Mary Ellen Helms, Loveland, OH

Warm-up Question

What is something relatively small in the scheme of things that you are anxiously anticipating?  What is something big that you are anticipating?

Living Here and Now

“Don’t go wishing your life away.” I can remember how hard my eyes rolled when my mom said this to me for the umpteenth time. She was driving me home from driver’s ed and I was laying out my life plan with clarity and ease. I was sure that once I had my driver’s license the problems of 15.75 year-old me would go away completely! Isn’t that how it works? Driver’s license = freedom and freedom = doing whatever I wanted! 

I’ve come to find out there was some wisdom in what my mom was saying. She was concerned about how often I was focusing on what was coming up while ignoring my current reality.  I was so focused on what was coming, I forgot that I could be living the life I wanted right then and there!

Our community recently screened the film, “Look to the Sky” by Brett Culp.  This documentary told the stories of many young people who were not waiting until they had the resources, time, or drive to change the world – they were doing it right then and there. These were young people with great challenges who met the world with eyes of hope and joy – not ones who wanted to rush through the current state and get to adulthood. I loved the story of Violet, a young girl who had a rare form of cancer. She bubbled over with enthusiasm and shared that joy with others in big and small ways. Instead of focusing on what was surely a life filled with a lot of ups and downs, she took her superpower of love and spread hope and joy for others to see.

Discussion Questions

• What is the best thing about being your age? What is the worst thing about being your age?
• Why is waiting so difficult? When is looking forward to something helpful? When does it hurt?
• How can you use some of the current things in your life that some could perceive as negative to positively affect someone or something else?

Third Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 35:1-10

James 5:7-10

Matthew 11:2-11

(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 section of the Gospel, Jesus had sent his disciples to spread his message of God’s kingdom throughout Galilee.  The message made its way all the way to John the Baptist who was in prison.  He had been sent by God as a messenger to prepare the way for Jesus. Because of this, it is not surprising that he is focused on what is to come.  He asks, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” (11:3). Jesus’ coming is marked by an “already but not yet’’ dichotomy. During the season of Advent we focus on both living in the now and expecting what is coming, especially the Second Coming of Jesus.

Much was broken when Jesus walked on earth, prompting some to ask whether God had forgotten the people. Jesus’ life and ministry began answering that question – the blind saw, the lame walked, the deaf heard.  Jesus’ life on earth was the answer to the important question that John and many of God’s chosen people were asking at that time – are you the Messiah?  In this scripture, Jesus points us to the signs in the present that God’s kingdom is breaking in! We see that John is the messenger (not the messiah) and that Jesus is the real deal – living in the now and bringing God’s kingdom to a broken world.

This can be a tricky thing for us to understand because clearly the world is not free of the pain and brokenness into which Jesus entered.  Instead of focusing on how perfect life will be when Jesus comes again, we are called to focus on the present. We are to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, not centering our lives on the end times or what heaven will be like, but instead on how we can see and be pieces of God’s kingdom on earth in the here and now.

Discussion Questions

• Where do you see signs of brokenness in the world today?  Where do you see signs of God’s kingdom breaking in now?
• Why do you think most of the season of Advent focuses not so much on looking forward to Christmas but on looking forward to the Second Coming of Jesus?
• How can we take part in the ministry of Jesus even though we are separated by over 2000 years?

Activity Suggestions

• Look up the documentary “Look to the Sky” at www.risingheroes.org and watch a few of the stories. Discuss which of the people in the story gives you hope for the future. How can you be nudged to look to the sky in your own life?
• Jesus spoke of some of the signs of the kingdom of God that were evident through his ministry with the disciples (the blind see, the lame walk, people are cleansed). Do a service project benefiting one of the groups Jesus names in verses 4-5. Continue to do kingdom work today:  remember, the time is now!

Closing Prayer

Gracious God, we give you thanks that we have the gift of your presence right now. Help us to focus not too much on what is to come but on feeling your love and doing your will in the present.  

Danny Stone, Marion, IA

Warm-up Question

When was the last time you participated in an emergency drill – fire, storm, intruder?

Canary in the Coal Mine

In the 1880’s, Scottish-American naturalist, John Muir, lead an effort to protect Yosemite from encroaching agriculture and development.  Muir inspired our nation to establish a system of national parks, refuges, historic sites and recreation areas that would preserve “America’s Crown Jewels.”  Muir founded the Sierra Club, which is still a leader in environmental movement.

