Contributed by Paul Henrickson,  Chaplain, Roanoke College;  Salem, VA

Warm-up Question

Was 2010 a happy year for you?  Why?  What do you think makes for happiness?

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!  (With great emphasis on HAPPY!)  It’s time to make those New Year’s resolutions – you know those promises you make to yourself and then wiggle out of them by Valentine’s Day.  Let’s see, what will make me “happy” in 2011?  In 2011 I am going to lose 20 pounds; I am going to quit smoking; I am going to take more time for my family; I am going to read one good book each month … We make New Year’s Resolutions because we imagine that we can live happier in the future than we did in the past.  If I ask my students what they want in their life, they always say “I want to be happy.”  After all, we have it written in the Declaration of Independence that we have the right to the “… pursuit of happiness.”  So let’s all resolve to be happy in 2011.

Daniel Gilbert is a Psychology professor at Harvard – he studies “happiness.” In 2003 he wrote an article for the New York Times entitled “The Futile Pursuit of Happiness.” In this article he argues that we can’t “pursue” happiness because we really don’t know what will make us happy.  He emphasizes that there is a gap between what we predict will make us happy and what we ultimately experience.  Gilbert calls this gap the “impact bias.” He says that we consistently over estimate what will make us happy; i.e. planning for a vacation anticipates more happiness than actually going on the vacation.  Gilbert writes that impact bias “…characterizes how we experience the dimming excitement over not just a BMW but also over any object or event that we presume will make us happy.”

So… “Happy New Year!” (with Happy being an elusive goal.)

Discussion Questions

• What are your resolutions for 2011?
• If “happiness” is your goal, what kind of grade do you give your life so far?
• Why do you think we experience “impact bias,”  the gap between what we think will make us happy and what we actually experience?  What might we do to lessen the gap?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, January 2, 2011 (Second Sunday of Christmas)

Jeremiah 31:7-14

Ephesians 1:3-14

John 1:[1-9] 10-18

(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

If I ever have the opportunity to teach conformation class again, I will require the students to memorize John 1:1-18; this is the pure Gospel.  It is, in a sense, our own “Declaration of Independence” from the bondage of sin and it is the foundation for the life of a Christian.  Listen to these phrases:

• In the beginning was the Word
• the Word became flesh
• the light shines in the darkness
• power to become the children of God
• we have all received grace upon grace

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

This is not about being happy; it is about joy. It is about having the abundant life that comes, not because of our clever planning, but as a gift from God.  We are required to do nothing but accept the gift and make it the foundation of our lives of faith.

Resolve to live your life in the gift of grace.

Resolve to repeat these 18 verses once a day.

Resolve to surrender, not to pleasure, but to joy.

Discussion Questions

• What is the difference between happiness and joy?  Is it possible to be joyful without being happy?
• John 1:1-18 is one of the great passages of scripture.  If you could only share one other text from the Bible with another person, what would it be?

Activity Suggestions

• John’s prologue emphasizes that God’s love is not merely an abstraction, but has become touchable in a person.  Share a time when the love of God became more than a theological term because you experienced it in a person.
• Draw a picture to illustrate, ‘the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.”
• Read John 1:1-18 each day for a week and keep a journal of your thoughts in response to the words.  Share your insights the next time your group meets?

Closing Prayer

Lord of all Joy, by your grace let me surrender to the joy you have given me.  Let me live this day in the light of the Word, made flesh, and evident to me. Amen

There is no Faith Lens this week but you might ponder…

"..and laid him in a manger because there was no room in the inn"

Contributed by Paul Baglyos, St. Paul, MN

Warm-up Question

When is a gift not really a gift?

What’s a Gift?

Recently, a woman addressed the following question and comments to an advice column: “How can I get my significant other to be fair to my kids at Christmas? He always makes sure his kid gets really nice stuff and then he will get something really expensive for himself. But my kids and me? For example, last year he got his 10-year-old daughter an iPod Touch that cost $300, but my kids got $50 gift certificates. Then he bought something for his guitar that costs over $400, and I got nothing. This really bothers me.”

Implicit in the woman’s question and comments is the popular sense that the value of a gift is determined by its monetary cost and that gift-giving should exemplify fairness and equity.  In that regard, gifts and gift-giving lose all character of grace and instead become  matters of obligation.

