Contributed by Brian Hiortdahl, Resurrection Lutheran Church, Chicago, IL

Warm-up Question

What is the worst punishment you ever received?  Did you deserve it?

Sentenced to Die

Justin Wolfe has spent most of his twenties on death row in Virginia. Just before his 21st birthday, he was convicted of the murder of Daniel Petrole, Jr. and sentenced to die.  Wolfe did not kill Petrole, however, the man who fired the gun, Owen Barber IV, claims that he was hired by Wolfe to do it.  All three young men were heavily involved in the buying and selling of illegal drugs, and the surface story of Petrole’s murder reads like a mafia hit.

Wolfe claims innocence, at least on the charge of murder.  His claim is supported by many other people and by evidence not included in his trial, including a dramatic change in Barber’s story about what really happened on the night of Petrole’s death–a change that Barber later changed again.  Wolfe now has new legal representation and an appeal currently in process in the Virginia justice system, which rarely overturns a death sentence.  His case reopens questions about the justice of the death penalty, particularly given the possibility of executing an innocent person.

For a very detailed account of this story, read “An Innocent Man on Death Row?” at http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/11712.html 

Discussion Questions

• After reading the story, do you believe that Justin Wolfe should be executed?  If you are not sure, what questions remain unanswered?
• Under what circumstances, if any, do you support the death penalty?  Why or why not?
• In your experience or opinion, how trustworthy is the justice system of the United States?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, November 21, 2010 (Christ the King Sunday)

Jeremiah 23:1-6

Colossians 1:11-20

Luke 23:33-43

(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

Jesus was also sentenced to die.  His trial and execution all took place in less than 24 hours.  Of all the gospel writers who present this story, Luke most emphasizes Jesus’ innocence.  Only in Luke do we hear the words of the two criminals crucified with Jesus, and one of them says, “this man has done nothing wrong.” When the centurion speaks after his death, he does not name Jesus “Son of God,” as in Matthew and Mark, but says, “Certainly this man was innocent.”  Luke wants us to see that Jesus’ death penalty is a grotesque injustice.

This sense is amplified by the stark contrast Luke presents between the attitudes of those surrounding Jesus and Jesus himself.  In a swirl of false accusations, physical attacks, games of chance for his meager possessions, and nasty insults, Jesus consistently shows compassion, even for his executioners.  He consoles the women who accompany him to the cross (Luke 23:27-31) and then prays for those who are persecuting him:  “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”  Our reading ends with Jesus offering a startling, beautiful word of promise to the criminal who asked only to be remembered.

It is no coincidence that we read this gospel on Christ the King Sunday.  In the reading, Jesus is identified with imperial irony as “the king of the Jews” and the criminal asks to be remembered when Jesus comes “into [his] kingdom.”  Jesus’ gracious response underlines the sharp contrast between two political realities:  the kingdom of God, which Jesus lives and proclaims, and the violent, threatened empire which crucifies him.  Sentenced to death, Jesus’ own “death sentences”–“Father, forgive them” and “today you will be with me in Paradise”–are really sentences conferring life 

Discussion Questions

• Why was Jesus given the death penalty?  How was he considered such a threat to society that he had to be executed so quickly on a verdict from a shoddy trial?
• In what ways are the kingdom of God and the government of the United States similar?  In what ways are they different, and what should we do about it?
•  Who has wronged you, and how?  What and how much are you able to forgive?  How do you balance justice with mercy?
• How has Jesus given you life?

Activity Suggestions

• Investigate the position of your political representatives (governor, state representative and senator, House representative and state senators, etc.) on the death penalty and write them a letter outlining your agreement and/or disagreement with their stance.
• Study/discuss painter Marc Chagall’s “White Crucifixion” and its historical  context.  (http://www.davidrumsey.com/amica/amico249474-5325.html).  If possible, invite a rabbi and a pastor to join you.  What are the parallels and differences between Jesus’ death, the Holocaust of Nazi Germany, and political injustices happening today?

Closing Prayer

Christ our King, you respond to violence with peace and bring new life in the midst of death.  Share your forgiveness and faithfulness with us, that we also might bless our troubled world with your courageous compassion and resilient grace.  Amen

Contributed by Jocelyn Breeland, Fairfax, VA

Warm-up Question

Have you ever found yourself in a tough situation with  no good choices?

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

LoHud.com recently reported the suicides of Nejla Akkoc, 71, and her 31-year-old daughter Ayshe who were found dead in their White Plains home.  Ayshe had cerebral palsy and needed a wheelchair.  Nejla, Ayshe’s sole care giver, had recently learned she had terminal cancer.  A note the pair left indicated it had become increasingly difficult for Nejla to care for her daughter, so the two decided to leave the world together.

