John Wertz, Blacksburg, VA

Warm-up Question

Share a song that you really love and say why you love it.

Magnifying Lens

Chances are you are looking at these words on a screen or that you looked at them on a screen prior to printing them out. According to a study released by the JAMA Pediatrics in November 2021, screen time for teenagers has increased during the pandemic from 3.8 hours per day to 7.7 hours per day. The 7.7 hours per day is for recreation (gaming and videos) and social interaction (social media and texting).  That does not include online schooling, which can represent another 5-7 hours per day.

With increased screen time, comes the potential for an increase in other problems. According to some studies of adolescents, an increase in screen time correlated with an increase in stress and worry, along with a decline in the ability to cope with stress and worry.  In addition, large amounts of screen time can impact sleep patterns and an individual’s eye health.  For example, a study of 120,000 children 6-8 in China indicated that myopia (nearsightedness) had increase at a rate in 2020 that was 3 times higher than in previous years.

Given the extraordinary number of screens in the world and the continued need to connect digitally because of the pandemic, it seems unlikely that levels of screen time will returning to pre-pandemic levels.  So how should we respond?  Dr. Michael Rich, director of the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital and associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School suggests “increasing non-screen time throughout the day. This could happen at the dinner table, while doing homework, and especially during sleeping hours.”

Some experts noted that there are simple steps to preserve the eyes, such as having good lighting at home and following the 20/20/20 rule when using electronic devices.  That means taking a break every 20 minutes to look at an object at least 20 feet away for 20 consecutive seconds. While it will take years of study to determine the exact impact that increased screen time is having on our lives and our health, the initial studies certainly seem to indicate that managing our screen time more actively is an excellent idea.

Discussion Questions

• How has your screen time changed over the last two years?
• What steps have you taken or could you take to create a healthy balance between screen time and non-screen time?

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Micah 5:2-5a

Hebrews 10:5-10

Luke 1:39-45 [46-55]

(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

If you have ever worn glasses or looked through a magnifying glass, you know that magnification often makes images clearer and easier to see. The image being magnified does not change, of course, but an outside magnifier makes a big difference in our ability to understand what we are seeing. 

We live in a time when problems are increasingly magnified on all of our screens. For example, issues around COVID-19, racial injustice, and social inequity leave some people feeling hopeless and helpless.  But what if we had an outside magnifier, so that instead of hatred, anger, sadness and despair,  we see the peace, mercy, joy, and hope which God desperately wants for all God’s people?

When Mary, the mother of Jesus, first meets the angel, she struggles to see clearly what God is doing in Jesus.  But by the time Mary reaches Elizabeth, Mary’s life is becoming a lens which magnifies God’s love and makes God’s vision for creation clearer and sharper.

In response to Elizabeth, Mary boldly proclaims, “The mighty one, has done great things for me . . ., his mercy is for those who fear him . . . . He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty” (Lk 1:49-53).

 Through Mary’s eyes, we glimpse a promised future very different from Mary’s present and from the present many people know today.

Through Mary’s eyes, we discern the possibility that God works through the unexpected, the unlikely, and the lowly to bring extraordinary change and hope to the world. 

Through Mary’s eyes, we see God’s vision for a kingdom where the lowly are lifted up, the hungry are fed, and all receive justice.

Her joyful, confident words help us see what she sees.  Hearing Mary’s song doesn’t change our situation, but her faithful witness magnifies God’s love for the world and brings into focus God’s vision of a world where all people enjoy a life filled with peace, mercy, justice, and hope.

Discussion Questions

• Mary goes to see Elizabeth for support during a difficult time. How do you find support and help when you are worried or anxious?
• What does it look like for the lowly to be lifted up in today’s world?
• If you were singing a song about God’s presence in the world today, what style of music would it be? What would the title of the song be?

Activity Suggestions

Possibility 1: Mary’s song is often called the Magnificat. It has been interpreted and set to music countless times across the centuries. Search for ‘The Magnificat’ on YouTube or talk to the musician at your church and identify 3 or 4 different version of the song in different styles. Listen to each version and invite to group to share:

• Which version they enjoyed most?
• What made that version the most enjoyable?

Possibility 2: Download a set of extreme close-up pictures. Here’s an example from Reader’s Digest: https://www.rd.com/list/everyday-objects-close-up/. Show the pictures to the group and invite participants to try and guess what each picture represents. As a part of the discussion during the game, invite participants to consider how the magnification helps change the way one sees an object. 

Closing Prayer

Open our eyes, O God, to see your love for the whole world. Inspire us to reflect and magnify your love through our words and our actions. Help us to know that you are with us in the ups and downs of life and to help to see the ways you call us to serve you in the world. Amen.

Advent week 3

“In reply [John the Baptist] said to them, ‘Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.'”

-Luke 3:11

This Advent reflection is part of ELCA World Hunger’s 2021 Advent Study and ELCA World Hunger’s weekly Sermon Starter emails. You can download the full study here. You can also download the corresponding advent calendar here. You can sign up for the weekly Sermon Starter emails here on the right side of the page if on a computer or near the bottom of the page if viewing from a phone.

Reflect

In December 2019, then-Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that would have increased restrictions on eligibility and caused the loss of benefits for many Americans. In doing so, he told reporters that the changes would help move “more able-bodied recipients off of SNAP benefits toward self­

sufficiency.” His argument, like so many arguments against SNAP and other public assistance programs, was that these programs make people dependent rather than self-sufficient.

