Contributed by Aaron Matson, Watertown, SD

Warm-up Question

Share a time when you bought something and it did not measure up to your expectations.

Always Read the Fine Print

Before iTunes and Amazon, there were mail-order “music clubs.” To entice you to join their “club,” companies such as Columbia House used to send out mailings offering 13 cassettes (and later CDs) for a dollar a piece. When I was pretty young I remember going through those catalogs – I could pick out 13 CDs I wanted easily, but my parents would never let me send in the order form and join. Finally I asked why, and they showed me the fine print in the offer – you had to buy so many CD’s for about $20 a piece in the next year, and if you ever forgot to send in the mailing saying you didn’t want the CD of the month, they’d send it to you and you were on the hook for $20 for a CD you didn’t want in the first place.

In life, we all have those kinds of experiences.  We have gotten ourselves into situations where we weren’t really sure what we were getting ourselves in to, and then find ourselves in over our head. In our gospel reading today, we see that Jesus doesn’t want that happen to his followers; he wants all who follow him to know what they were getting themselves into, and to be aware of the costs of discipleship.

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever been tripped up by “fine print;” i.e., has anyone ever tried to get you to do something without letting you know all the details of what you were getting into?

• What kind of clubs or organizations are you a member of besides the Church? What kind of expectations or requirements do they have for members? What kinds of costs are involved in belonging to these groups (i.e., time, membership fees, expenses for supplies, etc.)?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, September 8, 2013 (Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost)

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

Philemon 1-21

Luke 14:25-33

(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 a nutshell, Jesus wants us to know that following him can be really, really hard and painful. These words are hard to hear, and are a lot different from what we hear sometimes in popular Christianity. Too often, there is an attitude among Christians that following Jesus means nothing bad will happen to you, and that, if you just have enough faith, you will be blessed with prosperity, riches, good health, and good fortune.

How different that attitude is from the words of Jesus in Luke. Being a disciple of Christ means taking up your cross and following Jesus; it means the kind of commitment that can cost you friends, family, possessions, and even your life.  Following Jesus takes us places that we would sometimes rather not go, and find ourselves in the company of some people we might not choose to be around—stooped over women, the sick, the dying, the outcasts living on the margins of society. But that is where the call to discipleship calls us to go, and that is where the gospel of Jesus leads us.

This is quite a commitment! I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure if I can quite live up to this commitment or totally fulfill my role as a disciple. Fortunately for me, and fortunately for us, Jesus doesn’t ask us for an advance guarantee of our ability to fulfill all that he asks of us. If he did, none of us would be able to a disciple. While the life of a disciple is a costly one, our salvation in Christ is a free gift. Because we have this great gift, we have comfort and hope in those times when we fall short, and empowered by the Spirit, we can continue our walk of discipleship. And we do not walk alone! We walk together, as the Church, the body of Christ – and Christ himself walks with us.

Discussion Questions

• What has discipleship cost you? How are your priorities in life different because you are a Christian?

• How might the costs of discipleship in America be different than they were in Jesus’ time and place? How might they be the same?

Activity Suggestions

•  If your congregation is participating in the “God’s Work, Our Hands” day of service commemorating the ELCA’s 25^th Anniversary, take some time to discuss how this is living out the call to discipleship.
• In the early days of the Church, many Christians gave their lives for the sake of the gospel. Look up some of stories of these martyrs, from the book of Acts and texts on church history. Look to see if you can find the stories of some more recent martyrs, such as Archbishop Oscar Romero.

Closing Prayer

Holy Lord, we thank you for calling us to be your disciples. Give us strength and encouragement to live out this call, even when it is costly to us. Give us encouragement when we fall short. And help us to always remember, even when we aren’t the disciples you call us to be, that we are still yours and you will always love us. All this we pray in the name of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.

Faith Lens, a lectionary based resource for youth and young adults, is not published during the summer. Faith Lens returns in the fall.

The article for Sunday, September 8 will be posted on September 3.  Join us then for reflection on the intersection of current events and the Word.

Contributed by Brian Hiortdahl, Chicago, IL

Warm-up Question

Do you believe in ghosts?