The challenge of older parents caring for their children with disabilities is not uncommon.  Nationwide, 62 percent of people with disabilities live with family members; more than 700,000 of them live with parents or family members over the age of 60. At the same time, state budget cuts have made it more difficult for families to find services for their loved ones with disabilities.

In Indiana, families report that state workers have suggested they leave people with severe disabilities at homeless shelters.  A spokesman for the Family and Social Services Administration said this is not state policy and the individuals who made this suggestion have been disciplined.

Still, the situation is critical for families in a state where waiting lists for disability services contain more than 20,000 names.  Some of those on the list have been waiting more than 10 years, and 2,000 slots were eliminated in the most recent round of state budget cuts.  A similar story is playing out in just about every state.

“It’s heart-wrenching,as a parent, to watch it.  We are people and they are people,” said one parent, speaking of her son and others with disabilities.  “They have lives that are worth something.”

Discussion Questions

• Put yourself in Nejla and Ayshe Akkoc’s place.  What emotions do you think they felt?
• A common observation by those who work to prevent suicide is that “suicide is a permanent solution for a temporary problem.”  What might make someone believe suicide is the best of several bad options?  Do you think suicide can ever the best choice in times of crisis?
• Most of Nejla and Ayshe’s family lived in Turkey.  What role might separation from family have played in their feelings about their situation?
• What resources can Christian faith and community offer to people in situations like the Akkocs’?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, November 14, 2010 (Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost)

Malachi 4:1-2a

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Luke 21:5-19

(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 Jews of Jesus’ time could be forgiven if they thought that after the coming of the promised Messiah things would get much better, both in the immediate future and for the long-term. In today’s gospel Jesus tells his hearers that not only is the end not coming right away, but there are going to be countless trials before that time.  Jesus anticipates many terrors: wars between nations, natural disasters, persecution in the synagogues, and even division within families.

With nearly 2,000 years of hindsight, we can certainly say these predictions have come true, and we have to expect that these trials will continue throughout our lifetimes.  But despite the certainty of persecution and even death, Jesus does not want us to despair.  “But not a hair of your head will perish,” he says.  “By standing firm you will gain life.”

No matter how difficult a situation, or how limited our choices, we know that Jesus is with us.  In the face of every hardship and disaster, Jesus’ promise of eternal life remains.  He is always with us; in the end, his victory is sure. Knowing this makes our hard choices easier.

Discussion Questions

• Who are the deceivers Jesus refers to in verse 8?
• Do you think knowing that difficulties are inevitable makes it easier to accept and cope with problems when they arise?
• What challenges do you face which are most difficult for you?  How does today’s gospel lesson speak to those challenges?

Activity Suggestion

Sometimes God’s answer to a desperate prayer is us.  Scan your local newspaper for stories of individuals and families faced with difficult choices and consider two questions:

• How is your congregation already engaged in supporting those who face the difficult choices noted in the stories?
• Are there specific ways you, your youth group, or congregation might be help those in these situations?

Offer a prayer, lifting up, by name, the persons mentioned  in the stories you identified.  Ask for God’s intervention in each situation and for the willingness and wisdom to be part of that intervention.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, we give you thanks for the many blessings you offer us every day.  When times are tough, help us to remember your steadfast promise of eternal life.  Give us the wisdom and strength to always choose your will, your way.  In the name of your son, Jesus Christ, our rock and our deliverer.  Amen.

Contributed by Jen Krausz, Bethlehem, PA

Warm-up Question

How do you decide whether to help someone?

Doing More Harm Than Good?

Nine months after a devastating earthquake killed over 250,000 people, many Haitians and international experts say that the millions of dollars given in aid has actually caused infrastructure and business shutdowns, and may be hurting the nation more than it has helped.

After the 7.0 magnitude earthquake, food, shelter and medical assistance poured into the already poor country.  American and French doctors came and treated thousands of injuries.  Although many Haitians still live in tents after their shacks and cement brick homes were destroyed, most people now have access to food, clean water and basic medical care.

The unfortunate and unforeseen drawback of all this generosity, however, is that existing hospitals, stores and pharmacies have had to shut down because there is much less demand for their products and services. Some fear that the aid will actually leave the country worse off than it was before.

Nurse Beth Middleton says she has doctors handing her resumes, forced to live in tents despite their education and experience. “The healthcare that was in place before the earthquake was crippled by the relief effort,” she says. “Pharmacies closed because of all the free drugs, and doctors lost all their patients.” The middle class is finding it hard to find jobs, she says, and pay for their housing and their kids’ school fees.