There’s nothing new in this (though one might wonder how “sufficient” the average SNAP award of $121 per month was at the time). For decades, self-sufficiency has been celebrated as the ideal marker of success. In 2019, Ken Cuccinelli, acting director of

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, famously altered the words of Emma Lazarus enshrined on the Statue of Liberty when he defended new restrictive immigration policies: “Give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet and who will not become a public charge,” he opined. His message was clear: self-sufficiency is not just an ideal but a prerequisite for being part of American society.

By contrast, our faith is rooted in the idea that we are not self­ sufficient but dependent and interdependent. Advent is the story of a dependent people being saved by God for the very reason that we could not save ourselves. We were and have always been dependent. From the first humans in Eden, relying on the gifts of the Creator, to our ancestors, wandering in the wilderness totally dependent on the protection and provision of God, Scripture is the story of God with us – because we can’t do it alone.

In the Gospel reading for the third Sunday in Advent, John the Baptist chastises the crowd, calling them a “brood of vipers” and comparing them to chaff – the waste from processing wheat – that would be left on the threshing floor. When they ask what they ought to do, John’s response is intriguing. He doesn’t advise them to pray harder or attend synagogue more frequently. Rather, he urges them to restore their relationships with one another. In short: share and be fair. Share with one another (Luke 3:11) and be fair in your business dealings (Luke 3:13-14). John’s response is to recognize and respect our dependence on one another. When we are in need, we depend on the generosity of others. And in daily life, our well­ being depends on trusting others to act justly.

The early church took this to heart. In the book of Acts, we learn that the first Christian communities “had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need” (Acts 2:44-45). This kind of sharing distinguished Christian communities for centuries afterward.

For early Christians, dependence on one another went beyond just being nice. It was deeply rooted in the common understanding of property, human nature and God. Charles Avila, in his masterful book Ownership: Early Christian Teaching, describes how, for the early writer Clement of Alexandria, the purpose of property was twofold: autarkeia, or the ability to care for ourselves, and koinonia, the obligation to care for others in the community. Ultimately, Clement says, we are created for koinonia, for community.

Autarkeia, the “self-sufficiency” provided by property, finds its truest meaning in the freedom it provides us to care for each other. No one can live, let alone thrive, without help from others.

The COVID-19 pandemic reminded us of this interconnectedness. Even as we kept physical distance, the deep needs that stemmed from the pandemic couldn’t be ignored. Hunger around the world increased dramatically. In the United States, food insecurity and economic insecurity led to massive spikes in the numbers of people using food pantries and other community assistance resources.

Ellie Puente saw this firsthand in her community in Fuquay­ Varina, N.C. When the pandemic hit, she worried about her son’s friend, Carlos, and his family. She knew Carlos’ family had trouble

making ends meet, and the pandemic only made the situation more challenging. Ellie met with a friend and a few teachers from the school where she volunteers. Together, they identified 20 families, including Carlos’, that were in need. They rounded up donations and started making daily deliveries of lunches and other food supplies to their neighbors. Every time they thought they would run out of money to pay for food, local supporters stepped in.

Abiding Presence Lutheran Church became a partner in the school’s program and provided food for the families with the help of a Daily Bread Matching Grant from ELCA World Hunger.

Their relationship with the families has been crucial during the pandemic. “Our food delivery program has been instrumental in meeting a physical need by providing food to our families,” says Ellie. “More importantly, our food delivery program has helped us create a deeper connection with families……………… [The] families know we

love them, and they know they belong.”

The sharing that John the Baptist called his early followers to practice, and that Ellie, Abiding Presence and the school practiced, is about more than the things we distribute. It’s about who we are created and called to be. As this Advent season reminds us, God promises not that we will be fine on our own but that we will be made whole in reconciled and transformed relationships with God and one another. From the joy of Zechariah in the second week

of Advent to the proclamations of John the Baptist this week, the message of Christ’s coming is that we can’t do it on our own – nor do we have to.

The pandemic has shone a spotlight on the ways we depend on one another and showed us just how effective we can be when we recognize that interdependence and respond to it in love.

Ask

1. How are the terms “self-sufficiency” and “interdependence” related? How are they different?
2. In your own life, how has the support, care or presence of others helped you? Thinking about it another way: in the story of your life, who else might play an important part?
3. How might the work of Ellie’s school and Abiding Presence Lutheran Church have helped the families “know they belong”? How is your congregation helping your neighbors feel welcomed and supported in your community?
4. In what ways has the COVID-19 pandemic reminded you of our dependence on God and one another?

Pray

Gracious God, you have brought your people together into one community, reconciling us in Christ one to the other. Forgive us for the times when we have isolated ourselves or others, and inspire us with the love that binds us together. When we feel alone, remind us that we are loved. When we are estranged, remind us of your love for others. Bless us with the memory of our dependence on you and each other this Advent, that we may be part of the community you have created in our midst. In your name, we pray. Amen.

Children’s Sermon

By Pr. Tim Brown for ELCA World Hunger Sermon Starters

In response to this coaxing work that God in Christ does upon us, follow the suggestion that ELCA World Hunger’s Advent Action Guide suggests on page 6 and debut one of the posters that gives testimony to what your gifts to ELCA World Hunger does in the world. 

Pre-order one of the posters ELCA World Hunger provides, and have it on hand, rolled up behind your back.

“Hi all!  I’m so glad you’re here today.” Hold the poster out of sight. “Today we are introduced to someone very wild, very interesting, does anyone know who it is?”

