Jeremy Serrano, Concord, CA

Warm-up Questions

• Do you have symbols that are important to you? If so, what are they?
• What do those symbols mean to you?
• How do you show they are important?

What Belongs?

Some people watch the Super Bowl to see the best football teams play each other, but for others it is all about the commercials. The 2021 broadcast was no exception. One commercial from a car company hit all the right points for many in the audience, yet left others feeling uneasy. 

It begins with a wide shot of a long road and man driving down it. After a few seconds of light music in the background, a voice says, “There’s a chapel in Kansas standing on the exact center of the lower forty-eight. It never closes. All are more than welcome to come meet here in the middle. It is no secret that the middle is a hard place to get to lately.” As sweeping shots of Americana imagery glide across the screen of wheat fields, trains, and houses (all with the car companies product in them, of course), the voice continues, “We just have to remember the very soil we stand on is common ground, so we can get there. We can make it to the mountaintop through the desert, and we will cross this divide. Our light has always found its way through the darkness. And there’s hope on the road up ahead.” It is as feel good as a commercial can get, drawing on a sense of collective nostalgia for small town rural America. 

This commercial has some beautiful and touching imagery, and the sentiment behind the speaker’s words is worth pondering. However, for the Christian, there is one image worth questioning. A panning shot inside the chapel shows a lectern with candles in the corner of the room, and, on the back wall, a map of the United States painted as the American Flag. Over the map is a black cross. The two symbols are conjoined as the main focus of the worship space. 

Discussion Questions

• What does the American flag mean to you?
• What does the cross mean to you?
• Do we risk conflating American citizenship with our faith when we mix national symbols with religious ones?

Third Sunday in Lent

Exodus 20:1-17

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

John 2:13-22

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

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

Gospel Reflection

We tend to think of Jesus as more tame and subdued than the author of John shows in today’s lesson. Nevertheless, Jesus enters the temple just before the celebration of Passover and shows that not everything belongs in a worship space. Jesus’ visceral reaction to the sellers and money changers—driving out the animals, pouring out the money collected, turning over the tables—indicates what he feels is appropriate in that space. Just in case his actions are unclear, he says “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a market place!” (John 2:16, NRSV).

The main people involved are the money changers. They are a for-profit group who exchange foreign coins into local currency. Worshippers need to buy the animals for the prescribed ritual sacrifices of the temple, and so their services are much needed. 

The timing in John’s gospel is just before the Passover. The celebration of Passover is a multi-day festival which remembers the time God “passed over” the houses of the Israelites during the last of the ten plagues on the land of Egypt (Exodus 11-12). Passover has been one of the most important holidays for the Jewish people since the time of Moses. 

The setting of Jesus’ outburst is the temple. The temple was more than just a local church in a neighborhood; it was the epicenter of Judaism at the time. The Temple was the center, not only of worship and music, but also of politics and society.  It was the central place of both celebration and mourning. But, most important, God promised that it would be the dwelling place of God among the people.

Jesus’ wrath is not directed against those participating in or leading worship, but against those detracting from it. As evidenced by Jesus’ actions and words, he views the money changers and sellers as desecrators of the temple. Jesus says, “ Stop making the house a market place!” (John 2:116b).

Jesus’ prophetic action calls for the worship of God to not be an activity married to commerce. In this action, he shows that some things are not useful for worship, nor is everything that we do in our places of worship worthy of being there.

What incensed some of the 2021 Super Bowl audience with the car commercial was the presence of national symbols in a worship space. Two thousand years ago Jesus used an important holiday to show that not everything is acceptable in the worship space, even if it is useful. In the synoptic versions of this story, Jesus says, “My father’s house shall be called a house of prayer.” Jesus shows that the people working in the temple forgot to make the main thing the main thing.

Discussion Questions

• Are there any symbols or activities that don’t belong in a Christian worship space? Why not?
• How do we decide what symbols and activities belongs in the worship space?
• Do you think Jesus would cleanse any of our churches?  If so, what would he cleanse?

Activity Suggestions

• While you are online this week, notice where national symbols and religious symbols are intertwined. Pray for both our nation and the Church. 
• Take a moment to read the ELCA resource, “Are Flags Appropriate in church?”
• In worship this Sunday, identify as many symbols you can in worship, including clothing, images, and statues.  Look up what those symbols mean. Or call your pastor and talk to them about it.
• Imagine designing a worship space for your community with only 5 items or symbols.  What would you choose and why?

Closing Prayer

Holy God, you sent Jesus to guide us in all things related to our faith and lives in you.  Show us those things that bring you glory and give us wisdom, through your Holy Spirit, concerning the things that need to be cleansed from us and our communities today. Amen. 

 

In the spirit of accompaniment,  ELCA companion church Igreja Evangélica de Confissão Luterana no Brasil (IECLB) sent a gift to Lutheran Disaster Response to support our response to the winter storms in Texas. The following excerpt is from a letter written by Mauro B. de Souza, the vice president of IECLB to Gustavo Driau, an ELCA regional representative for Latin America and the Caribbean. We are grateful for the generosity and companionship of IECLB. 

Dear Gustavo,

We believe the world is turning dark and cold every day. Darkness and cold are brought not only by climate change or the COVID-19 pandemic, but mostly by oppressive systems that make people believe individualism, selfishness, and hatred are the best ways to solve problems. The Church of Jesus Christ does NOT buy into that. Instead, we believe solidarity, communion, and togetherness should be our only possible response. That is what we have been witnessing in the work of the ELCA and its working units around the world.

Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Following Jesus brings the possibility, the invitation, and the opportunity to be light. At the IECLB, we want to be the light in whatever we do. Of course, we fail more often than not. But we keep on trying.

We many know what it know it means to have no access to running water in Brazil. But it is hard for us to imagine what it means to have frozen water pipes. We just cannot imagine people dying from cold.

The resources we send are accompanied by our prayers. We hope people in need and suffering may feel a little warmer. We hope they know they are not alone.

As a partner of the ELCA, the IECLB has many times over been blessed by all kinds of resources. Right now, we feel we can offer this support. Like other Latin American churches, we want to be seen as small candle lights, shining and pointing to Jesus Christ.

Long story to say: May God bless your work and help the people in need in the cold of Texas. May God strengthen us all so that hearts get warmer and warmer, all over the world.

Sincerely, in the name of the Presidency of the IECLB,

P. Dr. Mauro B. de Souza, Vice-President

 

Honesty

“For [God] did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; [God] did not hide [God’s] face from me, but heard when I cried” (Psalm 22:24).

 

When Kamini Dhurvey was just a child, her mother died and her father remarried. Her stepmother abused Kamini, and her father did not step in to protect her from his new wife. Unprotected and unsafe, Kamini left home when she was older and eventually found a place to rent and a job in a small shop.

Even out on her own, she did not feel safe. Kamini feared that the landlord who owned her residence would hurt her. The security she tried to find in leaving home eluded her. Through a door-to-door survey, Kamini learned about Naari Shakti, a project of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Madhya Pradesh in India supported in part by ELCA World Hunger. Naari Shakti works for gender equality through advocacy for women’s rights, provides training in tailoring and computer skills, and offers emergency medical support to girls and women in vulnerable situations. The project also provides housing assistance and psychosocial support to those who need it.

