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Catalyst Question

Who are the most helpful people in your life? What makes them so helpful for you?

Flourishing Together

Recently, Baylor University researchers released initial results from a new study on human flourishing. This global research follows hundreds of thousands of people in hopes of understanding what factors lead to a “good life.” That’s how the researchers understand flourishing. More than personal happiness or security, flourishing is a kind of holistic satisfaction. More than just feeling happy in the moment, to flourish is to feel like you’re thriving in most, if not all, areas of life.

The results were surprising in a number of ways. Younger people are less likely to be currently flourishing than older people. Wealth isn’t necessarily tied to flourishing. And regular participation in a faith community throughout your life is more likely to lead to flourishing.

It’s this third finding that is most relevant today. That’s because flourishing is tied to presence: presence with God and presence with others. In John 14:23-29, Jesus tells his disciples that he’s leaving, but he’s not leaving them alone. As he ascends into heaven, the Holy Spirit inhabits people of faith. This means that God is not only with us, but within us, to help us live abundant life for all of our days. Long before a modern research study, God knew that we were most likely to flourish if we weren’t on our own.

There’s much more to learn from that study, especially as we support young people in faith communities. This includes, in part, taking the cue to continue gathering with God and with one another, wisdom that comes both from ancient scriptures and current data. It also includes paying more attention to the young people in our lives, even if you are a young person yourself. Especially in our world, where money seems to rule the day, it means reassessing our relationship to wealth.

Thankfully, as John’s Gospel reminds us, we don’t have to do any of that on our own. After all, the Holy Spirit lives within each of us as a helper that wants us to flourish, individually and collectively. We don’t thrive alone. We thrive together. Let’s continue to gather together to remind ourselves that God is not just for us, and not even just with us, but an inherent part of our lives.

Ask Yourself

What kind of help do I need to flourish? Name at least two different ways someone might help you.

Ask a Friend

What are the best ways to notice God’s presence in your life? Name three or more.

Catalyst Question

H0w do you understand the word “gospel”? More than just a definition, what does the Gospel of Jesus mean to you?

Gospel in the Law

It’s official: commencement season has officially started. Across the country, many high schools and colleges have already held their graduation ceremonies. From South Cameron High in Louisiana, where the entire graduating class was 1 person, to the University of Texas at Austin, where more than 11,000 students are receiving diplomas, there are many people of various ages who are culminating education careers with earned degrees.

What’s fascinating is that graduation isn’t required. Most laws require education until a student turns 18. School attendance doesn’t equal graduation; after all, it’s possible to attend classes without passing and it’s possible to withdraw from school prior to completing coursework. Collegiate education isn’t required at all. Yet, there’s something about the mandate to learn that leads people to follow through to these experiences that recognize the effort they’ve put into their educational journey. This education requirement helps people discover academic passions, develop professional skills, and learn social responsibility. At some point, rather than being forced to learn, we choose to keep learning. Hopefully, this lasts for the rest of our lives!

In this way, graduation–both the earning of the degree and the experience of commencement–offers a good example of the Gospel within the Law: how we can experience good news in something we’re initially told we must do.

In John 13:31-35, Jesus gives his disciples a commandment to love. In some ways, this is strange. After all, Jesus came to fulfill God’s law on our behalf, ensuring we can share in the resurrection to eternal life. If that’s completed, then why is he doling out new laws?

It’s because this law of love directs us toward something that we all desire, and even need: love itself. A commandment to love one another isn’t about forcing us to do something unrelated to our own benefit. Instead, it fosters a world where we are loved by others, even as we love them, too. There is Gospel–good news–in this law because a world where we love one another is a world where everyone is loved.

That’s no useless law. It might just be the best news of all.

Ask Yourself

What are things in your life that someone has told you that you must do and that you know are also good for you? Name at least three.

Ask a Friend

What are two new ways that you can show love for someone else? What are two different ways that you want others to show their love for you?

Catalyst Question

When someone asks “who are you,” who do you typically respond to that question? What are 3-5 things that you share about yourself to indicate who you understand yourself to be?

Who Are You?

Last month, news broke that dire wolves had been brought back to life. Colossal Biosciences, the company behind the animal’s reintroduction, used DNA from well-preserved fossils to give these old creatures new life. Though only puppies right now, these canines will grow to become the largest wolves on the planet, not only by heigh but also by muscle mass. Though they won’t be as big as those depicted by HBO’s Game of Thrones, they’ll still be impressive specimens.