Discussion Questions

• Imagine the larger story behind the woman’s question and comments.  What do you suppose the man might say in response to the woman?  What do you suppose his daughter and her kids might say to each other, or about each other, after they have opened their gifts at Christmas?
• Is the man being selfish and cheap?  Is the woman being too demanding?
• The response to the woman published in the advice column included this opinion: “We don’t think this guy sounds like significant other material.”  Do you agree with that opinion?  Why, or why not?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, December 19, 2010 (Fourth Sunday of Advent)

Isaiah 7:10-16

Romans 1:1-7

Matthew 1:18-25

(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

Quite a lot was expected of Joseph.  He was told to assume responsibility for his pregnant wife-to-be, and for the unborn child conceived in her womb, even though the child was not his own.  Joseph’s plan “to dismiss [Mary] quietly” was reasonable and fair; after all, her pregnancy might be regarded as a breach of pre-marital trust between them, releasing him from all further obligations.  The angel’s instruction to Joseph, however, required him to surrender all reasonable claims to fairness and to act with a generosity that exceeded obligation.

God, too, acts with a generosity that exceeds obligation.  God’s Christmas gift to the world, the gift of Jesus the Messiah, demonstrates sheer grace on the part of God.  The gift is neither owed nor deserved; it cannot be demanded and it cannot be priced.  God’s generosity is described in this well-known verse from the Gospel according to John: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Discussion Questions

• What is the difference between grace and obligation?
• Think about a time you received a gift you did not deserve–or felt coerced into giving a gift by the demands or expectations of others?    How does the contrast between grace and obligation change the character of “gift”?
• Why does it seem easier to understand obligation than to understand grace?
• How do Christians understand life in relation to God’s grace?  How do Christians demonstrate grace in relation to others?
• In what ways might the church become more fully a community a grace in the world?

Activity Suggestions

• Imagine that you are Joseph; write a brief letter to an advice column about your situation in relation to Mary and the unborn child she carries.  Now imagine you are an advice columnist responding to Joseph; write a brief reply to his letter.
• Think of a gift that your church group might give in celebration of Christmas.  What is the gift, and to whom will you give it?  Make plans to do so.

Closing Prayer

O come, O come, Emmanuel.  Be with us, God, in all our days and all our ways, that we might be with you now and forever.  Amen

.

Contributed by Angie Larson, Clive, IA

Warm-up Question

What do you do to prepare for Christmas?

 Are You Prepared for This?

This October, like every year, stores begin their visual preparations for the Christmas shopping season.  On October 30 the Macy’s department store in Philadelphia, PA had a special treat for shoppers.  In the middle of their shopping day, a choir of over 650 opera and choral singers began singing Handel’s Messiah, complete with organ.

 This event was birthed by The Knight Foundation, founded by Jack and Jim Knight, which provides funds for a program it calls Random Acts of Culture.   The foundation plans to fund 1000 random acts of culture over the next three years.  The vision includes getting cultural events, such as music, dance, and opera, out of concert halls, theaters, and museums into public places like Macy’s, making them accessible to all. The video of the “Messiah” has already had over 5 million hits on YouTube.   The Knight’s vision includes what they call the “transformative power of the arts to help people to experience life in its fullest.”

Dennis Scholl, the Foundation’s vice president says, “Hearing Handel or seeing the tango in an unexpected place provides a deeply felt reminder of how the classics can enrich our lives. As you’ll see in our videos, the performances make people smile, dance, and grab their cameras – even cry with joy. For those brief moments, people going along in their everyday lives are part of a shared, communal experience that makes their community a more vibrant place to live.” Watch the video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp_RHnQ-jgU

Discussion Questions

• How do you think you would have reacted if you were shoe shopping and people started singing all around you?
• What do you think about the music chosen for this Random Act of Culture? How does this affect us as Christians?
• The Knight Foundation calls the arts transformative.  Name some other things in our world that can be transformative.
• One of the goals of the Knight Foundation is to take culture out to where the people are.  How could we apply this to the church and the Christian message?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, December 12, 2010 (Third Sunday of Advent)

Isaiah 35:1-10

James 5:7-10

Matthew 11:2-11

(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

In the Gospel we find John the Baptist in jail.  He has heard of Jesus and proclaimed his coming, but now he doubts. John has been preparing for and expecting the arrival of the Messiah, however, Jesus still takes him by surprise.  The doubting John sends some of his followers to go ask Jesus if he is the one that they had been waiting for.  Jesus responds by asking John’s messengers to bear witness to what they are seeing and hearing in Jesus’ ministry.  Jesus  praises John and proclaims him as the messenger sent before him to fulfill the scriptures. To even John the Baptist Jesus came unexpectedly.  Through John’s doubt Jesus reminds us that He is Lord and came to proclaim good news to the poor.

