Chris Heavner, Clemson, SC

Warm-up Question

How many times have you heard the Easter story?  What is happening in your life this day which makes it possible for you to hear the story as if for the very first time?

Lessons from a Crooked Tree

In my part of the world, dogwood trees bloom at Easter.  My Sunday Church School teachers told an old Christian legend to explain why: 

“See those four petals?  How they form a cross?  Notice that there is a mark of shame at the tip of each pedal. The lumber used to build the cross on which Jesus was hung was from a dogwood tree.  Now in Jesus’ day, dogwoods were tall and straight and strong.  The dogwood was embarrassed to be used in this way, so it shriveled itself into a small tree with a twisting trunk.  Never again could it be used to kill one of God’s children.  The dogwood’s petals not only form a cross, but they have dark marks on the ends as reminders of Jesus’ wounds.”

In my part of the world, dogwood trees are among the first indicators that new life is happening.  They assure us that the death associated with the winter has been pushed aside.  Their blooms brighten our yards and our lives, reminding us that nothing will stand in the way of God’s goodness and promise of new life.  That crooked tree is a powerful witness to the Easter promise of hope beyond despair.

Singer and song-writer Molly Tuttle recently came to my town.  She has a song which reminds me of the strength, beauty, and power of a small and twisted trunk.  Her music video, “Crooked Tree,” is posted on YouTube.  The lyrics celebrate what we too often consider of lesser value.  Lumber mills demand tall, straight trees and turn them into profit, Tuttle celebrates crooked trees (and people) who “won’t fit into the mill machine.”  In the lyrics one finds a reminder that the Easter message lifts up those of low degree and champions those who embrace their God-given individuality.   

In my part of the world, dogwood trees bloom at Easter.  And they encourage each of us to bloom, too.  They teach us that what others may value is not always what God values.

Discussion Questions

• No tree grows perfectly straight.  Can you figure out some of the reasons why?
• Some think the world is less than what God intends when force everyone into the same mold.  Do you agree?
• Name some of the “really different” personalities who have helped you  or simply brought deep joy into your life.

Resurrection of Our Lord

Acts 10:34-43

1 Corinthians 15:19-26

Luke 24:1-12

John 20:1-18  (Alternate)

(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

For a desolate and haunting place, Jesus’ gravesite sure attracted lot of people.  Many of our congregations will read from Luke on Easter; others will read from John.  Matthew and Mark also recount the events of Easter morning.  In each, there are a lot of folks present.  

In Luke some characters are waiting when the visitors arrive.  We often call them “angels,” but that is not what the Bible says.  Its designation is “men.”  Yet there is something different about these “two men.”

Verse 11 states the obvious – the Easter story seems  to be an “idle tale.”  Perhaps the writers of the Gospels included as many eyewitnesses as possible in order to overcome the tendency to dismiss those telling this improbable story.  When others  bear witness to the something I want you to accept, it becomes more believable.

Another line of note is verse 8;  “Then they remembered.”  Jesus had tried to tell them what was going to happen, but words don’t have the power of experience.  What experiences have you had since, you last heard the Easter story, which make it possible for you to hear and remember what God is doing in your life?

The earlier references to dogwoods and crooked trees in this Faith Lens lift up another aspect of the story.  The events of Easter do not erase our individuality.  Each of the Easter morning characters are, well, characters.  Peter confessed Jesus as Lord and then immediately argued with Jesus over how best to save the world.  Mary Magdalene had been the host of seven demons.  Characters each.  And they are our witnesses to the Easter events.

Too often we see the story of Jesus as one which tries to make us into perfect replicas of something we are not.  The Easter story bursts forth with reminders that it is the unique and distinctive traits of person each which give these events their eternal significance.

By His death and resurrection Jesus destroys the  death of failing  to experience the beauty and the blessings of our uniqueness.   Your particular voice is beautiful and needed.  Use it and bear witness to the wonder of Easter.

Discussion Questions

• Among the characters present on that first Easter morning, which tends to make it most likely that you will accept the things described?
• Make a list of the ways in which the life of Mary Magdalene differed from that of Peter.  What stands out?  What impact might their life experiences have on their seeing an empty tomb?
• The Church teaches that eternal life  has already begun, that it is more than something which happens after death?  How is eternal life is linked to the sacrament of Holy Baptism.
• What religious, political, or social pressures make it hard for you to stand firm in your individuality?

