Contributed by Jen Krausz, Bethelem, PA

Warm-up Question

How do you react when you see someone you know finds faith or grows in their faith? What feelings come up for you at those times?

Rally to Return to God

On August 28, 2010, talk show host Glenn Beck hosted a rally, drawing over half a million people to Washington D.C. But although Beck is a conservative talk show host who often discusses politics, he claimed the reason for this rally was something very different.

The rally was held to benefit the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which provides college scholarships to children of special operations military personnel killed in the line of duty. 5.1 million dollars has been raised so far.

Beck called his rally “Restoring Honor,” and focused on inspiring those in attendance to turn back to God, to live their lives honorably, and to encourage our country to turn back to God as a whole. In addition to honoring veterans, the rally featured a gospel choir and several pastors who spoke and offered prayers. Awards were given for faith, hope and charity, echoing 1 Corinthians 13. During Beck’s speech, he said that the country had been “in darkness for too long,” and that only with God’s help could we move back in the right direction again. 

According to reporters, the crowd was very polite, waiting nicely for others to disperse and not leaving “a scrap of trash anywhere.”

Critics have accused Beck of using the rally to revive the culture wars.

Discussion Questions

• Do you think our country has turned away from God? What things tell you that this is or is not true?  Has the United States ever been a “Christian nation”?
• Even if the country hasn’t turned away from God, what might be some positive effects of people examining their faith and beliefs?
• Do you think we are in a “culture war” over issues like abortion, gay marriage and immigration?
• What can we, as Christians and as the church, do to bring people of opposing viewpoints together?
• Critics suggest that, far from embodying Christian attitudes, Beck uses “traditional values” as code language to oppose much of the progress won by the marginalized through the Civil Rights struggle.  What core values do you think a follower of Jesus should have?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, September 12, 2010 (Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost)

Exodus 32:7-14

1 Timothy  1:12-17

Luke 15:1-10

(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 Pharisees had good reasons for everything they did. They formed all kinds of rules to keep themselves from breaking any of God’s commandments. They wanted to be righteous before God. But their rules and ways of living were sometimes  based on man’s logic and reason. Somehow, in the process of making all these rules and keeping them, they neglected their hearts. They made God into some faraway being, too great and above them to have a friendship with. One of Jesus’ main teachings was that God wants to have a relationship with the people. God is at the same time “out there,” beyond all human understanding and right here, wanting to be personally involved in our lives.

God wants our hearts to be engaged, because God’s own heart is engaged. God loves us—that’s as simple as it gets, but how important and profound! In today’s scripture, God rejoices when one lost person finds faith. It gives God joy to have a relationship with us.

It is impossible for us to be one of the 99 “righteous” persons referenced in these verses without Jesus, no matter what we do or how hard we try. Jesus knew that; it’s the reason why he came. His sacrifice makes our righteousness possible. But that whole process involves our minds and our hearts. It requires us to engage God, to get personal. When we get personally involved with God, amazing things happen. A talk show host might even hold a rally dedicated to making people aware of their (and their country’s) need for God!

We might not always understand it, but our lives are changed; we become a part of what God is doing in the world. Who wouldn’t want that?

Discussion Questions

• What makes someone a “righteous” person? Do you think you are “righteous?”
•  How can we have a relationship with God that is personal?  What things can we do to start or maintain such a relationship?
• Why do you think it makes God so happy when people find faith?
• Would you want to “welcome sinners and eat with them” like Jesus did? What would that look like in your life?

 Activity Suggestions

One part of our relationship with God is prayer. Start a prayer journal to write down what you pray about on a daily basis. Leave blank space to record answers to your prayers. Over time  such a journal can be a powerful record and reminder of God’s involvement in your life.

Closing Prayer

Dear Lord, thank you that because of Jesus we can be righteous in your eyes. Thank you that for wanting to have a relationship with us finding joy when we reach out to you. Help us to keep remembering to reach out to you for guidance in our lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Contributed by Jack Saarela, Lutheran Campus Ministry, Yale University

Warm-up Question

Has trying to follow Jesus ever put you at odds with your parents wishes or values? 