Certainly, this is an incredible feat. Yet, not all scientists agree that these are dire wolves. Some argue that these are, in fact, grey wolves with genetic modifications rather than true dire wolves. Rather than a true rebirth of an ancient species, they consider this a hybrid creature. Impressive, to be sure, but not an exact replica of the dire wolves of old. In their eyes, this is a case of mistaken identity.

Another case of identity confusion–or better yet, conflict–appears within John 10:22-30. There, Jesus is confronted by the religious leaders of his day, demanding to know whether he is the Messiah. “If you are the Messiah,” they demanded of him, “then tell us plainly!” Of course, he’d already told them plainly. By this point in John’s Gospel, he’d performed many miracles, accepted others claims that he was the Christ, and even used the “I AM” language reserved only for God. There was certainly identify confusion, but not because Jesus hadn’t shared his true self.

This was a classic situation of people seeing what they wanted to see; or perhaps, not seeing what they didn’t want to see. If Jesus was really the Messiah, and not some imposter, then that would challenge the authority of these religious leaders. It would shake the foundations of the very temple in which this conversation occurred.

Sometimes we struggle to acknowledge the truth that’s right in front of us. When it comes to the dire wolves, the jury is still out. When it comes to Jesus, though, the truth is clear: he’s saying he is the Messiah.

Are we listening?

Ask Yourself

Take some time to read all of the assigned lectionary readings for this Sunday. You can find them all here. What does God’s Word say about God’s self? How might that challenge your conception of who God is?

Ask a Friend

What’s something extinct you’d like to see brought back to life? How do you see God’s handiwork in that creature?

Catalyst Question

When you greet your friends, how do you first speak to or otherwise engage one another? This could be a phrase like “what’s up”, a special handshake, or other shared behavior. What does having this ritual indicate about your relationship?

May the 4th Be With You

This Sunday is a special holiday for a very specific segment of the population. For Christians who are also Star Wars fans, May 4th falling on a Sunday is a special occasion. Why is that?

An artist’s rendering of the B1 Battle Droid, featured prominently in Episode III.

“May The Force be with you” is a line in the Star Wars universe commonly used both by Jedi and their allies. The similar sounds of “force” and “fourth” has led to an unofficial, annual holiday where Star Wars fans greet one another with a galactically exuberant “May the 4th be with you!” This all coincides with last weekend’s theatrical re-release of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. 20 years after its initial debut, crowds returned to the theater to experience the sci-fi series one the big screen once again.

Of course, in church, we often greet one another with the phrase, “(May) The Lord be with you.” It’s an especially common phrase in Lutheran liturgies, as well as Catholic, Episcopalian, and other denominations.

Each variation of the phrase serves as a sort of communal signal. If you say it to someone, and they respond in kind–“and also with you”–then you know that you share in a community together. The phrases serve as a kind of bidding of goodwill, wishing a divine presence be with community members when they are gathered and when they scatter.

In John 21:1-19, a resurrected Jesus appears to disciples in a number of places: on the sea while they’re fishing, on the shore amidst a meal, and in conversation about what life looks like in light of the resurrection. Even when it seems most unlikely–after all, he just died a few days ago–Jesus shows up in the lives of those he loves. Interestingly, Jesus does so without bidding. Jesus initiates the presence because Jesus wants to be with the disciples. Not even death will keep him from being with them–or us.

Jesus doesn’t show up because we bid him. Jesus shows us we can trust his presence at all stages of life. Sometimes, we’re looking for God to do something massive. Often, though, God shows up in the mundane. Fishing with friends? Jesus is there. Having a snack on the beach? Christ is with you. Talking about your future in light of recent struggles? God’s a part of the conversation.

When Christians say “The Lord be with you,” we’re anticipating God’s accomplished promise. Rather than hoping for something that might happen, we instead reaffirm that God’s already with us through the Holy Spirit. And that Holy Spirit? She’s certainly a force for good!

This Sunday, when you say “May the 4th/the Force/The Lord be with you,” remember this: when talking about God, we can trust with certainty that God is already with us. Even when it seems impossible, God’s presence with us is assured in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Ask Yourself

Why do you sometimes struggle to notice God’s presence? Name three places where you don’t often notice God so you can intentionally look during the coming week.

Ask a Friend

Where did you notice God’s presence in your life this week?