In the aftermath of the earthquake, over 12,000 non-governmental organizations have provided aid. Some of these are doing good work, but it is difficult to tell what many are doing, if anything at all. Furthermore, some say these organizations are not doing very well working together or working with governmental agencies to best help the people of Haiti. Some fear  that many organizations will pull out of Haiti without making sure that the people are able to help themselves.

Dig a little deeper:  http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69O2T320101025

Discussion Questions

• Do you know anyone who has helped or donated money to the Haiti relief effort? (The ELCA has donated over 4.6 million dollars to Haiti Relief—http://www.theliberalspirit.com/?p=2177)
• How does it feel to help someone, whether face-to-face or by giving money?
• Have you ever seen someone get helped and be worse off afterward?
• How can we Christians help in ways which leave others better off and ultimately independent?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, November 7, 2010 (All Saints Sunday)

 Daniel  7:1-3, 15-18

Ephesians 1:11-23

Luke 6:20-31

(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

What a hard teaching some of this is for those of us who live in America! You might not feel rich, but the average American is in the top 1% of the world as far as income level. All those “woe to yous” could very well apply to us. That’s something to think about next time we go to the all-you-can-eat buffet, isn’t it?

Jesus isn’t saying that we will be punished for having stuff or that it’s wrong to eat a big meal. It’s when we focus on getting more stuff, or better stuff, while neglecting the really important things in life that Jesus has a problem with us. If our focus is on caring about people, taking care of our responsibilities, helping those who truly can’t help themselves, and loving God, then we will be blessed. And if we focus on material things and ourselves, then we’ve already had our reward. That’s pretty simple.

The last part of this teaching is definitely the hardest. Loving those who love us is hard enough. But loving our enemies? Doing something nice for someone who is going to turn around and stab you in the back is just about the hardest thing Jesus asks us to do. It goes against everything in us! It’s exactly the opposite of what the world does and expects us to do. Are we really supposed to just let people take our stuff and not do anything about it? Who does that?  Almost nobody.

Elsewhere in scripture Jesus makes it clear that Christians are supposed to be different from the rest of the world. (See, for example, Matthew 5:13-16) We’re supposed to go so far beyond the way the rest of the world behaves, that the world will look at us and say, “Maybe they are really about something real and special.” When we are unlike anything else in the world, people sit up and take notice. Some even get drawn in when they realize that they want what we have.

Discussion Questions

• What part of the gospel reading seems the hardest to you? Which part do you most identify with?
• Have you ever done something nice for an “enemy” (meaning someone you don’t like, or who doesn’t like you, or who has treated you badly in the past)? What happened, if anything, as a result?
• As a Christian, what makes you different from other people you know?
•  Do you think God wants us to help people even if it makes them dependent or if it makes their situation worse? Is it possible that sometimes the best way to help someone is to do nothing so that they learn to help themselves?

Activity Suggestions

One way to truly help people is to provide the resources they need to become independent—to help others help themselves. There are organizations which do this.  For example, Heifer International provides animals to families struggling with poverty. Providing something as simple as a flock of chicks or a goat enables that family to make an income from the eggs, the milk, and later the meat of those animals. Part of the agreement in receiving an animal is to share its offspring with neighbors, “passing on the gift.”

Brainstorm ways your group or class could help someone in your community or elsewhere in the world. There are probably organizations right in your community to which you can donate money or volunteer time—your leader or pastor may be able to help. Even writing letters of encouragement can be a great help to someone in need

Dear God, Thank you for hard teachings. May we have ears to hear them. Help us to be willing to do the hard things, to show love even to our enemies. We pray that others will sense your presence in our lives as we follow you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Closing Prayer

Dear God, Thank you for hard teachings. May we have ears to hear them. Help us to be willing to do the hard things, to show love even to our enemies. We pray that others will sense your presence in our lives as we follow you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Contributed by Dennis Sepper, University Pastor, Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma Washington

Warm-up Question

How do know if something is true?

Searching for the Truth

With the November 2 election drawing near, if you are anything like me, you are tired of the political ads on TV, on the web, and in print.  We all may be at the point where we do not listen to them anymore.  In addition many of us simply do not trust the truth of claims made by one candidate against another.  Stretching the truth, quoting out of context, and old fashion mudslinging now seem to be the norm of every election cycle.  How can we tell if a candidate is telling the truth?  One way is to visit websites like www.factcheck.org , a project of the University of Pennsylvania which follows political commercials and, as the title says, checks the facts to make sure candidates are telling the truth.

But we must also consider that we live in a time when some scholars and philosophers tell us that truth might no longer be “objective” and thus true for all.  They argue that more and more truth is defined by a community of people.   Maybe that is why, in a survey done is August of this year, nearly 1 in 5 Americans said that President Barack Obama is a Muslim, even though during his campaign there was a large controversy over a statement made by his Christian pastor in Chicago and he has on more than one occasion stated the fact that he is a Christian.  There simply exists a certain community of people in our country for whom believing the President is Muslim is a true fact and they cannot be persuaded differently.

Also, with advances in computer software, one can now edit a picture, cutting and pasting from other pictures so to make a new compilation which looks “real.”  When it comes to truth we can’t even trust our eyes anymore.

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever questioned the truth of a statement made by a political candidate or other adult?
• What do you think about the idea that truth is defined by a community of people and is not “objective” and true for all?
• Have you ever been fooled by a Photoshopped picture?  How did it make you feel when you found out the photo was not true?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, October 31, 2010 (Reformation Day)

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Romans 3:19-28

John 8:31-36

(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 Reformation Day Gospel text comes from a section of John’s Gospel where Jesus is in a series of controversies with the religious leaders of his time.  In this particular section the religious leaders are questioning the divine commissioning of Jesus.  Jesus argues that he and God are one and that his life, words, and teachings come from God and are true.  The religious leaders believe that authority and truth come from the Torah (the first five books of the Bible, which contain the law).

In our text Jesus challenges us to think about truth in another way.  Jesus states, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples.”  What Jesus is talking about is continuing in a relationship to Jesus.  In John’s gospel our relationship to Jesus is of prime importance.  As we abide in Jesus and Jesus abides in us, we know the truth of the Gospel (see John 15:7 where John uses the same image) and that truth is what sets us free.  We seek the truth by staying in a close relationship to Jesus and as we continue in Jesus, the Holy Spirit reveals the truth to us.

The truth of the gospel that led Martin Luther to reform the church came from his relationship to the living Jesus.  All his life Luther knew “about” God and the God Luther knew was an angry God.  Luther could find no grace, no peace.  Then, while working on a lecture series on Romans, as he was reading and studying Romans 3, the Spirit opened Luther’s eyes and heart and mind—the gospel truth touched Luther in a new way.  Luther’s relationship to Jesus caused him to see the Bible in a new way.  Luther discovered the truth and the truth set Luther free.

It isn’t what we know “about” God that sets us free, it is our faith, our trusting relationship with Jesus that sets us free and saves us.  The truth is Jesus.

Discussion Questions

• Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines truth as “the body of real things, events, and facts; a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted a true.”  Do you agree with this definition?  What does the word “truth” mean to you?
• Can there be “truth” without evidence, facts, or proof?  If so, how do we then know if that something is true?  Could it be that it is something that works in our lives and in our living?  In our relationships to others?
• On most Sundays in worship we recite the Apostles’ or Nicene Creeds.  These are summaries of what we hold to be true about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  However, which comes first, our relationship with Jesus and God that causes us to speak the creeds, or the creeds that teach us the truth about God in an objective way?
• How do we nurture our relationship to Jesus and keep it strong and alive?

Activity Suggestions

• Since this is Reformation Day, you might want to be prepared to share a brief biography of Martin Luther.  You could especially highlight the freedom Luther experienced when the truth set him free.
• We usually think of truth the way Webster’s Dictionary defines it above, as a series of facts or propositions.  Jesus speaks of truth as a relationship with him and God.  Using an online Bible Concordance or search engine look up “truth” and see how Jesus uses the word in other parts of the Gospels.  To get you started, here are some passages in the Gospel of John 1:14-17; 4:23-24; 14:6; 14:15-17.  What is the nature of the truth Jesus speaks in these passages?

Closing Prayer

Gracious and loving God, your Servant Jesus said that he is the way and the truth and the life.  May we always abide in Jesus and Jesus in us, that we might be faithful disciples of Jesus following wherever he may lead us.  Keep us in your truth that we might enjoy the abundant life you promise.  In your Holy Name we pray.  Amen

Contributed by Bob Chell, Lutheran Campus Pastor, South Dakota State University

Warm-up Question

What’s your favorite reality show? Why?

Schadenfreude

Google “why we love reality TV” and you will get 50,500,000 results in 0.24 seconds. Type in “list of reality TV shows” and you’ll find 500+ shows in 13 categories encompassing life from cradle (Toddlers in Tiaras) to teens (My Super Sweet Sixteen) young adults (Cribs) dating, (the Bachelor) marriage (Bridezilla) and the aftermath (Cheaters). The last is only one of the twenty two ‘hidden camera’ reality shows.

As television mirrors real life, real life returns the favor with the recent posting of a Duke University student’s web power point of her sexual partners titled “An Education Beyond the Classroom: Excelling in the Realm of Horizontal Academics” listing names and evaluating the sexual prowess of those with whom she shared her body.

It doesn’t stop there. Much like the twenty two “hidden camera” shows, a  Rutgers University student thought it would be funny to leave his webcam on when his roommate had a romantic encounter, twittering other friends to ‘tune in.’

His roommate, the unwitting star of the video, Tyler Clementi, took his life the next day, jumping off the George Washington Bridge.

YouTube now has a video about “the two worst people in the world” meaning, of course, those who posted the webcast on the internet…and, as day follows night, articles, video’s and, of course, Facebook groups condemning or defending all of those listed above. One cannot tell the victims from the victimizers.

Discussion Questions

• How do you feel about yourself when you find yourself delighting in the misfortune of others?
•  Why do people consent to be on a reality TV show. What does it say about them?
• What does the proliferation of internet sites devoted to the misfortune of others say about our culture? About you and me?
• Will you surf the net differently for having read this article?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, October 24, 2010 (Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost)

Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22

2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

Luke 18:9-14

(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 love words and this text calls to mind two of my favorites; “supercilious” (soo-per-sil-ee-uh s) meaning “disdainful: having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy” and the German word, “schadenfreude” (\ˈshä-d^ən-ˌfrȯi-də\), meaning pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others.

It is easy to see the Pharisee as supercilious. I love the word because pronounced aloud it contains the word ‘silly.’  And how silly for one person to think they are better than another, right? (Do not answer this question aloud.  I, like Jesus, am setting a trap for the unwary.)  Schadenfreude is the feeling we get when the trap is sprung.  Surely you’ve had the feeling, haven’t you? If you’ve ever been passed by a reckless driver going 30 miles over the speed limit only to see them pulled over by the state trooper five miles later, I know you have.

To be a Pharisee one had to be devout, taking faith seriously and working to live as God would have one live. Tax collectors did, in fact, impoverish others as they enriched themselves.  Both can be, and were, scoundrel or saint in different contexts.

Jesus didn’t come to tell bad people to be good people. When my children were young I remember driving by the county jail one day with them when one of them pointed to the jail saying, “That’s where they keep the bad people.” I wouldn’t have thought much of it if I hadn’t spent the previous afternoon visiting a student there. “No,” I said, “that’s where they keep good people who make bad choices.” Don’t get me wrong. I, like you, know there is evil in the world. Only a dolt would believe otherwise. Yet, at the end of the day there is only one kind of people not two. Jesus didn’t come to tell bad people to be good people, Jesus came to forgive sin and call us into discipleship.

If we are honest with ourselves, we can and do play both parts in Jesus’ parable.

Discussion Questions

• Would you answer the warm up question differently after having read the news article and reflection?
• Do you know people who, because they are smarter than others, believe they are better than others? How many words can you substitute for “smarter” in the above sentence?
• What does it say about us when we find ourselves delighting in the misfortune of others?
• Martin Luther said we were simul justus et peccator, both saint and sinner. What does this mean in the context of this parable?
• Have you ever gone to a pastor, teacher, or someone else in authority to take responsibility for having hurt another? Did that ease or add to your burden? Why?
• What is the significance of Jesus forgiving sin and calling us into discipleship versus calling us into discipleship and forgiving sin. 

Activity Suggestions

• Read what this Wikipedia article says about simul justus et peccator, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theology_of_Martin_Luther, and discuss whether you agree with Martin Luther.  Why or why not?
• Keep a log of the time you spend watching reality shows this week, and another of the time you spend texting, chatting via the internet and on facebook. Next week talk about how these activities  enrich and impoverish your life.
• Identify those places where things contrary to God’s way of living are portrayed as glamorous on TV and in your school or workplace.
• Pray for the saints and scoundrels you see on TV, in your school or workplace, and in your homes. Include yourself.

Closing Prayer

Forgiving God, I have mocked and teased others and relished their misfortune. Forgive me and break open my heart so I can feel the pain of another. Healing God, I know the pain of my brokenness and work to hide it from others, from you, and from myself. Help me face my pain and give me the courage to share it with someone of trust, that your grace and forgiveness may become real in my life. Amen.