Marine biologist, Rachel Carson, shocked the world with her 1962 book, Silent Spring.  Carson detailed the connection between increased pesticide use and plummeting bird populations.  Affected birds were some of the first to be added to the Endangered Species List that debuted in 1967.  With 50 years of improved practices, many species have moved from being “endangered” to “threatened.”  The use of pesticides, fertilizers and genetically modified species is still a contentious issue, but some bird populations have rebounded.  We no longer spray DDT, but scientists are now struggling to explain the dramatic disappearance of pollinating bees.

Today, many scientists see our changing weather patterns, diminished arctic ice, increasing ocean temperatures, 500-year floods every four years, mass extinctions, and forest fires as desperate calls to action.  Just a century ago, miners kept caged birds in the tunnels to warn of deadly mine gasses.  According to climate activists, nations and industries are ignoring the warning signs and heading deeper into the mine.

Like John Muir and Rachel Carson, a new generation of activists is rising to champion environmental causes.  However, the new activists are not just seasoned naturalists or veteran biologists; they are young adults, teens, and children.  Sixteen-year-old, Greta Thurnberg, has become one of the leaders of the youthful activists.  She began her solitary protests in front of the Swedish Parliament in 2018.  Within a year, her movement inspired thousands of students across the world to walk out of school and demand action.  This August, Greta sailed across the Atlantic to address to the United Nations. She railed against complacency, “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!”

Greta spent the fall touring the United States and Canada.  With every speech, she called for immediate action.  She spoke before the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and urged Congress to take “real action.”  In November, she boarded a 48-foot catamaran destined for Madrid’s United Nations climate summit.  The 2019 UN Climate Change Conference summit begins on December 2 and will focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Discussion Questions

• What climate change warning signs (if any) do you see?
• Do you think it is too late to reverse the course of climate change?
• What causes would inspire you to cross the Atlantic . . . on a sailboat . . . in November?

Second Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 11:1-10

Romans 15:4-13

Matthew 3:1-12

(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 C at Lectionary Readings

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

Gospel Reflection

The Jewish community waited 700 years for their voice in the wilderness.  Isaiah promised a profit who would “prepare the way of the Lord.” Imagine the excitement in Jerusalem and the synagogues.  The wait was over.  The Messiah was here. If the Baptist was right, the Messiah was bringing FIRE!

Judea was ready for a revolution.  Four religious sects dominated Jewish life – Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes and the Zealots.  We know the Pharisees and Sadducees from gospel stories and the song, “I Just Wanna Be Sheep.”   The Essenes are famous for their desert communities which hid copies of scripture in clay jars.  The jars were discovered in 1946, and the Dead Sea Scrolls include some of the oldest fragments of the Bible.

Zealots wanted FIRE.  The other groups wanted to free Judea from Roman occupation, but the Zealots incited war.  Their uprising eventually lead the Romans to destroy the temple and scatter the Jewish nation.  Today, the word “zealots” is synonymous with those who takes their beliefs to the extreme.  You can be a football fan – a zealot gets a face tattoo and names her first born “Bart Star (if she is a Packers fan).”

The First Century Zealots must have felt Jesus was a false Messiah.  John promised that Jesus would bring fire, but the Messiah did nothing to oppose the Romans and Herod.  The Zealots were blind – they could not see the true fire.  Jesus brought a fire that lives in our hearts.  It is a fire of love that burns away hate.  It is a fire that swept across the world and continues to spread love.

Discussion Questions

• If you were a Judean waiting for revolution, how would you have reacted to Jesus’ message of love?
• Like John Muir, Rachel Carson, and Greta Thurnberg, who are the modern voices in the wilderness?
• What are examples of social and political leaders that have become zealots?  Are zealots dangerous?

Activity Suggestions

With your group, tour your church building and look for ways your congregation is working to conserve natural resources.  Also, brainstorm ways your church could improve its conservation efforts.  Compile your suggestions, write a letter and ask your congregational council to implement change.Using your phones, research and discuss the National and State Parks in your area.  Share the history of the parks and the treasures they protect.

Closing Praye

Dear Heavenly Father, Blessed Mother and Creator of All, please guide your children.  Help us to follow the wise voices and avoid the vipers.  Help us to walk in grace and ignite fires of love.  In your name, we pray.  Amen.

Dennis Sepper, Rosemont, MN

Warm-up Question

Do you ever think about the Second Coming of Jesus?  What it will be like?   

