Chris Litman-Koon, Mt. Pleasant, SC

Warm-up Question

Working together, name some ways that the individuals of your group serve various roles within your community of faith. This could be official roles you have (e.g. acolyte, council member) or could be unofficial ways you contribute to the community (e.g. joy bearer, justice pursuer, peacemaker).

Dissonance and Resolve

Saint Peter’s Church in midtown Manhattan is a Lutheran congregation with a long history. In the local vernacular, it is often called “the jazz church” for its deep connection to the New York City jazz community and for its weekly jazz service. In the grand story of the congregation’s history, the years 2020 and 2021 will stand out as acutely painful.

The congregation has not met for in-person worship since the onset of the pandemic, yet at least 60 members of Saint Peter’s Church died from COVID-19 by the end of 2020. That in itself is heartbreaking for any faith community. Then on January 4 of this year, a municipal water main broke outside the church. This flooded the entire plaza where the church is located, and it sent water and mud a few feet deep into the main sanctuary and the lower level of the church. The damage to the building was extensive, including the organ, piano, and archival artifacts which include items once belonging to legendary jazz musicians John Coltrane and Billy Strayhorn. The leadership of the congregation has expressed appreciation for the various ways the broader community has rallied to support Saint Peter’s Church during this devastating time.

Discussion Questions

• In jazz music it is common to have dissonant notes that lead to resolution. Using that as a metaphor, Saint Peter’s Church is experiencing a time of dissonance; how might “resolve” be understood in their context? 
• Has your faith community ever experienced a time of tremendous woe?

Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

Isaiah 40:21-31

1 Corinthians 9:16-23

Mark 1:29-39

(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 B at Lectionary Readings.)

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

After healing a man of an unclean spirit in the Capernaum synagogue, Jesus and his four disciples (at this point) enter the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law has a fever, which was a more dire situation at that time than it is today. Jesus took her by the hand and lifted her up, and then she began to serve them. 

It should strike us as odd that this woman — whose life was just in jeopardy — immediately begins to serve the men. Shouldn’t they tend to her? A narrow-minded view of gender roles is at play in this story. While we today are not bound to enact the social customs of a society which existed centuries ago on another continent, an understanding of those social customs can open our eyes to God’s activity in the story. People had certain and expected roles to fulfill in their Galilean communities, and it is safely assumed that the role of this woman was to serve others in this home, namely the men who entered it. However, the fever she experienced prevented her from fulfilling her role. 

Interestingly, the verb used by the gospel writer Mark is that Jesus “raised up” her. Mark later uses this verb to describe Christ’s resurrection, and the verb is used on several occasions in the gospel to describe Jesus’ healing of individuals. In all those circumstances, the person is restored to their community or to a close relationship. When someone is brought low by unclean spirits, illness, or death itself, Mark says Jesus raises them again to fulfill their valued role in the community.

This woman serves the men after being raised up.  That “serving” is the same verb that Jesus later uses to describe his own ministry in Mark 10:45. It is the word used to describe the disciples’ ministry: they are called to serve. The woman literally served the men food in her house. In a deeper sense, this woman is the first example of true discipleship in Mark’s gospel.  She has been raised up by Jesus, and that experience leads her to fulfill her valued role in the community, which is (for her and all disciples of Christ) a role defined by serving.

That deeper understanding is what Mark intends for readers to hear and apply. Christ’s activity in our lives reconnects us to a community where we can fulfill our treasured role, which always takes the form of serving others. When jazz ensembles perform, it is said that they are “in the pocket” when everyone is keeping rhythm together and the ensemble is truly one. Christ desires his disciples to be “in the pocket” with their community — listening to others and each member making contributions to the whole in their own unique way — and it is through this experience of community that our service finds its greatest meaning. 

Discussion Questions

• When Christ raises us up and restores us to the community, do you hear that as the faith community or as a broader community? Can it be both?
• How does or how can your service be an outcome of your role in the community?

Activity Suggestions

This activity can be done in the presence of others or it can be done virtually if everyone but the selected leader mutes themselves. 

