Contributed by Bill King, Lutheran Campus Ministry at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA

Warm-up Question

When you have an important school assignment to finish, what distractions are hardest for you to resist?  Why?

Driven to Distraction

If you have watched a basketball game on television you have seen rabid fans seated behind the goal trying to distract an opposing team’s free throw shooter.  “Shirtless” Bill Sproat, a student at Utah State has taken distraction to a new level, making it an art form. Sproat says that he actually hates basketball, calling it a “worthless” sport, but he loves finding new ways to get in the heads of opposing players.  At Aggies’ home games you can find him behind the goal dressed as a  snorkeler, Chippendale, or cupid.  He tries to match his character to the opponent; for example, he showed for a game against the University of Hawaii dressed as a hula dancer.  But his signature move comes in the second half of the game; he strips off his top and lets his ample torso undulate behind the backboard. 

There is some debate in basketball circles over whether the antics of fans like Shirtless Bill actually make any difference.  Top players say that if you are properly focused on the rim you do not even see the fans.  But Bill has his own focus, “If I can get them to laugh then I can get them to miss. If I get them to look at me, they’re in big trouble.”

Discussion Questions

• How do you react to “Shirtless” Bill Sproat?  Do you find him admirable for his passion or a bit desperate in his desire for attention?
• What do you think motivates someone like Bill, who regularly shows up to watch a game he hates?
• Fans’ efforts to distract players are perfectly acceptable at a basketball game but are grounds for ejection at a tennis match or on a golf course.  Why?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, July 18, 2010 (Eighth Sunday after Pentecost)

Genesis 18:1-10

Colossians 1:15-28

Luke 10:38-42

(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

It’s tempting to choose sides.  In this week’s lesson Jesus visits the home of Mary and Martha and we recognize sibling dynamics of many homes.  There is Martha—dutiful, responsible, eager to follow the rules.  She works hard and expects others to do the same.  You want her in charge of your project.  But she is rather high strung and prone to act like a martyr.  Mary, in contrast, takes life as it comes.  Sensitive and solicitous, she’ll drop everything if you call her up with a problem.  She is light and breezy, often artistic, easy to be with—and absolutely maddening if you need her to act on a tight schedule.  Mary and Martha love each other, but you know they drive each other crazy.

Most of us identify with either Martha or Mary, so it’s hard to avoid choosing sides in their little domestic tiff.  We tend to read this story through the lens of our own experience.  If little brother has just trashed our room—yet again—we weigh in on Martha’s side, “Yeah Lord, why shouldn’t Mary do her part instead of sitting on her duff?”  But if our daily experience is being compared to a “perfect” but rather joyless sibling sister we can see why Mary opts out of the hospitality competition.  Still, if we get too caught up in identifying with one sister or the other, we miss the point of the story.

Jesus gently rebukes Martha, not for being who she is, but for allowing herself to be distracted from what is most important.  The hospitality Martha offers is praiseworthy, but in her worrying about all the little tasks of entertaining, she has ignored her guest.  She has forgotten that the issue is not what she can give Jesus but what he can give her, if she will take time to listen.  The good has become the enemy of the best.

A defining characteristic of modern life is the lack of silence.  From morning to night we envelop ourselves in a blanket of distraction; there is no moment when we are not texting, tweeting, talking, or pumping tunes into our ears.  Before we can follow Jesus we have to discipline ourselves to stop and listen for his voice.  The challenge for good church folk is sometimes distinguishing being busy from being faithful.  Can you slow down and listen today?

Discussion Questions

• Where do you find yourself in this story of Mary, Martha, and Jesus?
• Why do you think we tend to fill our day with unceasing sound?
• What “good” things occupy your time which might be distracting you from hearing Jesus?
• Jesus tells Martha she is busy with many things, but has lost sight of what is most important.  What IS most important to you, so important that you will sacrifice everything else to have it?

Activity Suggestions

• Make a list of everything you did in the last 24 hours. Think about how much time you spent in each activity; was it a good use of your time?  Think about how your choices support or undermine your ability to follow Jesus.  Share your list and thoughts with someone in your group.
• In the next week, do a “cyber-fast” for one whole day.  Turn off your phone and computer—no texting, e-mails, calls, Facebook, Web browsing, etc.  At the end of that time think about how your day was different from normal.  What was uncomfortable?  What was good about being disconnected?  Talk about the experience in your group next week.

