Joshua Serraro, San Carlos, CA

Warm-up Questions

• What does duty mean? 
• Do you believe that you have any duties as a child, sibling, student, or citizen?

Duty!

John Stewart is an actor, comedian, and talk show host. He is probably most famous for hosting  The Daily Show, a comedy news show, for many years. Stewart is also a well known advocate for 9/11 first responders and the military. 

Recently he did an episode on his Apple Tv show, The Problem with John Stewart, talking about toxic burn pits from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.  The military dug large holes in the ground and put anything that they didn’t want anymore in them.  They then burned the contents with jet fuel.  Soldiers reported that the thick black smoke made its way into the camps when the wind shifted.  Many soldiers have developed health problems including respiratory issues and cancers, which they claim comes from exposure to the pits. 

John told a crowd that Congress agreeing to take care of our military should be the lowest hanging fruit in the legislative agenda. But, for some unknown reason, many lawmakers decided not to support the legislation to care for the military.  During each interview Stewart gave he repeated that the soldiers did their jobs and now it’s time for congress to do its job.  After much media attention and public support the bill eventually passed after many of the those who voted against the bill changed their minds and voted for it.

Discussion Questions

• Do you think that our society and our lawmakers have a duty to our military and first responders to help take care of their health care issues resulting from what they did on the job? 
• What duties do you think we have to each other in our country?

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4

2 Timothy 1:1-14

Luke 17:5-10

(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

Today’s gospel reading can be broken up into two parts:  the disciples asking Jesus for more faith (Luke 17:5) and Jesus’ responses to that request (Luke 17:6-10).

When the disciples ask Jesus to increase their faith they do so because Jesus has just told them to avoid causing little ones in the faith to stumble.  This follows Jesus command to be quick to forgive. He says in verse 4, “And if the same person sins against you seven times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive.”  This causes the disciples to exclaim, “Increase our faith!” requesting increased desire to do their duty.

Jesus says, “If you had faith the size of mustard seed, you could say to this sycamine tree, ‘Be rooted up’ and be planted in the see’, and it would obey you.” Scholars hotly debate the meaning of these words! Fred Craddock believes Jesus is saying, “If you had faith the size of the mustard seed (and you do)…” Luke Timothy Johnson believes that Jesus implies that they don’t actually have faith and that they need just a bit the size of a mustard seed.  Nonetheless, in verses 7-10 Jesus brings the conversation back to the disciples’ duties as Christians. 

Jesus uses the master/slave imagery relevant in his time, but we should sober reflect on the implications of that image, considering the United States’ brutal history and lingering affects of slavery today.  Some translations of the Bible have tried to soften this image by translating it as servant/master.  In Luke’s gospel Jesus uses the master/slave dynamic in a few other places. 

The slave in Jesus’ example has two jobs, out in the field and in the household. He seems to be pulling double duty, just as the disciples are being asked to continue in their duties to rebuke sin and forgive those who repent throughout the day.  The slave doesn’t get gratitude or praise from the master for carrying out the two jobs commanded.  Jesus says elsewhere in scripture, “The son of man did not come to be served, but to serve.” Likewise, as followers of Jesus we should not expect to be served, but to serve.  Our place is doing what Jesus has called us to do.

Discussion Questions

• What do you think about what Jesus was saying in Luke 17:6? Did the disciples have faith or not?
• What duties do Christians have?
• What duties as a Christian do you feel you must do?

Activity Suggestions

Discuss the ministries of your church and reflect together on what you are doing in the community? Does the group think that you should be doing something else? Do your church’s ministries reflect the character of Jesus? 

Closing Prayer

Gracious God, you forgave us of our sins, help us to forgive others.  Give us the grace to do what you have called us to do. Amen. 

Leslie Weber, Chesapeake, VA

Warm-up Question

Do a mini money autobiography. Here are question suggestions:

• What is the earliest experience with money that you remember?
• As a child growing up, did you feel rich or poor? Why?
• What has your attitude toward money changed as a teenager? How was this influenced by peers or siblings?
• How were your attitudes and behaviors about money shaped by the adults in your life?
• What is your happiest memory in connection with money?
• What is your unhappiest memory in connection with money?

A complete list of questions can be found here: (https://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Personal_Money_Autobiography.pdf)

Too Much Forgiveness?

Since President Biden’s announcement about the new Student Loan Debt Forgiveness plan, there have been many news stories and articles about the various sides of the issue. An NPR article notes various reactions.  Some are excited; one person called the plan “literally life-changing.” Others wish it went further, pointing out that “PPP loans, plus interest, were forgiven without question or explanation. Millionaires and big corporations got yet another blank check.”  Some oppose the plan.

For this last group, the “concept of fairness” has been a common theme in their opposition to student debt forgiveness. Some who didn’t have to accrue debt or have already paid theirs off don’t find this fair. 

