The Rev. Mariana Mendez knows how to make the most of difficult situations. Mendez and ministry partners at Misión Luterana Agua Viva work to share God’s love in spite of, or perhaps because of, the challenges of life in El Cenizo, Texas. Located 20 miles south of Laredo, this small, rural city of a little more than 3,000 people is situated just four blocks from the banks of the Rio Grande River. The river serves as the border between the United States and Mexico.

Incorporated in 1989, El Cenizo’s history is framed by its origin as one of hundreds of south Texas colonias established in the 1950s — rural, unincorporated subdivisions lacking basic infrastructure such as potable water, sewer service and electricity. This region continues to be one of the most impoverished areas in the United States.

But Mendez focuses on the positive. She believes that although the community of El Cenizo faces significant challenges, “it also has significant opportunities for life and ministry.” Misión Luterana Agua Viva is a place of refuge, offering help and instilling hope. The church partners with local organizations, agencies and other churches to help the people of El Cenizo survive, find stability and grow through a combination of direct support, education and training.

Each fall, with help from partner Lutheran churches and individuals, Agua Viva provides backpacks filled with school supplies for 250 children in grades K-12, through its Aprendiendo a Leer Con Jesús (Learning to Read With Jesus) program.

Empowered leaders share God’s grace

Key to its mission is its focus on cultivating leaders. The church identifies leaders and sends them for training with public agencies. Episcopal and Methodist sister churches and nondenominational partners provide further training in health care, education, self-sustainability and entrepreneurship, nutrition and family care. In addition, Agua Viva works closely with a local pastoral counseling and coaching center, which has (so far) certified and graduated 12 leaders who serve as community facilitators from Agua Viva.

Mendez’s late husband, the Rev. Moises Mendez (who recently passed away), set into motion the church’s ongoing practice to develop and multiply church mission workers. One essential element of training: each leader is charged with identifying and developing other leaders. Mariana believes this practice is essential to accompanying the people of El Cenizo in their efforts to survive and thrive in this Third Culture border town. “We are multiplying the priesthood of all believers as we work together as partners inside the church and in the community to become facilitators of the work of God.”

Agua Viva church members plant and harvest organically grown vegetables for use at the Pan de Vida (Bread of Life) hunger-relief after-school program (typically serving 125 children ages 1-17). More than 2,500 monthly food portions are prepared by a full-time volunteer staff at the Vida Plena (Plentiful Life) program, which offers warm, freshly made food to more than 120 elderly people daily. Agua Viva’s pantry distributes 60,000 pounds of food per year.

Mission partners make all the difference

Mariana and Moises were initially called to mission development in Laredo in October 2002. The mission moved to El Cenizo in 2007, where Agua Viva took up residence in two double-wide trailers within four residential lots purchased 14 years earlier by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. With additional partnership and support from the ELCA’s Southwestern Texas Synod and the help of seven partner churches, Agua Viva was able to refurbish the trailers, pay off the mortgage on the land, build a sanctuary, and begin ministry and mission in the community. Agua Viva continues to steward its resources carefully, including ongoing ELCA churchwide mission development support. Mendez credits the Holy Spirit for “helping us to grow the Kingdom of God on earth,” and she appreciates the church’s many partners: “Thank you for your prayers, your commitment and solidarity toward those most in need within our border community.”

“As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” — Jesus (John 17:18 )

by Kris A. Mainellis, Program Director for Communication and Events, Congregational Vitality

Ginger Litman-Koon, Isle of Palms, SC

Warm-up Question

Where do you get your news? How do you hear about things going on in the world?

The News ME-dia

The latest news media app, News360, advertises that it will tailor the news you read to your exact tastes and interests: “News360 brings the most interesting news stories from around the web, tailored individually to each one of our 7+ million users worldwide. Whether you’re into Cryptocurrencies or Crochet, News360 can find the content you care about. News360 will keep learning about your tastes as you use it.” Whether we subscribe to News 360, the New York Times, Fox News, or just scroll through Facebook and Twitter, the news we see and hear can often reflect the news we want to hear. If one news outlet affirms our worldview, we keep reading. If another offends us, we block it. The possibilities and perspectives to choose from are endless, when it comes to processing what’s going on in the world around us.

A lot can be learned about a person by looking at their subscriptions. That could be the news media you subscribe to, or things like satellite packages, Youtube channels, podcasts, or other publications. A subscription is more than casual consumption. It implies commitment to the content, products, or message being offered. The online or print media we surround ourselves with begin to describe what stories we “buy into,”and even define the over-arching narrative we use to shape our own personal worldview. We all subscribe to different stories – from one source or another – and the more influences we come in contact with, the more stories will be competing for our attention and commitment.