Closing Prayer

Lord, the alarm just went off and the race is on.  There are so many things I need to do, so many demands on my time, so many people’s expectations to meet.  Help me to take a deep breath, still my racing heart, and listen for your voice amid the noise of this day.  Give me the wisdom to distinguish the urgent from the important, that I may rest in your love and live only for you.  I pray in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Contributed by John Hougen, St. John Lutheran Church, Melrose Park, PA 

Warm-up Question

What skills necessary to help people in need are among your hidden talents?

Hidden Talents

Russell just graduated from high school. He motors around in a wheel chair, and some find it difficult to understand his speech. He is a young man with many talents, but most of them are hidden by cerebral palsy. Because his talents are hidden, Russell is often met with expectations that are lower than his gifts. Therefore, to sing, to socialize, to dance, to share a joke, to be a worship leader in church, Russell must often summon the courage to go beyond the expectations of others, which he does with grace. He sings (occasionally solos). He acts in chancel dramas. He socializes before and after worship. 

As his pastor, I am most grateful for his gift of caring. He pays attention to who is in church and who is not. If people are missing for too long, he will ask if they are OK. If they are ill, he will ask about them regularly. When they return, he greets them with genuine gladness. 

Russell also has brought out the hidden talents of relatives and friends, classmates, and other members of his congregation. Most of them do not think of themselves as people with the natural gifts required for relating to a person with physical and intellectual challenges. Russell has helped them discover that they have the talents necessary to be his friends and companions. 

Discussion Questions

• Russell’s cerebral palsy masks his talents. In our society, what are some other “masks” that hide people’s talents?
• Share the story of an occasion when you discovered you could do something you didn’t think you could do.
• What factors lead people to underestimate your capabilities?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, July 11, 2010 (Seventh Sunday after Pentecost)

Deuteronomy 30:9-14 

Colossians 1:1-14 

Luke 10:25-37 

(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

 There are many ways to read a parable. Today, try to identify with each character in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Explore whether each character is a part of who you are. 

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Have you ever been a victim of the cruelty of others? Even if you have never been mugged, ask yourself whether you’ve been hurt by others, left feeling vulnerable, discouraged (beaten down emotionally), and without the strength to get up and go. If so, then a part of you is like the man in the parable who was robbed and beaten. If so, you are capable of empathy and compassion for victims of cruelty. 

“Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.”  Have you ever ignored a person in need?  In this world, there are countless people who need our help. Technology and opportunities to travel make them as accessible to us as if they were lying in a ditch by the side of our favorite hiking trail. We can’t help everyone in need, so all of us are passers by – like the priest and Levite in the parable. The story does not tell us why the priest and Levite passed by, but maybe they were busy, had appointments, fainted at the sight of blood, didn’t want to get involved, were afraid the robbers still were lurking. Thinking about why the priest and Levite did not stop might help you identify your reasons for not helping more than you do. Some of your reasons are likely to be legitimate and others are likely to be excuses, ways that you hide your capabilities for helping people in need. Separating legitimate reasons from excuses can be a step towards growing in compassion and generosity.  

^“But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.” Have you ever helped someone in crisis? Have you ever helped someone in crisis who was not the sort of person with whom you usually associate? Samaritans (who thought of themselves as related to Jerusalem Jews) and Jerusalem Jews (who denied that Samaritans were related to them) were suspicious of one another and did not mingle. Since Jesus was telling this parable to Jerusalem Jews, their expectation would have been that the Samaritan would have passed by and the Priest or Levite would have helped. To the Jerusalem Jews, the Good Samaritan’s mercy was a talent hidden behind a negative stereotype of his ethnicity. You can identify with the Good Samaritan if you are willing to reach across the barriers that usually keep people apart (race, economic status, education, sexual orientation, etc.). You can identify with the Good Samaritan if you have the courage and strength to be compassionate in spite of pressures that might lead you to “pass by on the other side.” 

Discussion Questions

• Which character is easiest for you to identify with? Which is the most difficult? 
• Do you have hidden talents that could be used to help people in need? What are they?
• Among your friends and in your worshipping community, what resources can you turn to that will help you grow in compassion, awareness of why you are reluctant to get involved, and courage to become more proactive in meeting human needs?

Activity Suggestions

•  Interview someone in need and share their story with a group.
• Work with a partner to help someone you’ve never met who has a need you’ve never encountered face to face.  

Closing Prayer

Gracious God, when I am in trouble, send a Good Samaritan to help me. And, strengthen my own compassion, honesty, and courage so I can be a Good Samaritan to others. Amen.

Contributed by R. Paul Henrickson, Chaplain and Dean of the Chapel, Roanoke College, Salem, VA

Warm-up Question

Go around the group and respond to the following:

• Is the world more populated by sheep or wolves?
• Would you rather be a sheep or a wolf?
• Name a sheep; name a wolf.
• Are Christians among the sheep or the wolves?
• Does Christianity have any enemies?

Sheep and Wolves

I write this on June 21, 2010.  I am reminded by the New York Times, that on this day in 1964, three civil rights workers disappeared in Philadelphia, Miss. Their bodies were found buried in an earthen dam six weeks later. Eight members of the Ku Klux Klan went to prison on federal conspiracy charges; none served more than six years.  In our day, working for justice continues to have its dangerous side, however, one is more likely to be threatened with the weapon of apathy rather than with a club or a gun.

Jesus warns his disciples:  “See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.”

In our present day, there is a full scale attack on Christianity, led by some who hold to the assumption that God does not matter and that religion is for those who have become thoughtlessly captive to “memes” .  Richard Dawkins,  who coined this word for a cultural idea, symbol, or practice goes on to say: “I doubt that religion can survive deep understanding. The shallows are its natural habitat.”

Some writers have begun to describe Europe as a “post-Christian” society.  In our own country estimates about how many people attend worship suggest that less than 22% of Americans attend worship each week. ( Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Volume 44, Number 3, September 2005 , pp. 307-322)  Among young adults (18-29), 72% say that they are “spiritual, but not religious.”  In this group, 65% never or rarely attend worship services.  (http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2010-04-27-1Amillfaith27_ST_N.htm)

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever been threatened because of your Christian faith?
• What hinders us from proclaiming the Gospel story?
• Are we headed into a “post-Christian” age?
• Why do you think fewer people call themselves “believers?”
• Do you know people who say the are “spiritual but not religious?”

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, July 4, 2010 (Sixth Sunday after Pentecost)

Isaiah 66:10-14

Galatians 6:[1-6] 7-16

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

(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

There are a few essays that I read over every three months or so to keep me from grazing too far from the Word.  When my preaching has become rather predictable (or dry), I read Stanley Hauerwas’ article: “Preaching As Though We Had Enemies.”  In this essay he writes, “Most of us do not go to church because we are seeking a safe haven from our enemies; we go to church to be assured we have no enemies.”

In the text for this week, Jesus assures us that speaking the Gospel will be a dangerous calling.  “See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.”  Does that cause any anxiety in your heart?  Perhaps our faith has become too tame, too domesticated to generate a real threat to those who would be our enemies.  Perhaps the weapon of apathy does not warrant a defensive response.

Imagine what Sunday morning worship be like if we arrived as those who had been wounded in the spiritual battle.  There would be prayers of comfort, songs of confident praise, a message of courage and hope, mutual conversation and consolation among the faithful, and a meal of bread and wine – rations for the week ahead.

Our own Lutheran Church (ELCA), is losing more than 200 members EACH DAY.   This is a crisis of faith and evangelism; the wolves seem to be winning the numbers game.

So, fellow sheep, what are we called to do?  Prayer followed by action; songs followed by commitment, preaching that inspires and challenges; conversation that supports and encourages – these will be the marks of the flock who wander out among the wolves.  By the power of Jesus Christ, we will not fail.

Discussion Questions

• How might a local parish refocus its ministry as “sheep among the wolves?”
• Where do “the sheep” get fed and protected?
• What is the scariest “wolf” in your world?
• What “wolf” most threatens the ministry of the church?

Activity Suggestions

• Role play an encounter with a “spiritual, but not religious” friend
• Make a contract with the group to invite one person to worship next Sunday
• Watch the first 10 minutes of the evening news and imagine how people of faith might react to the stories
• Watch the following video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrQqDqOx3KY&feature=related

Closing Prayer

In the name of Jesus Christ we pray…Lord of Life, give us the courage to speak your word in a world of unbelief.  When we would rather “play it safe,” startle us to faith; when we get bored and apathetic, astonish us with grace; when we fear that we are too weak to confront the wolves, give us courage. Help us to be fed by your word this day.   Amen

Contributed by Eric Ullestad,West Des Moines, IA

Warm-up Question

If you had to suddenly move to a new town and could only take three things with you, what would you take and why?

Strangers in a Strange Land

Escalating ethnic violence has prompted over 120,000 Kyrgyzstan (KUR-gi-stahn) refugees to flood into the neighboring country of Uzbekistan.  Fighting broke out on June 9 in the Kyrgyzstan city of Osh between ethnic Kyrgyzs and Uzbeks.  Within three days, the violence had spread to Jalal-Abad, which required the interim government leader, Roza Otunbayeva, to declare a state of emergency.  These skirmishes reflect a larger state of unrest in Krygyzstan since president Kurmanbek Bakiyev was ousted in April.

The official death toll is around 200, but local Kyrgyz and Uzbek leaders estimate that number will be over 1,000 by the end of the month.  Though the violence was initiated by ethnic groups of Kyrgyzs against Uzbeks, the Foreign Ministry of Uzbekistan has offered their country as a safe haven for Kyrgyzs who fear for their lives.  The United Nations has declared the situation a “humanitarian crisis” and called for countries all over the world to send aid.  The United States, Germany, and Russia, have been among the first to respond.  “There is an urgent need for food, water, tents, and medical supplies,” said one Red Cross volunteer.  “Nearly half a million people are homeless.  They need help now!”

Discussion Questions

• What have you heard about Kyrgyzstan in the last few weeks?
• How would it feel to be one of the 400,000 displaced by the violence?
• What are ways that our country can help bring an end to the fighting?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, June 27, 2010  (Fifth Sunday after Pentecost)

1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21

Galatians 5:1, 13-25

Luke 9:51-62

(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

Much like the news coming out of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, the gospel text is about two things – hospitality and urgency.  Prior to the events of Luke 9:51-62, Jesus has been very busy.  He empowered and sent the disciples to preach, teach, and heal.  He fed five thousand men (plus women and children) with five loaves of bread and two fish.  He became transfigured on a mountain in the presence of Peter, John, and James (not to mention the ghosts of Elijah and Moses).  He even healed a demon-possessed boy.  Talk about a busy couple of weeks!

Jesus sets out for Jerusalem and realizes that he will need a place to sleep along the way.  He sends messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to see if they would host Jesus for the night.  Because of ethnic and religious differences, the Samaritans refused to let Jesus into the village.  James and John are ready to respond by wiping the village off the face of the earth.  However, Jesus wants no part of a violent response to the Samaritan’s lack of hospitality.  Instead, they find another village.

The second section of the gospel text demonstrates the urgency of discipleship.  Jesus approaches two people with invitations to follow him.  Both men are willing to follow, but one wants to take a day to bury his dead father and the other wants to say goodbye to his family.  To many these requests seem reasonable.  However, Jesus implores them to follow him immediately and not waste their time with farewells.  Why?  Perhaps he knows that if these people return to their loved ones, it becomes less likely that they will return to follow Jesus.  It’s also possible that Jesus has work for them to start right away and can’t afford to let them waste any time.

We can discern a lot of things about the nature of Jesus from the end of Luke 9.  Specifically, Jesus refuses to use his power to punish people and he has a sense of urgency for people who want to follow him. 

Discussion Questions

• How would you respond to someone who refused hospitality to one of your friends?
• How do you feel about Jesus’ sense of urgency in talking to a would-be follower?  Why wouldn’t Jesus let the man take a day to bury his father before joining Jesus?
• What do you think Jesus means when he says “No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God”?  How would you feel if Jesus said this to you right after one of your parents died?
• If Jesus were physically present today, what words might he have for the people of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, based on his words and actions in Luke 9:51-62?

Activity Suggestions

Contact your local Red Cross to see how you can help respond to the crisis in Kyrgyzstan.  This might include assembling care packages, writing letters to displaced families, or collecting a special offering for money to send.  Remember to pray for the people who have been affected by the violence in that region.

Closing Prayer

God, help us to show your hospitality and care for those in need.  Give us a sense of urgency in sharing the good news of your son, Jesus, with the whole world.  Thank you for the gifts you give us.  Amen

Contributed by Scott Mims, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Virginia Beach, VA 

Warm Up Question

 As a group list your answers to the following: 

• When you think about the world today and about your future, what are some of the things that make you most anxious or afraid? 
• What are some of the things that make you most optimistic or hopeful? 

Evil at Work?

On June 2, 2010, something went terribly wrong in the life of Derrick Bird.  Bird, a taxi driver, drove his taxi down England’s northwest coast on a three and a half-hour shooting spree that left 12 people dead and 25 others injured before turning his gun on himself.  Many of the shootings appear to have been completely random.  This rampage in the county of Cumbria was Britain’s deadliest since 1996, and is especially shocking in a nation where such events are very rare. 

Although the actions of Derrick Bird have deeply shaken the surrounding community, the reasons behind his behavior remain guesses at best.  Like other such attacks, investigators are able to piece together possible factors, symptoms, and signs, but only after the fact.  How then can we understand such things?  Are such seemingly random yet devastating events, as one commentator put it, the acts of greatly disturbed people “gripped by uncontrollable primitive urges,” or are they evidence of the forces of evil at work? 

Discussion Questions

•  Do you believe in the existence of unseen evil forces at work in the world and in people’s lives?  If so, what evidence is there that suggests you are right?  If not, why not?
• Do you believe we have “free will?” What place does human choice play in the events of the world that we would call evil or wrong?  What are some of the circumstances, factors, or situations that might not leave people free to choose?
• Regarding what makes you most anxious of fearful for the future, what part, if any, do random uncontrollable events such as terrorism or war play?
• Regarding what makes you most optimistic or hopeful, did you include God on your list?  Why or why not? 

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, June 20, 2010 (Fourth Sunday After Pentecost)

Isaiah 65:1-9 

Galatians 3:23-29 

Luke 8:26-39 

  (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

 Our gospel lesson this week might well be entitled, “Dialoguing with Demons,” as Jesus confronts the forces of evil at work in the life of a man in the non-Jewish territory of Gerasa. Having recognized Jesus for who he is, the “Son of the Most High God,” the unclean spirits (for it turns out that there are many) submit to Jesus’ command to come out of the man, begging Jesus not to send them back to the abyss but, rather, to allow them to enter into a large herd of pigs nearby.  Jesus gives them permission to do so and the pigs are destroyed.  The man, on the other hand, is made well. 

So what is the miracle here?  How we understand it may have to do with our worldview.  That the man’s behavior is abnormal is not in doubt.  However, the cause behind his actions is.   For many modern readers the surprise in this story is its talk about demons and unclean spirits.  We are perhaps uncomfortable thinking in terms of unseen forces of evil being at work in people’s lives.  Scientific and psychological approaches to this event are much more comfortable for us, and so it is not surprising that many modern interpreters equate the “demons” of this story with some form of mental illness.  The miracle, then, is Jesus’ ability to heal a mentally ill man, restoring him completely to his right mind, something that even the wonders of our modern medical science are often unable to do. 

The surprise in this story for people from earlier times may well have been different.  For them, the existence of evil powers was not in doubt.  What is extraordinary here is the universality of Jesus’ power.  Jesus has, in effect, entered enemy territory.  Yet even here, he has the power to heal, save, and to defeat the powers of darkness with a word.  Not only does Jesus’ ability to defeat evil on its home turf confirm his identity as “Son of the Most High God,” it also demonstrates that God’s saving and healing love are for everyone – Jews and Gentiles alike. 

But there is yet another surprise in this story.  Those who witness these things and the people that they go and tell do not react with joy and thanksgiving over what Jesus has done.  Having seen the power of God at work, they all ask Jesus to leave—all except the man who was healed.  He begs Jesus that he might be with him.  Jesus instead tells the man to go back to his family, friends, and community and to share with any who will listen how much God had done for him.  “So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.” 

Discussion Questions

• Given your discussion on the presence of evil and the two different perspectives offered in the reflections above, what do you think is the most important point this story makes?  If you were to share it with a friend, what would you say about it?
• How do you feel about Jesus’ power as God’s Son to bring healing and renewed life to people? What does this gospel lesson say about Jesus’ ability to deal with some of the “darkness” and the issues or problems in your own life? 
• How important to your faith is it to hear what Jesus has done in the lives of other people?  In terms of being able to share the gospel with those do not know about Jesus, how important is it to begin with being able to share Jesus among ourselves?

Suggested Resource:  The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis: a fun yet perceptive take on the forces of evil at work in our daily lives.  

 Activity Suggestions

• Remember your baptism!  Use parts of the Affirmation of Baptism service from Evangelical Lutheran Worship to remind one another of God’s saving and redeeming love in Jesus Christ, and of the Spirit’s renewing power.  Notice, too, the “renunciation of the forces of evil” which begins the Profession of Faith.  You might gather around a bowl of water, blessing one another with the sign of the cross, or, if available, around the baptismal font.
• Share the faith.  How have you seen God at work in your life?  In the world?  Share your personal faith stories of with one another.  Perhaps have an older member of your church or faith community through whom you see God’s presence come and share their faith story.
• Pray for the world.   Using newspaper our other articles that highlight situations of evil and need in your community and in the wider-world, pray together for these needs and for the lives of the people involved.

 Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, as you overcame the forces of evil and darkness and brought healing to many, so deliver us and our world from all that would overcome us. In the power of your Spirit, heal and renew us that we may with good courage and great joy share all that God has done for us.  Amen.