Activity Suggestions

• Take a good, long look at some trees.  Ask a few questions about what makes a tree grow the way it does.  Perhaps invite an arborist (tree specialist) to talk to you about the unique characteristics of different trees (like why we use oak for furniture but tend to use pine for building walls).
• From a distance, soak up the beauty of a bunch of flowers.  Maybe your congregation has dozens of Easter Lilies around the altar.  Now, look more closely at one individual flower.  Compare it to an adjacent flower.  How are the similar?  What makes them different?
• Ask your teacher or pastor why there are four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).  Ask what makes each of these different from the others; what is it that each gives us that would be missing if we only had three?
• In anticipation of Pentecost Sunday, identify those who are least likely to know that the Easter story is intended for all.  Speak with those persons and share how the events which lie at the center of the Jesus’ community affirm our uniqueness.

Closing Prayer

Merciful God, it was upon a tree that you were hung and left to die.  We confess our complicity in that horrible mistreatment of your truth and your promise.  Deepen our awareness of the endless ways in which your resurrection sets us free and sets us on a new path.  Amen. 

Dennis Sepper, Rosemount, MN

Warm-up Question

What is the greatest power in the world?  How did you come to your answer and why?  

Humble Servanthood

Just over one week ago, the Oscars were held in Los Angeles California.  While the televised part of the event covered the statues given, before and after the Oscars many special dinner events took place.  Famous chefs like Wolfgang Puck created outstanding meals for the celebrities and other “A-list” people.

One famous chef who wasn’t in L.A. for the Oscars was Chef José Andrés.  Chef José Andrés is an award winning chef with a number of restaurants in the United States and Europe.  Chef Andrés could have been in L.A. or comfortably resting at one of his restaurants in New York or Washington D.C.  But he wasn’t.  Chef José Andrés was on the border between Ukraine and Poland serving up thousands of meals for the Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war.

You see, it’s Chef José Andrés’ calling to travel wherever there is a disaster to serve up restaurant quality meals for those who are victims of tragedy.  It all began in 2010 when, in response to a devastating earthquake in Haiti, Chef Andrés founded the World Central Kitchen, with the purpose of providing healthy food to the survivors of that earthquake.  Since then, World Central Kitchen has organized and served meals wherever a tragedy has happened around the world, including in the United States and Puerto Rico.

Chef José Andrés doesn’t brag about his volunteer work (though well he could, it’s so important).  He is a humble person who serves by doing what he can, where he can.  That doesn’t mean his work is not noticed by others who join him to make and serve meals.  As Chef Andrés was preparing to go to Poland, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos donated $100 million dollars, which Andrés will use in his humanitarian effort to assist the Ukrainians.

Discussion Questions

• Has there ever been a disaster in your city or town (even a house fire that displaced a family)?  How did people respond?
• Are there humble servants in your city or town who regularly help others?  Who are they?  Are they celebrities or just regular people?
• Should the wealthy and those who are famous use their wealth or popularity to help people in need?

Sunday of the Passion/Palm Sunday

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Philippians 2:5-11

Luke 22:14–23:56

(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

When a king or president comes to a town it is often a very big deal.  In ancient times a king arrived riding a large impressive stallion surrounded by armed soldiers as a sign of might.  Banner bearers carried the crest of the king’s family and trumpeters blew their horns to announce the king’s arrival and to draw everyone’s attention to the king’s presence. The image suggests grandeur, importance, power, and might. 

In light of that, it may seem strange that Jesus rode into Jerusalem for the last time on a colt (or a donkey as is often pictured).  The donkey has been a work animal for thousands of years and, since Jesus used every day examples and items to proclaim God’s kingdom, it makes sense that he would use an ordinary animal to make his entrance to Jerusalem.  Also, being as well versed in Scripture as he was, Jesus may have been intentionally trying to bring to mind a passage from the Prophet Zechariah, “Tell the daughter of Zion, look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9).  

There were no banners or trumpets, no show of military might and no bodyguards.  The people following Jesus were not the beautiful people of the day, but ordinary folks. They did greet Jesus as a king saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”  The image speaks loudly that Jesus is a humble king riding a humble animal.

The clash of those two images, those two kings, will play out the entire week of Jesus’ passion.  There is the power of the Chief Priest, Herod and Pilate, in contrast to the humility of Jesus.  In the gospel of Luke, humility is a quality Jesus lifts up for the disciples then and now.  In part of our reading for this week, when the disciples argue among themselves as to who is the greatest, Jesus encourages them to be humble and to be servants (Luke 22:24-27). 