Discussion Questions

• What do you subscribe to? Online or otherwise?
• If you made a list of your subscriptions, what would it say about you?
• Do you think media content influences you? How?

First Sunday in Lent

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Romans 10:8b-13

Luke 4:1-13

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

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

Gospel Reflection

In the reading from the Gospel of Luke this week, we hear a set of exchanges between Jesus and the Devil in the wilderness. Jesus is about to go out and begin his public ministry. He’s gathering disciples, teaching them about the kingdom, and setting out to spread the story of God’s love that he was sent to earth to bring. First, however, he undergoes a time of trial. Jesus’ temptation in the desert is a feat of strength – both physical and spiritual – to prepare him for the journey to come. This test will show if, in his humanity, Jesus can hold on to divine truth in the face of temptation. 

In this passage, we overhear the conversation between Jesus and the devil. What we hear in their dialogue is the juxtaposition of God’s story with the devil’s story, of God’s Truth vs. the Devil’s truth. God’s Truth is that true happiness comes from God alone. The Devil’s version of the truth is this: You can have what you want, as much as you want, when you want it… if you’re only willing to play by his rules. 

The Devil comes at Jesus trying to convince him of a story where bowing to temptation, earthly power and the ways of darkness produce results that will satisfy us. In contrast, God’s story is that God who is faithful, loving and full of mercy, can alone provide us with what we truly need, want and desire.

And Jesus had a choice. He could cave to the persuasive and sometimes overpowering story that the ways of darkness try to get us to believe…Or he can cling to God’s Word, hold tightly onto faith, and let God’s story win out over the Devil’s lies.

In a way, this is the struggle that is lifted up by this season of Lent. During Lent, we are invited to shore up our footing as we stand on God’s Word, to stand up to the temptations of the world  that strive constantly to draw us away from God. Lent is an opportunity to re-commit ourselves to God’s narrative, to strip away the false narratives of the world, and let the story we know to be true to take root and grow in our lives.

Discussion Questions

• Do you think it was hard for Jesus to face the Devil in the wilderness? Why or why not?
• Is the Devil’s version of the truth tempting? 
• What temptations do people struggle with today?
• What are ways we can immerse ourselves in God’s story?

Activity Suggestions

Build-A-Story:  Create a silly story one word at a time. Have one person start with a word, and then go clockwise around the room, creating a story. Each person can say one word or say “period,” to end a sentence.

Closing Prayer

Merciful God, open our hearts to hear your voice speaking truth in our lives. May your story of salvation guides us as we walk together in faith. Amen.

ELCA Congregational Vitality team

Who we are

The Congregational Vitality team, Domestic Mission, is moving forward with an exciting emphasis on creating a churchwide learning community. We are applying adaptive strategies to accompany synods and congregations in their fruitful work for God’s Reign by training and equipping leaders across the Church.

Contextual description of Congregational Vitality

Communities of Jesus that nurture life-changing relationships with God, one another and the world.

Values and Guiding Principles

• Insistent in Collaboration
• Supportive of Innovation and Creativity
• Intentionally Inclusive and Anti-racist
• Radically Relational
• Committed to Learning Multiplication
• Ardent about Leadership Development

What we do

Cultivate vitality. Accompany mission partners. Connect communities of Jesus.

How we do it

We are committed to:

• Creating and leading a national learning community with the goals of informing, teaching, sharing, collaborating and inspiring vitality across the ELCA.
• Capturing, measuring and evaluating the impact of vitality efforts both in local communities, at the synod level and across the entire ELCA.
• Engaging in effective and strategic communication that shares both the data and the stories of lessons learned; i.e., the fruitful and effective strategies for growth and vitality and the personal and/or local impacts of vital ministries.
• Creating networks of support as we partner in discipleship, stewardship, leadership, young adults, multicultural, and poverty and justice initiatives in the ELCA to make a measurable, truly impactful difference as we mobilize and equip people across the ELCA to be the Church together for the sake of the world.

Mary Ellen Helms, Loveland, OH

Warm-up Question

If you could relive one of your past days over and over again, which day would it be and why?

Best Day Ever

Many of us have had a day or two in our lives that we look back on and think, “Wow! That was the best day ever!”  Maybe it was the perfect summer day where you spent it with friends from early in the day until late in the evening.  Perhaps the “best day ever” included a lot of your favorites: foods, music, people, and more. There’s a chance your best day ever included an amazing accomplishment: passing a difficult test, achieving an athletic accomplishment, producing a school play that received rave reviews, or something equally exciting. Of course,  we can’t easily recall the “best day ever.  Many awesome things happen to us, but part of what makes them special is how rare they are. 

 A quick Google search about “Best Day Ever” provided a variety of results without much substance. There were some academic articles about happiness, some news articles about lottery wins turned bad, and a few ‘feel good’ stories.  There is no one definition of “the best day ever.”

I did learn there is a Spongebob Squarepants episode of the same name.   Wikipedia describes the show in detail!  In the episode, our protagonist (Spongebob) sets off with plans for the BEST DAY EVER but instead, his friends keep needing big favors from him.  In his kind and compassionate way, Spongebob puts his own plans on hold and comes to the aid of Sandy, Patrick, and Squidward.  Feeling sorry for himself at the end of the episode, Spongebob prepares to give a speech about how his friends had taken his BEST DAY EVER and turned it on its head.  Instead, his friends remind him that the perfect day may not exist, instead he spent the day helping others.  Spongebob wraps up the episode singing his song, “The Best Day Ever” over and over again.  When Squidward asks Mr. Krabs how long they have to keep up the performance, Mr. Krabs replies, “Just ’til his little heart gives out, Squidward. Just ’til his little heart gives out.”

Discussion Questions

• How does SpongeBob Squarepants’ Best Day Ever compare with your own best day?
• Have you ever had a terrible day turned good?  Has there ever been a day where your expectations were turned completely in another direction? 
• Through serving others, we often find joy.  Can you describe a time when serving others provided you with a great day?

Transfiguration of our Lord

Exodus 34:29-35

2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2

Luke 9:28-36 [37-43a]

(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

I get Peter.  He just says it like it is and really seems like a normal guy.  In verse 33, he says to Jesus “‘Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”. Peter is having the BEST DAY EVER.  At this point, the disciples have seen Jesus perform miracles, serve the poor, listen to the marginalized, and fulfill prophecy.  Peter is wanting to capture this moment and just stay there as he is having his best day ever.  After a special retreat with Jesus’ closest disciples, Peter wants to keep the miracles happening.  He wants to preserve this moment forever.  Of course, you may know the rest of the story – God speaks, Jesus becomes a little less “shiny”, and they eventually go down the mountain together the next day.

I am sure that many of us who have been on retreats, mission trips, discipleship tours, or to the ELCA Youth Gathering can remember wanting to hold onto the Holy Spirit moments.  I remember coming back from my first Youth Gathering begging my pastor to turn every service into wild, raucous Gathering-style worship with Conga lines, hip hop, and more. My pastor was patient and reminded me, even Jesus came down the mountain.  Real life is waiting for us on the other side of mountaintop experiences.

Jesus, too, had more real life work to do.  In fact, the story immediately following the transfiguration is a healing of a boy who is struggling with a demon.  Jesus still has lots more teaching to do before his death and resurrection.  

Something that does change from this moment on is the understanding and revelation of Jesus’ power to those three disciples. Without a doubt, they remember this moment and I’m sure spent much time pondering the experience in their hearts. I imagine they had trouble talking about what an amazing experience they had shared. My own holiest moments have sometimes left me without words, too. 

Discussion Questions

• How do you think the disciples felt when Jesus’ appearance changed in front of their very eyes?  How would you have felt?
• Have you ever had a “mountaintop experience”?  What was it like to experience God in fresh ways?
• How can you keep experiences like retreats, mission trips, exciting once-in-a-lifetime moments alive after they happen?

Activity Suggestions

• Plan an amazing mountaintop adventure with your friends (even if it’s just pretend!).  Talk about everything you can do to prepare (the who, what, when, where questions).  How can you build in space for encountering God?  How can you bring your experience home to those who will not join you?
• Write thank you letters to someone who joined you on a mountaintop experience.  Maybe it was another member of the youth group that left a mark on your heart or an adult guide or service partner.  Give them thanks for their investment in your life and let them know what a difference that opportunity has made for you.

Closing Prayer

Most Holy God, thank you for meeting us on the mountaintops of our lives.  Thank you for showing us your power and majesty in the middle of special experiences that we hold onto tightly.  We ask that you would give us the chance to continue living into these opportunities. Give us memories that last and strength for when life seems like it is more valley than mountain. Help us remember that we are called to come down from the mountain and continue our lives even with renewed purpose.  Amen.

Black historian, Carter G. Woodson, established the celebration of black history in 1926. Originally observed as a week-long event uplifting the contributions of Black Americans, for Black Americans–it was the hope of Dr. Woodson that one day all Americans would recognize the contributions of black people as an integral part of U.S. history.

As a kid I didn’t celebrate Black history month in my predominantly white elementary school. Nor did I learn an awful lot about the accomplishments of Black Americans. My earliest recollection of the mention of black people in history, came from my 2^nd grade teacher. She was a young, white educator that I really liked.  I remember sitting up in my seat as she opened a book about Abraham Lincoln. As she began to tell the children’s version of honest Abe’s legacy, she looked directly at me with a smile saying,  “Lincoln freed the slaves.”  The end.   Mind you, I was the only black child in the class and one of the few black children in the entire school. I, along with all my white schoolmates were reminded of my black skin difference. As all eyes turned towards me, I felt ashamed to have been singled out for my blackness.  This version of the story of slavery minimized, devalued and dehumanized my black identity and the truth of slavery– while centering whiteness as powerful and the norm.  That is what racism does—it sustains a racial hierarchy that privileges those with white skin, while simultaneously denying the inherent worth, power and dignity of people of color.

Today, the adult version of me does not blame the lack of knowledge of a young, white educator so many years ago, but the damage caused in that moment plagued me for years. In my spirit, I knew she was wrong, but I did not know how to respond it hat moment.   I had no rebuttal to her nonexistent narrative of the civilizations, history, and gifts of people from the continent of Africa; or the true horrors of the transatlantic slave trade; or the courage of  freedom fighter Harriett Tubman that sought freedom from bondage for her people.  Slavery was just a footnote in history.

To counter what I didn’t learn at school, my parents and grandparents taught me my history around the dinner table, at family gatherings and in the black church. Raised under Jim Crow segregation, my parents were not ashamed of who they were; nor where they came from. Works of black artist were proudly displayed in our home. We listened to the soulful sounds of WKND AM radio station that  provided a platform for black artists, musicians and producers—when white radio would not. We traveled south each summer from Connecticut to Mississippi and Alabama visiting the childhood homes of our parents.  We learned the National Negro anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and sang the lyrics to “We Shall Overcome” at my grandparents’ church.   Black publications, Ebony, Jet  and Black Enterprise magazine littered our coffee table with images of black athletes, beauty queens of the Historic Black Colleges and Universities, celebrities, scientist, political figures and entrepreneurs. We attended theater performances of all black play productions.  Dolls of every shade and hue filled my bedroom bookcase.  We watched Alex Haley’s Roots as a family and purchased the album soundtrack produced by composer Quincy Jones. For me, Black history wasn’t only an event during the shortest month of the year—it was our way of life.  The power of celebrating Black history (and all history of People of Color) contradicts the racial stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination imposed on People of Color by a white dominant culture.  Valuing one’s own racial identity, ancestry and history is part of the necessary healing work of ending racism.

Reclaiming history…

On August 23-25, 2019 people around the world will remember the arrival of the first enslaved Africans  in North America. This  event will mark the Quad-Centennial of the forced transatlantic voyage of enslaved African peoples to Virginia.   On August 25, 1619,  a pirated ship carrying stolen human cargo from Africa arrived in the English colony in North America.  Taken from the Angola region of Africa, these men and women were known for their agricultural, metal working and farming skills. These skills would prove to be invaluable and profitable for the survival of English colonist.  The arrival of this first slave ship set in motion the transatlantic slave trade. From the 16th to the 19th century between 10 million and 12 million African people were kidnapped, enslaved and scattered throughout the Americas.   Slavery and the Middle Passage was an event of monumental proportion that not just affected North America but changed Africa forever.  The legacy of racism and fear of people of African descent are rooted in the policies, practices, beliefs and actions that legalized slavery, legitimized the slave trade and colonialism.  Four hundred years later, the descendants of the transatlantic slave trade still face racial  barriers in affordable housing, voting, employment, education and health care. “History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.”– Maya Angelou Connecting the dots of the transatlantic slave trade, the forced removal and assimilation of Native American Indians; the denial of citizenship of Chinese workers and the exploitation of migrant Mexican farm workers are all crimes against humanity in American history. We cannot change history or its impact on past generations, but it is important to know and teach the truth of this history.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is partner of the organization Bread for the World’s  “Lament and Hope”: A Pan-African Devotional Guide Commemorating the 2019 Quad-Centennial of the Forced Transatlantic Voyage of Enslaved African Peoples to Jamestown, Virginia (USA). The devotional makes the connections between Bread for the World’s mission to end hunger and the history of the enslavement of African descent people; the creation of racialized policies within the U.S and the colonization on the continent of Africa. As a collective Christian voice, Bread for the World further recognizes and acknowledges the role many churches have played in supporting and perpetuating these horrific practices and policies. In 2019 at the Churchwide Assembly, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will issue an apology for slavery to People of African Descent.

The downloadable devotional resource is available at bread.org

Sculpture featured at the National Memorial For Peace and Justice, Montgomery, Alabama.

Judith E.B. Roberts, serves as Program Director for Racial Justice.

This post comes from ELCA World Hunger’s weekly email list, “Sermon Starters.” For this week, Rev. Angela Khabeb of Holy Trinity Church in Minneapolis, shares with us her reflections on forgiveness and how we are called to make this gift more than an act, but a lifestyle as followers in Christ.

If you’d like to receive posts like these ahead of the liturgical calendar, please subscribe to ELCA World Hunger Sermon Starters by clicking on the link, or email us at hunger@elca.org.

Here is a recent review of the resource from Vernita Kennan of the Saint Paul Area Synod:

“I receive the ELCA World Hunger Sermon Starters each week from the ELCA and find it is a helpful way for me to look ahead and “preach my own sermon” in preparation of what I will hear next Sunday at my home church, Incarnation Lutheran…You needn’t be a rostered person in the ELCA to find them inspirational.”

February 24, 2019 – Seventh Sunday after Epiphany

Luke 6:27-38

We continue this week with the Sermon on the Plain. We hear Jesus proclaiming a new way. “Turn the other cheek, go the second mile, love your enemies.” Unfortunately, this passage has been misused in some religious circles.

Please allow me this commercial break…

If someone is in an abusive situation, they are not required to stay and risk their life and/or the lives of their children. There are times when it is best to forgive from a distance. We can continue to love the person but if the relationship is physically, verbally, emotionally, or economically abusive, the most loving and faith-filled response we can have is to practice self-care. When we try to enforce forgiveness like it is a law and not an act of God’s love and grace, all of humanity is in jeopardy.

We’ve heard these passages many times before. But for the original hearers, these words were earth-shattering. Jesus’ words were radical. More to the point, his life was radical. After all, Jesus constantly challenged the status quo. He repeatedly broadened the center so that those on the margins of society would be included.  He challenged the religious leaders of the day and caused so much political upheaval that he received the death penalty.

Jesus was revolutionary in ways that people never expected. Even today, Jesus enters our lives in unexpected ways and I love it. After all, Christianity should not be comfortable for us. The Gospel should not be like our favorite pair of jeans or a pair of old shoes or a worn-out sweater that we drag out this time of year. Certainly, we find comfort in God’s word. But we don’t need to have a hold on the Gospel because Jesus does not belong to us. Rather, the Gospel needs to have a hold on us because we belong to Jesus. Otherwise we are just nominal Christians playing church. We create our own brand of Jesus that suits our needs and pets our egos. We manipulate Jesus into whatever makes us feel safe, or superior, or righteous. So, what is the earth-shattering news we need to hear?

You see, the life changing power of the Gospel message has the greatest impact on our lives when it is destabilizing. Whenever we are challenged to redefine or examine who we understand Jesus to be, we grow. Whenever we challenge what it means to be a Christian in our world today, we grow.

In the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus is encouraging his followers to abandon business as usual. Through his sermon, Jesus turns the accepted societal norms inside-out. This is Good News because even when we dishonor God by our actions or inactions, God still seeks after us. Now, for the life of me I cannot figure out why. But Jesus chooses to use us as the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Jesus chooses us even though we are broken, selfish, and woefully imperfect. Jesus chooses us to broaden the center in our own communities so that all God’s people have a seat at the table. Jesus uses us to increase God’s healing and hope in the world. Is this the earth-shattering news for us?

Genesis 45:3-11, 15

It’s hard to ignore the theme of forgiveness in this week’s lessons—and believe me, I tried. Yes, the story of Joseph is a powerful illustration of love and forgiveness overcoming hatred and bitterness. But even as I encounter this undeniable witness to the hidden hand of God, I find myself distracted by many questions.

Firstly, what does true forgiveness look like for us? What happens to trust? Is it wise for me to trust this person again if they had deliberately betrayed me? What if the best I can do is just be cordial to them? Isn’t that enough? Isn’t it enough for me to simply not hate the sight of them? Let’s face it, forgiveness is hard. There’s no “forgiveness switch” on our hearts that we can simply click on or off when we need more or less of it. I’ve been wondering if forgiveness is like love. You know, when you give away love it multiplies and comes back to you.

Sometimes it seems, in our country, we are more concerned with punishment than we are with peace. We seem more concerned with revenge than reconciliation. We find it easier to fight than to forgive. No wonder some of us find it difficult to accept God’s extravagant gift of love. Even when we are receptive to God’s mercy and forgiveness, we may yet be reluctant to give mercy and forgiveness to others. Maybe we feel that we are giving away our power when we forgive. Maybe we are simply afraid of being hurt again and use our grudges to keep us safe. But, at the end of the day, ministry involves risk.

It can feel like a risk to forgive. But what exactly are we risking? Our power, position, politics, morals, self-constructed ideas of who we are and how others should perceive us seem to be potential risk-factors to forgiveness. But on the other side of forgiveness, on the other side of the tension and resistance we often experience when confronted with someone who has “wronged” us, we find relationship. We find a leveling and sharing of power, we find mutual respect and dignity, and we find the Holy ground that lives between us all. If hunger and poverty are symptoms of deeply broken relationships around the world, forgiveness could be our first-step on the path to living lives of abundance and sharing.

Forgiveness is not necessarily an event, but rather a lifestyle. God doesn’t expect us to forgive perfectly every time. But God is encouraging us to live our lives with forgiveness as our North Star. In doing so, we honor God and we help heal the body of Christ. C.S. Lewis illustrates forgiveness as part of our baptismal identity as Christians:

“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”

This is both gift and challenge.

To be clear, forgiveness cannot erase pain or eliminate the need for justice. But forgiveness is God’s gift to us. The Holy Spirit empowers us to share that gift with others. Fortunately, forgiveness, like most things, gets easier with practice. The more we remain open to the Spirit, the more able we are to forgive. Forgiveness can be extremely difficult, but it is possible. In fact, God makes all things possible for us. This is good news.

Children Sermon

Forgiveness seems to be an overarching theme in this week’s lessons. Forgiveness is an important concept that might be difficult for children to grasp. We learn to say we’re sorry but that does not always lead to forgiveness. Have you ever heard a child offer an angry “sorry!” because her mother told her she had to apologize?  It happens with my kids on occasion.

So, it might be a good idea to ask the children to help you describe forgiveness. This way you can gauge the understanding of the group. Invite the children to share examples of times when they needed to receive forgiveness or times when they needed to forgive someone (be prepared to share your own examples if need be).

For an object lesson, bring two items–something rather heavy and something rather light. A brick and a feather would work well and pretty easy to get. Grudges are heavy like this brick (or rock or concrete paver–probably less than $1 at your local hardware store). Forgiveness is light like this feather (or cotton ball or stuffing from a pillow). You could get a sturdy backpack and put several heavy objects in it and invite a child or two to try and carry it. Ask who would rather carry the heavy bag or the cotton ball all day.

Remind them of the words about forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer. Say it out loud, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” Encourage the children (and adults) to listen for those words later in worship. Remind them that Jesus helps us forgive and forgiveness brings joy.

Ellen Rothweiler, Des Moines, IA

Warm-up Question

What does it look like when you love your enemies? What words would you use to describe this kind of love? 

Beyond Enemies

The 61^st Annual Grammy’s were held on Sunday, February 10 and Alicia Keys hosted the event. She opened the evening with a message of love and connection through music. She described music as “what we all love” and a “shared global language” and a way to “celebrate the greatness in each other”. On a night of competition, in a tough business, Keys reminded the room and all those watching of our shared humanity and that most of all we should share love. She invited other women on the stage with her, sharing the spotlight, to share what music has meant in their lives.

When the world tells us that a person or group of people are our competition, threatening our success and way of life, it is hard to love them. The nature of self-preservation is to defend what you have. In an industry of self-promotion it is essential to put oneself first to get ahead and employ others to help you do so. So, how bold and daring it is in room full of competitors for the priority set to be one of love and connection. 

Discussion Questions

• What dreams do you have for the future? Share two with the group.
• Who or what have you been told is in the way of your success?
• Who or what can help you achieve these dreams?

Seventh Sunday after Epiphany 

Genesis 45:3-11, 15

1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

Luke 6:27-38

(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 C at Lectionary Readings

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

Gospel Reflection

This text includes what we often call the “golden rule,” “do to others as you would have them do to you”.  It also holds another nugget of morality at the beginning of verse 29, “turn the other cheek”. I don’t know about you but I have never fully understood what this means. Let people abuse you? Don’t fight back, don’t defend yourself? This may sound weak, but, in fact, it takes great strength and self-control not to respond to violence with violence. 