At the Naari Shakti project office, Kamini found a safe space to tell her story and people who would welcome her. With counseling and support from the project, she was able to leave the place she was renting and move into a hostel for girls. The project later arranged for Kamini to stay in a women’s rehabilitation center, where she is living and pursuing her studies.

Before Kamini moved to the rehabilitation center, project staff tried to contact her father. But her father told the staff that he no longer wanted anything to do with her and that it was up to her to live her life as she wanted. She was no longer welcome in her father’s home. With nowhere else to go, Kamini has found a home at the center. The Naari Shakti program provides her a safe place to live, books and additional support for her education.

Around the world, 690 million people face hunger, and each of them has a story to tell. Hunger is rarely just a matter of lacking food. Rather, it is often a pernicious and persistent symptom of much deeper pain, of much deeper need. Unfortunately, stories like Kamini’s are not uncommon. For women and girls around the world, abuse, violence and inequality lie behind the higher rates of hunger they face. Globally, women are 13% more likely than men to experience food insecurity and almost 27% more likely to be severely food insecure. They are also more likely to be victimized by violence, more likely to do work with little or no pay, and less likely to have access to credit to start a home or business.

If we are going to end hunger, we have to start by being honest about the stories of pain, exploitation, injustice and violence that lie behind it. We must start with honesty about what hunger is and what it is not.

Hunger is not accidental. It is the result of inequality, marginalization and injustice that inhibit one’s ability to access the resources one needs to live.

Hunger is not merely the physical sensation of going without food. It is an insidious reality that affects the whole person — physically, emotionally, psychologically and socially.

Hunger is not merely a calculation of calories. It is a measure of the extent to which a person is constrained in the pursuit of their own well-being.

Ending hunger means being willing to enter into the sometimes painful stories of neighbors in need. It requires that we accompany one another down difficult roads with honesty about what we may find. Lent commemorates Jesus’ journey to the cross and thus demands of us honesty about the death-dealing pervasiveness of sin that would crucify truth in order to silence it. This makes Lent an appropriate season to consider what it will take to arrive at the vision of a just world where all are fed. Lent, after all, is about honesty. In this season, we are called to be honest about the depths of our sin, including the many ways that we, as the church, have fallen short in meeting the needs of our neighbors. Lent is about being honest with ourselves and with others about the depth of need in our world.

And Lent is also a season to be honest about the God who calls to us. In the psalm for this second week in Lent, the psalmist rejoices that God “did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted … [nor] hide [God’s] face from me, but heard when I cried” (Psalm 22:24). In the Gospel story of Jesus’ transfiguration, we hear the voice of God echo over the mountain: “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” (Mark 9:7).

The honesty to which we are called compels us to confront the pain of the world with a vision to transform it. Both the pain of the world and the vision to transform it are clear in the stories of Kamini’s life and the Naari Shakti project. It is the difference between the father who rejects her and the God who welcomes her. To know ourselves as claimed, named and welcomed by God is an act of truth-telling about who we really are — and how much that may differ from who the world thinks we can be. Abuse and rejection are part of Kamini’s story, and accompanying her means being honest about that. But they aren’t the whole of her story, and accompanying her means being honest about that too.

The honesty formed by faith compels us to tell the truth about hunger — and the truth about the God who promises its end. God’s promise of a just world where all are fed pulls us into the world to confront sin in all its forms, refusing to hide from affliction and yet refusing to let affliction be the end of the story for ourselves, our neighbors or our world. It is the honesty of an Easter people, who can deny neither the reality of the cross nor the reality of the empty tomb. To end hunger, we will need to be honest with ourselves about both.

Reflection Questions

1. How have you experienced or felt God sustaining your strength in challenging circumstances?
2. What are some things you hunger for other than food (such as companionship, love and acceptance, or justice, clean air and water)? Does your community provide these things? How might you and your community better provide things that feed people in mind, body and spirit?
3. In the Naari Shakti project, Kamini found the resources she needed to develop her strengths and make meaningful choices for herself and her future. How does your church create opportunities for neighbors to develop their strengths and make meaningful choices for themselves and your community?
4. What kind of honesty will it take to end hunger in your community? Where is there a need for truth-telling and truth-seeking when it comes to the challenges you and your neighbors face?

Prayer

Gracious and loving God, through the power of the cross and the glory of the empty tomb, you bring us the truth of your love for us and for all people. Help us to live into that truth and to share it with the world. Amen.

Learn more and follow ELCA World Hunger’s 40 Days of giving throughout Lent by visiting ELCA.org/40days.

By Ryan Cumming, ELCA Program Director for Hunger Education*

The United States is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, and its economy is by far the largest. Yet, the U.S. has one of the highest rates of child poverty among developed countries, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2019 (the most recent year for data), 14.4% of children – about 10.5 million children – in the U.S. were living in poverty. This is tremendous progress from 2010, when 22% of U.S. children were living in poverty.

God richly provides for our daily bread — the earth can produce enough to feed everyone. Yet many still go hungry. As members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and through our gifts to ELCA World Hunger, we commit to pursuing a world of justice where all are fed. There is much to be done, and new federal proposals about refundable tax credits may be a sweeping policy change that could do more to lower childhood poverty than any other policy measure available.

 

Tax Credits and Poverty

A refundable credit is a tax credit that is refunded to the taxpayer no matter the amount of a taxpayer’s liability. Current examples with refundable tax credit features are the American opportunity tax credit, Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC).

While public safety net programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) often get more attention, refundable tax credits actually have a larger positive impact on poverty. In fact, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that refundable tax credits lifted more than three times as many people out of poverty than SNAP and TANF combined.

There are a lot of reasons for this, especially the reality that SNAP and TANF have strict eligibility requirements and often provide benefits that aren’t sufficient to lift many people’s income above the poverty threshold. But even taking this into account, it’s difficult to overstate the positive impact that refundable tax credits, especially the EITC and the CTC, have had.

In 2019, refundable tax credits helped 7.5 million people avoid poverty in the U.S. Tax credits also reduced child poverty by nearly 5.5%. This means 4 million children in the U.S. were prevented from falling into poverty because of these provisions alone.

When combined with EITC that many states provide, the impact is even larger. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) estimates that these refundable tax credits, taken together, lifted 10.6 million people out of poverty, including 5.5 million children, and helped make another 17.5 million people, including 6.4 million children, less poor in 2018.

The tax credits also impact some of the root causes of long-term risk of poverty. Tax credits like the EITC and the CTC have been linked to a lowered risk of low birthweight for babies, a greater likelihood of a pregnancy going full-term and an increased likelihood of breastfeeding.¹ **Low birth weight is a significant predictor of infant mortality and increases the risk of negative health and economic outcomes even into adulthood.² Other research has found that increases in tax credits can raise student test scores, increase the probability of attending college, raise future earnings, and improve the quality of students’ future neighborhoods.

In short, it is difficult to exaggerate the positive impact refundable tax credits can have on children, families and communities now and well into the future.

 

How Do Refundable Tax Credits Work?

Refundable tax credits allow workers to deduct a certain amount from their annual income tax and then receive a portion of that amount back if the credit is greater than the tax that they owe. In essence, a worker can claim a credit on their taxes and then receive a refund on a portion of that credit. Thus, they have two functions: rewarding work and reducing poverty, especially child poverty.

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC) were first adopted in 1975 and 1997, respectively.

The EITC is available to workers with low to moderate incomes. The amount varies depending on income, marital status and number of children. It grows as a worker makes more money, until it phases out as a tax filer reaches a certain income threshold. For single filers with no children, for example, the maximum income is quite low: $15,820 for the 2020 tax year. Married couples who file jointly and have three children become ineligible when their household income reaches $56,844 (again for tax year 2020). The maximum credit a household can claim varies, too, from $538 (no children) to $6,600 (three or more children). If the credit is greater than what a taxpayer owes in taxes, the IRS refunds the balance to them.

The CTC works similarly, though there are some important differences. The maximum credit a household can receive is $2,000 per child under age 17. If a tax filer has qualifying dependents who are not their children, the maximum credit is $500. To be eligible for the CTC, a tax filer must have at least $2,500 in income. The credit begins to phase out once a single filer reaches $200,000 in income ($400,000 for married couples filing jointly). Like the EITC, if the amount of the credit is greater than the amount a filer owes in taxes, a portion of the credit will be refunded, which again, increases the worker’s overall income.

 

Problems with the EITC and CTC

Despite the impressive impact these credits can have on poverty, there are some challenges with them. With the EITC, the credit and the income limit are both very low for single filers without children. According to the CBPP, about 5.8 million childless adults between 18 and 65 years old are pushed into poverty by the amount they owe in taxes, in part because they are either ineligible for the EITC or because the credit is so meager ($538 in 2020).

The CTC, on the other hand, sometimes falls short of helping families with very low incomes. Workers who earn minimum wage, for example, qualify only for a relatively small portion of the full credit. And if they lose their jobs or wages, as many did due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they can also lose both the EITC and the CTC – right when they may need them the most. Another issue with the CTC is that qualifying dependents must have a social security number, which can leave some noncitizen families ineligible.

 

Current Proposals

The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee is currently considering legislation that would expand and improve the EITC and the CTC.

• For the CTC, the proposed legislation would make the full credit available to children in families with low earnings or no earnings and would increase the credit from $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child and $3,600 per child under six years old. These increases would begin to phase out as workers earned incomes above $112,500 (single filers) or $150,000 (married filers, filing jointly). The proposal would also expand the CTC to include 17-year-olds as qualifying dependents.

These proposed CTC changes alone would lift an estimated 4.1 million children out of poverty in a single year. They would also lift an additional 1.1 million children out of deep poverty (defined as income below 50% of the poverty threshold). That would mean a reduction of child poverty in the U.S. of 40%.

• The proposal would also make needed changes to the EITC, particularly for single workers without children, who remain among the only groups whose tax burdens actually drive them into poverty. Under this proposal, the current maximum credit available to childless workers would increase from $538 to about $1500, and the income limit (at which childless workers become ineligible) would increase from $15,820 to over $21,000.

This EITC change would help raise incomes of the lowest-income earners by about three percent. This would benefit about 17.4 million working, childless adults in the U.S., according to the CBPP.

Sen. Mitt Romney has also proposed expanding the CTC, though his proposal suggests making up for the lost tax revenue by eliminating TANF and the Child and Dependent Care Tax credit. In this proposal, the current CTC would be replaced by a flat tax credit of $250 per month for each child between 6 and 17 years old, and $350 per month for children younger than six, including for four months prior to the child’s birth. An analysis by the Niskanen Center estimates that Sen. Romney’s proposal would reduce child poverty by a third and cut deep poverty for children in half.

 

Where to Go Next

While focus is often on public assistance programs, a wealth of research shows the important role tax credits such as the EITC and the CTC can play in reducing poverty now and in the future. Analyses of the proposals put forward to expand these credits suggest that cutting child poverty in half is entirely possible – with political will and careful legislation.

“Empowered by God, we continue to act, pray, and hope that through economic life there truly will be sufficient, sustainable livelihood for all” (ELCA social statement Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All). In faithful hope, we trust that a just world where all are fed is not just possible but promised. With advocacy³ for justice, that vision can become one step closer to reality.

 

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* Ryan P. Cumming, Ph.D., is the program director for hunger education with ELCA World Hunger. He can be reached at Ryan.Cumming@elca.org.

[1] Hoynes, Miller, and Simon, 2015, Markowitz et al., 2017, and Hamad and Rehkopf, 2015.

[2] Markowitz et al., 2017, and Johnson and Schoeni, 2011.

[3] Use the ELCA Action Alert to contact lawmakers about EITC and CTC in current COVID-19 relief consideration.

‘Wild’ Places

I have been interested in environmental activism, indigenous justice, and decolonization since I was a kid (I was a nerdy and revolutionary child, what can I say?). It became apparent over the course of my time in college and grad school. During my MDiv/MA program, I took a class on Environmental Law and Policy. One of the professors engaged us in a discussion about the early days of environmental policy and the focus on the US’ imagination about wilderness and the Muir-inspired notion of preserving ‘wild’ places.

Somehow (it was me, I did it) the conversation became about the fact that “wilderness” doesn’t exist. Indigenous peoples have been engaging with, traveling over, and altering the surface of the Earth since before European arrival; the ‘noble savage’ cliché in popular imagination came about because the white settlers didn’t perceive changes Native people made to the environment. Because there were no brick buildings, churches, gravel roads, or vehicles, the alterations were invisible to their eyes.

Indigenous Land Intervention

There are many cases of ecosystems suffering from the absence of indigenous intervention, including the increasing frequency and intensity of forest fires and wildfires in California. The reason? Climate change, sure. But until recently, the Chumash and other California tribes were prohibited from performing controlled burns of accumulating debris on the forest floor as their ancestors did for generations.

My explanation receives confused looks from the class, and a dismissive comment from my professor. “I’m unaware of any policy implemented to prevent such interactions, and I don’t know about that history.” I’m certain he wasn’t trying to be rude. He’s a cool guy and I respect him, but it continues to bother me that someone with so much education and experience in environmental law would perpetuate the colonizer narrative about ‘wilderness.’ At the same time, it’s not surprising considering his racial and socioeconomic status.

Reclaiming Rejected History

It’s important for me to converse with white folks about the reality of rewritten or rejected history by colonizers and how that affects what they believe about indigenous peoples and land use. One of my goals is decolonizing educational spaces and reclaiming history as part of the work of environmental justice- working to ensure communities of color and other historically oppressed communities’ health and well-being are no longer ignored or put in harm’s way through the creation or implementation of environmental regulations.

Christian Relationship to Creation

Christianity has a lot to answer for in this regard, and therefore Christians should be involved in seeking environmental justice alongside indigenous peoples. The historic Christian propaganda of “Manifest Destiny,” based in the Doctrine of Discovery (a papal document declaring Christian Europeans’ divine right to seize land from non-Christian Natives via killing, enslaving, and/or converting them) came about because of the white colonial conceptualization of “wilderness.”

Historic efforts to tame the North American wilderness resulted in suppression of traditional ecological knowledge and practices. Many Indigenous communities are working to reclaim their sovereignty and their ancestral relationship with the land. Christians can learn from the traditional conceptualization of relationship with the land, and there are notable efforts by theologians to do so. A Christian theological ethic that incorporates our relationality with Creation into our spiritual imagination could turn us from the colonial idea of “wilderness” to understanding ourselves as part of a sacred community.

 

I pray that the practice of #NoPlasticsForLent brings us to a place of reflection, repentance for the perpetuation of colonialism, and prayer for environmental and racial justice. Amen.