Allow time to field responses.

“Yes! John the Baptizer. He was loud and proud and was baptizing people in the River Jordan. Come here, let me show you something…” Invite the youth to the baptismal font, keeping the poster behind your back. “John the Baptizer was baptizing people, just like we do right here at this font. He was baptizing them into a new way of life, reminding them that God loved them and invited them to live like they are loved.”

“And you know what loved people do?  They love other people!  Loved people love people.  How do you show your love to someone?”

Allow time for them to answer.

“Right, they do all those things.  Want to know one of the ways our congregation, all together, loves people?  We give part of our offering to ELCA World Hunger <unveil poster> and we help feed others around the world, or help them get jobs, or help them afford homes.  Being baptized reminds us that we’re loved by God, and loved people love people, and so we love people all around the world through giving support to ELCA World Hunger. I’m going to hang this poster out there <point to the narthex> so that we can remember how loved people love people the rest of the month, but I want to tell you a surprise. Ready?  Come close”

<whispered> “You are all loved, and loved people love people. And those people out there?  They need to remember that they are loved. Dip one finger in the font, and go up to them and draw a cross on their forehead, saying, ‘Loved people love people.’ Can you do that?  Ready? Go!”

The Shoulder to Shoulder campaign and its partners are calling out the behavior of Congresswoman Lauren Boebert and others for what has become a pattern of dangerous anti-Muslim bigotry.

In a press release on December 3rd, Shoulder to Shoulder’s Executive Director, Nina Fernando, stated that, “Islamophobia and anti-Muslim discrimination is not a joke; it is dangerous and it can be deadly. Fueling fear and spreading hate and misinformation about Islam and Muslims can and must be condemned by our nation’s leadership as a bipartisan effort. Disagreeing politically does not give us license to dehumanize one another.”

This press release was followed by an op-ed authored by the campaign’s co-chairs, Kathryn Mary Lohre and Rabbi Esther Lederman, on December 8,  which is shared in its entirety with permission below. The original article can be found here.

—

Boebert’s anti-Muslim bigotry betrays our Christian and Jewish values

by Kathryn Mary Lohre and Rabbi Esther Lederman

As Jewish and Christian faith leaders, we condemn Congresswoman Lauren Boebert’s recent anti-Muslim remarks and her ongoing pattern of religious bigotry. Not only is this kind of behavior dangerous, it can be deadly. We are particularly alarmed that this rhetoric is coming from one of our elected leaders, whose job it is to serve the American people. We find it incompatible with her Christian convictions, and the calling we share as people of faith.

Anti-Muslim bigotry, hate crimes, and incitement to violence are widespread issues in our nation. According to a 2020 report from the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, American Muslims are the most likely group to experience any religious discrimination. In addition, half of American Muslim families with children in public schools reported that a child of theirs had been bullied for their faith in the past year. Even more egregious, one-third of those bullied were at the hands of a teacher or school official.

More than a decade ago, American Jews and Christians came together with American Muslims to work to end anti-Muslim bigotry through the Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign. Sadly, the urgency of the campaign has only increased since our organization was formed. What is promising is that the campaign has grown in stride, along with the resolve of faith leaders at local, regional, and national levels. Shoulder to Shoulder connects, equips, and mobilizes American people of all faiths and backgrounds to more effectively address, counter, and prevent anti-Muslim discrimination. We encourage and support relationship building across differences, we resource and train people of faith on these issues, and we amplify faith voices in the public sphere. As the co-chairs of the campaign, we urge you to join us in this urgent work of equipping yourselves to lead with “faith over fear” in your own community.

A Pew Research Center poll released earlier this year indicated that 78% of Americans know that Muslims face “a lot” of discrimination, second only to Black Americans. (Though of course, many Black Americans are Muslim!) The research further indicates that this is a bi-partisan concern. So why be silent? Why allow this discrimination to fester and grow only to embolden those who are filled with hate, like the man who left a voicemail for Rep. Ilhan Omar with a chilling racist death threat after Rep. Lauren Boebert’s refusal to apologize for her bigoted remarks? Why not work to counteract this dangerous — if not deadly — narrative by uplifting American Muslim contributions to everyday society, to medicine and science, public policy and law, community service, and bridge-building? We will not stand by while anti-Muslim tropes are used to diminish and destroy who Muslims are, and have always been, in our shared American society.

There is a beautiful confluence in our faith traditions this week that gives us hope for a better way. In recent days, Jews lit the final candles during Channukah, remembering their peoples’ struggle for religious freedom. Christians are also lighting candles to mark this time of Advent — of anticipation — when the angels declared “peace on earth” at the birth of the Christ child. Here in the United States, we are experiencing, yet again, the capacity for light to disperse the darkness of these days. When we join together, the glowing light of our traditions will guide us together in prayerful action for peace and religious freedom in the present.

We encourage you to join us in speaking up alongside our Muslim neighbors against religious bigotry of any form, and especially against anti-Muslim hate: Call and hold our elected leaders accountable to our shared American ideals. Encourage house leaders to hold Rep. Boebert to a higher standard of leadership. Engage in ongoing work of Shoulder to Shoulder with other faith partners in your local context to end anti-Muslim discrimination and violence. Anti-Muslim bigotry betrays our Jewish and Christian values and it betrays our American ideals.

—

Kathryn Mary Lohre is the Executive for Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations in the Office of the Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Rabbi Esther Lederman is the Director of Congregational Innovation for the Union for Reform Judaism. Lohre and Rabbi Lederman are also the Co-Chairs of the Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign.