Honor Thy Father?

Mark tells us in his gospel that at the very beginning of his public ministry, Jesus walked on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and saw James and John in a boat mending their fishing nets. That’s the scene depicted in the painting on this page. “Immediately,” (one of Mark’s favorite words) Jesus invited them to be his disciples. Apparently, without a second’s hesitation, they laid down their nets, and set off to follow Jesus. Then Mark inserts an interesting detail: “ . . . and left their father Zebedee in the boat.”

Imagine the older man sitting on the bow of the boat in the painting as Zebedee, father of James and John, and head of the small family-run fishing operation, “Zebedee and Sons”.  James and John may have been excited, flattered, or expectant at the prospect of following Jesus. But I wonder how Zebedee felt, what he thought about Jesus’ coming along out of the blue and calling his sons away to be his followers. Do you think Zebedee was pleased as punch to assume all the burdens and responsibilities of the family fishing enterprise on his own, solitary shoulders?

Discussion Questions

• What do you think? How does Jesus look to you if you’re Zebedee, left alone in the fishing boat?
• Can you name any time in your life when your being a Christian disciple has led to tension within your family? Within your group of friends? 

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, September 5, 2010 (Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost)

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

Philemon 1-21

Luke 14:25-35

(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 my ministry with students at the University of Florida, we used to offer a Bible study series every few years entitled, “Things We Wish Jesus Had Never Said!” We didn’t have any trouble coming up with a long list of texts from the gospels containing very hard, challenging words from Jesus.

Today’s gospel text was almost always among them. William Willimon, Methodist bishop and former chaplain at Duke, asks, “What is this, Jesus on a bad day?” Jesus seems to be in no mood here for compromise or halfway measures in the matter of following him. “Hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters”? . . . “Yes, [hate] even life itself”? . . . “Give up all your possessions”? And then, to top it off, “carry the cross”? Ouch!

Yes, part of the challenge of Jesus’ words can be explained by the fact that he is using hyperbolic language to catch our attention. And sure, Jesus doesn’t imply “hating” in the sense of an emotion, but rather a kind of detachment from family and possessions that allows us to keep them in proper perspective as secondary and tertiary loyalties in our lives, when our first love ought to be serving God and loving our neighbor.

Nonetheless, it’s not at all easy to keep family commitments and pursuit of income and possessions in their proper place. My experience is that it’s impossible, as are a lot of other things Jesus asks of us. Love my neighbor as myself? Turn the other cheek? Sometimes, maybe, but it’s not my first instinct.

That’s why I find Jesus’ words later in the gospel of Luke to be such good news. In chapter 18, Jesus appears to make another set of impossible demands of a rich young man (to go sell all he has and give the money to the poor). The man is saddened, and turns away. One of the disciples then asks Jesus, “Who, then, can be saved?” Jesus replies with the good news I’m talking about: “What is impossible for mortals is possible for God.” (Luke 18:26-27)

For mortals like you and me, it’s virtually impossible to follow Jesus on the terms he establishes. But through the action of the Holy Spirit, God makes the impossible happen.

Discussion Questions

• Can you think of other sayings of Jesus you wish he had never said? Words of his that are difficult to hear and challenge our assumptions?
• Some suggest that mainline Christian churches like the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are not growing because we fail to raise the bar for being a Christian, and settle instead for an “easy believism,” practicing and living out our faith as an “optional extracurricular activity.”  Do you think they are right? Why, or why not?
• How do we accept the free grace of God in Jesus (the fact that God makes impossible discipleship possible for us) and yet not just sit back and “let God do it”? 

Activity Suggestions

• Watch a video about the challenges faced especially by young Christians in China at:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbgDlMmAGaw
• Is “easy believism”  even possible in places like China?

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, it’s not that I don’t want to “follow your more dearly and love you more dearly”, it’s just that it seems set up for my failure. Your demands and expectations are so high! But I believe that even my wanting to follow you is already the work of your Spirit within me. Make what seems impossible for me possible today. Amen

Contributed by Scott Moore, ELCA Representative for the Luther Decade and Coordinator of Wittenberg Center Activities.

Warm-up Question

What would it mean to you to give away half of everything you have?

Generosity in Abundance

Once again in the news, Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet have upped the ante on what it means to be generous with one’s wealth by inviting their rich peers to take the “giving pledge.”  As the home page states, “the Giving Pledge is an effort to invite the wealthiest individuals and families in America to commit to giving the majority of their wealth to the philanthropic causes and charitable organizations of their choice either during their lifetime or after their death.”

The first 40 wealthy individuals or families to take the Giving Pledge are setting an example of generosity when many are much more concerned about their security in uncertain economic times. If you are wondering how much wealth is at stake, here are a couple of statistics. With just the 400 billionaires in the United States alone, there is a net worth of about $1.2 trillion. That means around $600 billion for charity if all 400 took the pledge. 40 of the first approximately 75 people agreed to participate. Their net worth is about $230 billion. One of the richest men, Warren Buffett, has pledged to give more than 99% of his wealth to charity.

This pledge is just beginning. The initiators hope that the number of those willing to share from their wealth will continue to grow. 

Discussion Questions

• When was the last time you shared some of your “wealth” where it felt like a sacrifice?
• What does your congregation do with the “wealth” it has?
• What do you get out of sharing from what you have?
• When have you shared your wealth with someone, knowing there would be nothing in it for you?
• To which charity would you or do you give when you share your wealth?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, August 29, 2010 (Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost)

Proverbs 25:6-7

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

Luke 14:7-14

(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

Imagine that! Jesus eating, but this time not with ‘sinners,’ as we always like to mention. Instead Jesus is going to a respectable Sabbath dinner at the house of one of the religious leaders in town. But he was being watched to see how he would behave and what he might say. Perhaps, the other guests thought that Jesus only knew how to break bread with ‘sinners’ and ‘undesirables’.  Maybe they hoped that Jesus would be an interesting dinner guest.  After all, Jesus had just completed his teaching and preaching tour in the villages on his way to Jerusalem where some of the Pharisees warned him to stay away because Herod was after him. Jesus responds that that he will continue doing what he has been doing. (13:32-33)

Just before they all sit down to eat, Jesus takes a moment and heals someone on the Sabbath, with a questioning challenge to those gathered. (14:3)

Now Jesus turns his attention to those gathering guests, jockeying for the best seat at the table. Jesus warns them to be humble and to not assume a higher place so that they might be lifted up. Turning to the host of the dinner Jesus encourages him to not throw a party in hopes of getting something in return. Share your banquet of abundance with those who could never offer anything in return.

In our daily lives, we are surrounded with a “quid pro quo”, “tit for tat” way of surviving. We all know that you have to be savvy and crafty and do favors for those who might be able to help you out in the future. That is how we are taught to survive and succeed in school and business. We like to quote the Golden Rule, “do unto others,” often with the sense of “treat people as you hope to be treated by them.” We love films like Pay it Forward in which the main characters do something good in hope that it will spread, eventually—maybe hopefully—coming back to them.

Even the wealthy do-gooders like Gates and Buffett hope to make society better through education. If we invest in others, then it will eventually be better for all of us. All of this is certainly true, noble, and to be encouraged. Jesus radically suggests that we should share with those who cannot hope to repay us. Share from what we have because we are blessed. Give without expecting anything in return. Jesus’ promise is that there will be a reward of another kind in the time beyond time.

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever felt like you have given and given and it hasn’t changed the person or the situation? How did that affect your attitude toward giving?
• How should we approach giving to those where it seems unlikely that our gift will make an obvious difference (alcoholics, drug addicts, etc.)?

Activity Suggestions

Learning About Local Ministries of Giving

Check out local food/clothing ministries and present the information to participants. Perhaps there is a local chapter of United Way that can help you see what kinds of organizations are near your congregation.

Other nationally based organizations that engage in feeding ministries include (but are not limited to) Bread for the World and ELCA World Hunger Appeal.

If your congregation already supports a local ministry such as a feeding program, food pantry, battered women’s shelter, homeless shelter, or literacy program, perhaps your group can participate by working with that ministry at some point in the near future.

 Half of All You Own

Anonymous giving of half of your group’s wealth…

Hand out paper and writing utensils and ask the participants to estimate their “wealth”…the value of all they personally own (how much would they have if they were to sell everything they have for cash) plus cash and savings…then ask them to cut that in half. Collect the sums (without names) and add it all together.  See how much money your group could accumulate.

Talk about whether or not they would survive giving half of what they own. What would that look like?  How would their lives change?  What could they accomplish with their combined wealth?

Discuss whether it is harder or easier to be generous when you are very wealthy.

Closing Prayer

God of grace and abundance, you have blessed your earth with the resources to meet the needs of your whole creation. Grant that we may receive with mindful thanksgiving what you have given us and then generously share it with those in need. We ask this in the name of the one who gave us his life, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Contributed by Seth Moland-Kovash, All Saints Lutheran Church Palatine, IL

Warm-up Question

When you envision your own wedding someday, what is the most important thing that comes to your mind?

What’s Really Important?

Weddings are big business. From the flowers to the photographers, from the dance hall to the caterer, big bucks are spent on wedding celebrations. The average cost of a wedding from start to finish is over $20,000… and that’s the average. Some cost a great deal more than that.

 A recent article highlights a trend in our rough economy toward spending less on weddings, especially focusing on one couple who had their wedding in a bowling alley. Some who throw offbeat wedding celebrations, either in bowling alleys or with a baked potato bar instead of a five-course dinner, run into problems with friends or family members who expect a more traditional wedding celebration.

 Traditions versus your own tastes? Big money versus trying to save some pennies? What is most important about a wedding? Where are the priorities?

Discussion Questions

• What is the most important thing about a wedding?
• Which wedding traditions help to emphasize the most important thing? Which might get in the way?
• How can couples bring the best of themselves and their own tastes into a wedding celebration?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, August 22, 2010 (Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost)

Isaiah 58:9b-14

Hebrews 12:4-24

Luke 13:10-17

(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 met a woman who needed something. She had been crippled, bent over and unable to stand up straight for 18 long years. For Jesus, there was no question to be asked. This woman needed something and he could provide it. So he healed her.

The problem is that, in healing her (and how and when he healed her), Jesus ran up against expectations and traditions. Expectations and traditions that were not all wrong in and of themselves. Jesus got into trouble with the leader of the synagogue and others because it was on the Sabbath day that Jesus healed this woman.

When Jesus argued that he was right to heal this woman on the Sabbath, he didn’t necessarily say that all rules about keeping the Sabbath were wrong. He didn’t say that those in the synagogue were wrong to rest on the Sabbath. He just asked questions about priorities: “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the Sabbath day?”

If the lives of your ox or donkey are so important that you’ll get up from your Sabbath rest to give them water, why isn’t this woman’s life at least as important? Where are the priorities, Jesus asked. What’s most important?

Discussion Questions

• How did Jesus decide that he could heal this woman on the Sabbath? What made it OK for him to break the Sabbath rules and traditions?
• How do you decide which religious traditions are worth keeping today and which we might get rid of?

Activity Suggestion

Talk with the President of your church council. Ask her or him about the priorities for the congregation? What’s most important? What are good things that it would be OK to sacrifice if need be to meet the priorities?

Closing Prayer

Good and gracious God, we thank you for the witness that you give us of love and healing that breaks boundaries. Help us to keep our priorities always on your love and your grace.  Amen.

Contributed by Sylvia Alloway, Granada Hills, CA

Warm-up Question

What would you do or say, if you came face to face with someone who wanted to rob you? 

Speaking of Jesus…in All Times

 “I really hate to do this…” began the man with the gun.

 The clerk behind the counter at the wireless phone store did not panic. She began to tell the robber about Jesus.

 “I know you can do whatever you want, but let me tell you about the Jesus I have…Jesus my God.” Nayara Goncalves continued to talk to the man, after he claimed to be a Christian himself, encouraging him to go back to church. They discovered that they had attended the same church in Pompano Beach, Florida and both knew the pastor.

 Still the fellow insisted that he needed $300 for his rent, or he would be evicted. Only when the young lady explained to him that the money he took would be docked from her own wages did he finally relent and back slowly out the door.

 “God bless you!” he said, just before he made his exit. Less then an hour later he was arrested for robbing a nearby shoe store.

 Newsmen from a popular morning TV show [Good Morning America] who reported the incident were impressed by Goncalves’ calm courage.

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever been the victim of a robbery or burglary? What would you say to the criminal if you were to meet him?
• Why do you think a person would choose to commit a robbery instead of finding an honest way to get the money he needed?  Are there always honest options?
• Do you think you could ever “witness” (tell someone about Jesus) in a dangerous situation? Why or why not?

 Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, August 15 (Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost) [Some congregations will use  texts observing the lesser festival, “Mary, Mother of our Lord]

Isaiah 61:7-11

Hebrews 11:29-12:2

Luke 12:49-56

(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 spoke of bringing peace. Yet here he talks about division and family strife. Is this contradictory?  No, Jesus recognizes that his vision is challenging; many will reject it.  Division between those who commit to following him and those who refuse to embrace his distinctive type of peace is inevitable.

The signs are everywhere, as obvious as the weather. Jesus is doing everything the prophets said the Messiah would do. Conflict with those who resist God’s coming kingdom has been building to the crisis point.  He has one more act to complete, what Jesus calls his “baptism,” that is, his crucifixion and resurrection. When this work is finished, it will be time to choose sides, either worshipping Jesus as Lord, or rejecting him as a fraud. There is no middle ground. 

Talking about Jesus brings division, sometimes even to the strongest family ties. There is no room here for “don’t make waves,” or “anything to keep the peace.” We are to show our devotion to the Lord in thought, word, and deed, no matter what the consequences. They may be good – we may turn away robbers, inspire faith, spread joy. Or we may upset people.

If you looked at the courage of Nayara Goncalves and thought, “I can’t do that,” you’re right, you can’t – alone. But we are not alone. We have the Holy Spirit, who has promised to give us words. We have the example of those who have gone before us (see today’s New Testament lesson, Hebrews 11:29-12:2). And we have each other, fellow Christians, for strength and encouragement. Those abiding in the love of Jesus cannot be divided.

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever had to risk rejection or unpopularity because of your faith? What did you do? If you could go back to that incident, would you change your actions?
• Are you or do you know anyone who is the only Christian in his or her family? What kind of support can the Body of Christ, the Church, give such people, so that they can live out their faith and not feel alone?
• When and where do you find it most difficult to behave like a Christian? What suggestions do class members have for staying true to Christ in these situations?

Activity Suggestions

Practice responding to those who question or ridicule Christian belief. List some of the arguments you have heard against belief in Jesus (I don’t understand it.  Following the Christian way is too hard.  It’s only for stupid or weak people, etc.). Come up with answers to those arguments. If time permits, act out some scenarios, with one person playing a skeptic and another, a believer.

Suggested Songs: Onward Christian Soldiers, Lift High the Cross, The Battle Belongs to the Lord (contemporary)

Closing Prayer

Father, we humbly admit that we are weak in our desire and ability to speak out for you. Let us pray for and encourage one another. We ask for your Spirit to inspire in us the words and actions that will best glorify you.  In the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.