All of the directives given by Jesus in this passage can stand alone as a way of being in the world.  Each alone is difficult to follow and they are even more so when taken as a group. So, let’s just look at verses 27-28; “…love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” These two verses sum up the following verses. If you do these things, the others will follow. This is a bold and daring way of being in the world. It means seeing our “enemies” in a new way. The Message puts it this way; “To you who are ready for truth, I say this; Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst.”

Discussion Questions

• Where have you heard the golden rule- “ treat others how you want to be treated’  and “turn the other cheek” other than church?
• How are these sayings helpful? How are they harmful? 
• Who is an enemy that you can pray for and how can they bring out the best in you? 

Activity Suggestion

Look through your social media feeds and identify “enemies”. See them through the lens of love as described in Luke and as modeled by Alicia Keys. Pray for them and pray for the courage to love them. 

Closing Prayer

Source of  all love, it is so easy to demonize those who see the world differently from me, who hurt me, and who seem intent on harming those for whom I care.  Help me to see the fear and pain behind the acts of those I am tempted to dismiss as my enemies.  Give me the wisdom and the heart of Jesus to respond to them as he would, seeking to heal injury, bridge gaps, and transform foes into friends.  Amen.

National policies can and should both reflect our Christian value of welcome and protect U.S. citizens. These two principles are not mutually exclusive. Our leaders do us all a disservice when they fail to acknowledge and honor this truth.

This week, the Administration signaled it would expand its policy to return some asylum seekers to Mexico while they await a decision on their case, known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy. Additionally, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency at the border to fund a physical barrier.

Children and families continue to flee their communities, and many are stuck at the northern border of Mexico due to changes in U.S. policy. Both the emergency declaration and expansion of Remain in Mexico policy will further traumatize them by increasing animosity and backlogs to the asylum system.

The national emergency declaration seeks to obtain $8 billion dollars for a wall by transferring funds from a Treasury Department drug forfeiture fund, Defense Department drug interdiction program, and the military construction fund, among other sources. At a time when apprehensions at the southern border are at a historic low, the transfer of funds from other programs to the southern border is unnecessary.

A wall is not the solution to fixing immigration or addressing border security. We urge the President and Congress to work together for immigration reform that protects the rights and well-being of those who seek asylum here.

To learn more about a Lutheran understanding of immigration issues, read the ELCA social message on “Immigration.”

To learn more about the policy to send asylum seekers to Mexico while awaiting their case, also known as Remain in Mexico, read this Catholic Legal Immigration Network analysis.

To review a letter in which ELCA Advocacy joined over 50 other organizations outlining our specific concerns and asking Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen of the Department of Homeland Security to terminate the Remain in Mexico policy, see post from the Latin America Working Group.

Tim Jacobsen, West Des Moines, IA

Warm-up Question

Have you ever tried to make yourself above others? Have you ever felt like you were forced below others?If Everyone Had That…If Everyone Had That…

If Everyone Had That…

Riley loved to spend the night at friends’ houses! When he and his friends were together, they would stay up late playing games, talking about life and relationships, eating food, and just having fun. This group of friends just loved these nights and would look forward to them as they would happen quite often.

There was one friend’s house that Riley loved in particular, Jordan had a great house for sleepovers. Jordan’s parents had many big TVs with sound systems, a pool, hot tub, game room, a huge selection of movies, and games to play. One night over some really good food, Jordan asked Riley when their parents were going to host a party.

Riley’s heart sank and tried to get their mom to say no. But Riley’s mom was so excited to host! In the weeks leading up to when the friend group was going to be over Riley was trying to get their parents to buy a bigger TV and have more things to make a night over even better, like at Jordan’s. Riley’s parents were ok with some additions, but not all of them. As Riley was arguing, Riley’s mom had the most mom comment, “If everyone had the same things and lived the same, we would live in a boring world, wouldn’t we?”. Ugh…not the answer that Riley was hoping for…

Discussion Questions

• Are there ways you can relate to Riley’s story? Jordan’s?
• Have you heard the phrase, if everyone had ____ or was the same, the world would be boring? What are your thoughts/feelings?
• What are some things that need to be more equal in our world? What do you think that would that look like? Do you see any problems?

Sixth Sunday after Epiphany

Jeremiah 17:5-10

1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Luke 6:17-26

(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

“That’s not fair!”, I would say, and my dad would respond with, “well the fair is in August.”. What a comeback that is, I plan to use that comeback with my own children. It’s just so perfect in so many ways. First off, how many things in our life do we say aren’t fair? Yes, there is the unfairness of a sibling getting the bigger piece of cake or friend getting something better than you. But zoom out and look at the bigger things in our world that don’t seem fair. Yes, these occurrences seem too big for us to fix on our own or do anything about. So, what are we to do?