Situation:

Since the beginning of November, refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria have been stuck at the Belarus-Poland border. To retaliate against European Union sanctions, Belarus is granting refugees seven-day visas, then forcing the refugees into other countries, such as Poland. Polish soldiers aren’t letting the migrants into the country, leaving them in limbo at the border. They are experiencing a lack of food, medical supplies and shelter and are facing winter weather with no place to go.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Response:

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Belarus is providing assistance to refugees by distributing warm clothes, food and other essential items. There are also volunteers who speak Arabic and other languages to help communicate with the refugees. Further support from Lutheran Disaster Response will allow the church to provide mattresses, bedding, clothes, food and hygiene items to over 1,000 migrants.

Be a part of the response:

Pray
Please pray for people who have been affected by the refugee crisis in Belarus. May God’s healing presence give them peace and hope in their time of need.

Give
Thanks to generous donations, Lutheran Disaster Response is able to respond quickly and effectively to disasters around the globe. Your gifts to Lutheran Disaster Response (Middle East and Europe Refugee Crisis) will be used to assist refugees seeking safer lives.

Connect
To learn more about the situation and the ELCA’s response:

• Sign up to receive Lutheran Disaster Response alerts.
• Check the Lutheran Disaster Response blog.
• Like Lutheran Disaster Response on Facebook, follow @ELCALDR on Twitter, and follow @ELCA_LDR on Instagram.
• Download the situation report and share as a PDF.

Alex Zuber, Harrisonburg, VA

Warm-up Question

When have you had a real “wake up call”?

Happy Advent You Brood of Vipers

It’s been nearly two years since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Many have grown weary and complacent as the global crisis wears on.  But our challenges are not over; just this week a new variant, dubbed “Omicron”, has been identified by South African scientists.  In an address to the nation, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said, “The emergence of the Omicron variant should be a wake-up call to the world that vaccine inequality cannot be allowed to continue.” 

While many have grown weary, President Ramaphosa calls on the world to wake up, seek equity, and build up one another in the struggle against this virus.  Lack of access to the COVID vaccine will affect the poorest of the global populations first.  Ramaphosa argues that shutting down travel will only hurt the physical and financial health of nations who are beginning to see the Omicron variant, many of whom need support in producing the COVID-19 vaccine.  This disparity in vaccine distribution will cost lives.  While inequity may not be on the list of COVID-19 symptoms, it can be just as deadly as the virus itself.  It’s easy to focus only on physical disease symptoms.  But after all this time, we may need to wake up to the other crises of inequity and injustice which make this pandemic so deadly.

Discussion Questions

• Did you know about inequity in vaccine distribution worldwide?
• What other deadly challenges do you see alongside COVID-19, and who is being most affected?
• How can you work for equity in access to healthcare in your community?

Third Sunday of Advent

Zephaniah 3:14-20

Isaiah 12:2-6

Philippians 4:4-7

Luke 3:7-18

(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 C at Lectionary Readings.)

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

Gospel Reflection

Right off the bat we see why Hallmark has a robust industry in Christmas cards and not Advent cards.  “Happy Advent, You Brood of Vipers” might not sell too well as a holiday card, but these words are certainly a wake-up call for the audience of John the Baptizer.  

With this abrupt beginning, it seems weird that the reading ends with “So, with many other exhortations, [John] proclaimed the good news to the people.” What part of brood of vipers is good news?  Biblically speaking, calling someone a descendent of the treacherous serpent of Eden is no compliment.  The blow is not softened by the following lines, which proclaim wrath, judgement, and the people’s need to repent.  This is strong language, meant to grab the people’s attention and wake them up to their sinfulness and the suffering in the world around them.

It’s a wonder that John was such a popular preacher.  He essentially begins his sermon with “SINNERS!  Here’s how you’ve got it all wrong!”  Nevertheless, John grabs our attention, and then unquestionably shares the good news. (He really does!)  After this weird viper start, John lays out God’s bold vision for the world.  In this world resources are shared, the wealthy aren’t predatory, and the powerful aren’t violently coercive.  The poor are uplifted and the powerful are humble and responsible with their means.  This is good news!  

The gospel critiques power.  The gospel turns the world upside down and lifts up the lowly.  We who hear this good news are meant to bear witness, so that the gospel holds communities, individuals, and political powers accountable to God’s way of justice. good news, or gospel, is a bold statement from its very inception.  It has deep cultural, personal, and political ramifications which turn everything upside down. 

And isn’t that exactly what John does? Those with possessions, tax collectors, soldiers, you and me…  John doesn’t let us get off easy. He asks great things of those who hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. John turns our self-centeredness upside down. 

This text may seem heavy and out of place.  Here we are, in a season of  hope and joy, expectantly anticipating Christmas.  Today is even called “Gaudete Sunday” across the church, meaning “Rejoice Sunday.”  Yet Advent is more than the run up to Christmas.  John’s message calls us vipers and asks a lot of us.  Still,  this reading gives us reason to rejoice.  Even as John gives us a challenging wake-up call, the Good News is that there IS Good News—even for vipers.

Discussion Questions

• Has there ever been a situation in your life that woke you up to injustice?  If so, share that story and describe what you did, why you did it, and what happened in consequence.
• Have you ever felt challenged rather than comforted by the words of the Gospel?  If so, share how that experience changed your perspective.
• John offers very clear guidance to the tax collectors and soldiers who speak to him. What instruction do you imagine John the Baptist might offer you regarding your own repentance?