His Caring Spirit Lives On

So proclaims the title of a local newspaper article reporting the memorial services for Sean Collier, a beloved young police officer at MIT killed in the wake of the bombing at the Boston Marathon:

http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/local/ci_23103732/his-caring-spirit-lives

Discussion Questions

• React to the article.  What feelings does it stir in you?
• Do you believe that people’s spirits continue to be present with us somehow after they die, or is that just grief’s wishful thinking?  What personal experiences inform your answer?
• What is the best way for a community to honor someone special who has died?
• What similarities and differences do you see between what the mourners said about Officer Collier after his death and what Christians say about Jesus after Easter?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, May 26, 2013 (The Holy Trinity/First Sunday After Pentecost)

Proverbs 8:1-4,  22-31

Romans 5:1-5

John 16:12-15

(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 week’s gospel reading gives us the words of someone who died too young, the victim of someone else’s political statement:  Jesus.  On the night before his death, he tells his friends that he has so much more to tell him than he has time to say it or they have capacity at the moment to hear it, but he also promises that the Spirit of truth will come to them.  Since Jesus is himself the truth (and the way and the life), the Spirit of truth is his Spirit, coming “to guide you into all the truth.”  This Spirit is identified in Christian theology as the third person of the Trinity, sometimes named the Holy Ghost.  In a way, the Holy Spirit is Jesus’ way of haunting us.  Or, to phrase it as the news article does, “his caring spirit lives on” among us.

Yet this Spirit is more than a spook, a vapor, a legacy, or a memory.  The Holy Spirit is God fully (though not bodily) present with us.  It is nearly as mystifying and beyond our comprehension as the larger teaching we celebrate on Sunday that God is Trinity:  one God in three persons, a unified community of generous, trusting love.  Those of us who cannot fully grasp these deep truths–who cannot bear them now–can hold onto the promise that (somehow, over time) the reliable Spirit will guide us into all the truth.

Discussion Questions

• What questions puzzle you?
• Where, when, and how do you experience the living presence of God in your life, as an individual and as part of a community?  What inspires you?  (Do you know the etymology of the word inspire?)
• Who in your life has done the work of the Spirit, guiding you into the truth?
• Read and discuss 1 John 4:1-21, which begins: Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God…. According to this biblical writer, how do we recognize whether a spirit is from God or not?

Activity Suggestions

•  Serve as a mentor or tutor for someone with less learning or experience than you; help guide them into new truth that you know.
• Honor someone who has died, but whose life and spirit continue to teach, bless, or inspire you.
• As a group, begin planning a holy haunted house for the children in your church next Halloween.   (Maybe the Church itself is really a holy haunted house!)  Find fun, creative ways to trace the evidence that the Holy Spirit has been present and active there. And what about “the great cloud of witnesses,” the saints?  Is Martin Luther’s spirit still there? (Remember Reformation Day.) What about the faithful members of the congregation and other Christians elsewhere who have died?  (Remember All Saints Day.) What spirits continue to bless us with their presence at Holy Communion…not in fear, but in love?

Closing Prayer

Blessed Trinity, keep guiding us into the truth that you are. Shepherd us into and share with us your holy and beautiful dance of powerful life and perfect love.  Grant that your caring Spirit live on in us and bless the world with your abundant grace.  Amen.

Contributed by Bob Chell, Brookings, SD

Warm-up Question

Is God present when disaster strikes? If not, why not? If so, how and where?

Where is Jesus?

Periodically the news carries a story about someone finding evidence of Jesus in a very ordinary place.  One man saw the face of Christ in his cheese toast; another discerned Jesus in a splatter of grape juice on the wall.  Recently, fabric conditioner on a t-shirt has prompted lively discussion.  Is it Jesus or a juggler?  Read the story and think the questions below.

Discussion Questions

• Do you believe the image on Martin’s t-shirt is a sign from God or Martin’s imagination?
• What is the difference between faith and superstition?
• Are you more aware of God’s absence in the world or God’s presence in the world?
• Are you mare aware of God’s presence in your life or God’s absence in your life?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, May 19,, 2013 (Day of Pentecost)

Acts 2:1-21

Romans 8:14-17

John 14:8-17 [25-27]

(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

Anthony De Mello, a Jesuit priest and psychotherapist, told a story about a monastery in decline whose leader sought help from a Christian hermit. The hermit told him the decline was due to the sin of ignorance—the messiah was among the brothers and they were not aware of this. The leader went home astonished—and wondered who it might be. He shared the news with the other brothers and each began wondering who it was. Mentally each begin ruling out those with obvious faults, the crabby cook, the surly gardener, and so on but after ruling out everyone they realized the messiah would be in disguise and begin treating each other as if each were the messiah. You can guess what happened. Soon the monastery flourished as others were drawn to the joy and happiness of the place.