However, the article points out that many people might not realize how high tuition has gone up relative to the buying power of a dollar.  In addition, previously instituted loan forgiveness and repayment plans have not been working as they were intended.

There is also “the added layer” or race when it comes to student debt; the article offers a number of figures illustrating that Black students tend to owe significantly more than white students. Issues of “equity, predatory lending and education” are at work in the wider system and therefore need to be part of the conversation. So, although some are rejoicing, there is still more work to be done.  As some quoted in the article suggest, this might just be step one toward fixing the inequities in the US educational system.

Discussion Questions

• How many of you are planning to go to college or technical training after high school? Do you know how you will pay for it?
• What are your thoughts about the government forgiving debt (PPP loans, student loans, etc.)?
• Have you experienced (first or second hand) inequities based on society economic status, race, or some other demographic?

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Amos 6:1a, 4-7

1 Timothy 6:6-19

Luke 16:19-31

(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

Right before today’s assigned Gospel reading, Jesus clearly says “you cannot serve God and wealth” (Luke 16:13, NRSV).  And in the following verse, the Gospel of Luke tells us that the Pharisees, “who were lovers of money” were upset and “they ridiculed him” (Luke 16:14, NRSV).

And then in this morning’s pericope, Jesus offers this parable about a chasm—the chasm between the rich man and Lazarus. This is the chasm between those who have a hard time seeing past themselves and those who go unseen, the chasm between the lovers of money and those who lose their lives as a result.

Let’s be clear.  The rich man’s problem is not that he is rich, but that that he is so self-centered and worried about himself that he sees everything (including people) only in terms of how they can benefit him. During their lives, dogs had more compassion for Lazarus than did the rich man, The rich man must have seen him regularly at his gate; he knew Lazarus’ name. In death, the rich man sees Lazarus with Abraham and asks Abraham to send Lazarus to get him some water.  He knows Lazarus’ name, but doesn’t address him directly.  Lazarus is just a means to relief for the rich man.

When Abraham informs the rich man that the chasm he has created and maintained between himself and Lazarus is now fixed, the rich man momentarily moves away from worrying only about himself…but only enough to show concern for his five brothers. Still, the rich man maintains the chasm between himself and Lazarus.

The man’s money is not the problem.  The problem is his attitude about that money—the position, privilege, and prestige that comes with it. And you don’t even need to be rich in order to have the same affliction as the rich man. You can be poor and be just as focused on money and love it just as much.  You can be middle class and overlook people for the finer things in life.  And at the same time, you can be wealthy and not love that wealth to the point that you set a chasm between yourself and others.

How can we be lovers of God and God’s people more than lovers of money? That was the challenge in Jesus’s day, and it remains our challenge today. We do not have to answer these questions in a certain way in order to have Jesus cross the chasm and grant us eternal life.  But, as a response to the gift, God calls us to live in a way that reflects the eternal life we have been granted.  We try to make this life look as much like God’s kin-dom as possible…and that means bridging chasms wherever possible.

Followers of Christ work to bridge the chasm between rich and poor, black and white, college graduate and high school dropout. For that is the kin-dom of God—one family of God united in our diversity.  Let us listen to Moses, the prophets, and Jesus, refusing to let the wealth be how we measure our worth or the worth of others. Our worth comes from the fact that we are named and claimed beloved children of God.

Discussion Questions

• What part of the story (word/phrase/image) jumped out to you as you listened?
• How does the story of Lazarus make you feel? How does the story of the rich man make you feel?
• Discuss verses 30 & 31? Are you convinced of God’s ways by God’s teachings through Moses and the prophets? Or does Jesus change anything?
• Do you think that eternal life actually works like the parable suggests (if you had privilege in this life you are condemned to Hades and if you suffered in this life you will be comforted)?

Activity Suggestions

• Play a board game (like Monopoly…if you have the time) for a while with each player’s goal being acquiring wealth. Then play it again with each player’s goal being caring for their neighbors. Discuss the experience.
• Pack blessing bags with food and personal care items to distribute to people in need throughout your community. Or do another direct service project that makes sense for your context.
• Take the SNAP Challenge. There are many resources online, but here is one: https://www.dhs.pa.gov/Services/Assistance/Pages/SNAP-Challenge.aspx. If you can go to a store to shop or just use a grocery store app/website to find prices in order to get a sense of what kind of meals a SNAP budget can support.

Closing Prayer

Chasm crossing God, thank you for all that you have given us, especially the gift of eternal abundant life. Help us to see all your beloved children as just that. Help us to better love you and enact that love amidst our neighbors. Amen.

Scott Moore, Erfurt, Germany

Warm-up Question

How can good come from evil?   Can you give an example?