Basis of Hope

Colorado Springs, Colorado – Michael Martin was serving as a Mennonite youth pastor when news of the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School came as a “breaking news” story on his car radio.  The news touched and troubled Pastor Martin deeply.  As he went about his ministry he couldn’t shake the story and a feeling that he had to do something.  A short time later Martin knew what he had to do.  Pastor Martin left his ministry and, with his father, learned to blacksmith.   They launched a non-profit faith based organization called Raw Tools.  They collect guns—shotguns, rifles and handguns—and transform them, shaping them into gardening tools which are then donated to community gardens all over the United States.  

Not only did Michael Martin take the words of Isaiah 2:4 literally, but Raw Tools paid attention to the rest of Isaiah’s words and part of their new ministry includes teaching and training people  around issues such as restorative justice, conflict mediation, and active-bystander training.  Martin really wants to give people hope, just like Isaiah did, that the current violence in our world is not the last word…that God will have the last word and it will be a Word of peace and justice.

Raw Tools website:  www.rawtools.org

Discussion Questions

• What do you think about Michael Martin’s ministry?  Does it make sense to you?  In what way?
• Notice that there is an educational piece to Martin’s work.  How does that line up with Isaiah’s words in verse 2:3?  Is it important that our good works, our works of hope, be linked with some sort of instruction?
• What are some other signs of hope that our personal futures and the future of the world will be a place of peace and justice?

First Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 2:1-5

Romans 13:11-14

Matthew 24:36-44

(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

December 1^st marks the beginning of the church year season of Advent.  Advent is a season of hope, preparation, and anticipation of the coming of God into our world and into our lives.  Advent creates this experience of preparation and anticipation by looking to the past (and remembering the coming of Jesus years ago), the present (how Christ comes to us today in Word and Sacrament and through the Holy Spirit), and the future (the promise that Jesus will come again).  The readings for this season are meant to “wake us from sleep” (Romans 13:11) and help us to be attentive to what God is doing in the world today.

At first glance today’s reading from Matthew is quite troubling.  Does Jesus really mean that his return will be like the flood in the time of Noah?  Will it be like the coming of a thief in the night?  Will suddenly some people be taken and others left behind?  That doesn’t seem like the kind of thing Jesus would teach or preach.  The clues to this reading are found in the first and the last verses.  They emphasize that one, even Jesus doesn’t know the time of his return because God is the one in charge and two, we should be ready for Jesus’ coming in each moment.

I often say to others that I hope that when Jesus returns I will be in the midst of my morning devotions with an open Bible in front of me and not when I am watching football with a bag of Cheetos on my chest!  We just do not know when that time will be.  So, how do we stay awake and ready and prepared?  About a month ago one of the pastors at the church I attend preached a sermon on prayer.  He said that most of us learn as children to bow our heads, fold our hands and shut or eyes when we pray but he suggested a different posture for prayer which he called “praying with one eye open”…open to the concerns of others, to the needs of the communities we live in and to the needs of the world.

That’s a helpful image as we think about the return of Jesus.  While we go about our daily affairs we should keep an eye open to look for ways God is working in our lives and in the world.  We should look for signs of hope, at the least, and at most, join God in creating those signs of hope for others to see.  

The world we live in still has many troubling elements.  While we must do what we can do to address those things that harm and dehumanize people, we  always remember that God is in charge.  We place our trust and hope in God who entered our world in the past, is present in it now, and will come again  to bring God’s loving purposes for all creation to full fruition.  Such are the themes of Advent.  While we might be excited by the coming of the Christmas season, we should also hear God’s call to think about and address the themes of Advent.

Discussion Questions

• God and Jesus have a habit showing up in unexpected places.  Have you ever experienced God or Jesus’ presence at a time you did not expect it?
• Sometimes we can worry about the Second Coming of Jesus.  A favorite author of mine once wrote that there is no evidence that the Jesus who returns will be any different than the Jesus we meet in the Gospels.  Does that thought give you some comfort?  Why or why not?  What is the Jesus we meet in the Gospels like?
• How can we keep and respect the themes of Advent in the midst of the pre-Christmas craziness?

Activity Suggestions

We are very good at sending out Christmas cards to wish those we love a Merry Christmas and blessings for the coming year.  But what about those in our communities who may need a word of hope and assurance during the festive month of December.  This week’s activity seeks to give those folks a word of hope and encouragement. 

Speak to your pastor and get a few names of people who are homebound or in the hospital, or perhaps you have a friend or acquaintance who you know needs some support.  Take the time to create an Advent card.  Think about the themes of Advent (hope, light and the fulfillment of God’s promise) to create a unique card you can send to those who need it.  You may want to include a verse from Scripture such as Isaiah 9:2, John 8:12, 1 Timothy 4:10, Romans 15:13-15 or Matthew 28:20.  Assure those brothers and sisters that God loves them, God is with them, God is for them and they can put their trust in God. 

