture readings this season remind us of the promise of new life in Canaan for our ancestors and new life in Christ for us all.

We have imagined a world without hunger, heard of God’s abundant provision of manna and seen the ways the church has worked tirelessly, in the past and today, to end hunger.

Now we reach the culmination of this movement toward the fulfillment of God’s promise, wherein Jesus announces: “You will always have the poor among you” (John 12:8 NIV).

It’s not the most encouraging verse in the Bible.

How often have people twisted these words into an excuse for passivity or a sneering retort to proclamations of hope that hunger and poverty can, one day, end? Along with its partner in 2 Thessalonians (“Anyone unwilling to work should not eat”), it’s one of the “hard passages” for people of faith eager to inspire others to respond to hunger and poverty. These troublesome verses are often used to support restrictive, counterintuitive policies and practices that inhibit real progress against hunger and poverty. Why try harder to end hunger and poverty if even Jesus says poverty isn’t going away?

The passage yields more when we dig a little deeper. Jesus may actually be referring to an earlier part of the Bible here, and in that earlier verse the words are no statement of fact but a challenge to the people of God. The verse appears in a section of Deuteronomy about the Jubilee Year, a time every seven years when debts were forgiven. That earlier passage sheds new light on the verse from John:

Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, “Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land” (Deuteronomy 15:11).

Far from resigning us to poverty in the world, the verse challenges followers of Christ. In his commentary on Deuteronomy, Martin Luther writes, “‘The poor you always have with you,’ just as you will have all other evils. But constant care should be taken that, since these evils are always in evidence, they are always opposed.”

For Luther, to “always have the poor among you” meant to be confronted always by God’s call to respond to human suffering and oppose the evil that creates it. This is not resignation but activation of the people of God in the service of the neighbor.

What’s more, we may find in Jesus’ words a lesson for our identity as church together. “You will always have the poor among you.” If we are truly the
people of God, then we are called to be in community with neighbors who have been marginalized, excluded, oppressed and impoverished by the world’s injustice.

As church, our calling is not merely to minister to our neighbors but to bear witness to the “new thing” God is doing in our world, a new community God is making possible. This is not easy work. Confronting hunger and poverty alongside our neighbors means facing the dangerous realities that impact our neighbors.

In Palestine, Defense of Children International–Palestine (DCIP), supported by ELCA World Hunger, works with children and families to protect their rights and give them the care and support they need. Settlement expansion in the West Bank and increased military presence in daily life put children at risk of negative encounters with Israeli forces. Children detained for
violating the often-discriminatory laws of Israeli occupation risk abuse from both Israeli and Palestinian forces. Despite significant legal reform in recent years, DCIP has found that practices have yet to fully align with domestic or international legal frameworks for juvenile justice and that children are paying the price, navigating a military legal system that fails to meet the minimum international standards, particularly for juveniles.

DCIP provides both legal and social support for children accused of crimes, and it works with their families, many of whom live in poverty, to improve their situations emotionally, socially and financially through vocational training, the support of social workers and more. This support is critical to addressing the root causes of hunger and poverty in Palestine.

Responding to hunger means accompanying neighbors as they confront the systems of injustice that create hunger. It means facing harsh realities with realistic perspectives. This is not the false “realism” that twists Jesus’ words in the Gospel but the realistic acknowledgement that we face our own journey in the wilderness before we reach the fullness of God’s promise. Friends, we have a long way to go.

And yet … and yet …

As we have seen throughout our Lenten journey, we are not going it alone. God is with us along the way, inspiring hope and courage and revealing Godself in the neighbors we encounter along the way. We know that this Lenten journey is not the end. The season’s fasting, praying and selfreflecting spiritual disciplines prepare us for the road ahead, the road that leads to the cross — and beyond, to a new community God makes possible.

This is not an easy road to travel. But we know that, even amid the challenges ahead, the “new thing” God is doing “springs forth,” that God is even now working to “make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:19).

Do you not perceive it?

Ask

1. What does it mean for the church to “always have the poor” with us? How might we rethink Jesus’ words in light of the study session for this week?
2. In what ways does your congregation act as a neighbor toward people in need in your community?
3. Why is the church called to work for justice in the world? What might the work of DCI-Palestine teach us about being the people of God?
4. How can the church inspire hope when the promised future can seem so far away?
5. Where is God calling you and your congregation to be today? How can or will you be part of the “new thing” God is calling forth?

Pray

God of the poor widow, the lost sheep, and the wandering Aramean,
God of the hungry, the thirsty, and the stranger,
God of the naked, the ill, and the imprisoned,

We confess before you that the church has not always been where
you have called us to be. We have failed to seek your face in our
neighbors in need. We have allowed despair to bind our hands and
feet. Change us, O God. Free us to act with hope and courage.

Open our hearts to perceive your presence in and among our
neighbors. Inflame us with holy passion for the work you invite us
to in the world. Breathe new life into your church, that we may be
the people you call us to be in the world you call into being:

A church of the poor widow, the lost sheep and the wandering Aramean.
A church of the hungry, the thirsty and the stranger.
A church of the naked, the ill and the imprisoned.

Do a “new thing” with us and through us, that we may be a
community of hope, comfort and welcome — a living sign of the
way we are making in the wilderness. Amen.

 

SEMANA 5: Un camino en el desierto

“¿No se dan cuenta?” (Isaías 43:19).
Lecturas: Isaías 43:16-21, Salmo 126, Filipenses 3:4b-14, Juan 12:1-8

Cada una de las sesiones de este estudio de Cuaresma se ha basado en un versículo de las lecturas de esta semana:

¡Voy a hacer algo nuevo! Ya está sucediendo, ¿no se dan cuenta? Estoy abriendo un camino en el desierto, y ríos en lugares desolados (Isaías 43:19).

Desde la ofrenda de primicias de Deuteronomio, hasta la enseñanza de Jesús en el Evangelio de Lucas, nuestras reflexiones han señalado cómo Dios continúa “abriendo un camino en el desierto” y nos llama a ser parte de esa jornada para nosotros y nuestro prójimo. Las lecturas bíblicas de esta temporada nos recuerdan la promesa de una nueva vida en Canaán para nuestros antepasados y una nueva vida en Cristo para todos nosotros.

Hemos imaginado un mundo sin hambre, hemos oído hablar de la abundante provisión que Dios hizo de maná, y hemos visto las formas en que la iglesia ha trabajado incansablemente, en el pasado y en la actualidad, para acabar con el hambre.

Ahora llegamos a la culminación de este movimiento hacia el cumplimiento de la promesa de Dios, en la que Jesús anuncia: “A los pobres siempre los tendrán con ustedes” (Juan 12:8 NVI).

Este no es el versículo más alentador de la Biblia.

¿Cuántas veces la gente ha tergiversado estas palabras en una excusa para la pasividad o una réplica burlona a las proclamas de esperanza de que el hambre y la pobreza pueden, algún día, terminar? Junto con su versículo compañero en 2 Tesalonicenses (“El que no quiera trabajar, que tampoco coma”), es uno de los “pasajes difíciles” para las personas de fe ansiosas por inspirar a otros a responder al hambre y la pobreza. Estos versículos problemáticos a menudo se usan para apoyar políticas y prácticas restrictivas y contraintuitivas que inhiben el progreso real contra el hambre y la pobreza. ¿Por qué esforzarse más para acabar con el hambre y la pobreza si incluso Jesús dice que la pobreza no va a desaparecer?

El pasaje brinda más cuando cavamos un poco más profundo. En realidad, Jesús podría estar refiriéndose aquí a una parte anterior de la Biblia, y en ese versículo anterior las palabras no son una declaración de hechos, sino un desafío al pueblo de Dios. El versículo aparece en una sección de Deuteronomio sobre el año del jubileo, un tiempo cada siete años en que las deudas eran perdonadas. Ese pasaje anterior arroja nueva luz sobre el versículo de Juan:

Gente pobre en esta tierra, siempre la habrá; por eso te ordeno que seas generoso con tus hermanos hebreos y con los pobres y necesitados de tu tierra” (Deuteronomio 15:11).

Lejos de resignarnos a la pobreza en el mundo, el versículo desafía a los seguidores de Cristo. En su comentario sobre Deuteronomio, Martín Lutero escribe: “‘El pobre siempre lo tienen con ustedes’, así como tendrán todos los demás males. Pero se debe tener el cuidado constante de que, dado que estos males siempre son evidentes, siempre se les presente oposición”.

Para Lutero, “a los pobres siempre los tendrán con ustedes” significaba ser siempre confrontado por el llamado de Dios a responder al sufrimiento humano y oponerse al mal que lo causa. Esto no es resignación sino activación del pueblo de Dios al servicio del prójimo.

Lo que es más, en las palabras de Jesús podemos encontrar una lección para nuestra identidad como iglesia juntos. “A los pobres siempre los tendrán con ustedes”. Si realmente somos el pueblo de Dios, entonces estamos llamados a estar en comunidad con los vecinos que han sido marginados, excluidos, oprimidos y empobrecidos por la injusticia del mundo.

Como iglesia, nuestro llamado no es simplemente ministrar a nuestro prójimo, sino dar testimonio de “algo nuevo” que Dios está haciendo en nuestro mundo, una nueva comunidad que Dios está haciendo posible. Este no es un trabajo fácil. Enfrentar el hambre y la pobreza junto a nuestro prójimo significa enfrentar las peligrosas realidades que afectan a nuestros vecinos.

En Palestina, Defense of Children International–Palestine (DCIP) [Defensa Internacional para los Niños de Palestina], con el apoyo de ELCA World Hunger, trabaja con niños y familias para proteger sus derechos y brindarles la atención y el apoyo que necesitan. La expansión de los asentamientos en la Ribera Occidental y el aumento de la presencia militar en la vida cotidiana ponen a los niños en riesgo de encuentros negativos con las fuerzas israelíes. Los niños detenidos por violar las leyes a menudo discriminatorias de la ocupación israelí corren el riesgo de sufrir abusos tanto por parte de las fuerzas israelíes como de las palestinas. A pesar de la importante reforma legal de los últimos años, el DCIP ha descubierto que las prácticas aún no se han alineado plenamente con los marcos jurídicos nacionales o internacionales para la justicia de menores, y que los niños están pagando el precio, navegando por un sistema legal militar que no cumple con las mínimas normas internacionales, particularmente para los menores.

DCIP da apoyo legal y social a los niños acusados de delitos y trabaja con sus familias —muchas de las cuales viven en la pobreza— para mejorar emocional, social y financieramente sus situaciones a través de la capacitación vocacional, el apoyo de los trabajadores sociales y más. Este apoyo es fundamental para atacar las causas profundas del hambre y la pobreza en Palestina.

Responder al hambre significa acompañar a los vecinos mientras enfrentan los sistemas de injusticia que crean hambre. Significa hacer frente a realidades duras con perspectivas realistas. Este no es el falso “realismo” que tergiversa las palabras de Jesús en el Evangelio, sino el reconocimiento realista de que enfrentamos nuestra propia jornada en el desierto antes de alcanzar la plenitud de la promesa de Dios.  Amigos, nos queda un largo camino por recorrer.

Y sin embargo… y sin embargo…

Como hemos visto a lo largo de nuestra jornada cuaresmal, no vamos solos. Dios está con nosotros en el camino, inspirando esperanza y valentía y revelándose a sí mismo en los vecinos que encontramos en el camino. Sabemos que esta jornada cuaresmal no es el fin. Las disciplinas espirituales de ayuno, oración y autorreflexión de la temporada nos preparan para el camino por delante, el camino que conduce a la cruz; y más allá, a una nueva comunidad que Dios hace posible.

No es un camino fácil de recorrer. Pero sabemos que, incluso en medio de los desafíos que tenemos por delante, el “algo nuevo” que Dios está haciendo “brota”, que Dios incluso ahora está trabajando para “abrir un camino en el desierto y ríos en lugares desolados” (Isaías 43:19).

¿No se dan cuenta?

Preguntas para la reflexión

1. ¿Qué significa para la iglesia que “a los pobres siempre los tendremos con nosotros”? ¿Cómo podríamos replantearnos las palabras de Jesús a la luz de la sesión de estudio de esta semana?
2. ¿De qué maneras actúa su congregación como el prójimo de las personas necesitadas en su comunidad?
3. ¿Por qué está llamada la iglesia a trabajar por la justicia en el mundo? ¿Qué podría enseñarnos la obra de DCI-Palestina en lo que respecta a ser el pueblo de Dios?
4. ¿Cómo puede la iglesia inspirar esperanza cuando el futuro prometido puede parecer tan lejano?
5. ¿Dónde está llamando Dios a su congregación y a usted a estar hoy? ¿Cómo puede ser o será parte del “algo nuevo” del que Dios está hablando?

Oración

Dios de la viuda pobre, de la oveja perdida y del arameo errante, Dios del hambriento, el sediento y el extranjero, Dios del desnudo, el enfermo y el encarcelado:

Confesamos ante ti que la iglesia no siempre ha estado donde nos has llamado a estar. No hemos podido buscar tu rostro en nuestros vecinos necesitados. Hemos permitido que la desesperación nos ate las manos y los pies. Cámbianos, oh Dios. Libéranos para actuar con esperanza y valentía.

Abre nuestros corazones para percibir tu presencia en nuestros vecinos y entre ellos. Enciéndenos con santa pasión por el trabajo al que nos invitas en el mundo. Sopla nueva vida a tu iglesia, para que podamos ser las personas que nos llamas a ser en el mundo que llamas a ser:

Una iglesia de la viuda pobre, la oveja perdida y el arameo errante. Una iglesia del hambriento, el sediento y el extranjero.

Una iglesia del desnudo, el enfermo y el encarcelado. Haz “algo nuevo” con nosotros y a través de nosotros, para que podamos ser una comunidad de esperanza, consuelo y bienvenida; una señal viva del camino que estás abriendo en el desierto. Amén.

 

The following is a newsletter update from Rev. Kyle & Ånna Svennungsen, ELCA missionaries in Slovakia.

 

Greetings dear partners in ministry!

We are writing to you from Bratislava, Slovakia. At Bratislava International Church, our theme for Lent is ‘Walking with Jesus: Repentance, Reconciliation, Restoration.’ This theme was chosen before the war in Ukraine began and it has taken on a whole new meaning in these last four weeks. Not only is there need for repentance, reconciliation, and restoration with our Creator; but also with one another.

Someone once said, “Sometimes in the worst of times, you see the best in people.” Despite how the world aches each day from more news of innocent lives being destroyed in Ukraine, we also see God at work in so many ways as a result of this war. We see people from around the world opening up their homes to Ukrainian refugees. We see donation centers overflowing with goods to be shipped to Ukraine or for refugees to pick up supplies as needed. We see free transportation offered for any Ukrainian refugees from the surrounding countries as they flee in search of safety. This is just a snapshot of the many other efforts we see from so many kind people. It seems the world is certainly walking with the people of Ukraine during these dark days, just like we believe Jesus is walking with them too.

We have been blessed to be able to buy goods and deliver them to donation centers. These donation centers put out new lists daily that call for items of greatest need. Kyle has volunteered at a donation center that organizes thousands of goods from clothing, to toiletries, to non-perishables and more. Some of these goods are shipped directly to Ukraine and other goods shared with refugees in our own community. Many of our friends here have opened up their homes to refugee families, people they’ve never met but happily welcomed. Others in our congregation have paid for hotel rooms that serve as temporary housing for refugee families.

The main train station in Bratislava has an ‘Info Point’ setup for all the Ukrainian refugees arriving there. Ukrainians can travel for free on regional trains and other public transportation in all of the neighboring countries. Some refugees have attended worship with us and we have helped with putting some up in hotel rooms. Many are unsure of where they are going, or where they might want to settle, and are unsure of when and if they will be able to return to their home.

Once they claim refugee status/seek asylum in a country, they cannot leave that country. It is a big decision for refugees to make when they are already overwhelmed from fleeing their war torn country. Many are mothers with children and the elderly who have just left behind the men in their life; husbands, fathers, brothers, uncles, etc. These people are simply overwhelmed and exhausted. At the train station, they often collapse from pure exhaustion as they exit the trains. There is always a crisis team available to help with psychological and medical needs. At the Info Point, there are also people from the city office ready to offer assistance with housing, legal aid, and information about the city and the immigration process. A local cell phone company has even offered free SIM cards so refugees can use their cell phones.

There are two waiting rooms designated for the refugees; a family room and a general waiting room. In them are free microwave meals, coffee, tea, mattresses, blankets and more. The family room is mainly for mothers and children to use as they wait for their next train or need a place to spend the night. There are mattresses, travel cribs, high chairs, changing tables, toys, a TV with kids shows and movies, and couches. There are also free clothes, strollers and baby carriers for them to take if they need them. It is a helpful place of rest for these tired mothers and families.

Ånna organized a group from church to clean, disinfect, and organize these waiting rooms. They watched as families came and went, finding hope in the excited faces of children when they saw all the toys. It seemed to be for them a sense of something familiar in an unfamiliar time and place. They were even able to play with the children, and give just a moment’s break to their mothers. It is almost unbelievable for us to imagine what they are going through, but then we witness it with our own eyes. The strength and resilience we see in these mothers is truly inspiring. The bravery of the men who stay behind to defend their country, their home, leaves us in awe. We’ve heard their stories first-hand and see them walking with Jesus in bold ways. But most of all, we see Jesus in them and their experience, and our call to walk with them.

As we journey through the rest of this Lenten season, we invite you to notice with us all the ways in which the Ukrainian people walk with and embody Jesus. Be bold in your own response to walk with and embody Jesus for those in need in your community too. And most of all, we invite you to join us in unceasing prayer for peace to rise from the ashes of this war as soon as possible. Pray with us that leaders may see reason and the extreme toll this is taking on so many innocent people. Thank you for your concern and prayers. Your support carries us through each day. Know that even though we do it 5,000 miles apart, we are walking with you through this trying time and praying for you every step of the way.

 

 

Lutheran Disaster Response is responding to the humanitarian crisis in Eastern Europe in partnership with the Lutheran World Federation and other local and global partners.