In today’s scripture from Philippians, Saint Paul writes, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.”

When these two kingships collide, it appears that power and might win over humility and love, but we know the truth.  In the resurrection, Jesus becomes the victor.  As disciples of Jesus we are called to follow Jesus’ way of humility, love, mercy and peace.  Those virtues still win the day…every day!   

Discussion Questions

• Read the following two passages from Luke’s gospel:  Luke 9:46-50 and Luke 14:7-11.  What is Jesus teaching the disciples?  What do the passages say about being humble?
• Do you believe there is still a conflict between the two styles of kingship mentioned above?  Why?  What are the consequences of that conflict?
• Do you consider yourself a humble person?  Are there times when it is hard to be humble?

Activity Suggestions

In the first set of discussion questions, you identified some humble servants in your city or town.  Many times we don’t notice humble servants or thank them for their service.  Choose one of the humble servants you identified and take a selfie of yourself or your group holding up a thank you sign.  Then text, message or email that thank you to the person you identified.  Tell them how much you appreciate their service and how they are a shining example of humble servanthood.  If you use USPS mail, you could send them a card with the same recognition and thank you (and have the group sign the card).

Closing Prayer

Loving Jesus, throughout your life you sought to be humble and loving and to teach your disciples and followers to do the same.  As we enter into the week of your passion, assist us to learn from you and to trust in God in all things.  Bless us in the week ahead. Amen

Maggie Falenschek, St. Peter, MN

Warm-up Question

If you live in a cold weather climate, what are some things that you look forward to doing in the spring? If you live in a warmer climate, do you do anything to mark or prepare for the change in seasons? 

Planting for the Future

One way that many prepare for warmer weather is to plan out summer vegetable and flower gardens. The growing season in colder climates is much shorter than in other places of the world. The soil in many places is still too frozen, and the days too short, to sustain and grow seeds if they were planted in the ground. So, a common practice is to plant seeds indoors with grow lights and warm temperatures, with the hope and expectation that they can be transplanted into the ground and flourish when the weather is more hospitable.

To plan and plant a garden is an act of faithful preparation. We press seeds into tiny pots of soil and believe in the process of growth, even if we do not fully know the ins and outs of photosynthesis. To nurture and tend to tiny stems is to have hope for a time when those same stems may grow into something large enough to nourish another being. There is something innately spiritual to this spring-tide practice. It’s a practice that can bring us closer to the divine. 

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever helped plant a garden? What was that experience like for you? What did you learn?
• Do you sense God in the natural world? Share about a place or practice that helps you feel close to God.
• A lot of things in our life require preparation! Brainstorm some things you do in the present to help you prepare for the future (i.e., practicing together as a team for a big game, studying for a test, planning for a road trip).

Fifth Sunday in Lent

Isaiah 43:16-21

Philippians 3:4b-14

John 12:1-8

(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 this story Mary exemplifies what it means to be a disciple, even though what she does may seem insignificant, even wasteful. Mary demonstrates her devotion to Jesus not through her words but through her simple actions, actions which actually have big implications. Anointing, the act of applying oil or other ointment, was a common ritual practice at this time. This ritual was used especially after death to prepare a body for burial. 

When Mary anoints Jesus she anticipates his coming death, something his disciples have not yet caught onto. Mary, with Judas as witness, is the one who prepares Jesus for his final days on earth.  The very next day, Jesus triumphantly enters Jerusalem while those who eventual betray him cheer. 

Mary anoints Jesus with abundant belief that what she does matters. She prepares Jesus for something for which she herself is not yet prepared. Mary anoints Jesus in the midst of a world that will kill him. She chooses abundance in a world of violence and scarcity. Mary chooses healing in a world that was and is broken. 

It is an act of faith to tend to small, seemingly insignificant things in fervent hope that God can turn them into something life giving. It is an act of love to gather up elements like anointing oil—perhaps soil, seed, and water—and repurpose them for new life. It’s a reminder that God can take our small acts and turn them into something redemptive and healing, even if we don’t always understand how or why. 

Discussion Questions

• Do you think Mary knew understood the significance of what she was doing? Why or why not? 
• Why do you think it was Mary, and not the other disciples, who engaged in the special act of anointing?
• What is one small way that you can cultivate hope in a world that can often scary and violent? 

Activity Suggestions

• Research native plants in your area and plant some seed starters you can transplant later this spring or summer. 
• In this gospel story Mary’s perfumed oil invokes our sense of smell. Dream up your own anointing oil by thinking of all of your favorite smells. 
• The newly baptized are often anointed with oil in the sign of the cross.  We can regularly continue this practice to remember our baptisms. Take turns making the sign of the cross on a friend’s forehead and remind each other that you are beloved children of God. 