Part of our Advent preparation is “keeping one eye open” to what God is doing in our world and then telling others about it.  That way we plant the seeds that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit will cause to grow into a garden of hope, peace and justice.  

Closing Prayer

Faithful God, we look at the world around us and at times we cannot see you at work in the world.  Send your Holy Spirit upon us and fill us with holy hope and the vision to see you at work in our lives, in our communities and in the world.  Empower us to speak a word of peace and hope to those who need to hear it and help us to prepare for the coming of our Savior, Jesus the Christ.  Amen.  

Scott Moore, Erfurt, Germany

Warm-up Question

When have you ever risked your own safety to help someone else? 

In the Line of Duty

“Died in the line of duty.”  How often have we heard these sad but somehow inspiring words? This time they were said two weeks ago about firefighter Lieutenant Jason Menard, thirty-nine year-old husband and father of three, on his last day of duty before going with them on vacation to Disney World. Doing what he was trained to do, put out fires and rescue people, he was trapped with other firefighters in a burning home in the city of Worcester, Massachusetts. Responding to a distress call and hearing that others might be still in the burning house, Menard and two others went looking to make sure everyone was safe.  It was reported that as things got difficult, Menard helped his two comrades get to safety. He could have rushed out on his own. He chose, instead, to risk his own life so that their lives could be saved. He made the ultimate sacrifice.

Discussion Questions

• When have you ever benefited by someone else’s sacrifice of any kind?
• How should we as a society honor those who make sacrifices like Lt. Menard?
• When do you think firefighters should “draw the line” and not risk themselves?
• What do you see as the advantages and disadvantages of paid vs. volunteer firefighters?

Christ the King Sunday

Jeremiah 23:1-6

Colossians 1:11-20

Luke 23:33-43

(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

What are we doing on this festival of Christ the King, with Jesus on the cross? Isn’t that somehow totally opposite to the message of the day? It is the end of the church year, next week we are back to the beginning, with the first Sunday in Advent. We want to end things with a bang like New Year’s Eve: celebrate Jesus as king and lift him up high with a glorious crown on his head. He is the Messiah after all, which means anointed one, and the kings of Israel were all anointed when God chose them for their duty as royal leaders. The anointing with oil was a holy act that set apart these normal human beings as sons of God, (there were just kings back then, they were all men).  Those chosen to lead God’s people were anointed and claimed as royal children. They, too, were messiahs (“anointed ones”), so to speak. 

Early on in Luke’s Gospel (chapter 3), God tells Jesus, when he comes up out of the waters of the Jordan, “you are my beloved son.” Here, towards the end of the Gospel, Jesus’ sign on his cross says, “This is the King of the Jews”, and the religious leaders standing there mock him “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” Even one of the criminals challenges Jesus to save them and himself if he is this one anointed by God. We know how the rest of the story goes: Jesus chooses to follow the path all the way to the cross, to be humiliated like a common criminal, to suffer, and to die. Just one chapter earlier, Jesus asks his Father if he might be able to avoid having to die in the line of divine duty, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.” 

Whatever his abilities might have been as healer and miracle worker, Jesus chooses to follow God’s will and experience the fullness of humanity, even to the point death. The chosen messiah, who was baptized in the Jordon, becomes the true royal Son of God lifted up high on a cross with a crown of thorns. Jesus’ line of duty leads him to the cross, the grave, and to new life. This same king who died is raised again to new life. Death and resurrection. What seems like a dead end becomes a living beginning. 

In our baptism, we are also made children of God. In our service of holy baptism, we can hear the words: 

“In baptism our gracious heavenly Father frees us from sin and death by joining us to the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are born children of a fallen humanity; by water and the Holy Spirit we are reborn children of God and made members of the church, the body of Christ. Living with Christ and in the communion of saints, we grow in faith, love, and obedience to the will of God.”   (Evangelical Lutheran Worship, “Service of Holy Baptism”)

Through water and God’s word, through the laying on of hands and anointing with oil, we join Jesus in his royal mission as a child of God. We die and are raised again. We are made little anointed ones, little messiahs, little Christs. We are invited and encouraged to follow Jesus on God’s path of healing and justice, hope and reconciliation. We walk hand and hand with the one who is willing to give himself for the whole world, Jesus Christ the King. 