The task may seem daunting, and in many cases it is. When something seems unfair, we need to remember that there are two sides. One side may feel the situation is fair because they benefit, so why level the playing field so that fairness would prevail? It’s so easy to want all or none, but the real work comes in the task of compromise.

Jesus is talking about just this in a really long (his longest, in fact) sermon. This sermon is called the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, but in Luke this sermon occurs on a level place. We aren’t completely sure where the sermon occurred, but the message still prevails. This is not just a sermon to the haves and have nots which is full of shame for the ones who have.

This is a sermon that addresses emotional and physical realties. Those who are poor, lack food, or weep, will inherit the Kingdom of God, be given food, and have joy. Yet, those who have money, fed, and like, will be poor, hungry, and hated. This seems backwards, and it kind of is. The issue is not having money, food, or being liked. The issue Luke is addressing is a heart issue. Those who have money, food, and joy shouldn’t just keep that to themselves. We are called to share our blessings and gifts with others. 

If we were all the same and had the same way of living, I don’t think the world would be boring. Even with a leveled playing field, we still would live in a broken world. In this world people would still long to hold power over others or have more than others. I encourage you to do as Jesus is saying in Luke:  Look at your heart and ask how you can use what you have (money, time, strength, knowledge) to serve your neighbor.

Discussion Questions

• How do the “blessed be’s” make you feel? What about the “woe’s”?
• Can you relate to who Jesus is talking about?
• This sermon seems so upside down, why is that?
• Does Jesus’ message still apply today?
• Upon reflection what needs to change in your heart, or intentions about how you use what you are blessed with?

Activity Suggestions

• Write Your Own Story: We have our own lens and see different things in our world/community. If you were to write your own sermon on the mount type sermon, what would you say? 
• Bridge Building: What are some ways that your group can reach out to other communities? As you reach out to these communities, look for what you can learn from them as you build relationships. As you are building relationships, be looking for ways that your group may be able to meet this groups needs. 

Closing Prayer

Good and Gracious God, we thank you for your presence with us and love that you have for us. We ask that you open our eyes to those around us who need to feel your love. Work through us as we go out to be your hands and feet. We have been blessed with much and long for much, help us to be content and willing to share our blessings with others.  Amen

Today’s post is by Miriam Schmidt, pastor/priest of All Saints in Big Sky, a shared ministry of the Episcopal and Lutheran (ELCA) Churches in Big Sky, Montana. 

Children know about death. More than we give them credit for. Many kids by the age of 5 or 7 have experienced at least the death of a beloved pet, or even a family member or friend. They know what it is like one day to be able to burrow their face in a cat’s fur, hold their grandfather’s hand, hear the voice of an auntie calling their name, smell the vanilla scent of Nana; then the next day, to feel the sudden wretched absence that comes with death. There is no longer any way to touch or smell or hear or see the physical body of the one who has died.

Children know about death, the aching hole it leaves behind; and if they do not know about it yet, they will soon enough.

So it is important for us, as adults, to find ways to include our children in Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is a gift of the church to us all. The day’s simple and stark ritual of ashes speaks honestly of death. We take dirt, ashes of palms, and press them onto each other’s foreheads. We say the old words: Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

This act might be straight-up depressing, did we not mark the ashes in the shape of a cross. The same cross is marked on the foreheads of the newly baptized. The same cross is inscribed on every Christian forever. With Ash Wednesday’s cross of ashes, we are saying that even in the face of death, our loving God is as close as our skin. Jesus is smudged on us, rubbed into our flesh, so that when we weep with all our hearts for those who have died, we are not alone. God is this close – a cross on our foreheads. So we can live in hope that a God so close will carry us through every death, even our own.

How does your congregation do at involving children in Ash Wednesday? Many children – not to mention their parents – will benefit from some preparation. Perhaps the children can help burn last year’s palms into Ash Wednesday’s ashes after worship on Transfiguration Sunday. On the day itself, maybe children can be invited forward before the Imposition of Ashes to see and touch the ashes for themselves? Can they be allowed to mark their own cross? Or cross another child? Afterwards, on the first Sunday in Lent, can Ash Wednesday’s leftover ashes be brought out again and shown to those who forgot it even was Ash Wednesday, so they can see for themselves.

 This is what we did a few days ago: We traced ashes on foreheads in the shape of the cross. God is as close as the skin on our foreheads. Even in the face of death.