Closing Prayer

Loving God, you anoint us as your beloved in the midst of a broken world. When our world feels scary, help us to plant seeds of hope. When we feel insignificant, remind us that nothing done in love is ever wasteful. Guide us so that our small acts might add up to something redemptive and healing, so that all might know your love. Amen. 

Elizabeth Hood, Palo Alto, CA

Warm-up Question

Have you ever felt lost? Lost something really important to you?

Lost and Found

After 106 years of searching, a ship lost miles below the icy water near Antartica was recently found! Explorer Ernest Shackleford’s ship, Endurance, was exploring these frigid waters when it became trapped by ice and could no longer move. Miraculously, most of the crew survived by making camp on a smaller boat on the ice, living there for months before they were rescued.  The Endurance sank and researchers have been looking for the ship ever since. Scientists say that because it sank in such cold water the ship is almost perfectly intact, as if it sunk yesterday! Such a discovery!

Discussion Questions

Would you search as long for something as scientists did for the Endurance? At what point would you give up? What make it worth the search?

Fourth Sunday of Lent

Joshua 5:9-12

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

(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 this text we hear about things lost and then found. Jesus tells us several parables, stories which help us understand a lesson. The three stories in Luke 15 focus on a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son—all lost and all found at a cost. We often call the third story the parable of the prodigal son.  Prodigal means one who spends or gives lavishly or foolishly.

The father has two sons, the younger one asks for his inheritance, goes away from home, and spends it all.  The older son stays and works hard on the farm. One day the younger son comes home poor, planning to beg forgiveness and ask that he be treated as a servant.  But the father sees him coming and runs to greet him.  He gives him a robe and plans a large feast to welcome him home. The older son is angry with his father, feeling this is unfair, as he has been working this whole time, while his younger brother spent his inheritance.

The father responds that everything he owns has been available to his older son all along.  He invites his angry son to let go of his bitterness and embrace the celebration.  “This is your brother,” the father says; “he was lost and dead, but now he’s home!  Don’t sulk in the darkness. Come in, join the party, and rejoice!

Discussion Questions

• Why does Jesus tell parables?
• What does this parable of the prodigal son suggest about God’s attitude toward those who make mistakes?
• If we take this parable seriously, how does it change how we relate to others?
• Imagine yourself as the younger brother welcomed home; how would you feel?  How would you feel as the older brother who had worked for years?

Activity Suggestions

This is a the classic game of Spoons, but with an element of Hide and Seek thrown in the mix. You will need a deck of playing cards and some spoons. Instead of placing the spoons on the table, hide one less spoon than players in the game in various places around the room.  Then you try to get four of kind, just as in regular Spoons. Once players have four of a kind they get up and try to find a spoon.  If you are not familiar with Spoons, here is link to the rules of the basic game.

Feel free to create your own variations.

Closing Prayer 

Compassionate God, thank you for seeking us, even when we feel really lost. Thank you for not giving up on us.  Help us to help others who might feel lost or alone. Help us to share your love and compassion with all we meet. Let us lift up each other in prayer… who should we pray for (invite youth to go around in a circle and prayer for something or someone who might feel lost)… we pray all this in your sons name. Amen.

Sami Johnson, Rota, Spain

Warm-up Question

Do you tend see right and wrong as black and white or in shades of gray? Has this changed over your lifetime?  If it has, how so? 

Beyond Black and White

News of the events in Ukraine have dominated the news cycle and occupied our minds for weeks or more. Most news stories represent Ukraine as the righteous one and Russia as the enemy, with Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin pitted against each other like a modern day David and Goliath. 

These stories fail to capture that the ones fighting the war are not so easy to paint with such broad strokes. 

Among the Russian soldiers are young men who have spent the last 8 years consuming propaganda, which led them to believe they would enter Ukraine as liberators, not as invaders. They expected to be greeted with cheers, not violent resistance, 

When these Russian soldiers learn the truth, some regret ever invading Ukraine. They say they have been “duped.” But their message cannot get back home. Anti-Russian news broadcasts, rhetoric, and protests are against the law. Even Ukrainians who call home to family in Russia are crushed when their own families choose to believe the propaganda instead of their own stories.

When we take the time to take a closer look at others, even our enemies, we learn that the line between right and wrong, good and evil, blessed and cursed is not as clear as we might have once thought.