Heavenly Mansions

Mackenzie Scott, novelist and former wife to Jeff Bezos, both of Amazon fame, is increasing her reputation for generosity with a significant donation to the California Community Foundation. This week she donated two mansions in Beverly Hills estimated at worth around $55 million. The foundation announced that 90% of the proceeds will go toward providing grants for affordable housing. The remaining 10% is slated to be used for programs for integration of immigrants. 

At the end of 2020, Scott’s net worth was estimated at around $62 billion. In the past couple of years, she has donated billions of dollars to a variety of causes concerned with racial equality, LGBTQ+ equality, democracy, and climate change. Her gifts also include millions to Historic Black Colleges and Universities, tribal colleges and universities, and Hispanic-serving institutions. 

Hundreds of charities have benefited from her generosity. In May 2019, Scott signed the Giving Pledge, a charitable-giving campaign in which she undertook to give away most of her wealth to charity over her lifetime or in her will.  Despite its name, the pledge is not legally binding. 

Critics say Amazon and many large companies create wealth by underpaying their workforces around the world. Ms. Scott’s positive use of that wealth certainly goes a long way to making more friends than enemies. 

Discussion Questions

• What charities would you want to support, if you had $10 or $100 million? 
• How do you think your lifestyle would change if you suddenly came into a lot of money?  What extravagant items might you want to purchase?
• To what charities, or kinds of charities, have you (or your parents) donated?

 Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Amos 8:4-7

1 Timothy 2:1-7

Luke 16:1-13

(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

Money, money, money. It is one of Jesus’ favorite topics in the gospels. Rightly so! What we do with money says a lot about our values; with it we can do both great and horrible things. 

Jesus’ parable in today’s gospel text shows the shrewd financial dealings of a manager charged with being the caretaker of someone else’s wealth. He gets wind of the accusations that he has squandered his master’s wealth. Instead of trying to argue his case, he apparently does more of the same and cuts a deal with those people who owed him. The master, in turn, praises him for being so shrewd. 

Wait. What? That’s not how this is supposed to go. The person who mismanaged the wealth gives a break to those in debt—and gets praised for his actions. Jesus takes the master’s appreciation of the manager and draws our attention to another dynamic: social currency. He praises the manager for creating good will among the debtors and thus profiting from the grace he shows. 

Jesus explains this parable with words that are a little hard to swallow. In verse 9, he says, “And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.” 

Yikes! This passage has the potential of becoming a stumbling block. Is Jesus condoning dishonesty? Let’s pause a bit and look a bit closer at what’s going on. The word “dishonest”here is not wrong but it is only one possible translation of the Greek word used in this passage. The word used is bigger than just “shifty”, “shady”, “dishonest”, or somehow “illegal”. It is a word that means “not righteous”. “Righteous” are things that have to do with God.

So “unrighteous” things aren’t godly. Jesus encourages his hearers to make friends with unrighteous wealth. The friends benefit and you establish a relationship. And, this becomes important because Jesus next words are rather prophetic, “so that when the wealth is gone, they may welcome you into homes that last forever.”

Jesus praises gracious and good deeds done for others even with wealth that is not righteous. Good deeds are much better than holding onto money. Even the manager in this difficult parable saw the opportunity to do some good. Was it totally selfless? No, not at all. Did it still use wealth or relief of debt to make the lives of others better? Yes. There is hope in relationships that can last. There is hope when positive things happen…even with wealth that is not a righteous as we might prefer. 

This is the underlying motivation behind actions such as churches using their resources to provide reparations for communities that suffered due to racism. Many philanthropists, such as Mackenzie Scott, do incredible good with their  wealth, even if some or much of it was gained through not so honorable means. The one doesn’t excuse the other. But moving toward grace and healing, restoring relationships, and making reparations for past sins is a goal we might consider. It is Jesus’ example and Jesus’ encouragement. 

Discussion Questions

• What ideas do you have about a justice system that fines guilty parties high amounts of damages for various crimes? 
• What do you think about your church body/denomination paying reparations to individuals who suffered because of institutional slavery and racism?
• What kind of price would you put a price on the worst thing someone has done to you?
• What kind of charitable work does your congregation do? Perhaps, someone from your parish/congregation could present something to your class.

Activity Suggestions

Reparations and compensation for groups who have suffered systemic harm are in the news a great deal these days.  Colleges debate renaming buildings or paying the descendants of the slaves who built those buildings.  An article in The Atlantic made the case for returning some National Parks to the Native American tribes whose land was stolen to create those parks.  Make two lists:  one noting all the reasons that some sort of reparations should be made to groups who have suffered systemic and government sanctioned harm, the other giving the reasons why such a plan is not feasible….Now, discuss how persons holding very different convictions might come together to address past wrongs and move toward a better future.