We have Christmas time expectations as we prepare. We expect that we’ll receive catalogs in the mail, that Christmas music will be playing in the mall, and that we’ll wrap and open some presents.  We prepare for the day; we buy the food, bake the cookies, and decorate our homes. However, we don’t expect the most miraculous thing that happens.  Jesus comes to us, bringing good news.  He heals us and gives us hope.  Like the shoppers at Macy’s, expecting an ordinary day then experiencing a moment of incredible beautly, we find something waiting for us as Jesus transforms the ordinary into the the extraordinary.  He brings good news to our hearts again and again, even if, like John, we already know Him.  The way has been prepared, but the path is unexpected.

Discussion Questions

• John the Baptist wondered about Jesus being the Messiah even though Jesus calls him great (v.11).  What does that that mean for us as we wonder?
• Jesus was known to be the Messiah through his actions.  How can we be known as Christians through our actions?
• What are some ways that Jesus has been known to you unexpectedly?

Activity Suggestions

Create your own Random Act of Christians. Have your group brainstorm some ways members could bring the unexpected nature of Jesus to others outside of the church walls.  Here are some suggestions:

–          Pass out dollar bills at the mall to people with no strings attached.  See how they react and talk about grace.

–          Feed the hungry, offer to pay for someone else’s meal at a fast food restaurant.

–          Sing Christmas carols to senior citizens or just to people you know are in need.

Closing Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, as we prepare for this Christmas season, remind us of those places in which you give us the unexpected.  You came so we could have life and live it abundantly; please change our perceptions that need to be changed and renew us daily through our baptismal promises.  Help us to be continually surprised by who you are. Thank you for being present in our hearts. Amen.

Contributed by Jose Valenzuela, Phoenix, AZ

Warm-up Question

When you  say you are sorry about something, is it generally because you are truly sorry or because you got caught?

Repentant–or Just Caught

Charles Rangel is an 80 year old Representative from the state of New York.  During a recent ethics investigation he was found by a group of his peers to have acted inappropriately related to the raising of funds for a public policy center that is being named after him. In a report that was sent out on his website for his reelection, he announced that there is “no excuse for his acts of omission” and that he apologized for the embarrassment he brought to his constituents.

At the same time, Representative Rangel said that he has done nothing wrong and he maintains his innocence. In this time of heightened political fervor, politicians have the difficult task of  admitting wrongdoing while, at the same time, maintaining that they have done nothing wrong.  In the constant battle to remain in office, the dance of accepting responsibility yet admitting nothing seems to be an appropriate strategy.

Discussion Questions

• What does it mean to apologize?
• When a person apologizes are they repenting?
• The word repent means to “turn around”.  If we accept responsibility for something we did wrong, how should our actions change?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, December 5, 2010 (Second Sunday of Advent)

Isaiah 11:1-10

Romans 15:4-13

Matthew 3:1-12

(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

632.  That is the number of rules that the Jewish community of Jesus had to live by in order to be considered “good” by standards of the law.  In the times of Jesus it was the job of the Pharisees and the Sadducees to enforce the laws and ensure that everyone followed the rules.

During the early part of his ministry John the Baptist was out preaching and teaching and inviting people to come and be baptized.  As a part of their baptism, people were asked to repent for the wrongs that they had done in their lives.  It is interesting that some of the people who were repenting and asking to be baptized were the same people who held the community responsible for breaking the laws.

Isn’t it ironic that the same people who punished others for knowingly or unknowingly breaking a rule were asking for forgiveness?  John’s reaction to this was to lift up the double standard by which people were living in at the time.  How could persons seek forgiveness when they were not able to forgive others in the midst of the current laws?  The kingdom that John the Baptist was talking about was one that allowed the people who broke the laws to live in relationship with God in spite of the laws.

The heart of Jesus’ ministry was proclaiming that purely human laws were no longer applicable and forgiveness was at hand.  The key to forgiveness is to repent for wrong you have committed and have faith that God will forgive you.  For many the trick is to truly repent.  God knows what is in our hearts.  When we are truly sorry for thinking of ourselves and putting God second, forgiveness is at hand.  No one is denied.  Repentance and faith are all that is needed to remain in relationship with God.

Discussion Questions

• Is there any sin that God cannot forgive?
• If God is able to forgive you, how difficult is it to forgive ourselves?
• By accepting God’s forgiveness can we forgive others?

Activity Suggestion

Share a time when you were forgiven for something and how in turn you were able to forgive others.

Closing Prayer

Gracious God, you know what is in our hearts.  Some of it isn’t good, but we offer this all to you.  Take us and use us to your glory.  Open our hearts and minds to see and feel you at work in our lives.  Amen.