Discussion Questions

• Talk about a time when you had an experience which caused you to change a belief you once held dear. 
• Do you ever wonder how your life would be different if you were born in a different family, country, or time in history? What impact does this have on how you view others who see things differently from you?

Third Sunday in Lent

Isaiah 55:1-9

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Luke 13:1-9

(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 this passage, Jesus counters the long-held belief that people deserve the senseless tragedies which happen to them. He uses examples his hearers would know to demonstrate his point. Jesus insists that these events were random and tragic, not veiled judgments from on high. 

Jesus emphasizes that these tragedies could have happened to anyone, regardless of their degree of sinfulness. We cannot control the circumstances into which we are born or what misfortunes  befall us. We live in a precarious and vulnerable state. Thus,  the admonition to repent and to be made right with God is for everyone.

The Russian soldiers  caught up in this war might be an extreme example of this concept. But when we get a little closer and look at individuals, rather than stereotypes and assumptions, we see that even they do not deserve the pain, torture, imprisonment, or death that war brings.  We might imagine ourselves, our siblings, or our children in their position, born in their circumstances, subjected to the same influences.  What, if anything, separates us from the same circumstances they face? 

Each of us—Russians, Ukrainians, Americans—are sinners in need of repentance. God has given us the pathway to a right relationship with God. God knows we are going to fall short, but God ensures that our sinfulness is not the end of the road.  There is no person too far gone to return to God in repentance. There is no sin too great for God’s forgiveness to cover.

In the first section of the lesson, we hear the call to repent of our sin. In the second section, the parable of the fig tree indicates how God responds to us, even while we are still sinners. The gardener does not leave that poor fruitless tree to its own devices. Instead, the gardener promises special care for the tree to help it produce fruit.

In the same way, God approaches each of us, sinners though we may be, with mercy, patience, compassion, and love. These blessings from God are not a result of our righteousness or fruitfulness. Rather, God’s blessings empower us to repent and turn around from our old ways to walk in God’s Way instead. 

Discussion Questions

• Is there someone you know with whom you do not get along or see eye to eye whom God is calling you to treat with mercy, patience, compassion, and love?  What might that look like?
• Look  back on your life to this point.  Is there a decision or event which, though out of your control,  had a major impact on your life? How does it feel to know that your life was so significantly impacted by something you did not choose? Where do you think God is in the midst of that?
• Think about something  that weighs you down with guilt, shame, or just a general “I’m-not-enough” feeling. Imagine God, like the gardener in our lesson, digging out the dirt of guilt, shame, and not-enough-ness packed around the roots of that burden.  See God filling in your life with mercy, patience, compassion, and love instead. What difference does that make?

Activity Suggestions

This text invites us to repent. We confess our sins in church every week in a general way. Today, you are going to repent of your sin in a more personal way. For the first two, you will need to set up a large bowl of water  where everyone can reach it. For all three, you might consider lighting a candle or turning on a flameless candle and turning down the lights. You might also choose to play instrumental music or maintain contemplative silence. Depending on the size of your group, you can decide to divide so that you will be in circles of 10 or less.

There are several ways you might choose to do invite everyone to confess their sins. Some possibilities: 

1. Provide each person with a pen and 1/8 sheet of dissolvable paper. Invite everyone to write down a sin they want to repent of. Turn down the lights. Each person places their paper in the bowl,, swirls the water with their hand until the paper dissolves, and returns to their seats. When the song is over and everyone has had a chance to place their confession in the bowl, say, “As God promised at your baptism, you have been forgiven.” 
2. Instead of paper, you can use a small stone or rock or another token that fits easily in the hand and sinks. In this version everything is the same as with the paper except that each person receives a stone and holds on to it while naming their confession silently before God. When they are ready, they can drop the stone in the water and watch until it hits the bottom of the bowl, and until the water is still again before returning to their seats. 
3. In this version, instead of placing the focus on water, give each person a plate of sand and invite them to use their finger to write their confession of sin in the sand. When everyone appears to be done, and after announcing that they are forgiven, invite each person to pass their hand over their sand to wipe it away. 

Closing Prayer

Merciful God, you invite us to repent and promise to forgive our sins,  yet we cling to our old ways instead of to you. Loosen our grip on the things that are holding us back. Open our hands to receive your blessings. 

And we pray for a quick and merciful end to the war in Ukraine. Be near to all who are scared or in trouble that they might know the comfort of your presence. In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen.