ELCA Blogs

Warm-up Question

Have you ever been in an earthquake? Where were you and what happened?

Finger Pointing

At the close of 2014 that was a lot of finger pointing back and forth between North Korea and the United States of America. Conflict between the two nations began at least 70 years ago but the close of 2014 brought a flurry of finger pointing. It began in late November with the hack of Sony Pictures’ computer systems. In the days following, evidence surfaced that the attack originated in North Korea, likely in retaliation to Sony preparing to release a comedic movie called The Interview about assassinating North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. North Korean officials deny their country is responsible but the FBI says North Korea is the culprit.

Hackers next told Sony to stop the “movie of terrorism” and threatened terror attacks against people who see The Interview in theaters. In response major theater chains cancelled plans to show the movie and Sony officially canceled the movie’s release. President Obama criticized Sony for failing to consult the White House in deciding to censor the movie but later applauded when the movie was released on Christmas Day in theaters and online.

Starting Christmas Eve, Sony’s PlayStation Network and Microsoft’s Xbox Live networks experienced multi-day outage via denial-of-service attacks. FBI investigating is where or not North Korea is involved.

On December 22^nd and 28^th North Korea suffered a nationwide internet and 3G mobile phone networks outages. In response North Korea blames the US for engineering the outages and said, “Obama always goes reckless in words and deeds like a monkey in a tropical forest”. US officials have not commented on whether they had a role in the outages and refuse to respond to avoid provoking a response from North Korea.

Discussion Questions

Have you seen the movie The Interview? Why or why not? Is it responsible to release a movie about the assassination of another nation’s current leader? What would your response be if North Korea released a movie about assassinating President Obama?
Which country is to blame in all the finger pointing? Is one or the other more in “the right?”
Should we be afraid of further escalation between the 2 countries – i.e., nuclear attacks?

Baptism of our Lord

Genesis 1:1-5

Acts 19:1-7

Mark 1:4-11

(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

At the beginning of the Gospel of Mark, John the Baptist comes as a messenger with one message: Get ready God is coming. John is like a hand that points to Jesus – the One God sends. John says to anyone who will listen, “the One who is more powerful than I is coming.” John knows who he is and that his job is to finger point to Jesus.

John’s words and appearance were like the prophet Elijah who also finger pointed to God doing something new. Here in Mark’s story John proclaims baptism (washing) and makes it new in making baptism a moment where God’s invitation to repentance and forgiveness happen. John baptizes and then points to Jesus and says “I have baptized you with water… he will baptize with the Holy Spirit.” Jesus baptism will be even better because he will baptize with the Holy Spirit.

Then Jesus is baptized. Jesus sees the heavens ripped apart and hears God say “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” In baptism God finger points to Jesus and comes to earth as a flesh and blood human being. We hear God’s voice in baptism too call us beloved sons and daughters. God finger points to us and gives us new birth in the Holy Spirit to live and love like Jesus.

Discussion Questions

Why was a person like John sent to get people ready for Jesus and not a religious leader or ruler from Rome? Why did so many people respond to John’s message?
Do you think only Jesus saw the dove-like form of the Spirit and the voice of God when he was baptized? What difference does this make?
What difference does baptism make in your daily life? What do you do each day that tells the world everyone is a beloved child of God?

Activity Suggestions

Make a large, finger pointing hand out of cardstock. (Think of the foam “#1” fingers of sports teams). On one side write “points people to Jesus“. On the other side “points people away from Jesus.”

Now as a group write or draw ways that you as individuals, church community and nation point and fail to point the world to Jesus on each side. Brainstorm together what do you do and what do you fail to do to tell the world that everyone is given the new life of Christ?

Closing Prayer

God of the finger pointing, help us to receive the daily gift of baptism in pointing the world to your Son. As North Korea and the USA point fingers, transform our finger pointing into the love and life of turning lives around and knowing you. Thank you for messengers like John the Baptist. Help us to tell and show the world you are here and that the world is loved by you. Amen.

Pictured: A home in the Vellipalayam Jubilee Village. Photo courtesy of Franklin Ishida/ELCA.

It has been ten years since an earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia on Dec. 26, 2004, and caused a tsunami with waves reaching to 100 feet. The tsunami affected 14 countries and killed more than 230,000 people, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.

The ELCA responded immediately by sending a 15-person delegation to affected areas to express solidarity and meet with partners, and ELCA congregations and individuals responded generously by giving more than $11.4 million for tsunami relief and recovery projects. This support allowed Lutheran Disaster Response to not only take action immediately after the storm but to also accompany our brothers and sisters who were impacted over this past decade as they have journeyed on the long road of recovery.

One location where Lutheran Disaster Response and the greater ELCA have been active is in the Tamil Nadu state in India.

“The ELCA’s response and engagement with the South Asia Tsunami began almost as it occurred,” says Chandran Martin, formerly the executive secretary for the United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India (UELCI) and currently the ELCA Global Mission regional representative for South Asia. “At the time [of the tsunami], the UELCI, a partner of the ELCA, was responding to the aftermath at the relief stage. Empowered by the solidarity with the ELCA, the UELCI was able to deal with several challenges in planning and operations.”

One such challenge that the UELCI and Lutheran Disaster Response took on was including people who had received little to no assistance, the Dalits, who were then known as “the untouchables” in India’s caste system. In the Tranquebar area, where Lutheran missionaries first arrived in India more than 300 years ago, a Dalit community that was impacted was restored and developed into the Vellipalayam Jubilee Village, where 114 permanent homes were built.

In addition to the new homes in the Vellipalayam Jubilee Village, a sense of identity and self-sustenance was emphasized. Development processes for health and education were put into place, which have promoted health awareness and improved health conditions in the area. Micro-financing and self-help groups were created, which resulted in several job markets, including sewing and metal-working.

These steps helped pave the way for a movement toward greater economic justice in the area, according to Martin. “Through the micro-credit process, seven self-help groups have been formed by women in the area. They are seeking a better livelihood through this process, and the communities are gradually taking control of the processes around them.”

While the rebuilding and construction of the Vellipalayam Jubilee Village has ended, the ELCA continues to walk with our brothers and sisters in India who were impacted by the tsunami as they continue to work on capacity building and sustainability. “The communities in Vellipalayam have truly experienced this solidarity, partnership and accompaniment over the past decade,” Martin says.

Warm-up Question

When were you ever afraid of the dark?

Let There Be Light

A 31 year-old physicist at MIT, Jeremy England, has been mixing things up a bit in the world of physics and the question of the origin of life, as we know it, here on earth (and perhaps existing elsewhere). The Big Bang followed by primordial ooze giving birth to life is not enough for the young physicist. According to England, there are even more fundamental laws of nature at work. His premise is that where there is energy (as in the form of light) and conditions for heat to be released, the inanimate can become animate. The physics world is divided and still debating his theory. If proven to have merit and accepted it could change how we talk about the origins of life. As England suggests, “You start with a random clump of atoms, and if you shine light on it for long enough, it should not be so surprising that you get a plant.”

Discussion Questions

How does the sun feel on your skin or face?
When do you most like being in the sun?
When have you noticed the life-giving effects of sunlight?
How do you feel during this ‘darker’ time of the year with less hours of sunlight each day?

Second Sunday of Christmas

Jeremiah 31:7-14

Ephesians 1:3-14

John 1:[1-9]10-18

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

Gospel Reflection

The eternal Word of God, Jesus Christ, is what this introduction to John’s Gospel is about. These verses right at the beginning are a philosophical-theological explanation of who Jesus is. God’s word that creates, becomes flesh – a real human being, and is light. Just like the first thing that God creates in Genesis, “let there be light.” And after there’s light, then things can begin to take shape in the midst of the chaotic stuff that was “without form and was void”. A new creation is taking place. A divine word that is a light for humanity has come. “What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (John 1: 3b-5) Light is life. The new light of Jesus brings life to the dark corners of our world and of our daily existence.

The gospel writer, John, says that the darkness did not ‘overcome’ it. The original word in Greek (“katalaben”) can mean “to take hold of,” “seize,” “comprehend,” or “understand.” So this Jesus-light shines in the darkness and the darkness can’t cover him up and make him go away and the darkness can’t get a hold of the Jesus-light. It doesn’t understand it.

Jesus gives life and somehow that is hard to understand. The creator becomes a part of the creation. The same God that says, “let there be light,” comes to the dark corners of the world to shine into the darkness. Wherever the light of Jesus Christ shines, there you will find life. “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God.” (John 1:12). As God’s children, the ones who have received the light, we have the opportunity to point to the same light of Christ as John the Baptist does. Where we see darkness, we can shine the Jesus-light of love to dispel it.