Our gospel lesson is set in the dark days before Jesus arrest and crucifixion. Jesus has just told them that one among them will betray him and rather than being appalled, each wonders if they are the one. It is a time of doubt, not certainty. Phillip speaks not only for the disciples but for us, when he says, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”  A popular hymn, “Open Our Eyes Lord” asks for much the same thing.

It would be cruel and insensitive to tell someone who is discouraged, in deep pain or grief to cheer up because God is with them. Yet, looking back at the dark places in our own lives we can sometimes see where God was present, often through the kindness of others.

This year during spring break Lutheran campus pastor’s all over the country, took students on trips to stand alongside people in poverty, marginalized or pushed aside. Students from South Dakota State University, where I serve, visited men in Tijuana, Mexico who had been recently deported from our country and heard their stories, played with children at an orphanage in Tecate, Mexico, visited people living atop and alongside the Tijuana dump, and fed the hungry in downtown San Diego, California. Each evening when we gathered to discuss the day we began with “Junk, Joy, Jesus.” It was a cutesy way of saying highs, lows and where it was we saw Jesus that day. Like the monks in Anthony De Mello’s story, it gave us a new perspective. Some students continue the practice as they say their prayers each evening.

Discussion Questions

•  Is Jesus closest to us in our joy or our pain?
• Are doubt and uncertainty a sign our faith is growing or dying?
• In his memoir of the Holocaust Elie Weisel writes that God was on the gallows as he watched other prisoners being executed. What does he mean?

Activity Suggestions

Sit in silence for a few minutes and share “Junk, Joy, Jesus” with your group or a friend.

Closing Prayer

God, so many who claim to follow you spew out anger, violence and hatred, It’s hard to trust in you when those who claim to know you best are mean and judgmental. We share the disciples yearning to see you more clearly. Your challenge to love others touches our hearts and we want to do this even though we find it difficult to love our families, let alone those who wish us ill or hurt us deeply. Use us, as you used the disciples, in spite of their wavering faith and their fear of the future. Help us to let go of our doubt and rest in your promises.  Amen.

Contributed by Paul Henrickson, Salem, VA

Warm-up Question

These are some Lutheran bodies in the United States.  What do you know about them?  Can you explain the primary differences between them:

• Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
• Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LC-MS)
• Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS)
• Association of Free Lutheran Congregations (AFLC)
• Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS)
• The American Association of Lutheran Churches (TAALC)
• Church of the Lutheran Confessions CLC)
• North American Lutheran Church (NALC)
• Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC)

That They May All Be One

The St. Mark’s Church and Life Center of Marion, Iowa, (along with its pastor) has been removed from the roster of ELCA Lutheran Churches.  St. Mark’s attempted to associate with both the ELCA and the LCMC.  In news accounts, different interpretations of the situation have emerged. Read this news story and respond to the following questions

 Discussion Questions

• According to the story what are the primary issues separating North American Lutherans in this instance?
• Are these issues about theology or practice or both?
• Thinking more broadly than this division among Lutherans, is it possible for the thousands of Christian denominations to all be authentically Christian?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, XXXXXX (SEASON)

Acts 16:16-34

Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21

John 17:20-26

(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

John 17 is the “High Priestly” Prayer of Jesus.  The whole prayer might be separated into three parts: vs 1-5 are about Jesus and His Father; vs 6-19 are about Jesus and the Disciples; vs 20-26  are about the unity of the church.  “That all may be one” has been the theme of countless conferences and programs about Christian unity.  Despite all the energy for unity, Christianity    remains more like a stained glass window than a cross-etched, clear glass window on the world.

The key phrase is  “…that they may all be one.”  This article in this study uses the Lutheran Church as an example of church disunity; but the larger focus is on the whole Christian community.  The question should not be what separates us, but what binds us together.

Discussion Questions

• Does Jesus really mean “one,” as in “one church?”
• Read Ephesians 4:4-7.  “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling,one Lord, one faith, one baptism,one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”  Does “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” mean that the church cannot have different expressions?
• Is there a “power of evangelism” in having different expressions of the Christian Church? How does Sacramental practice separate Christians–or not?
• What binds Christians together?

Activity Suggestions

• Think about the people you know.  Name the many Christian expressions you come in contact with each week.
• How do Christians in your community work together?
• Plan and event in which you work with another faith community in a common service project?

Closing Prayer

God our Father, your Son Jesus prayed that his followers might be one.  Make all Christians on with him as he is one with you, so that in peace and concord we may carry to the world the message of your love, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.  (Evangelical Lutheran Worship, page 61)