Discussion Questions

• When was the last time you felt you did something really special?
• When do you ever feel like you want to give of yourself for others?
• What do you think about when you see someone else get baptized?
• What is your favorite part of the baptismal service?
• Jesus tells one of the thieves on the cross, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” What do you think paradise is like?

Activity Suggestions

• Discuss the image of “king” (or “queen”).  In the Bible, we find many images for Jesus and God (shepherd, mother hen, father, suckling mother, to name a few).  What is suggested by calling Christ the king; what are we trying to say about Jesus by using royal imagery?
• How has the meaning of the kingly image changed over the centuries; do you think it is still a good metaphor for God and Christ?  Why?
• Out of all the biblical possibilities, the gospel text for this week in the lectionary is from the crucifixion; why do you think that is?  How does that change how we understand what a king is?

Closing Prayer

Gracious God, creator of the universe, you have made kings and queens out of average people. In holy baptism, you wash us with water and you anoint us with your Holy Spirit. Lift our chins when we are down, so we may look into your eyes and see in them how much you love us. Strengthen our love of you, our love of ourselves, and our love of the world. Lead us as your royal children on the path you have set before us, so that the world around us may touched by the grace and love we know from you. We ask this in the name of the one lifted on the cross for us, Jesus Christ the King. Amen.

Ellen Rothweiler, Des Moines, IA

Warm-up Question

Do you worry about the end of the world?

End of the World as We Know it

A lot of television and film media use the end of the world as a setting or plot point to tell a story. The Day After Tomorrow details the end of the world with the onset of a second ice age, while Seeking a Friend for the End of the World follows two characters who are spending their last days on earth before an asteroid hits, finding what really matters in the end. Other post-apocalyptic media tackle what life is like if you happen to survive some cataclysmic event. The Walking Dead tells this tale using a zombie apocalypse as a catalyst while The Hunger Games examines how power can corrupt and consume life while desperately attempting to preserve it. 

These and countless more books, movies,  and television shows speculate on what the end may be like. Why the fascination? An article in Good Houskeeping listing the top 20 end of the world movies, offers that “world ending movies are a mirror that reflect societies biggest paranoias back at us.” Are we hoping to prepare ourselves for what’s to come or just playing out our greatest fears to somehow diminish the power they hold over us?

Discussion Questions

• Do you enjoy “end of the world” media? If so, why? If not, why not?
• Does thinking about the end scare you or make you uncomfortable? Why or why not?
• If you knew the world would end tomorrow what would you be sure to do today?
• An R.E.M song includes the refrain,”It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.”  What does that suggest about how change can be both daunting and welcome?  Can you think of a time in your life when change was painful but ultimately positive?

Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost

Malachi 4:1-2a

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Luke 21:5-19

(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 part of the Gospel of Luke is pretty scary stuff!, especially when we see many, if not most, of the events listed are happening in our world today. This seems to be a road map for the end of the world. Jesus says these things will happen and then, but not immediately, the end will follow.  We are not the first generation to see in these words an eerie similarity to unfolding events; many have peered into this passage for a clue regarding when the end will come. 

If scripture tells us what leads to the end of the world, why do we still spend so much time guessing and imagining? Because it is still uncertain. Jesus warns that many will come saying “I am he!” and “The time is near!” but we need not follow them. The passage begins with people asking for answers. When? How? We still ask these questions today and fill in our own answers. 

Where is the Good News? In the midst of these things we will endure. Christ will be with us offering wisdom. We need not have the answers, for Christ will provide the words we need. Part of being a Christian in the midst of a scary and uncertain world is trusting that God holds the future–and that is enough. We can find peace knowing that these things are not for us to know or understand. This truth does not sound terribly comforting when we see suffering. Yet, if we spread love in the world as we find tragedy, we are offer the comfort others need. We are not in control and we cannot fix or prevent bad things. It is enough to know that God is with us and that we will endure.

Discussion Questions

• How many of the events listed in the text can you see happening in our world today?
• Do you seek answers when bad things happen? What questions do you ask?
• What would you want God to say in reply to those questions?

Activity Suggestions

Watch all or part of one of the 20 Greatest End of World Movies and discuss what it has to say about human endurance in the face of tragedy.

Closing Prayer

God of mercy and power, sometimes it seems that our world is spinning out of control, that suffering is all around us and chaos near at hand.  In turbulent times give us confidence to entrust ourselves to you, bear witness to your never failing love, and strive to be instruments of your purposes in all times.