Have the leader create a repeating rhythm in either 4/4 or 3/4 time, keeping a constant tempo. This repeating measure can consist of claps, finger snaps, thigh slaps, or table hits. (If an instrument like a piano or guitar is present, that can be used to add harmony to the rhythm with an improvised repeating chord progression, known as a vamp.)

If the activity is done in person, have people contribute something additional, one at a time, to this underlying rhythm, like a finger snap on the second beat. As more people contribute, see if your group can be “in the pocket.”

If done virtually, everyone who is muted will only be able to hear their own contribution to the leader’s underlying continuous rhythm. Although this scenario limits the communal aspects of the activity, it might allow the muted participants to be more creative, perhaps changing things up as they feel moved.

As time allows, begin again with a new rhythm and possibly a new leader.

How does this activity add to your sense of community?

Closing Prayer

Loving God, you raise us up and call us to serve. Watch over all your servants, especially those who are facing difficult times. Raise up the Saint Peter’s Church community at this time, and may their help and hope be found in you. Amen.

 

Alex Zuber–Harrisonburg, VA

Warm-up Question

How do you respond to authority figures?  What does authority mean to you?

Chaos and Authority

On January 20th, 2021, Joseph R. Biden Jr. became the 46th President of the United States and Kamala D. Harris became the first ever woman, black woman, and woman of South Asian descent to be Vice President of the United States.  Inauguration Day is central to the peaceful transition of power in the US and showcases the authority to lead the nation.  In the midst of this historic day, a powerful voice rose above the rest, as Amanda Gorman became the youngest poet laureate to share her work at a presidential inauguration. 

In her poem Ms. Gorman reflected powerfully on the stark juxtaposition of this inauguration day and the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol just two weeks prior.  She said, “We will not march back to what was / but move to what shall be /A country that is bruised but whole, / benevolent but bold, / fierce and free / We will not be turned around / or interrupted by intimidation / because we know our inaction and inertia / will be the inheritance of the next generation / Our blunders become their burdens / But one thing is certain: / If we merge mercy with might, / and might with right, / then love becomes our legacy / and change our children’s birthright”

Ms. Gorman reminded us that we have witnessed the chaos of January 6th transformed into the authority of January 20th.  It was a powerful transformation, and if we hope to avoid again descending into chaos, authority must be rooted in mercy, goodness, and love.  We are moving past the pain of January 6th, but there is still work to do if we truly wish love to be our legacy.  This hopeful future hangs in the balance between chaos and authority.

Discussion Questions

• Who are authority figures in your life whom you trust?  Why do you trust them?
• Have you seen examples when chaos overcame authority?  Why did authority fail? 
• How do you think people of faith are meant to respond to chaos in our world?

Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

Deuteronomy 18:15-20

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Mark 1:21-28

(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 B at Lectionary Readings.)

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus enters the temple to teach.  He teaches with authority in a way that amazes the people.  But what is the source of Christ’s authority?  What  about his teaching is so incredible to his hearers?

Before we get an answer, a man suddenly appears who has been afflicted with an unclean spirit; in other places in scripture it is called a demon.  In many other places in the gospels we see that unclean spirits and demons are chaotic forces, driving a deep separation between people and their communities, seeking to dominate and destroy.  They are powerful forces, but seem to tremble in the presence of Christ.  This demon attempts to establish its chaotic power over Jesus by calling him by name—an ancient way of gaining power over another—but calmly and firmly Jesus casts the demon out of the man.

It is a dramatic scene, and the people once again rejoice at this “new teaching—with authority!”  But the heart of this story is in the foundation of Christ’s authority.  His authority is not found in being the biggest, baddest, most powerful force of all.  His authority is found in humility and mercy.  Christ sides with meek and humble humans, overwhelmed and cut-off from their community.  Jesus’ power lies in humility and his work is in restoration.  His merciful reign is not about asserting dominance, but about creating hope and restoration.  He is the redeemer of the people, subservient even to death on a cross, and it is this humility which  topples even the greatest evil forces.

There are plenty of demons in our world.  Seemingly insurmountable forces of demonic division like racism, white-supremacy, anti-Semitism, homophobia, and transphobia, seek to gain power over us each day and divide us from one another.  But through our baptisms we are one body with Christ. God makes us the priesthood of all believers.  Christ’s authority is rooted in hope, mercy, truth, and equity; in response to the grace we have received through Christ, God sends us out as disciples to work for these things.  Through our baptisms, we renounce the demons of our time and build up the Kingdom of God.  Christ shows us that we won’t defeat these forces through coercive power, but through his authority, rooted in his humility and love.  Through God’s grace, we’ve received the promise that this struggle is already won.

Discussion Questions

• Have you experienced “unclean spirits” or demons, i.e., forces which seek to divide, isolate, and diminish through chaos?
• What are ways we can take up Christ’s authority to resist the demons of our day?
• What kind of world would it be if all persons with authority took seriously the call to love, mercy, humility, and equity?  Is this world possible?

Activity Suggestions

• Read through the news this week.  Where do you see demons?  Where do you see the powerful dividing rather than working for equity?  Pray over these divisions and talk with a friend about the ways that you might work for peace.
• Visit the ELCA Advocacy, ELCA World Hunger, and Global Church blogs on the ELCA website to look for ways we are working together against injustice today.
• Read over the Baptismal Covenant (pg. 237 in ELW) and discuss with a friend what it means to live into these promises.

Closing Prayer

God of reconciliation, where unclean spirits still seek division, you knit us together into one body of believers through grace and mercy.  Send us out with the authority of your Son to work for justice, equity, and reconciliation in his name.  Amen.

 

Heather Hansen, San Antonio, TX

Warm-up Question

When have you had success getting someone to change their mind, selling them something, or convincing them of a new concept.  What helped you do it?

Inviting Not Selling

Relevant Magazine online recently reported a list of 11 statistics that paint a striking picture of US consumerism.  Here are a few of the 11, but to find the whole list, you can use this link:

1.  Nearly 40% of food in America goes to waste.

2. Nearly half the world’s toys are in America.

3. The average American household has more than $7,500 in consumer debt while the median household

income in the global population is just over $9,700 (as of 2013, according to Gallup).

In a 2008 video called “The Virtue of Kindness,”  one of the narrators shares a statistic which remains fairly unchanged 12 years later:  The US is 6% of the world’s population and we use about 23% of the world’s resources.

Just coming out of the Christmas season, how do you feel about consumerism?  Has Christmas become primarily a consumer cultural?  Is it hard to stay focused amidst all the advertisements and marketing?  I noticed this year that many commercials are about treating yourself, or at least treating yourself after you treat others.  But isn’t giving someone a gift at Christmas supposed to be a meaningful show of love, like God’s gift of Jesus to us or the wisemen’s gifts to Jesus?

In 2018, the top 200 advertisers spent a collective $163,000,000,000 on marketing, according to businessinsider.com.  Yes, you read that right.  One-hundred-sixty-three BILLION dollars on marketing in ONE year.  It’s no wonder we are such consumers.  We are bombarded with verbal and visual ads everywhere we look— social media, TV, radio, billboards, and print.  Consider what we could do with billions of dollars to care for the poor, the sick, or the stranger.  We could develop better care and programs for the mentally ill or persons with disabilities, or boost education…the list goes on and on.

Because of our consumer culture, it’s not surprising that many people look at participation in a faith community or church the same way:

-Which church fits MY needs or the needs of my family?

-Which church has a coffee bar?

-Does my church worship at a time that I would like to worship, or should I find a new one that does?

-We are “church shopping.”

Of course, none of these things are necessarily bad.   But how can we also make sure we aren’t merely “consuming” faith too?  How can we be sure that our churches are not “selling us” an experience, rather than inviting us to be disciples?  What does it mean to be a disciple?  How do WE invite others into a relationship with God and with our neighbors without manipulation or a sales pitch?  Because ultimately, Jesus isn’t for sale, and neither are our relationships.

Discussion Questions

• Based on these statistics, how do you feel about consumerism in America?
• Given what Jesus says in Luke 12:34 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” what is God teaching us about consumerism?
• When is going to church a faith practice and when is it consuming?  In other words, how is participating in a faith community or church more than just filling satisfying our wants.  Is there a difference between what we want and what we truly need?  Is that difference important?

Third Sunday after Epiphany

Jonah 3:1-5, 10

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

Mark 1:14-20

(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 B at Lectionary Readings.)

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

In Mark 1:14-20, Jesus calls and gathers his first disciples.   Jesus tells these men, who are fishermen by trade, that he will make them “fishers of men,” or in other words, “fishers of people.”  It seems like a relatively straightforward deal; I call you to follow me, and you call others to follow me (meaning Jesus).  We use this story as a reference to how God wants us to invite and welcome people into our communities of faith.  We use this story to understand part of the work of being a disciple of Christ.

However, isn’t it a little more complicated than what we hear in the gospel?  Jesus walks up to these fishermen, calls out, “Follow me.”  They lay down their nets and follow.  But WHY?!?!?!  If you were to walk up to someone in today’s world and tell them to just drop what they are doing and follow you, they would probably think you are crazy!  Even if they didn’t think you were crazy, they would not likely follow.  Moreover, in today’s cultural climate of marketing and consumerism, we’ve become particularly tuned in to wondering what people are trying to “sell” us and what’s in it for them.  “Why should I follow you?  What’s the catch?  What’s in it for me?  What’s in it for you?”

I’ve spent a lot of time in recent years inviting young people who do not go to church or have an interest in church to come.  I’ve often heard that they just don’t see the point.  These are exactly the people I feel God is calling me to invite into a faith community.  However, finding ways to invite them and not make it “too churchy” or sound like a sales pitch has proven hard.  Simply asking them to “follow me” doesn’t seem realistic either.

So I look to the gospel story and wonder, what does it mean to be a fisher of people?  And how can I be a fisher of people without becoming a salesperson?  A few things come to mind:

1. Jesus invites the disciples to follow AND tells them he will make them fishers of people.  When we invite someone to come to church, we should be clear about what we are inviting them to and why.  When you want to ask someone to share a special thing in your life, how do you ask them?  What do you say?  Developing a relationship with God different than just coming to church–and people need to know why.

2. The story doesn’t tell us is why these men just dropped their nets to follow.  Did they KNOW Jesus?  Was he an acquaintance?  A stranger?  Did they hate their jobs and see that Jesus offered something better?  Had they heard that Jesus was proclaiming the good news of God?  What would make someone in today’s world hear that the gospel is good news?  Does knowing a person and hearing about what they are doing that is unique or special make a difference in whether someone follows?

3. Jesus doesn’t make a big fuss or spend a lot of time on the invitation.  It’s simply an invitation.  Sometimes, when we work too hard to convince someone, we begin to sound like a salesperson trying to sell something instead of simply inviting.  Keep it simple.  Just invite.

4. Finally, a fisherman knows that some days you catch a bunch of fish, and some days you don’t.  And when you pull in the nets, some get away or never get caught in the first place.  If we apply this to fishing for people, we remember that fishing for people isn’t about catching everyone or catching anyone in particular.  It’s about the fishing itself, the inviting. God asks us to be faithful disciples and  fish, but God doesn’t expect us to always make a catch.  Additionally, if we get too caught up in trying to catch the fish we missed, we lose sight of those we’ve caught—and they may then slip away.  Fishing for people is not about making a catch or a sale.  It’s about  extending an invitation to something which is life-giving, nourishing, sustaining, and filling.  It’s about inviting someone deeper into a relationship.  It’s about sharing the opportunity to experience God’s love with others.

Fishing for people is not about selling something.  It’s not even about making a catch.  The point of fishing for people is to throw out the net and gather people in who want to know how God is part of our lives.  It’s about inviting people into hard, beautiful, merciful, forgiving, filling, comforting, beloved relationships; the things that being a disciple are all about.  In our consumer world, fishing for people can sometimes feel like just another marketing scheme, but it doesn’t have to be that.  After all, an invitation to a party is way better than an ad for another thing to buy.

Discussion Questions

• What’s the difference between inviting someone to follow Jesus and marketing your church or faith community?
• In today’s consumer society, why is it important to invite someone into a relationship with Jesus rather than “sell them Jesus”?
• What does it mean to you to be a fisher of people and why does God call disciples to be fishers of people?
• What are some ways you could fish for people rather than “sell them Jesus”?

Activity Suggestion

Role play a way you might “fish for people.”

If you need assistance, follow these steps:

a.  Determine why your faith or your relationship with Jesus is important to you.

b.  Think about a story you could share with others that describes why your faith or relationship with Jesus is special to you.

c.  Practice sharing your story with a partner.

OR

After answering the discussion questions above, you may have come up with some different ways to fish for people yourself.  Try these out in your role play. When you are finished with your role play, have your partner help you fine tune your invitation and explore other ways you might “fish for people.”

Closing Prayer

Jesus, our teacher, You have called us to follow you and made us fishers of people.  Give us the courage to become the fishermen you ask us to be, and the faith to know how to share your love rather than sell someone on why they should believe in you.  Equip us with the tools we need to extend your forgiveness, mercy and compassion to others, and gather in all those who are drawn to you.  Amen.

 

Tim Jacobsen, West Des Moines, IA

Warm-up Question

What is a food that you thought would be disgusting, but was actually really good?

Come and See

This weekend we celebrate and remember Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and all that he accomplished through the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.  We still feel Dr. King’s impact today. Dr. King sought equal rights for African Americans and all who are oppressed by the systems in the United States. As many experienced in the summer of 2020, with civil unrest after the murder of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, there is still work to be done confronting systemic racism in our country. Yet Dr. King’s legacy lives on, empowering a new generation to work for equality in our country and world. 

It is part of our human condition to make judgements and seek power; this is part of our brokenness. We often judge others on how they look, talk, dress, think, or act. When we make such judgements, we diminish others in our minds, whether we express that judgment out loud or act on it. 

In Dr. Kings famous “I have a dream speech” he says, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.”

Discussion Questions

• What have you learned about the Civil Rights Movement?
• What work still needs to be done to fight injustice?
• How can we judge people by character only?

Second Sunday after Epiphany

1 Samuel 3:1-10 [11-20]

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

John 1:43-51

(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 B at Lectionary Readings.)

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

When the ELCA Youth Gathering was in Detroit in 2015, I remember a lot of attendees asking “Is there anything good in Detroit, has anything good come from there?” There were many layers to this question.  One concerned race and judgements made about those who lived in Detroit. Another reflected how Detroit was going through changes, as manufacturing declined and left people without jobs. Detroit is a very storied city, which one needs to go and see to appreciate. I loved our time in Detroit, getting a chance to accompany our neighbors there and to let them know we see them. 

In the gospel for today, Phillip finds Nathanael and brings him to Jesus. After asking, “Does anything good come from Nazareth?”, Phillip invites Nathanael to “come and see.” Phillip calls Nathanael on his judgment of Nazareth and invites him to come and see. So often we make judgements about people, locations, churches, or cultures without ever going to see. 

Going and seeing, being with our neighbor (the other) gives us a new perspective. This new perspective shows us the greatness of God’s creation. As Dr. King pointed out through his work in the leading the Civil Rights movement, we are all children of God, we are all more than just how we look or where we live. Jesus knew Nathanael;  after this interaction, Nathanael knew Jesus . 

Jesus knows us and our neighbor. He is present with us all, even in those people we don’t like. What would it look like if we were, like Phillip, inviting people into our community, to know Jesus regardless of who they are. We are not God, so it is not our job to judge. We are free from the burden of judgement to serve and love our neighbor as Jesus loved and served his neighbors. 

Discussion Questions

• Have you made judgements about people or places and then realized you were wrong?
• Have you felt like God didn’t know you or wasn’t with you?
• When have you been called to go and see and had your view changed?
• How have you seen God through community?
• What would it look like to see your neighbor through Jesus’ eyes?

Activity Suggestions

Talk about discipleship and what it looks like to be a disciple who invites others on this faith journey. Have your group think about friends they could invite to church and what it would look like for your youth group to be invitational. 

Closing Prayer

Good and Gracious God, we thank you for your presence with us and love that you have for us. We ask that you open our eyes to those around us who need to feel your love. Work through us as we go out and see our neighbors. We have been blessed with much and long for much.  Help us to be content and willing to share our blessings with others.  Amen

 

Chris Heavner, Clemson, SC

Warm-up Question

How does the COVID vaccine work?

It Works!

Like most of you, I am eager to for my turn to come.  When either of the approved vaccines becomes available, my sleeve will be rolled up and ready.  These months have been lonely and life has been devoid of so many of the small experiences which make life such a joy.  

But, I have to admit that I really don’t know how the vaccine does what it is supposed to do.  Someone told me it gives me a mild case of COVID which allows my body to build up its own antibodies. (I am not really sure what antibodies are either.)  Seems I heard that the RNA of the virus tells my DNA what to do.  

What I do know is that getting the flu vaccine has protected me for years.  I remember making a trip to the school building for my polio vaccine (it was administered on a cube of sugar!)  So when the vaccine is finally offered – I will be ready to take it.

You might want to do some research.  Dr Cheryl Smith is a member of my home congregation.  She taught me to look for information in the right places.  I would suggest this one from the Center for Disease Control.  I also found it helpful to ask someone I trusted.  Christine worked in one of the university labs and she is great at helping me understand what I read in those journals.  

It is good for us to have some level of understanding; but in the end we may decide to take the vaccine based on the advice and recommendations of those whom we trust.  I trust Anthony Fauci.

Discussion Questions

• Will you take the COVID vaccine when it is available?

• Why do you think some folks have decided not to take the vaccine?

• Name one thing which you do even though you don’t understand how it accomplishes what you have been told it will accomplish

• Have you been baptized?  How does baptism work?

Baptism of our Lord 

Genesis 1:1-5

Acts 19:1-7

Mark 1:4-11

Epiphany of our Lord (alternate)

Isaiah 60:1-6

Ephesians 3:1-12

Matthew 2:1-12

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at Lectionary Readings.)

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

The practice of baptism began before the start of the Christian Church.  Hindu practice includes a ritual similar to the ceremonial washing experienced at the Jordan River by those who went out to experience John the Baptizer.  John invited his hearers to cleanse their bodies as an indication of the cleansing of their inner moral selves.  Some may have entered the waters without having first examined their hearts.  It is likely that some left convinced that their “bath” had made them clean.

Early leaders of The Way (what Christians were first called) continued the practice of baptism as an external mark of an internal alteration.  Our church believes and teaches that the water alone can do nothing, but when the water is combined with the Word we are truly made new.  The baptism event is important, it is sacred.  Even more significant is the way it acknowledges our identity and our relationship with God.  A Christian baptism is a baptism into the death and resurrection of Our Lord.

Those who are baptized by John may not fully comprehend the ways in which their lives are being transformed.  Yet, John is preparing them for the One who will come after him.  Other fiery preachers along the Jordan River spoke of the dangers of sin and sinfulness.  John’s ritual  offers more; it cracks open the gates through which the Messiah will enter.  John’s testimony is true, even if those who hear it may not completely understand how it all works.  “I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”  John does a wonderful thing for those who come out to see him.  But something much, much, much better lies ahead.

Discussion Questions

• Do you find it frustrating when adults say to you, “I don’t know why it is that way, it just is.”?  Have you ever thought, “Maybe they don’t have a good answer?”  Maybe all they have is a feeling deep within their hearts that this is indeed true, truer than anything they can explain.  How do you decide whether you can trust such feelings?

• Share an experience in which you were totally unable to convince someone of something you believe (we might even say which you KNOW) to be true.

• What is the process at your congregation for those who would be baptized?  Is there an instructional class?  Does the pastor make a visit?

• Our tradition welcomes infants to the baptismal font.  This is to remind us that God is the one who acts; we respond.  Do you have friends or family members who insist that only adults be baptized?  What do  you think they understand baptism to be?

Activity Suggestions

Pull out a copy of Luther’s Small Catechism and read the section on baptism.  Ask questions!  And remember that you get the best answers from those who don’t have all the answers.  After you have read the Small Catechism, look at the baptismal liturgy in the hymnal.  Take notice that there is very little for the one being baptized to say or do.  This is true even when the one being baptized is an adult.

Closing Prayer

Help us, in the midst of things we cannot understand, to believe and trust in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection to life everlasting.  Amen.  (From the funeral liturgy in Evangelical Lutheran Worship)