Contributed by Paul Henrickson, Salem, VA

[Editor’s note:  This week’s Faith Lens is in a slightly different format than usual, but you will find the same opportunities for reflection and discussion]

Warm-up Question

What event has most impacted your life?

Why Aren’t We Gasping (or Laughing)?

I am writing this on November 22, 2011.  Like everyone over the age of 54, I remember exactly where I was at 1:30 pm 48 years ago.  The assassination of President Kennedy is etched in my memory.  When I watch this YouTube video, I still gasp at the harsh reality.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP-YKYBfLuU

What makes you gasp today?  What event, idea, or proposal takes your breath away?  I am not a social-psychologist, but I have a hunch that, because we have instant access to so many events, there are fewer things that truly amaze us.  We may be entertained or even embarrassed, but are we left breathless with the surprise of real life?

Mark 1:1 is an incomplete sentence that simply blurts out a truth that is breathlessly remarkable: “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God…”  Listen!  Good News, Jesus, the Christ, Son of God; these words are like a prelude that we need a few moments to digest.

What might come next?  Are we prepared for an Old Testament reference, a “Wilderness Man” preaching a baptism of repentance, a promise of one even more powerful yet to come?  Compare this story with the accounts in Matthew and Luke and you will find that Mark gives the polite version of events.  In Mark there is no “brood of vipers,” no clearing of the threshing floor; no burning of chaff with unquenchable fire.  It is straight forward proclamation of the Good News.  Are you gasping yet?  Do we need disastrous consequences or is the simple declaration of Mark sufficient.

Below are 6 “P” words to help you work through this text.  Once you are finished, try telling the story to another person in your group with amazed excitement.

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, December 4, 2011 (Second Sunday of Advent)

Isaiah 40:1-11

2 Peter 3:8-15a

Mark 1:1-8

(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

Prelude

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

+ begin a conversation with these words of verse 1, what would you say next?

Preparation

2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight” ’,

+ why is the voice crying in the wilderness?

+ what wilderness of the spirit do you know?

Proclamation
4John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

+ Again, Baptism takes place in the wilderness.  Why?

People

5And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

+ Can you imagine “all” the people of a city showing up for baptism?

+ What people might show up today?

Preposterous

6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.

+ John is truly a “Wilderness Man.”  Why is that important?

Powerful

7He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’

+ How would you share with another person, the power of your baptism?

Activity Suggestions

Role Play the situation in the text.  Assign persons to be John, some hearers, persons who are offended by him–and a news crew covering the event.  Have the crew interview folks to get their reaction.  Pay special attention to what would be “newsworthy.”  What would excite people and get them talking?

Closing Prayer

God of Grace and Glory, forgive us when we are not amazed at the in-breaking of your kingdom; forgives us when we are complacent with the sacred presence of your Son.  Strengthen our faith so that we may receive Him with Joy and Thanksgiving.  Amen

Contributed by Paul Baglios, St. Paul, MN

Warm-up Question

When we pray to God as Jesus taught, “your kingdom come,” do we really mean it?  Do we really expect it?  Do we really want it?

Signs of the Coming Kingdom?

Earlier this month , Asteroid 2005 YU55 passed by the earth at a distance closer than the moon.  NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced the following:  “Asteroid 2005 YU55 was discovered Dec. 28, 2005, by Robert McMillan of the Spacewatch Program near Tucson, Ariz. The nearly spherical object is about 400 meters in diameter [i.e., a quarter-mile wide, bigger than an aircraft carrier].   The closest approach will be at 6:28 p.m. today [November 8], when it will come within 80 percent of the distance to the moon.  There is no danger the asteroid will pose a threat to Earth for at least 100 years.   The next approach of a space object as large as Asteroid 2005 YU55 will be in 2028.”   Within days of that event, a passing comet produced an event known as a Taurid meteor shower, producing fireballs in the sky visible in both the northern and southern hemispheres of the earth.

Discussion Questions

•  How many of you were aware of the passage of the asteroid close to the earth on November 8?  How did you hear about it?  What did you know about it?  Was this event discussed in your school?
• Do any of you enjoy learning about astronomy?  If so, what do you enjoy most about it?  Do any of you have a telescope?
• How do you think earlier generations of human societies regarded visible astronomical phenomena before the invention of telescopes and the current understanding of our solar system and the cosmos?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, November 21, 2011 (First Sunday of Advent)

Isaiah 64:1-9

1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Mark 13:24-37

(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

Long before and ever since the birth of Jesus, some people have regarded astral phenomena as signs of an approaching end-time which brings the destruction of the earth and the end of life as we have known it.  Many religious traditions have incorporated such speculation into their understanding of sacred purpose and reality.  Jesus speaks to that interest in our gospel text from the Mark 13, but he cautions us against speculations which distract from the central concerns of faith.  For Christian faith, speculation about the end-time is a trivial distraction from the present circumstances of our life and our world.  When Jesus tells us, “keep awake,” he is not calling us to anxious concern about the end-time but to vigilant exercise of faith in each present moment.  The facts that dazzling astral phenomena can be seen in the skies in every generation and that Jesus speaks to “this generation” help us to understand that focusing our faith on speculation about the future is not nearly as important as engaging our faith in each present moment.  Elsewhere Jesus says, “the kingdom of God has come near” (for example, Mark 1:15).  When he tells us to “keep awake,” he is calling us to pay attention to the nearness of God’s kingdom in the circumstances of our lives, today – and every day.

Discussion Questions

•  To help you think about what Jesus means when he speaks about “the kingdom of God,” read Mary’s song of praise (known as the Magnificat) in Luke 1:46-55, and Jesus’ own teaching in Luke 4:16-21 and Luke 7:18-23.  When and where and how have you seen such signs of God’s kingdom in the circumstances of your own life and the circumstances of our world?
• What makes it difficult to see signs of God’s kingdom in our lives and our world?  Why is it often difficult to believe that “the kingdom of God has come near”?
• How do we, individually and together, represent to others the signs of God’s kingdom, the signs of its nearness?

Activity Suggestions

• Ask individuals to  list two or three signs of God’s kingdom they have seen recently – in their lives or in the lives of others, whether within their our own community or in the larger world.  Share lists with the whole group.
• As a group, identify two or three ways that you might work together to be a sign of God’s kingdom to others.  Make a plan to act upon what you have identified.

Closing Prayer

God, strengthen our faith that we may sincerely pray for the coming of your kingdom, giving us eyes to see its nearness in our lives and in our world.  Teach us to pray daily with all your people: Amen; come, Lord Jesus.

Contributed by Angie Larson, Clive, IA

Warm-up Question

Would you sleep outside in a box? In the rain? In Iowa? When the weather is only 30 degrees?

Sleeping Under the Stars So Kids Can Reach Them

This past October 29^th nearly 1,000 Iowans abandoned their warm beds and homes.  They left their dinners and Halloween parties to head to Drake University’s outdoor stadium to sleep in cardboard boxes or on the ground.  Does it sound like a crazy thing to do?  Especially when the temperature neared 30 degrees and it began to rain.  Reggie’s Sleepout (www.reggiessleepout.org) began in 2001, after Reggie Kelsey died in the Des Moines River, three and a half months after he aged out of the foster care system.  During those months Reggie (who suffered disabilities) battled homelessness, stayed in shelters, and slept outside.  He was ill-equipped to live on his own.  After his tragic death, Des Moines took a hard look at itself and how it handled its over 3,000 homeless youth.  Reggie’s Sleepout was developed.  It’s not only a fundraiser for the Iowa Homeless Youth Centers but an awareness project for the community.  Participants spend one evening in the cold, raising awareness, learning, and listening to stories of youth who depend on shelters for survival in the cold Midwest.

When Mackenzie Devoto, a participant at Reggie’s Sleepout, was asked about why she chose to spend the night in a box she replied, “Helping others is part of who I am.  Learning about homelessness and the people it affects reminds me how lucky I am and also reminds me that because I’m so lucky I get to help them also.” After sleeping in the cold, participants reflect on how long the night feels when you have so little and how exhausted they are after just trying to stay warm.  It causes them to ask questions like, “What would it be like if I had to do this every day?” and “How would I be able function at work or get an education if I weren’t able to get a warm, soft night’s sleep?”

Discussion Questions

•  Have you ever spent a night in the cold?  How did you feel the next morning?
• What awareness projects are there in your community for youth homelessness?
• How would you respond to Reggie Kelsey’s death?
• At 18 years old would you be able to survive in the “real world”?  What resources would you use?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, November 20, 2011 (Christ the King Sunday)

 Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

Ephesians 1:15-23

Matthew 25:31-46

(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 Matthew chapter 25 Jesus brings us three different views of what to expect and how we are to be:   the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids, the Parable of the Talents, and today’s text, the Judgment of the Nations. The king separates the sheep from the goats.  He tells the sheep that they will “inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world.”  He tells them that they clothed him, fed him, visited him, took care of him, gave him something to drink, and welcomed him.  The “sheep” are surprised and ask when they did this; surely they would have remembered serving the king.  The king responds that when they do it to anyone they do it to him. For the people who are the sheep, serving seems to be woven into the very fabric of who they are.  They serve others because they can and because they understand the importance and humanity in the service.  The giving is a reflection of their character.

At Reggie’s Sleepout the participants slept outside to better serve and understand homeless youth in their community.  They spent time, energy, and resources to provide clothing, food, visitation, welcoming, and safety for the teens.  They responded not only to learn, but to experience what it was like to be homeless; to walk in their shoes, if only for one evening.  There are many reasons why people from Des Moines participated in Reggie’s Sleepout, but for many of them it was a reflection of who they are and how they desire to help make the world a better place for others.

Discussion Questions

•  How does your group or congregation live out their faith without even knowing it?
• What are some things that you do to help others?
• Who are some people who are under-served in your community?

Activity Suggestions

•  Brainstorm ideas for your group to clothe, feed, visit, care for, or welcome someone in your community.  Implement that idea.
• Host your own “Homeless Night Out.” Start by visiting a homeless shelter in your area, discover what their needs are and learn about the people they serve.  If you get the chance, visit with the homeless that use that shelter, get to know their stories.  Next develop your plan for your “Homeless Night Out.”
• Listen to Ben Harper’s “Picture of Jesus” while looking at pictures of people in your community.

Closing Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, Thank you for blessing us with this time together.  Open our hearts to your scriptures and our eyes to your people in need around us. Help giving and servanthood to become part of the fabric of who we are as people, so that when we respond, we continue to see the face of Jesus in all who surround us. Please use us Lord for your kingdom. Amen.

Contributed by Bill King, Blacksburg, VA

Warm up Question

What was the last thing you attempted to do which took you out of your comfort zone?  Most of us like to do things where we can be relatively assured of success; what was the last challenge which stretched you?

You First

Everyone seems to agree that the economy has a problem.  Pick up the morning paper or click on your favorite news feed and you will find an article about economic woes:  The bailout of Greece threatens to sink the Eurozone.  Housing prices continue sluggish, so many mortgages are either in foreclosure or under water.  Discouraging unemployment numbers edge up and down, but not very far either way.  Older workers wonder if their devastated pension funds will let them retire.  Students fear they won’t be able to get loans for college—or a decent job to repay them if they do.

But if there is consensus that we have a problem, there is precious little agreement on the root causes or what to do about it.  The economy can’t improve until spending goes up…but how can consumers spend if jobs are scarce and fragile?  Then create jobs…but how can companies create jobs if banks won’t lend them capital—and why should they expand anyway, since demand is soft.  Then let’s cut taxes so that banks and companies will invest…but wait a minute, wasn’t it those folks who turned Wall Street into a crooked casino and got us into this mess in the first place.  Maybe what we need is a massive governmental infusion of cash into the economy.  But it’s runaway deficits that are spooking the stock market—which means my mutual fund is in the tank, I feel poorer, and I’m afraid to start spending….Round and round she goes, where she stops nobody knows.

Each player in this game is saying, “You first.  You take the big risk.”  Everyone is afraid and nobody wants to take the chance that might make it better for us all.

Discussion Questions

• How has a weak economy affected you personally?  For example, has it affected your buying habits or the general atmosphere in your home or community?
• Why is it so hard for leaders to come to a consensus on what might benefit the common good?  Do you think they are really trying?
• What do you think motivates most Christians’ economic decisions?  If you were ranking the top five factors, where do you think the desire to reflect the values of Jesus would fall?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, November 13, 2001 (Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost)

Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Matthew 25:14-30

(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’ve always thought that this parable would be a lot clearer if the servant with five talents had lost his shirt.  Perhaps it sounds presumptuous to suggest that Jesus could have done better, but because the first two servants are wildly successful we easily miss the real point of the story.  The servant entrusted with five talents earns five more; the servant who had three returns those plus three more to his master.  So we might hear this story as suggesting that God is the ultimate investment fund:  Put your money into god and you can be assured of a fantastic rate of return.

This is precisely the spin that some contemporary preachers give to the story—“God wants you to be rich; give to the Lord and he’ll give back tenfold.”  Now, while it’s true that such preachers may become very rich when you give to their ministries in hope of a little divine insider trading, this “prosperity gospel” conforms with neither our experience nor, more important, the rest of Jesus’ teaching.  To give to the Lord in the hope of getting rich is about as cynical and selfish (not to mention absurd, given that God knows the heart’s motivation) a reason to be religious as you can imagine.  Jesus does not promise his disciples that following him guarantees a material bonanza.  He promises to meet our needs not our greeds.

The first two servants do turn a tidy profit, but that is really beside the point.  What the master commends is only secondarily their success; what please him more is their willingness to take what they have been given and use it to the best of their abilities.  Presumably he would have applauded their efforts even if they had not been as wildly lucrative.  What the master condemns in the third servant is less his lack of profit than his unwillingness to risk.

Why the difference in the servants’ attitudes?  The parable gives us a hint.  The third servant does not really trust his master; he takes him to be a hard, unforgiving taskmaster.  The servant’s behavior is driven by fear of making a mistake; the irony is that he makes the biggest mistake of all in not taking a risk.  Afraid of displeasing his master, he enrages him by squandering the little he has been given.  The great pathos of this parable is that the third servant, because he misunderstands his master’s character, does not realize he has the freedom to fail.  He lives in fear instead of confidence.

At least two things are worth noting from this parable.  First, we are sometimes afraid to do bold things for God because we are afraid of failing.  We are pretty sure we don’t know our Bible well enough to win an argument, so we don’t tell someone what Jesus means to us.  The problem of hunger is so massive that we just never get around to even volunteering at the food pantry.  To the degree that our lack of action is rooted in fear of not measuring up to God’s expectations, we can relax; even if we fall flat, we are loved by God.  Second, one of the great gifts we can give one another is a gentle rather than judging spirit.  In the carnivorous world of cliques and vicious Facebook posts, accepting others just as they are may give them the confidence to take a risk and blossom.  And it’s that loving investment in human capital that our Master really wants from us.

Discussion Questions

• Who do you identify with in the parable?  What do you think motivates each of the characters in the story?
• The third servant’s great failure is not risking in behalf of his master.  What risk are you afraid to take—particularly related to your life as a disciple of Jesus?  Why?
• Do you agree with this week’s writer that it is unimportant that the first two servants turned a tidy profit—and maybe even a distraction?  How would the parable be different if they had lost all the master’s money?

Activity Suggestions

• Look at a variety of newspapers, magazines, and news feeds for stories involving religion.  Based on what is being said, what would a man from Mars understand God’s character to be?  What is God like?  What does God want?  How does God act in the world?  What gives God joy and sorrow?
• Have some in the group role play this parable in a contemporary setting while others watch.  Pay attention to the motivations of each character.  Let those playing a role share what it felt like to be that character.  What new thing did those observing learn which they had missed in simply reading the story.

Closing Prayer

God, it is so easy to be paralyzed by fear—fear of making a mistake, fear of looking foolish, fear of failing to measure up, fear of disappointing you.  When I am afraid, help me to remember that I am already yours, loved and valued before I accomplish anything.  Then give me the courage to dare bold things in your name, confident that you, who redeemed Good Friday, can certainly use even my failures to do your will in the world.  Amen.

Contributed by Brian Hiortdahl, Chicago, IL

Warm-up Question

Who do you admire and why?

What Makes Success?

The recent death of visionary Apple, Inc. co-founder, chairman and CEO Steve Jobs has spawned a national wave of mourning and reflection, not to mention iPhone sales. Consultant Carmine Gallo has identified “seven secrets” to Jobs’ success, summarized in an article from ABC News:

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/steve-jobs-secrets-success/story?id=14692969

1. Do what you love no matter what it happens to be.
2. Put a dent in the universe.
3. Say no to 1000 things.
4. Kick start your brain by doing something new.
5. Sell dreams not products
6. Create insanely great experiences
7. Master the message.

It is natural and common for us as mortal human beings to reflect at times of death on the significance and meaning of life, whether one individual’s story or the collective experience.  Deaths of public figures enlarge the conversation, especially figures who are young and creative–who appear full of life, making their death feel like a surprise, even though we know that, ready or not, death will come at an undisclosed time for us all.   For some, the dread and certainty of death provides motivation for living life to its fullest and/or chasing after success while there is still time.

Discussion Questions

• How do you define success?
• Which of Jobs’ “seven secrets” most resonates with you?  Which one would you like to emulate more, and why?
• Have you experienced the death of someone significant in your life?  How did you and others react?  What meaning did you make of their life?
• What do you hope will be written about you after you die?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, November 6, 2011 (Twenty-First Sunday After Pentecost)

 
Amos 5:18-24

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Matthew 25:1-13

(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

The parable in this week’s gospel looks forward to a decisive ending.  Jesus changes his standard introduction “the kingdom of heaven is like…” to “then the kingdom of heaven will be like…” so that the disciples gathered around him will know that now he is talking future, not present.

The story focuses on readiness for the coming of the bridegroom, which the disciples would recognize as a symbol for God’s Messiah, the one for whose arrival Israel waited eagerly.  By presenting ten bridesmaids instead of one, Jesus shifts the focus from the community as a whole to individuals, who might (and do) prepare and respond differently.  Five bring extra oil along with their lamps, five do not.  The bridegroom is so delayed that all of them fall asleep.  A shout comes at midnight that the bridegroom is coming, so everyone scurries to light their lamps.  The five without oil ask for help from the five with oil, but all they get is bad advice:  “go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.”  In the frenzy of excitement, nobody stops to consider that the streets are dark and the dealers are probably closed, so the five “foolish” bridesmaids miss the bridegroom on their frantic wild goose chase for unavailable oil.

The first three of Steve Jobs’ seven secrets give us an interesting lens through which to look at the success or failure of our bridesmaids.  A heart (and a vision) clearly set on the bridegroom, even if not prepared with extra oil, would not settle for chasing after supplies or anything else when what it most truly wants is at hand.  And it is the wise bridesmaids, not the foolish ones, who say, “no.”  They are the ones who are ready for the “insanely great experience” of the wedding banquet, the kingdom come.

Yet this story doesn’t only teach us about ourselves, but also about the bridegroom for whom we wait and hope.  For one thing, our bridegroom doesn’t come on our terms or timetable.  Jesus is certainly taking his sweet time to return and end the human story, and most Christians in history will see death before they see Him.  With such a long wait, even the wisest of us fall asleep.  The story ends with a true warning that “you know neither the day nor the hour” (there are so many things we don’t get to know!), but it does give us a valuable clue about Jesus’ arrival.  The bridegroom comes at midnight, an hour of darkness when it is nearly impossible to see.  Two weeks from now, we will experience another story from Matthew 25 in which Jesus is hidden from view, and neither of its two groups (sheep nor goats) see him hidden in “the least of these.”  Could it be that the bridesmaids need the oil not so that they will see him, because they won’t, but so that he will see them?  (Notice how the foolish bridesmaids know the bridegroom, but he says he doesn’t know them…even though they were invited!)  Could it be that our hope is ultimately not in our hands, but in Christ’s eyes?

Discussion Questions

•  Where, when, and how do you see Christ?  How does Christ see you?
• Do you see other connections between Steve Jobs’ secrets for success and the behavior of the ten bridesmaids?
• To what requests and suggestions should you say “no”?
•  How does thinking about the fact that life and history will have an end make a difference for your life in the world right now?

Activity Suggestions

•  Ask a signficant, trusted older adult in your life (a parent, a grandparent, etc.) to share with you about preparations they have made for their death.  Have they written a will?  Have they made arrangements for a funeral?  Who and what have they identified as important after they die, and why?
• Write your own epitaph.  Assume that your gravestone is small, so your epitaph will have to fit in a Twitter post!

Closing Prayer

Come, Lord Jesus.  Focus us on what is most important, prepare us for your appearance, find us wherever we are, look upon us with compassion and understanding, and bring us at last into your joy.  Amen