 

Reflection / Discussion Questions:

1) What are some environmental justice issues that you are passionate about? How does your faith inform how you respond to these issues?

2) What spiritual practices have helped deepen your relationship with creation in the past? What practices might you let go of / adopt this Lent?

3) Who are Indigenous leaders in your community? How might you follow their lead in relationship to Creation? How might you learn more / support their work going forward?

4) Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, here I am. (Isaiah 58:6-7)

What are your favorite justice-oriented verses of sections of Scripture? What about verses describing Creation?

If you’re unsure, check out ELCA Advocacy resources for inspiration! https://www.elca.org/Resources/Advocacy#CongregationStudies

 

Taina Diaz-Reyes is the 2020-2021 Hunger Advocacy Fellow with ELCA Advocacy’s DC office. A “Lutheracostal” originally from Tucson, AZ but raised in the DC area, she graduated in 2016 from George Washington University with a BA in Geography and Sustainability, then completed the MDiv/MA in Sustainability dual degree program at Wake Forest University in December 2019. Passionate about using geographic and decolonizing research methods to pursue social and environmental justice, her background includes research in environmental quality and management, the role of science in society and politics, indigenous food sovereignty movements, racial justice, food justice, and decolonization. Her hope is to do doctoral research and theologically informed advocacy to pursue a more sustainable human connection to the Earth and each other through research and writing on food and faith.

Mary Houck, Decatur, GA

Warm-up Question

What do you predict will happen in 2021, and how certain are you that it will happen, on a scale of 1-10?

Seeing Clearly

Uncertainty is unsettling, and we’ve had a LOT of uncertainty lately. We’ve had constantly changing conditions and predictions concerning  the pandemic, on top of  a highly charged presidential election. Businesses are closing and laying people off. Churches and schools open, close, and go hybrid. How many times over the past year have we all wished for a crystal ball that would tell us what the world will be like in a year, a few months, or even in a few weeks?

According to a recent article, by Ruth Graham of the New York Times, there has been a big surge in the popularity of prophecy among some Evangelical Christians. This is a role usually played in stories by gypsies, witches, people cursed by Greek Gods, and that one weird professor in Harry Potter. But even Harry Potter, while attending a school for wizardry, was skeptical of prophecy.  Yet, some Christians in modern America look to pastors and other spiritual leaders to predict when the pandemic will end, who’s going to win the World Series, and when they will find love. 

They are frequently disappointed, as these self-proclaimed “prophets” are seldom right. However, people continue to support them. Even when they get things wrong,  followers stay loyal, hoping the next prophecy will prove true. A temporary feeling of certainty is so valuable that they give money to hear reassurances about the future. 

One modern “prophet” described God like this: “[If his] phone is on the table and he mentions wanting to go on a cruise, for example, the phone ‘hears’ him and starts offering advertisements for cruises, he said. ‘God works the same way,’ he explained. ‘He’s listening to everything you say.’” 

While it’s true that God is always listening and cares deeply about our prayers, God is not an automated service that caters to our desires like Siri or Alexa.

Discussion Questions

• In the warm-up question, did your group mostly make bold and specific predictions (Ariana Grande marries Patrick Mahomes!) or did you play it safe (At the end of 2021, the sun will still be shining)? 
  • What did you consider when deciding how certain you were about your prediction? 
• If you could choose one thing to know about the future, what would it be? If you had to pay or give something up to get this knowledge, what would you be willing to sacrifice? 

Second Sunday in Lent

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

Romans 4:13-25

Mark 8:31-38

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

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

Gospel Reflection

Prophets in the Old Testament were not people with magical knowledge of the future. God sent ordinary people  to remind the people of Israel that they were headed for disaster if they refused to live in a loving community, as God had taught them to do. 

Peter is not usually considered a biblical prophet, but in today’s Gospel text he sure seems to think he knows God’s plan for Jesus. Just a few weeks ago we read that Peter was absolutely floored by the glory of the transfiguration.  God told him and the other disciples present, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him (Mark 2:7)!” Yet here Peter  rebukes Jesus for what Jesus is teaching! He doesn’t manage to listen for long before he decides he knows what is best for Jesus and God’s people. Jesus calls him “Satan” and points out that Peter is focused on human, not divine, things. 

It’s easy for us to get stuck in thinking about “human things.”  Some people listen to anyone who tells them God’s will is aligned with theirs (like the so-called “prophets” described above). Peter doesn’t like all this talk about Jesus suffering, being rejected, and dying.  He is expecting something more along the lines of the transfiguration than the crucifixion. Like him, we tend to project what we want onto what God wants. We tend to think that our favored politician, our opinion on schools opening (or not), our team winning, and our hopes for the future are clearly endorsed by God. When we focus on victory, glory, and self-satisfaction, we are definitely thinking about human things.

As Jesus explains so clearly in verses 35-38, we know our will is aligned with God’s when we expect to give ourselves away completely, in total humility, service, and sacrifice for our neighbors. When we do that,  we can be certain God will do amazing things. 

Discussion Questions

• What do you think Jesus meant when he told the crowd to deny themselves and take up a cross? What kind of sacrifices does Jesus expect from us now? 
• One of the above questions asked what you’d be willing to give to have special knowledge about the future. What are you willing to sacrifice for a future that is uncertain, but where God is in charge? 

Activity Suggestions

• Write a letter to your future self (6 months away) saying at least three things you hope for in that time and giving yourself encouragement. Ask your group leader, a parent, or a friend to give it back to you at the appropriate time.
• We tend to think of our lives as a narrative that follows a familiar pattern we learn from our families, books, movies, and TV shows.  But God sees many more possibilities. Starting with wherever you are in your school/work/family life, write a “choose your own adventure” story that imagines many different possible futures. You can do this by yourself or as a group, in which each member contributes a different possible chapter to the story. 
• Decide on a faith practice you can do, either alone or with a group, (for example, prayer, meditation, fasting, service to the community, singing or playing sacred music) that you can take up for the rest of Lent, with the goal of knowing God better and asking God to show you God’s will for your life. 

Closing Prayer

Gracious God, focus our minds and hearts on divine things and give us the courage to let go of human things. Give us confidence in the future you have planned for us, even if it is different from what we envision for ourselves. Amen.

 

 

We are excited to introduce the four recipients of ELCA World Hunger Big Dream Grants for 2021!

ELCA World Hunger’s Big Dream grants, one-time gifts of $10,000 to $75,000, support ministries in the United States and Caribbean as they pursue innovative and sustainable approaches to ending hunger. Together, we celebrate the ways God is working through these ministries and their “big dreams” for their communities.

Around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated economic repercussions have brought into focus the weaknesses in the systems and structures intended to ensure that basic human needs are met. In the United States, unemployment, under-employment and healthcare costs are high, and hunger is on the rise. In 2021, ELCA World Hunger’s Big Dream grants will support ministries that are boldly working to uproot, transform or re-envision the structures and norms that perpetuate disparities in access to resources and result in 77% of low-income Americans living without the savings to cover costs when an emergency arises.

Introducing the ELCA World Hunger Big Dream Grants for 2021:

Posada

Pueblo County, Colorado

For 33 years, Posada has been providing shelter, housing and supportive services to people experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless in Pueblo County, Colorado.  The focus of Posada’s service delivery is the provision of housing and supportive services, which includes referrals for food assistance, food banks and more, with a special focus on food items for youth. The mission of the agency is “to provide housing and supportive services that empower homeless individuals and families in Pueblo County to become self-supporting members of the community.”

The Big Dreams Grant from ELCA World Hunger will help Posada implement and strengthen their Senior Housing facility through the creation of a safety net to support unhoused older adults. Posada addresses the needs of homeless individuals, families, youth, veterans and, now, older adults to break down barriers, reduce inequality and build strong relationships that move us toward a just world where basic needs of all are met.

MOSES

Detroit, Michigan

MOSES is a faith-based, grassroots-led community organizing nonprofit serving residents of Detroit, Michigan, and its surrounding region. An interfaith, multi-racial and regionally-focused organization, MOSES especially emphasizes the leadership of laypeople and clergy from member congregations based in Black communities in Detroit and other southeast Michigan communities. MOSES identifies as a Black-led organization, and their overarching ministry is to develop the civic skills of marginalized residents so that they may act upon their values in the public arena. By focusing on grassroots leadership, MOSES remains rooted in their commitment to addressing needs that are directly expressed and identified by members of marginalized communities. To this goal, MOSES’ priority issues are based upon direct input from community leaders.

The Big Dreams Grant will help MOSES achieve its long-term objective of reforming the ways in which water is sourced, delivered and billed in southeast Michigan, in order to end water shut-offs in low-income neighborhoods. This work is critical in ensuring access to clean water in a city that has experienced crises in access to water over the last decade or more.

MOSES is also working to counter the trend of divestment from Michigan’s public health system by building public demand for increased state investment in public health infrastructure. MOSES is doing this by working to make affordable access to clean water (water equity) and renewed investments in public health central areas of focus in the 2021 Detroit mayoral campaign. At the same time, MOSES is working to build capacity to drive increased investment in public health infrastructure. They are also working with a coalition to establish a graduated income tax structure in Michigan that will protect people living in poverty and create the opportunity for much-needed investment.

Church on the Street

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Church on the Street is a Synodically Authorized Worshipping Community (SAWC) of the ELCA and a vital ministry in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with a primary focus of being the church with people living with poverty and homelessness. Church on the Street (COTS) works towards equality, peace, justice and advocacy while offering a place at the table for everyone to be fed physically and spiritually.

Responding to the pandemic, the “small” ministry of COTS has served in big ways. COTS has deep, genuine, ongoing relationships that have enabled them to meet the needs of the most vulnerable people in the community, especially when larger organizations have not been able to provide services to them. The Big Dream grant will enable COTS to double their work in the city, meeting the immediate needs of neighbors, advocating for justice and creating a system of change alongside community responders to best serve those in need.

ForKids

Norfolk, Virginia

ForKids is committed to breaking the cycle of homelessness and poverty for families and children in Norfolk, Virginia. Their integrated services are vital to the safety and well-being of families in their community.

When schools closed for the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, ForKids partnered with Mercy Chefs, local restaurants and individual donors to deliver over 8,000 meals to ForKids families in the region. Their Housing Crisis Hotline geared up to meet the unprecedented call volume which peaked at 935 calls in a single day. The Hotline now handles over 3,000 calls weekly, and ForKids is partnering with multiple cities to administer over $5 million in rental assistance to households experiencing a COVID-related financial setback, in addition to expanding emergency shelter placement. The team has been working diligently to keep families connected to social supports, academic support for their children and other vital resources.

The Big Dreams Grant from ELCA World Hunger will support a digital storytelling campaign to help public officials and community leaders make informed decisions about the issues contributing to hunger and poverty in their region. It will also support the construction of the new Center for Children and Families slated to open in March 2021. The Center includes the Regional Services Headquarters, a 135-bed family shelter, an expanded 24-seat Housing Crisis Hotline which will double call response capability and an education center with the capacity to tutor up to 120 children in creative learning spaces. With a full-service kitchen, ForKids estimates they will be able to provide over 31,000 meals each year. The Center will connect more than 85,000 individuals annually to services when complete. The Center will also be the home of a long-awaited dream: The ForKids Research & Advocacy Center.

Even amid challenging times, we know that God is at work in new and surprising ways. Through these transformative, holistic and integrated ministries – and the generosity that makes Big Dream Grants possible – we can see the impact of this work, and be part of it, in communities near and far. Thank you for your support of ELCA World Hunger as we work together to respond to hunger and poverty in the United States and 59 other countries around the world. To learn more about ELCA World Hunger’s approach, visit ELCA.org/hunger.

 

Big Dream Grants are part of ELCA World Hunger’s support of local and regional ministries. Through Domestic Hunger Grants, Big Dream Grants, Daily Bread Matching Grants, and Hunger Education and Networking Grants, we accompany partners throughout the United States and the Caribbean. Each year, several ministries that exemplify the values of transformative, holistic and integrated work are invited to apply for Big Dream Grants.

 

from the ELCA Witnessing in Society office in Washington, D.C.

Partial expanded content from Advocacy Connections: February 2021

COVID-19  |  INTERNATIONAL PANDEMIC RELIEF  |  TPS UPDATE  |  YEMEN  |  WHITE HOUSE OFFICE

POLICY RESPONSE TO COVID-19 IMPACTS CONTINUES:  ELCA advocacy staff is analyzing the new Biden Administration and congressional activity for the new round of COVID-19 legislation while working to ensure that minoritized groups and Native American nations are an important focus in light of our understandings of the disproportionate health and economic impacts the pandemic has had on those of us historically and contemporarily impacted adversely by systemic racism. An open letter to Congress from the Circle of Protection, which the ELCA is part of, asked that the relief legislation addresses the “concurrent crises of the pandemic, economic recession, and systemic racism.” Hill visits on COVID-19 relief are ongoing.

The ELCA Program Director for Housing and Human Services prepared a letter for House and Senate committees, compiling recommendations from multiple service provider partners. Distributed in early February, it highlights the need to invest more in rent relief and housing aid for the most vulnerable in our communities, the work of congregations to address homelessness, and the anticipated looming eviction crisis if Congress fails to act. Use the Action Alert to share your experiences and urge priorities as pressing policy decisions on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic are made.

 

INTERNATIONAL PANDEMIC RELIEF – ELCA staff continues to meet with members of Congress to advocate for inclusion of funding for international COVID-19 relief in the next COVID-19 package. A target allocation of $20 billion would be used in various global health programs such as vaccines, PPEs, etc., as well as humanitarian and economic relief.

On Dec. 8, the ELCA joined a letter with other faith groups to then-U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer calling on that office during this global health emergency to commit to a just and equitable policy toward the development, manufacture, and distribution of a vaccine. The ELCA continues to call on the Biden Administration to remove barriers to vaccine production and promote equitable distribution globally.

 

TPS UPDATE AND FORCED DISPLACEMENT – As part of the ELCA’s engagement on public policy issues affecting immigrants in the U.S. and outside, we welcome news of extension and redesignation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Syria. Years of conflict and instability have created conditions in the country that prevent their safe return.

There are multiple co-related factors contributing to forced displacement across the globe. In Cameroon, for example, escalating violence across the north-and south-west regions of the country have forced many to flee their homes. These conditions prevent the safe return of Cameroonians in the U.S. The ELCA initiated and delivered a letter on Jan. 20 from over 130 faith leaders and organizations to the Biden Administration on the urgency for designating conditional immigration status to people from Cameroon. It is part of our ongoing engagement with issues concerning Black migrants.