Discussion Questions

Even though we know the light of Jesus Christ, when do you still experience moments of “darkness”?
What are ways the light of Jesus Christ can dispel the “darkness” in our lives and the lives around us?
In what ways can we increase or intensify the light of Jesus?
What would you call darkness in the world?

Activity Suggestions

Candle in the darkness: Take one candle and the participants into a dark place in the church (some room somewhere where light can be kept out). See how one small candle can illumine the whole room. Read the Gospel lesson again.

Closing Prayer

God who is the creative Word, you have so often come to us in the dark moments in our lives. Send the loving light of your son, Jesus Christ, to us now. Enlighten our darkness now and send us out to be your children, children of your divine light. We pray this in the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen

Faith Lens Editor

Faith Lens is not published this week. The next posting will be for Sunday, January 4.

Pictured: Damage from Cyclone Hudhud, a storm with 109 mph winds that hit eastern India in October. Photo credit: Lutheran World Service India Trust.

From Oct. 7 – 14, 2014, Cyclone Hudhud caused extensive damage to India and claimed lives. With 109 mph winds, the cyclone affected 320 villages in India. More than 41,530 homes and 40,000 electric poles were damaged, while more than 1,800 cattle were reported dead and about 205,000 hectares of crop land were destroyed.

Working with Lutheran World Service India Trust (LWSIT), Lutheran Disaster Response has provided $80,000 to assist in the continued relief and long-term livelihood recovery for 1,000 families in Wisakhapatnum and Srikakulam districts of Andhra Pradesh as they address their immediate needs and begin the process of rebuilding.

Relief assistance will be in the forms of food, non-food items, such as tarpaulin sheets for damaged homes, and water and hygiene materials. Long-term recovery will focus on agricultural livelihood restoration and will include rice seed distribution to share croppers so that they will be able to resume planting once the current season is over. We will also assist 300 women supplement their food supply by providing vegetable seeds to them so they are able to grow food at home and meet nutritional needs for their children.

Lutheran Disaster Response will also work with LWSIT to assist 100 families whose homes were hit hardest by providing materials for them to rebuild.

“Cyclones are an unfortunate regular occurrence, especially in eastern India. Between the furies of some of these cyclones, the affect they have on large swaths of populations and their livelihoods, and the impact on people living in poverty, disasters are an ongoing companion to millions of people in India,” says Franklin Ishida, ELCA Global Mission area program director for Asia and Pacific. “In recent years, the Indian government has done much to mitigate the effect of
such disasters. But the destructive forces of a cyclone like Hudhud are at times unimaginable. The ELCA is blessed to have a companion in India, Lutheran World Service India Trust, who is able to work with those affected by Hudhud and through whom critical relief needs are met.”

Lutheran Disaster Response is committed to working with our trusted partner, LWSIT to walk with our brothers and sisters who were impacted by Hudhud. We pray for their recovery and for their continued safety in living in an area prone to natural disasters. If you would like to support Lutheran Disaster Response’s work in India, please visit the Lutheran Disaster Response giving page.

Mary Minette, ELCA Director for Environmental Education and Advocacy

“I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”

–Romans 8:18-21

Late on December 14, the annual meeting of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) finally concluded; two full days after it was scheduled to end. The parties adopted a final document that will guide the negotiation of a new global climate change agreement over the next year, with final results next December in Paris. As the negotiators, delegates from environmental organizations, churches, businesses and other interested groups headed home, the assessments of the outcome began in the media, blogs, social networks, and in conversations amongst colleagues.

Many of the delegates returned to communities preparing for Christmas. I returned from Lima to a family and church community celebrating Advent with a children’s pageant (my son was a sheep) that told the story of the coming of the son of God to a world where misery reigned and hope was in short supply.

The world we live in today often lacks hope, and this season gives us a chance to reflect on the God’s gift of light and hope to humanity, and creation through Jesus Christ. The four weeks of Advent allow us to find hope in the midst of difficulty and despair, to look for the coming of the light in our dark world.

As a church engaged in the global discussion about climate change, our task during Advent and beyond is to tell the stories of those who are suffering and to point to solutions that will provide our world with hope and a chance for a more sustainable future. Following the People’s Climate March in New York this past September, many hoped that our leaders would note the interest and commitment of millions of people around the globe and find the courage and the will to act decisively to address climate change.

The results of Lima are not the decisive actions marchers demanded in New York, but they do not preclude a good outcome in Paris if countries can come to agreement on some significant issues over the next year. How and when will developing countries reduce their emissions? Will they be given financial and technical assistance to do so? What will be done about climate change impacts that are already happening, and can’t be adapted to? How much will developed countries pledge to do over the next decade to help developing countries adopt clean energy technologies and move away from polluting fossil fuels?

All of these questions can be answered. We can have an agreement that moves us towards a sustainable future if we continue to let our leaders know that action is critical, and that we will support them as they negotiate a strong climate deal for Paris.

As we look to the New Year, let us pray for an effective agreement and encourage our global leaders to address the critical questions left unanswered in Lima in a way that truly fulfills our collective call to care for our neighbors and for all of God’s creation.

Dennis Sepper, Tacoma, WA

Warm-up Question

Do you think one person can make a difference in the world? Why or why not?

One Person Can Make a Difference

Detroit, Michigan—Every Saturday or Sunday Robby Elmers loads up the family minivan. Since he is only 12 years old, Robby cannot drive so his grandmother does the honors. They drive from their small city outside of Detroit to the center core of Motown. Once there Robby sets up a table filled with hot dogs, potato salad and other treats and begins to serve the homeless of Detroit.

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According to the Detroit Free Press there are some 20,000 homeless people living in the Motor City. Some people think Robby is wasting his time and birthday and Christmas money but not Robby, “It makes me feel good to be able to help” he told the Detroit News. While Robby might only be 12 years old, he is giving hope to a group of people that often feels overlooked. “It is amazing that a child so young would be out here shaking hands, talking to everyone and caring,” Shauna Johnson, A Detroit homeless woman told the Detroit News, “Robby is right out there in front.”

Discussion Questions

Do you think one person can make a difference in the world? Why or why not?
Is Robby wasting his time and money? Why or why not?
What is your passion…something you feel God is calling you to do in this world?
Watch this You Tube video, https://www.youtube.com/user/ulprojectsunlight What do you notice about the “new leaders” shown? What else do you see?
Many of you will be headed to Detroit next summer for the ELCA Youth Gathering. Together you will be instruments of hope to a city that is getting back on its feet after some really tough times. Take your passions with you and you will make a difference in the lives of the people of Detroit.

Fourth Sunday of Advent

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

Gospel Reflection

In the Advent season we begin to hear and read some of the classic Christmas Bible stories. One has to listen or read very carefully because over the years, since Christmas is such a huge event and celebration, some embellishments of the stories have crept into the account of John the Baptist and the birth of Jesus. That is not a bad thing, people love the stories and they carry so much meaning that people want to help them along a bit by adding their own contributions. For example, we all assume that when Mary and Joseph traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem that Mary rode on a donkey. It’s a beautiful image which we often see in art work but you can read Luke and Matthew until your eyes turn red and you will find no mentioned of a donkey or any other method of travel. Mary may have well walked along side Joseph!

The same is true with today’s Gospel reading. As you heard or read we really do not know much about Mary from this Gospel Reading. We know that she has found favor with God (1:30) but we are not told why; we know that she was from the small town of Nazareth (1:26) and not from the important city of Jerusalem; and we know from Matthew’s account that Mary was engaged to Joseph but not yet married (Matthew 1:18). That is not a lot to go on but Mary (and Joseph) have a great deal to teach us by example and that is where we turn our attention to next.

First, why did Mary find favor with God? Was it because she was rich or perfect or knew her Old Testament Bible verses well? It certainly doesn’t seem so. What might have caused God to find favor with Mary and caused God to choose her for the privilege of giving birth to Jesus was her faith. The clue to that is given in Luke 1:38. After hearing this incredible news that God chose her to be the mother of Jesus, she responded in faith, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Do we have the kind of faith that allows us to say without hesitation to God, “Let it be with me according to your word”? The Holy Spirit gives us that kind of faith but sometimes we try to make excuses as to why God should choose someone else! The Good News here is that God chooses us out of God’s grace and mercy. As the song “I Am Yours” by Casting Crowns says in addressing God “Not because of who I am but because of what you’ve done, not because of what I’ve done but because of who you are.” We never “earn” God’s call; it comes to us by the Holy Spirit through the grace of God and Jesus. Like Mary all we have to do is stand there and say “Thanks! Yes! Let it be with me according to your word.”

Why did God choose a woman from Nazareth and not from the center of religious and political power Jerusalem? You might say it was to fulfill an Old Testament prophecy but there is more at work here. God’s choice of Mary is all a part of God’s great reversal where God chooses the poor over the wealthy, the weak over the powerful, the humble over the proud, the hungry over the well fed, an unknown person from a small town over a celebrity from Washington D.C. or Hollywood. Read Luke 1:46-55 which is the Psalm Reading for this Sunday. These are revolutionary words. If the Romans had heard Mary singing this song she could have been arrested or worse. But this is the way God works…in ways we do not expect, in ways that go against the stream. Again, the Good News here is take a look around the room and take a look at yourself…not many of us are powerful or a celebrity.

Finally, we are never told the age of Mary but we know that women in the Middle East at that time married young. Most scholars who concern themselves with Mary’s age say she was most likely between thirteen and sixteen years old. That puts her a little bit older than Robby Elmers, around the age of those in the You Tube video above and about the same age as most people who are reading or using this Faith Lens blog! The great prophet Jeremiah tried to use his age as an excuse to get out of the prophetic call (see Jeremiah 1:4-8) but God would have none of it. We are never too young and we are never too old to receive the call of God to service in the world. That’s because the call is not rooted in us. The call is rooted in our baptism where God adopts us as God’s children, brothers and sisters of Jesus and where God bestows on us the power of the Holy Spirit. Mary stands as a shining example in this season of Advent of a person who takes their faith in the Lord seriously and is ready and willing to act on that faith. Standing in that kind of faith in God and Christ one person can make a difference in the community they live and in the world; you and me included!

Discussion Questions

Think about the traditional Christmas creche or painting of Christmas night. No biblical text puts all the elements in the same place, but we usually depict parents, animals, shepherds, and magi gathered around the manger. What is the significance of each of these things for the meaning of the nativity? What does each these elements contribute to our understanding of this event.
Some traditions regard Mary as the model of discipleship. If that is true, what attributes does a disciple have, based on what we know about Mary.

Activity Suggestions

When couples are expecting a baby they often prepare a birth announcement. The birth announcement not only gives us information about the child (sex, length and weight) but sometimes they include some of the parent’s expectations for the child. Pretend for a moment that you are Mary or Joseph, how would you write a birth announcement for Jesus? Be as creative as you can be: make it song (rock, country or rap), a picture, a video, a poem (or Spoken Word), even a tweet. No matter what medium you choose remember to include the revolutionary words and/or ideas in Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55).

For inspiration you might want to take a look at the hymn “Canticle of the Turning”, ELW #723. The hymn was written by Rory Cooney (b. 1952) and is a paraphrase of the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). Cooney wrote the hymn to emphasize the radical nature of Mary’s words particularly how God renders the powerful powerless and raises up the lowly. Even the tune chosen for this hymn reflects the radical nature of the text with its dance-like rhythm and wild flair.

Closing Prayer

Almighty and merciful God, we are not worthy to come before you but instead you come to us in Jesus and you call us to be Christ’s disciples in the world. Through your call of Mary and Joseph you proclaim to us that we are never too young or too old to be your hands and feet in our world today. By the Holy Spirit given to us in baptism, strengthen our faith, calm all our fears, and give us the courage to serve you and our neighbor in lives of service. As your sons and daughters we make a difference in this world on your behalf. To you be all glory and honor now and forever. Amen.

Megan Brandsrud

Advent: Peace

Gorgya Paols receives a LWF food voucher that provides her a carton of food that will last a month

Gorgya Paols receives a food voucher that provides her a carton of food that will last for one month.

Gorgya Paols, 63, has only one wish in this season of wishes – peace in her home country, Iraq. Having already fled Baghdad in 2005 after being persecuted for being Christian, Gorgya is tired of running.

“I love my country so much,” she says. “I don’t want to leave. It makes me sad and I hope the people who have left might one day be able to come back to live together peacefully, happily. Every day, someone is leaving and I must say goodbye.”

Gorgya is currently living in a small home with her husband and her son’s family of five.

Advent: Love

Five year old Vian Shara stands in the crowd at an LWF distribution of food in Northern Iraq with her father Saeed Shara

Five-year-old Vian Shara stands in the crowd at a distribution of food in Northern Iraq with her father, Saeed Shara.

In addition to the stress of leaving their home, Shara and his family are concerned about the disruption in their children’s education and the health of one of their daughters, Vian, who suffers from kidney failure.

Lutheran Disaster Response is working with the Lutheran World Federation to provide food assistance to both Gorgya Paols’ and Saeed Shara’s families while they face this time of uncertainty in their country and their homes. We are committed to walking with our brothers and sisters in Iraq, and we pray for their safety and well-being.

Gracious God,

As we celebrate the birth of your son, we bring to you the refugees from Iraq. Give them today their daily bread. Shelter them from the cold, from aggression, violence and mistrust. Keep a candle of hope burning in their hearts, and grant them peace – peace in their country, but also peace of mind. Be with all the people who assist them, the host communities and the aid workers. Grant them strength, open eyes and open hearts, to be able to respond to spoken and unspoken needs. Let them keep the faith, even if the situation may seem overwhelming. Be with all the people who have lost their homes because of violence. Teach us to be compassionate and welcoming, to the glory of your name. Let us be a voice for those who are not heard and advocate for justice on their behalf. Grant us understanding and peace. Amen.

Photos and prayer are courtesy of the Lutheran World Federation.

Advent: Peace

Gorgya Paols receives a food voucher that provides her a carton of food that will last for one month.

Gorgya Paols receives a food voucher that provides her a carton of food that will last for one month.

Advent: Love

Five-year-old Vian Shara stands in the crowd at a distribution of food in Northern Iraq with her father, Saeed Shara.

Saeed Shara and his wife and their three children were forced to flee their home due to the recent conflict in Iraq. They didn’t have much time and they weren’t able to carry much, so the only belongings they took with them were whatever they could grab. Once they arrived in an area of safety, Shara’s family was welcomed by strangers who opened their unoccupied home to let them and three other families occupy it.In addition to the stress of leaving their home, Shara and his family are concerned about the disruption in their children’s education and the health of one of their daughters, Vian, who suffers from kidney failure.

Gracious God,

Photos and prayer are courtesy of the Lutheran World Federation.

Mary Minette, ELCA Director for Environmental Education and Advocacy

photo 3 (2)

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

-Nelson Mandela

It’s midway through the final week at the 20th conference of the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Lima, Peru. With a limited amount of time left, it seems impossible that parties will agree on a framework for a new global climate change agreement which will need to be finalized next year in Paris. Countries are very far apart on some key points: will the agreement be a legally binding treaty or something less stringent? What issues will the new agreement cover? Will adaptation to climate change and the related issue of “loss and damage” (impacts that can’t be adapted to) be accorded as much attention as the all-important issue of emissions reductions? Will there be sufficient funding to help the least developed nations adapt and adopt low carbon technologies needed to sustainably develop their economies and reduce poverty?

One of the most contentious issues is whether the “firewall” between developed and developing countries will continue to allow countries like China, Brazil and India to shoulder fewer emission responsibilities. The firewall has stood since the beginning of the UNFCCC convention in 1992, and places much of the emission reduction responsibility on historically large emitters such as the U.S. and European Union. In the original UNFCCC document, large historic emitters of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases were listed as “Annex I” nations in the convention, and were designated to take on greater responsibilities for reducing emissions. Under the Kyoto protocol, for example, Annex I countries agreed to mandatory emissions reductions as part of their ratification of the treaty, while non-Annex I countries were only asked to make pledges for voluntary reductions.

In the years since the UNFCCC first took effect, China, a non-Annex I country, has surpassed the United States as the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases (although the U.S. still emits the most per capita). India is now the third largest emitter. Although both of these countries still have significant levels of poverty, it is hard to see how they can take on less responsibility for reducing emissions if we hope to stabilize global temperatures and stay within the 2 degrees Celsius limit required to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Currently, in the draft document that the UNFCCC Co-Chairs have proposed to govern negotiations over the next year, there are two versions of the introduction. One version calls for emissions reductions to be guided by the “provisions and principles” of the UNFCCC (including Annex I), and the other refers to “evolving responsibilities and capabilities.” This issue may not be resolved by the end of this week, but if we hope to see a global agreement to tackle climate change by the end of next year in Paris, the impossible will need to become possible.

January 11, 2015–Finger Pointing

South Asia Tsunami: The Vellipalayam Jubilee Village 10 years after the tsunami

January 4, 2015–Let There Be Light

No new Faith Lens for 12/28/14

India: Cyclone Hudhud relief and long-term recovery

Living Earth Reflections: December 2014

December 21, 2014–One Person Can Make a Difference

Iraq: Advent stories of peace and love

Iraq: Advent stories of peace and love

Breaking down the firewall