Activity Suggestions

Find a friend, neighbor, or member of your congregation and have a one-on-one conversation with them about what concerns they have in their life or their community.  Practice “active listening,”where you summarize their statement with “I hear you say…” or “what I think you’re saying is…”.  Do not offer commentary on their reflections, rather ensure that they are being heard and that you are aware of the needs around you.

Closing Prayer

Wake us up, Lord, to the needs all around us.  As we trust that you hear the cries of our hearts, turn us from our viper-ish ways, and rouse us from our complacency to serve you in thought, word, and deed.  Give us hearts full of rejoicing, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Coordinated with the Lutheran Office for World Community, we are thankful to share a perspective from a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, which are observed between November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and December 10, Human Rights Day.

By guest blogger Regina Fredrick [about the author]

Violence and peace are contagious. Maintaining them depends on one’s decision. A family member who has been raised experiencing one of the two is most likely to act the same toward people around them. One act of peace can change a society, and the same of violence.

Women’s roles and social change

It is said that charity begins at home. Addressing root causes of violence starting from the family as the base, including women, is important. Women are pillars of their communities. Women are leaders, teachers, peacemakers, mediators, advisors, and many other critical roles in society. A woman is the best teacher for those around her if she will be respected and given a chance to play her roles. She has the power to challenge and change social norms which marginalize and/or exclude all members of society from thriving.

Unfortunately, there are a significant number of women in Shinyanga Kahama District where I live who have not achieved their dreams because of deep-rooted social norms that perpetuate gender injustice. Many women say they were asked by their parents to quit school, because it was not valued to educate the girl child, because after a few years she would be married and join another family. It is normal for girls to be asked by their parents to write wrong answers on national examinations so that they won’t go for further studies. These norms foster child-, early- and forced-marriage.

Rippling impacts of gender injustice

Gender inequality and discrimination really have a ripple effect on the lives of women and girls. They disempower and deny women and girls the right to education, health, economic opportunities and decision-making power. Education is a foundational human right. Women and girls should not be robbed of the right to education.

One of the appalling manifestations of gender inequality is gender-based violence (GBV). It is the time of the year when we as Lutherans join other gender justice champions during these 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (#16Days). The theme this year is “Orange the world: End violence against women now!”

The global statistics on GBV are disturbing. According to UN Women, one in three women experience physical or sexual violence, mostly by an intimate partner, within a lifetime. However, this topic tends to only be addressed publicly in the most severe cases. As I reflect on the #16Days theme, I want to share briefly what we are doing in our diocese to address family violence.

Church based actions to prevent violence

Agape English Medium Primary School based in Kahama, which is owned by South East of Lake Victoria Diocese (ELCT-SELVD), is also a good example of family violence prevention pioneering. A child who is living with disabilities, unable to walk, was being cared for by a grandmother who was economically poor. The family used to hide the child at home. The church took initiative and brought the child to a hospital in Dar es Salaam and later enrolled the child in school. Through schooling, the child and family are both happy and thriving. The church supports many other students to pursue their dreams.

It is critical that churches address violence. Family violence can sometimes be perpetrated in secret, like in the case of the child who was stigmatized and denied education because of the disability. Violence may be perpetrated by people economically poor, but poverty is not an excuse for committing violence. It is important to offer education to all people, at all levels, so that everyone understands and addresses GBV.

Call to promote gender justice

As a youth leader in my church, and at the regional level, I join other young people to advocate for an end to GBV and to promote gender justice. Rooting out harmful social norms that have no place in our homes, places of worship or society-at-large is critical. 

We must address gender stereotypes and the underrepresentation of women and young people in leadership level both in church and society. We must all join hands to ensure education opportunities for young people, especially girls. We must address the huge need for youth development, especially in rural communities that lack resources. We must include youth at all levels of decision-making, especially in peace processes, and I have joined my fellow youth of East and Horn of Africa urging this. We must train our young people in conflict prevention and mediation skills at grassroots levels.

We must strive for families and societies free of violence where all can thrive. Let us end violence against women and girls now.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Regina Fredrick is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) and among youth leaders in her South East of Lake Victoria Diocese. She has been a Lutheran World Federation delegate to the 65th UN Commission on the Status of Women and the Generation Equality Forum. In May 2020, Fredrick was appointed to represent ELCT youth in All African Youth Network which is under All African Conference of Churches (AACC).

A teacher by profession, Fredrick has a Bachelor of Science with Education (BScED) from the Open University of Tanzania. She has been working as a teacher since 2011-2020, and she serves as a peace ambassador. Fredrick has also participated in the Pan-African essay writing competition under the theme “Extractive Industries, Gender, and Inequality in Africa.” She has participated in several conferences including AACC’s meeting on youth engagement on gender justice and sexual reproductive health and on the African Union’s “Silencing the Guns in Africa by 2020” initiative.

Advent Week 2

“By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us.”

-Luke 1:78

This advent reflection is part of ELCA World Hunger’s 2021 Advent Study and ELCA World Hunger’s weekly Sermon Starter emails. You can download the full study here. You can also download the corresponding advent calendar here. You can sign up for the weekly Sermon Starter emails here on the right side of the page if on a computer or near the bottom of the page if viewing from a phone.

Reflect

Zechariah’s prophecy in the first chapter of Luke, our reading for this second Sunday in Advent, is sometimes overlooked in favor of the  Magnificat of  Mary in the same chapter. Mary’s song, which we will read later in Advent, is a theological ode to God, who “lift[s] up the lowly” (Luke 1:52). Zechariah’s prophecy, however, is a cry of joy for the God who fulfills God’s promise. Both Mary and Zechariah have longed with their people for this moment, have yearned for

the fulfillment of the promise that we heard on the first Sunday of Advent, when “Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety” (Jeremiah 33:16). Now, as Zechariah proclaims, “the dawn from on high [has broken] upon us” (Luke 1:78).

What does it mean for this new day to “dawn”? All too often, the church has tended to conflate metaphors of light and darkness with good and evil. The darkness of night is tied to fear, uncertainty and even despair, whereas the brightness of day symbolizes hope, joy and, in some cases, wisdom. But Zechariah’s proclamation of the coming dawn reveals more than the difference between light and darkness . Indeed, in much of Scripture the dawning of the day of

the Lord is far from a happy occasion. The prophets Micah and Joel both refer to it as “terrible,” and Amos chastises the people who long for it to arrive.

In the Bible and in life, metaphors of light and darkness are more complex than we sometimes assume. In life, the darkness of night can bring risk and uncertainty, as we heard in Charity’s story in the first session of this Advent study. Yet night can also be a time of rest, a symbol for the end of our labors. For the people of the Bible, living in hot, arid climes, the sun was necessary for growing food but its setting would bring a cool, restorative break.

For many of our neighbors who face housing insecurity, night and day each carry their own risks. As the sky dims, the need to find safe, suitable shelter intensifies. As the day dawns, the threat of eviction or displacement looms.

St. Andrew’s Refugee Services (StARS) in Cairo, Egypt, a ministry supported by ELCA World Hunger, accompanies vulnerable neighbors through these risks. The community­ based organizations supported by StARS are key partners in this work. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced many governmental agencies to close down or scale back their support of refugees

in Cairo, these community-based organizations remained open, providing critical support.

Hala, a 37-year-old Sudanese mother, was one of these neighbors. Her husband passed away during the first wave of COVID-19 in Egypt, leaving Hala to care for their four children. Forced to support them on her own amid the widespread economic uncertainty of the pandemic, Hala soon fell behind in her rent payments.

Knowing she needed some support, Hala turned to Amal School, an organization supported by StARS. Amal School provided her and her family with an emergency grant so that they no longer had to fear eviction. The school also provided Hala with a caseworker who helped her find a job. Now, her family has stable housing, her job provides much-needed income and Hala has the resources she needs to care for her family. She no longer worries about what they will eat during the day or where they will lay their heads at night.

The season of Advent invites us to journey with our historical forebears, such as Mary and Zechariah, and with our neighbors today, such as Hala. This journey is no metaphorical shift between night and day, darkness and light, but a real, lived transformation from the vulnerability we know surrounds us to the promise we know includes us. For Mary, this meant seeing the proud brought low and “the lowly” exalted by God. For Zechariah, it meant seeing the dawn break from on high. For Charity Toksang, in our first session of this study, it meant seeing the sunrise over a health care clinic in Juba, South Sudan. And for Hala and her family, it means sleeping in a home they won’t be forced to leave the next day.

God meets us where we are with a promise – that we will be reconciled, that the world is being transformed, that we

will live safely, securely and abundantly. God also meets us with an invitation – to participate in this reconciliation and transformation in the world.

Where is God meeting you this Advent? And where is God calling you to be in the new year?

Ask

1. What does it mean to be vulnerable? What are some ways Hala and her family may have felt vulnerable? What are some ways you feel vulnerable in this Advent season?
2. What does God’s promise of salvation mean for us today? What will “the dawn [breaking] from on high” look like in our lives?
3. The term “housing insecurity,” used in the reflection above, includes not just homelessness but a variety of obstacles people face in finding a safe, stable and affordable place to live. Consider the terms “housing-insecure” and “homeless.” What’s the difference? What does it mean to have a “home”? What challenges does your community face in ensuring that everyone is “housing secure”?
4. Where is God calling the church to be this Advent? How does our faith call us to accompany neighbors such as Hala as they work toward a better future for their families?

Pray

God of promise, we thank you for the darkness of night and the brightness of day, for the change of seasons, the passing of time and the promised future toward which you lead your world. Be present with us and with our neighbors around the world, especially those left vulnerable by rising costs and declining opportunities. Inspire your church to be part of your work in the world, ensuring that all can enjoy the blessings of safety, security, peace and hope that you provide. In your holy name, we pray. Amen.

Children’s Sermon

By Pr. Tim Brown for ELCA World Hunger Sermon Starters

Today the theme of “names” is noticeable by the Gospel writer. 

Bring in a bunch of, “hello, my name is” name tags and a sharpie marker.  You’ll need enough for each child plus enough for each child to take with them, with a few that are blank, and the rest filled in with “Lovely,” or “Beloved,” or “God’s Child,” or “Wonderfully Made.”

“Hi all!  I’m so glad you’re here today.” Hold the name tags tightly in your hand out of sight. “Does anyone want to guess what I have here?” Give appropriate time for guesses “They are nametags!  Tell me look at one youth What would you like me to write on your name tag? It can be your name, or it can be any name that you really, really like.”

Allow time for them to answer and write it on the tag.

“Anyone else?” Call on another youth “What name would you like?”

Allow time for them to answer and write it on the tag. Now, look out at the adult congregation.

“How about anyone in the seats?  Anyone want a name tag? What would you like on your tag?”

Call on an adult. Allow time for them to answer and write it on the tag.

“In today’s Gospel lesson the writer names all these names: Pontius Pilate. Tiberius. Herod. John the Baptist. Zechariah. They name all these names because they want us to know what was going on in the world and who these people are.  Names are important.  You all have names.  And God knows all of your names!  But you know what?  You also have other names given by God in your baptism, names you might forget.  I want to show them to you, but they’re a surprise, so come in close.”

Invite the youth in close and show them the name tags.

<whispered> “You are all Beloved.  You are all Lovely. You are all Children of God. And you know what?  They are, too. <point to the assembly>  “Each of you take a nametag to wear, and then take a name tag to give to someone out there, so that they can know what they are named by God, too.  Ready? Go!”

Scott Moore, Erfurt, Germany

Warm-up Question

When did you have difficulties getting in, on, or around some thing or some place?

Barrier-Free Love

Two years after the original projected date of completion, the Minoru Centre for Active Living in Richmond, VA is open. It’s not every day that a community gets a new center for events with indoor swimming facilities. It’s also not every day that such community centers win international prizes for their accessibility. The Minoru Centre, however, is one such place. The award was presented in Cologne, Germany by the International Olympic Committee, International Paralympic Committee, and International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities. Over 80 architectural projects from all around the world competed for prizes in various categories. The Minoru Centre is a wonderful example of how to make a facility accessible for everyone. 

Pam Andrews, herself someone who faces various mobility issues, sits on the city’s design advisory panel. She brings a needed voice for the principal of universal access – for people of “all ages and all stages” of life. Universal access embraces the design vision that all aspects of a building can be accessed and used by everybody. 

Some of the accessibility features at the Minoru Centre for Active Living:  barrier-free front doors, accessible reception centers, ramps and “gentle steps,” as well as mobile lifts into the pool. Andrews’ advice for designers is that they should be, “focusing on universal design, focusing on one fit for everybody, no matter what their age, no matter what their needs, no matter what their abilities.” 

Discussion Questions

• When have you noticed someone struggling to get into a building? In and out of a vehicle?
• Where have you noticed people getting help from service animals (seeing-eye dogs, etc.)?
• What are other things you have noticed related to accessability–or the lack of it?

Second Sunday of Advent

Malachi 3:1-4

Philippians 1:3-11

Luke 3:1-6

(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

Luke’s gospel is a story about the good news of Jesus. Luke wants us to know that Jesus is the Lord that the prophet Isaiah was talking about when he said, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” And, John, son of Zechariah, is the one preparing Jesus’ way. 

John is out there preaching, baptizing,  and inviting people to turn their lives around to meet the Lord, who is on his way. The prophet Isaiah paints an amazing picture of how extreme this preparation should be. “Every valley should be filled. Every mountain and hill made low. The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth.” Any barrier for the Lord should be removed. Jesus’ way is barrier free. 

This image is about making it easy for Jesus to get where you are now. This image is not just about little changes. It is about big things, too. Every valley, that means even the Grand Canyon. Every mountain and hill, that means the Rockies and the Alps and even Mount Everest. Crooked, straight. Rough, smooth. No twisty-turny roads to get lost on. No bumpy stony roads to stumble on. Easy access. And this access is a two-way street. If Jesus’ way to us should be made barrier free, then the same goes for our access to Jesus. Nothing should stand in the way of getting to Jesus. John the Baptist’s task, according to Luke, is to preach forgiveness for all who turn to Jesus, no matter where they find themselves in life.  

Many things in our lives get in the way of hearing God’s word of forgiveness in Jesus. Sometimes it is the voice whispering in our ears, words of unworthiness. Perhaps it is the memories of traumatic things which keep us from believing that the way to Jesus’ love is easy. Maybe it is teachings we’ve heard which suggest that God’s love is not meant for us because of how we look or who we love. So we think God’s forgiveness is not meant for us. 

Isaiah’s words are about extreme, barrier-free love. That seems too good to be true. God couldn’t possibly love me or him or her or them. Or could God, indeed, love any of us at any time, all the time? How many people do we know who find themselves living in a wilderness of their own making, desperately needing to hear a voice crying out into their wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord!”? God’s love constantly breaks into the world and Luke points to it. Isaiah points to it. Others around us point to it. We, too, can point to “barrier-free Jesus, for ourselves and for others in the world around us. 

Discussion Questions

• Where do you sense barriers to God’s love in your own personal life?
• When have you experienced easy access to God’s love? Who helped prepare the way of the Lord in those situations?
• When have you sensed when the church has put up more barriers than been barrier free in its preaching and teaching?
• Where do you think you can work to “fill valleys and flatten hills” to prepare the way of the Lord?

Activity Suggestions

With the group, check out your own church’s accessibility. Here a few questions to help you assess your own church: 

• How easy is it for people with walkers or wheelchairs or stroller to get into church? How about getting into a pew or chair?
• Can someone in a wheelchair easily participate in leading worship?
• What about those with challenges in hearing and seeing in your worship context?
• How barrier-free is your church’s online presence?
• What steps does your church take to make sure that everyone can understand the sermon and participate fully in the worship experience?

Closing Prayer

Ever loving God, you made yourself more accessible to us in taking on our humanity in the person of Jesus. By reaching out to us, you have made it easier for us to reach out to you. Take away the barriers between us and you, and between us and those around us. When we turn away from you, call us back into your loving embrace. We ask this in the name of one who breaks down barriers with the most powerful love, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

All Creation Sings, the worship and song supplement to Evangelical Lutheran Worship, released in late November 2020. The church was entering Advent at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic; vaccines were not yet available. Most of our assemblies were worshiping online.

As we approach Advent 2021, the pandemic lingers. Yet during the past year —amid tumultuous world events and an ever-changing church—many congregations have discovered that alongside well-known treasures, new words and melodies help us voice both praise and lament in these days.

The ELCA Worship Staff would like to know how you’ve gotten to know All Creation Sings since its release last Advent.

• What is a newly discovered hymn or song that has worked very well in your assembly?
• Have you used elements of Settings 11 or 12 over this past year? Has a spoken prayer or piece of liturgical music from these settings become a new favorite in your assembly?
• What All Creation Sings hymn text has inspired your preaching over this past year?
• Have you used any of the thanksgivings, laments, or additional prayers in your assembly? In what context?
• What hymn/song do you look forward to introducing this Advent or in the year to come?

Perhaps you have something else to share with others, a story about how this resource has been welcomed into your worshiping community or has inspired your own ministry.

Tell us about it!

Email us at worship@elca.org. Or post on social media using #AllCreationSings. We may invite you to write a blog post to share your story with others.

The All Creation Sings family of resources has grown since last Advent. If you have not yet discovered these additional resources, be sure to visit www.augsburgfortress.org/allcreationsings to learn more.

We are encouraged to learn about residential and boarding schools, honor survivors, and remember those who never made it home from the schools in “Telling and Teaching the Truth: The Church’s Obligation to Education about the Ongoing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery” presented by the ELCA with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, Anglican Church of Canada, and The Episcopal Church (September 2021). The open letter expressing commitment notes: “Our churches’ work to repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery begins with the costly work of telling the truth.” We are thankful for truth-telling from our guest blogger in this Native American Heritage Month.

By guest blogger the Rev. Manuel Retamoza [about the author]

As both a member of the Cherokee nation and a first-generation Mexican American, news stories from the southern border in 2018 were more than just headlines for me.

Headlines were made when the news broke about the practice during the previous executive administration of separating immigrant children from their parents at the southern border. We all saw images and heard stories of children, even babies, being held in squalid conditions while being processed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. There was a public outcry against the dehumanizing practice of forcefully removing children from their parents, which led to protests on both sides of the border.

These stories tap into the deep, largely unacknowledged, pain that Indigenous peoples in the United States have carried for generations around the governmental and the church practice of forcefully removing Native American children to send them to residential boarding schools. The philosophy of one of these institutions, The Carlisle School in Pennsylvania, was “Kill the Indian, save the man.”

History Repeating

I was overwhelmed with empathy for these Central American (often also Indigenous) children, many of whom I met when I volunteered at a shelter here in San Diego, knowing that this is a repeat of our country’s history. Whether it was the separation of families at our border or with our Indigenous children who were taken from their communities to boarding schools, separating children from their families has been used to implement harm and family devastation for 500 years by those who colonized this land we call Turtle Island.

Recently I preached at the Vine Deloria Jr. Theological Symposium at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. We gathered around the theme “On Our Way to Truth and Healing.” In my sermon, I reflected on Jesus’ words in Mark 13: “Pray that it may not be in winter. For in those days there will be suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, no, and never will be.” These words also describe my people, the Cherokee – gathered up like livestock – forced out of their homes with nothing but the clothes on their back, held in stockyard-like conditions as the U.S. military prepared to “escort” them 2,000+ miles to what is now Oklahoma. It was in winter when this happened, and many of our elders and children did not survive.

Truth of Indian Boarding Schools

A generation later, children would be taken from their families, only this time to Indian boarding schools. Many of these children never returned. Those who survived endured neglect and abuse by the adults entrusted to care for them. It is here where some of the worst atrocities against Native people took place because we were robbed not only of our children but our future. The goal was to kill and bury our story, our truth. The goal was erasure and elimination, but we are still here.

We can’t sit back and ignore the truth when it is presented to us. Truth once revealed must be struggled with, even the painful truths of what we have done and left undone as a church and as individuals. To not dig deep into the infection that is the atrocities done to Indigenous people is to allow it to continue to fester and prevent real healing. Ultimately, this denial hinders the work of the Holy Spirit in our church.

Need for God’s Grace

By telling the real story and allowing our people to tell their real story we invest in our future by not forgetting our past injustices and work toward healing for our future. It is in sharing the story, both the good and the bad, that we truly discover our need for God’s grace.

MORE

Additional background is available from the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition:
“US Indian Boarding School History” and “For Churches.”

Use our Action Alert, “Indian Boarding School truth and healing needed,” to urge Congress to advance a new commission and study on the devastating legacy of Indian Boarding Schools and develop meaningful steps to heal moving forward.

In October 2021, the ELCA released “A Declaration of the [ELCA] to American Indian and Alaska Native People.” The declaration is a direct result of the social policy resolution, “Repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery, which was passed by the 2016 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. In the declaration, the ELCA acknowledges the theological and Christian foundation of the Doctrine of Discovery, which has codified colonialism and religious intolerance as societal norms for more than 500 years. Direct links and more are available in an ELCA news release.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: The Rev. Manuel Retamoza is senior pastor at St. Andrews Lutheran Church in San Diego, California. He also serves as vice president of the ELCA American Indian and Alaska Native Lutheran Association.