 

HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO YEMEN – On Feb. 5, the State Department confirmed Houthi rebels in Yemen will be removed from designation as a foreign terrorist administration. The ELCA had urged this action, as the designation hampered delivery of humanitarian assistance to millions of civilians in Yemen.

Early in January the ELCA signed onto a letter to President Biden and the new Secretary of State urging reversal of the designation made by the Trump Administration and cessation of selling weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have been traced to use against civilians in Yemen. It is estimated that 80% of the population of Yemen needs humanitarian assistance. The Biden Administration has recently announced a pause and review of weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, and avenues of humanitarian aid to Yemen, were 80% of the population needs humanitarian assistance, are again opening.

 

WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF FAITH-BASED AND NEIGHBORHOOD PARTNERSHIPS – On Feb. 14, relaunching of a White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships by signing of an executive order was announced by the White House. The Washington Interreligious Staff Community including the ELCA signed a Jan. 21 letter requesting the entity’s reestablishment. ELCA staff look forward to meeting with the new Executive Director, Melissa Rogers, on February 19.

The letter read in part: “The voice of the faith community provides an important component in the deliverance, planning and implementation of policy and can inform the writing of legislation. People of faith see engagement with government as a fundamental part of the workings of democracy. The work of government must be wise and compassionate as it pursues policies for the common good. Engagement with the faith community enhances the work of government and enables it to be better informed on decisions to be made.”

 

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Following are updates shared from submissions of the Lutheran Office for World Community and state public policy offices.
As the new year begins, these state public policy offices (SPPO) share their annual policy priorities. Find a map and full list of ELCA affiliated SPPOs using our state office map.
Learn more about Lutheran advocacy using our new resource, Advocacy 101 For Young Adults 

U.N. | Arizona | Colorado | Florida | New Mexico | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Texas | Virginia | Washington | Wisconsin

UN

Lutheran Office for World Community, United Nations, New York, N.Y. https://www.elca.org/lowc –Dennis Frado, Director

Changed US policy approach to Israel-Palestine outlined at UN Security Council: At the January monthly discussion of the Israel-Palestinian conflict in the UN Security Council, Acting U.S. Representative Richard Mills outlined how the Biden Administration plans to address the issues.

Ambassador Mills reiterated earlier US policy of support for a “mutually agreed two-state solution, one in which Israel lives in peace and security alongside a viable Palestinian state.” He said that approach “remains the best way to ensure Israel’s future as a democratic and Jewish state, while upholding the Palestinian people’s legitimate aspirations for a state of their own and to live with dignity and security.”

“President Biden has been clear in his intent to restore U.S. assistance programs that support economic development and humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people and to take steps to re-open diplomatic missions that were closed by the last U.S. administration,” Mills added.

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Arizona

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona, https://www.lamaz.org – Solveig Muus, Director

In January, the LAMA policy council identified its legislative policy priorities for Arizona in 2021, the Fifty-fifth Legislature, First Regular Session as below:

1. Hunger and associated food security issues
2. Community-based senior support
3. Fair and Equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines

LAMA is currently tracking 65 bills that were introduced in January, bills the policy council believes are of interest to people of faith in Arizona. Between the two houses, there are 17 bills on child and youth welfare, 12 on housing and homeless issues, 10 related to civil rights, eight on food security, seven on voting, seven on health care, six on issues of concern to vulnerable adults, etc. In addition to the bills related to our specified policy priorities, we also are watching movements on voting rights, redistricting, vaccine hesitancy and more.

Together with its partner, Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest (LSS-SW), LAMA sponsored Advocacy 101, and is collaborating with Arizona Faith Network and Bread for the World on a second training session in February. This virtual workshop educates participants on the Arizona Legislature and introduces them to Arizona’s Request To Speak (RTS) bill-tracking system. LAMA’s plans to continue encouraging Arizona Lutherans to sign up for RTS, as it is a super-easy, free way to weigh in and be heard on a bill from the comfort of your home. Or… when times are better, to speak in person at the legislature.

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Colorado

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-Colorado https://www.rmselca.org/advocacy – Peter Severson, Director

Legislature gavels in, recesses: The Colorado General Assembly officially gaveled in their 2021 legislative session on Wednesday, January 13^th. Two days later, they went into recess until at least February 16^th. As the pandemic continues, legislators will allow the peak of the post-holiday season to hopefully recede before convening to take up the work of the people.

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-Colorado will be advocating for bills related to housing, tax credits, and support for people interacting with the criminal justice system, in addition to any follow-on work from ballot measures that passed in November 2020, such as paid family leave.Blessing of the session: Lutheran Advocacy, along with several ecumenical and interfaith cosponsors comprising the Faithful Thursdays team, will be hosting a “Blessing of the Session” on Thursday, February 18 at 12 PM MT. Everyone is welcome at this online blessing! Please register in advance at www.faithfulthursdays.org.

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Florida

Florida Faith Advocacy Office, Florida Council of Churches https://floridachurches.org/advocacy/ – Russell L. Meyer, Executive Director

The Florida legislature is in its committee weeks leading up to the opening of the 60-day legislative session beginning March 2. The governor’s top priority is HB1/SB484. Known as the anti-peaceful protest bill, it ‘felonizes’ those who act violently while exercising their First Amendment right to assemble and present grievances and increases existing penalties for related offenses. The governor proposed the legislation last fall to contain overwhelming peaceful protests for racial justice, but now claims it is needed because of the Jan. 6 insurrection. Considered unconstitutional and unnecessary, the impact of the bill falls heaviest on Black and Latinx Floridians seeking civil rights. Although advanced by party line vote, privately many lawmakers say they would rather focus on addressing the pandemic and the economy. Encourage legislators to protect civil liberties and pursue real solutions to actual problems.

SB48 consolidates voucher scholarships into an ongoing trust fund, automatically increases the number of scholarships annually, and includes them in the formula for funding public schools. Yet private and charter schools do not have to meet the standards of public schools.  Public school funding decreased 30% between 2008-2018, while tax revenue was diverted to voucher scholarships. Across the state, school districts have passed sales tax referendums to make up for cuts in state dollars. Florida needs to fund public schools fully so all students can thrive.

Florida spends over $3 billion per year to incarcerate nearly 100,000 inmates and is the only state without parole. Several reform bills are proposed.

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New Mexico

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry- New Mexico
https://www.lutheranadvocacynm.org – Kurt Rager, Director

1^st Session of the 55^th Legislature is underway: The New Mexico Legislature gathers in Santa Fe on the third Tuesday in January of each year.  The Legislature meets for 60-day sessions in odd-numbered years and 30 days in even-numbered years.  The Capital, known as the “Roundhouse” remains closed to the public with the session being conducted entirely online.

As the session continues to progress, legislators, citizens, lobbyists, and advocates have become more comfortable and adept at conducting business through Zoom, as is evident by the less frequent question, “Can you hear me?” Meeting virtually has major shortcomings, such as the lack of face-to-face advocacy, and yet advantages exist as well.  Citizens are participating from communities large and small, rural and urban, all across the state and virtual committee rooms allow for far great attendance.  Chairs of committees have consistently remarked that there are more participants in their virtual meeting room than could fit in their Capital meeting rooms.  Also, LAM-NM can be present and participate in more than one committee meeting at a time.