Closing Prayer 

Ever-merciful God, we have often missed opportunities to support others and make their lives even a little bit easier. You continue to watch over them and us, providing us with all that we need. Help us to see the need around us and find ways to respond with your grace and love. Give us the courage to risk in faith, using the wealth you have entrusted to us for the healing of the world. We ask this in the name of the One, who gave himself for us, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Heather Hansen, San Antonio, TX

Warm-up Question

Have you ever been lost?  What was the situation and how were you “found”?

Be Still, Be Found

A common human experience human is to lose something.  Losing something can be very frustrating and produce a lot of stress, especially when you’re in a hurry or it’s a really important item.  There are many reasons for why this happens; more often than not, we find the things we’ve lost when least expect it.

But did you also know that it is common for people to “freak out”  when they are the thing that is lost?  In an article written by Michael Bond in May 2020, Bond details the sad story of a surveyor finding the remains of a female hiker who was reported missing two years earlier.  She left the Appalachian trail to find a private spot just a few yards from the path.  When she was ready to return, she became completely disoriented.  This is a very common occurrence in the forest, where there are frequently no distinguishing landmarks or focal points to use for direction.

Bond writes:

“Lost is a cognitive state.  Your internal map has become detached from the external world, and nothing in your spatial memory matches what you see.   But at its core, it is an emotional state…90 percent of people make things a lot worse for themselves when they realize they are lost – by running, for instance.  Because they are afraid, they can’t solve problems or figure out what to do.”

Bond also writes that finding a lost person is just as much a psychological puzzle as it is a geographical hunt. Research and interviews with found persons reveal that running when lost is not only common, but a strong compulsion.  The urge to run is one reason we teach young children to “stay in one place” when they find they are lost.  Usually, you aren’t far from where you need to be and it’s much easier to find you if you stay in one spot.

Discussion Questions

• Would you rather lose something important or be lost?  Why?
• What are the different ways we can become lost?  How would you feel in the different scenarios?  What would do in these situations?

Fourteenth 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

This week’s readings share a thread.  All refer to people who are lost and are brought back into the fold by God’s forgiveness.  In the Exodus reading, God tells Moses he is going to destroy the people because they have quickly forgotten how God freed them from slavery.  In the midst of desert wandering and challenge, the people’s faith in God’s guidance wavers and they become lost.  (How does this relate to the phenomenon of running when you are lost?). Moses intercedes for the people and God forgives and restores them.  

Similarly, Paul refers to his former sinful, persecuting self and relates that, with God’s grace and mercy through faith in Christ Jesus, he has been forgiven and is no longer lost.

Finally, in response to the grumblings of the Pharisees and scribes, Jesus tells two parables about lost things.  They are unhappy because Jesus has been eating with sinners and tax collectors.  Jesus teaches them that God’s love leaves no person, even one considered the most lost, behind.  The lost are valuable enough to search for, even if they are just one of a hundred.  In the second story, Jesus says that the smallest thing is still significant to God and worth tearing everything apart to find.  Once the lost are found, there is great rejoicing.

I often wonder where most people see themselves in the parables.  Is it easier to think of ourselves as one of the ninety-nine?  Or is it the woman searching for the coin?  Can we even imagine being so lost that someone has to search for us?

The good news of the gospel is that God values us so much that they will search for us until we are found.  Then God celebrates that we are recovered  and brings us back into the fold.  We have a God that searches for us.  Just think on that for a moment.  While we often think of ourselves as people seeking God, what does it mean to be sought out by God?  Why do we often feel like we need to seek God, rather than allow God to come to us?  

Perhaps in the times when we feel lost, we would be better to sit still, take a moment to breathe, and allow God to find us.  

Discussion Questions

• Like the instinct we have to run when we are lost in the woods, why do you think we are inclined to seek God rather than be still and allow God to find us?
• How does it make you feel to know that you are so valuable, the shepherd would leave the rest of the flock to find you and bring you back?
• Why do you think God rejoices over one sinner who repents than ninety-nine that need no repentance?
• How does God measure value?  In God’s eyes, what makes a person valuable enough to seek out?

Activity Suggestion

Play the game Blindfold Maze Embers.

• How does this game relate to being lost and our tendencies to act when we are lost?
• How is asking for help more like sitting still and allowing God to “find” us rather than us seeking for the way out?
• Why is it hard to let others, including God, help us when we feel lost?

Closing Prayer

Holy God, It’s frightening to feel lost.  We panic and we fight for control over our situations.  Help us to know that when we are lost you are right there looking for us…we only need to stop and breathe, and you will bring us back.  Give us the courage to trust that you seek us out and forgive us when we go astray, and help us to rejoice when others are found and forgiven too.  Amen.

Faith Lens is not published during the summer.  The next posting will be on September 6. 2022 for Sunday, September 11.