LAM-NM is equipping our Advocating Congregations and volunteer advocates by providing three training sessions on advocating virtually, and by holding Sunday afternoon mini-legislative updates where experienced volunteers are prepared for upcoming committee testimony.  Unable to meet in person, the annual half-day Issuing Briefing will be held virtually on February 25^th, and the Bishop’s Luncheon has been postponed for 2021.

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Ohio

Hunger Network in Ohio https://www.hungernetohio.com – Nick Bates, Director

The Budget is here! The Governor introduced his budget proposal on February 1st. He introduced a very ordinary budget for extraordinary times. The budget maintains status quo funding for most programs and agencies.

• Create a refundable Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): This will place money into the pockets of low- and middle-income workers – especially those who have had hours cut or lost their job during the pandemic.
• Invest in the Ohio Housing Trust Fund: Our Housing Trust Fund invests into weatherization, homeless services, and affordable housing programs. As we look to build up healthy communities – we need safe, decent, and affordable housing.
• Strengthen our food banks: With an estimated 40% increase to hunger in Ohio during the pandemic, we need to make sure our food banks can continue meeting the needs of hungry Ohioans by buying surplus produce from Ohio farmers.
• Fix School Funding: No longer should a student’s zip code determine their educational opportunities. It is time to pass the bi-partisan agreements to fix school funding in Ohio.

STOP SB 17: The Hunger Network has joined with other advocates in opposition to SB17 which will hurt hungry Ohioans. This legislation will cause confusion in the checkout line for families using SNAP benefits and puts paperwork over people for Medicaid, SNAP, and other services. County offices will be overwhelmed with tracking requirements that will not benefit Ohio or hungry families.

Other upcoming Events:

– Prayers for Ohio elected officials March 4 @ 3pm
– Budget briefing Feb 18 @ 3pm
– Joint Council of Churches Advocacy Day, March 23 @ 9am

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Pennsylvania

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry- Pennsylvania (LAMPa) https://www.lutheranadvocacypa.org/ – Tracey DePasquale, Director

Before the insurrection in the nation’s capital, Pennsylvania’s Capitol was the scene of turmoil that included the ouster of a presiding officer and refusal to seat a lawmaker at the start of a new session of the General Assembly, signaling heightened partisan tensions. Nonetheless, LAMPa advocates sought bipartisan support for relief for the most vulnerable – particularly related to rent, utilities, and food.

LAMPa said farewell but not goodbye to Program Director Lynn Fry, who began work with United Lutheran Seminary after three years of dedication to the ministry of advocacy.

Staff continued to archive more than four decades of LAMPa’s history, even as they and policy council members innovate for more nimble response to need and greater connection with the service of lay and rostered leaders for advocacy rooted in relationship.

Teaching/Serving the Wider Church: Hunger Advocacy Fellow Larry Herrold helped lead a presentation “Getting Started With ELCA Advocacy” for the ELCA World Hunger Leadership Gathering. His devotional “Identification Beyond Binaries” appeared as an ELCA Advocacy blog in January.

Director Tracey DePasquale participated in the second meeting of the task force developing the ELCA Social Statement on Government and Civic Engagement. She also participated in a panel discussion on advocacy in the ELCA for Dr. Cynthia Moe-Lobeda’s class on Faith-Rooted Social Transformation at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary.

DePasquale helped lead the Pennsylvania Prayer Service for Christian Unity and participated in the priority-setting meeting of the Penn. Council of Churches Commission for Public Witness on behalf of Pennsylvania’s ELCA synods.

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Texas

Texas Impact https://www.texasimpact.org/ – Scott Atnip, Outreach Director

The Texas Legislature convened their biennial Legislative Session in January, and Texas Impact immediately began resourcing Texans of faith to engage in the process.

The Interfaith Service of Public Witness, which featured ELCA Bishop Sue Briner among other Texas faith leaders, kicked off the session before concluding the month with the virtual four day United Methodist Women’s Legislative Event, with some Lutherans among the 400 attendees. The Legislative Event was a successful test-run for the virtual Texas Interfaith Advocacy Days scheduled for March 6-9.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, online engagement will be more important than ever. To help equip members and congregations, Texas Impact created a “Twitter for Advocacy” series and encouraged members to interact with their representatives online.

Texas Impact continues to recruit Rapid Response Team members to make time-sensitive calls and Legislative Engagement Group members who commit to meeting and partnering with other advocates in their Texas House district to plan and prepare for monthly meetings with their representative and/or staff.

The Weekly Witness podcast during the Legislative Session features a Texas faith leader providing a “Weekly Word,” a guest advocate discussing the “issue of the week” and Texas Impact staff providing a legislative update and action alert. January episodes had record numbers of listeners during the live Zoom recording and in downloads for the month.

In addition, Texas Impact staff have been invited to present at several congregational events as they increase capacity for online programming. Texans of faith are mobilizing in exciting ways to participate with their representatives during this important season of democracy.

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Virginia

Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy https://www.virginiainterfaithcenter.org/ – Kim Bobo, Executive Director

January is a very busy month for the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy (VICPP) because it is the first month of the very short General Assembly, which normally lasts only 45 days in the short session. VICPP’s top legislative priorities have all made it through at least one legislative body and are moving through the second one in February. Bills that have proceeded out of at least one legislative body:

• Abolition of the Death Penalty (passed both House and Senate)
• Paid Sick Days for Essential Workers (passed House)
• Minimum Wage for Farmworkers (passed House)
• Environmental Justice Act (passed both House and Senate)
• Water as a Human Right Resolution (passed House)
• Transportation Equity Study (passed House)

In addition, we have been working on a budget amendment to get prenatal care for immigrant women.

VICPP normally holds an Advocacy Day in January.  This year it was a virtual advocacy week that drew 416 participants to four plenaries, 12 workshops, dozens of legislative visits and five prayer vigils around the Commonwealth.

Anyone in Virginia who wants to get more involved in advocating justice in the Commonwealth can sign-up at https://www.virginiainterfaithcenter.org/email-list/.

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Washington

Faith Action Network https://www.fanwa.org/ – Paul Benz and Elise DeGooyer, Co-Directors

Eastern Washington Legislative Conference: FAN hosted our virtual Eastern WA Legislative Conference on January 30 with over 165 people in attendance. We heard from Rev. Walter Kendricks, pastor of Morning Star Baptist Church in Spokane, how we can move “beyond words to do justice”, with a panel discussion and breakout groups following. Advocates then met in workshops by issue topic and heard an update from advocacy organizations about the 2021 legislative session. We finished the day with a virtual tabling fair. Thanks to our partners The Fig Tree, Catholic Charities, Earth Ministry, and the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for helping make this a great virtual event!

Interfaith Governor’s Meeting: FAN hosted our annual interfaith meeting with the Governor on February 8, with 20 faith leaders from various traditions in attendance, including all three Synod ELCA Bishops! We discussed issues and bills related to COVID vaccinations, revenue, the Working Families Tax Credit, police reform, housing, the environment, and banning credit scoring in the insurance industry.

Upcoming Interfaith Advocacy Days: FAN is getting ready for our first virtual Olympia-focused Interfaith Advocacy Day on February 11. The structure of our program will be very similar to our in-person events, with opening statements by interfaith leaders and state legislators, a legislative overview, caucus meetings by legislative districts, and workshops on bills from our legislative agenda. Legislator appointments will happen on Thursday and Friday. We look forward to bringing the voices of over 200 advocates to the virtual halls of power!

In Central WA, we will gather on February 20 for Advocacy Day, Moving Past Crisis and Into Action, for a morning of legislative overview, a panel discussion on policies affecting immigrants, and breakout action groups on Poverty, Climate, Redistricting, Healthcare, and Immigration. We will emphasize collective actions we can take to move policies forward, both locally and at the state level.

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Wisconsin

Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin (LOPPW)  https://www.loppw.org/ – Cindy Crane, Director

Wednesday Noon Live: Updates on a resolution to eliminate Wisconsin’s mask mandate and its connections to FoodShare, and a Wisconsin COVID bill, plus an interview with Rev. Jonathan Barker, Kenosha, and his fasting for climate justice.

Care for God’s Creation: Our March 18^th virtual advocacy event now has a keynote speaker, Lt. Governor Barnes.  Other speakers include Lutherans Restoring Creation Executive Director Phoebe Morad and Chief Meteorologist Bob Lindmeier. We will begin at 10 AM.  Length TBA.

Criminal Justice: Kyle has created a website for the Raise the Age Coalition.  He continues to lead the whole coalition and one of the workgroups, while participating in the other two workgroups he helped to organize.  He also has made individual contacts with key leaders from the Michigan Raise the Age Coalition that successfully helped to return 17-year-old youth to the juvenile justice system in their state.  Cindy is part of the legislative workgroup.

State Budget: Governor Evers will release his biennial state budget on Feb. 16.  LOPPW belongs to two coalitions that discern and strategize responses to the budget.

 LOPPW’s Priorities for 2021 include the following:  

• Calling for an End to Hunger
• Addressing the Crisis of Human Trafficking
• Caring for God’s Creation
• Supporting Immigration Reform
• Calling for Criminal Justice Reform (focused on juvenile justice)

We view all our priorities through a lens of food and racial equity. We also continue to pay attention to voting issues via a statewide voting coalition.

 

 

A Bigger “We”

“Your Father who sees in secret will reward you”
(Matthew 6:4).

 

 

Almost eight years had passed since Marina set foot inside a church building. A car accident when she was in her late 40s had left her homebound with chronic pain and without use of her legs. One of her favorite visits in her home was on Sunday afternoon, when her pastor would come by to give Marina Holy Communion and pray with her. With a half flight of stairs leading up to the church door and more stairs between the foyer and the sanctuary, worshiping with her congregation was not an option.

That’s why Marina was so surprised to get a call from her pastor in July 2020 asking her to be part of a conversation about reopening the building for worship during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was quiet in that first Zoom meeting, listening to the other 10 people share their ideas and concerns. Some were scared, some weren’t, but most were exasperated and at a loss. One man seemed to put it best when he said, “This is all new to us. We’ve just never had to think about what it would mean to not be in church together ever.”

Before anyone could murmur agreement, Marina made her sole contribution to the discussion: “Whaddya mean ‘we’?”

This “we” — or, more specifically, this call to reexamine “we” — is at the core of the gospel message for Ash Wednesday this year and, indeed, of the church’s vision of a just world where all are fed.

Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6:1-6 and 16-21 is the starting point on the journey through Lent. In this excerpt from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus admonishes his audience about public, showy displays of spirituality. Rather than take pleasure or pride in giving alms, we are to hide the deed even from ourselves. Rather than pray in public, we are to retire to private rooms. Rather than display the effects of our fasting, Jesus tells us, “put oil on your head and wash your face” (6:17).

In fact, each of Jesus’ directives seems to contradict the very notion of what we have come to call “being a public church.” The sermon of Jesus appears to favor private spirituality over public displays of faith. He seems to suggest that faith is best lived out in the quiet and private spaces of our hearts rather than in public.

However, reading the sermon in this way misses the fact that the Gospel of Matthew is a call to be this very public church, which will “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). We might believe that the message of Lent is to practice private piety, yet Jesus focuses here not on the mere practices of faith but on the community of faith. In other words, Jesus is talking not about the what but about the who — who we are and who God is.

Michael Joseph Brown hints at this in his commentary on Matthew in True to Our Native Land: An African American New Testament Commentary (Fortress, 2007), noting the subtle assumptions about privilege in Matthew 6. Jesus’ command to the disciples to pray in their “room” (6:6) assumes they have a private room to retreat to, even though Jesus himself “has nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20). “Almsgiving,” as Brown writes, “assumes that you have something to give.” Even fasting assumes that one has the means to make choices about when to start and stop their own hunger

Jesus’ message is a challenge to a privileged church to think more carefully about who they are. The problem isn’t that they are doing the wrong things. Giving alms to support neighbors is a good thing. Praying in the synagogue is, well, what is supposed to happen when the community is gathered. They are going through the right motions. But they have forgotten why they are doing them, and they have forgotten who they are. Their practices are no longer about the good of the community or the good of the neighbor but are mere performances, focused entirely on themselves.

Almsgiving, praying, fasting — these are practices meant to remind us of each other. But has being faithful become a matter of making sure we are seen rather than of training our hearts and minds to see each other? Marina’s fellow congregant in the Zoom call was more than willing to help the church with what it needed to do. But as her question revealed, he had forgotten who the church is called to be. His “we” was no more than an “I.”

Yet even when the church forgets, God remembers. In each of the dictates to his followers, Jesus reminds them of the “Father who sees in secret.” He reminds us that God’s concern for us is not measured by our conspicuousness, nor is it limited by our narrow imagination.

Accompanying our neighbors in God’s work of building a just world where all are fed means reimagining who we are and who we are called to be. There are so many stories shared across this church about friends and neighbors addressing hunger and poverty together. But perhaps the significance of faith in God, who “sees in secret,” is best exemplified not by the stories we can tell but by the stories we can’t — stories of God at work “in secret” and in hidden ways. These are the stories we don’t hear, of neighbors whose names can’t be shared.

They include the story of the clinic that cannot be named because unjust laws would put its noncitizen clients at risk. They include the story of women in a shelter whose names must be hidden to keep the women safe from their abusers. They include the story of ministries in conflict zones whose details cannot be shared without exposing workers and guests to violence.

These are the stories that cannot be trumpeted but are nevertheless triumphant examples of the work of God, “who sees in secret.”

Ending hunger means seeing what unjust power tries to keep hidden. It means defining “we” in a way that threatens the principalities and powers — including our own privilege — that make everything about “I.” And it means remembering, when we are isolated or marginalized, that “I” am never excluded from God’s “we.”

Jesus’ call in the Gospel reading reminds us that being the church requires a definition of community that is more expansive, more diverse and, thus, more beautiful than the exclusive vision put forth by
those in power.

Reflection Questions

1. Think, journal or share about a time when you felt left out or unable to speak because of fear. How does that memory impact your reflection on this reading and devotion?
2. The members of Marina’s church were unable to see that their ability to climb stairs gave them the privilege to gather together in one space. The members of the ancient church to which Jesus was speaking were unable to see that their ability to give alms, fast and pray in private rooms was a privilege. What are some ways that privilege might affect who feels included in your community?
3. What does your church community look like? In what ways are all neighbors in your community invited to share their experiences and ideas openly and freely with your congregation?

Prayer

Gracious and loving God, through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, you bring light and life for all the world. Help us to listen, learn and love until your light and life fill every community. Amen.