Danny Stone, Marion, IA

Warm-up Question

Who are your heroes?  What makes someone a hero?

Heroes Redeemed

On Monday, November 12 a flurry of text messages spread through the high schools of Marion, Iowa.  Maybe at your high school too.

“Did you hear?”

“I am heartbroken.”

“He’s dead.”

“I can’t believe he’s gone.”

“Stan Lee died.”

Marvel Comics co-creator and hero to generations, Stan Lee, died on November 12^th at the age of 95.   Stanley Martin Lieber was born in Manhattan, New York City on December 28, 1922.  After graduating from high school at 16 ½, he began his comic book career at Timely Comics in 1939.  By the age of 19, he moved up from filling ink wells and erasing pencil marks to be interim editor.  Timely Comics eventually became Marvel Comics, and Stan Lee served as Editor-in-Chief for 31 years.  He left comics to serve in World War II, but returned to help make Marvel an international sensation.

Stan and his collaborators gave the world a pantheon of heroes and villains.  The cineplex would be quiet without Iron Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Black Panther, Thor, Loki, Thanos . . .

Marvel breathed new life in the industry with flawed characters who bickered, had bloated egos,  and acted out of anger.  Instead of secret identities and changing in phone booths, heroes like Tony Stark openly declared, “I am Iron Man.” Ant-Man is an ex-con, behind on child support payments.  Thor behaved like an immortal man-child.  Spider Man struggled with girls and guilt.  Doctor Strange was an ego driven surgeon.  If one of the X-Men sneezed wrong or threw a tantrum, cities could be destroyed.  Hulk SMASH – enough said.

Instead of wallowing excess and vices, Tony Stark changed and created a hero driven to protect the weak and end war.  Thor grew from the braggart son be a leader willing to sacrifice for the greater good.  Bruce Banner found how to use his Hulk side to SMASH, when appropriate.

Discussion Questions

• How did you and your friends react to the news of Stan Lee death?
• Who are your favorite Marvel characters?  DC?  Star Wars and Star Trek?  Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings?
• Many of the heroes overcome the mistakes or follies of their youth.  Do you think it is fair that “the youth” are portrayed as having flaws?  Are there older adults in our world who need to reform and be redeemed?
• Who are some of the flawed Bible heroes who sought redemption?
• From the news and history, what are your favorite stories of redemption – people who has overcome obstacles or their own flaws?

First Sunday of Advent

Jeremiah 33:14-16

1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

Luke 21:25-36

(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

Readings like this gospel lesson have agitated the faithful since Luke documented Jesus’ pronouncement.  We obsessively look for the signs and say that our current political turmoil must be THE foreboding events.  Black Death spreads through Europe – the end is at hand!. King George loses the colonies – repent!  Hitler rises in Europe – looks like it’s the antichrist!  Y2K (you’ll have to explain this one) – we’re all going to die!

To counter the hysteria, think of the camp song, “I’ve Been Redeemed”  (Versions vary):

I’ve been redeemed . . . I’ve been redeemed.

By the blood of the Jesus . . .by the blood of the Jesus.

I’ve been set free . . . I’ve been set free.

By the blood of the Lamb . . . by the blood of the Lamb.

How good it is . . . how good it is.

How sweet it is . . . how sweet it is.

To know that I’m a child of God, and I’ve been washed as clean as snow.

Ooo – oo – ooo-oo.

This simple call and response song should be a mantra that we keep on the tips of our tongues.  As Lutherans, we do not need to obsess about the end seen in obscure signs.  We need to be willing to take action.  We need to be God’s hands at work in the world.  Don’t watch the fire.  Organize and put it out.  Feed the homeless.  Go on a mission trip.  Make friends with some with different beliefs and learn to talk about those differences with dignity and respect.

Harvard Professor, Dr. Steven Pinker, preaches with zeal a message that exclaims, “It’s not that bad out there!”  According to Pinker, American homicide rates are down from 20 years ago.  Fewer of us live in poverty.  Sulfur dioxide emissions are down, too. In 2018, 238 Western Europeans dies in terrorist attacks – 440 people died in 1998.   What’s the take-away?  Every age is a victim of pessimism and fixates on the negative.  Jesus knew it and warns us to “not be weighed down.”

Worries are a trap.  They can build anxiety, foster division and lead to isolation.  Jesus is with us.  He is our redemption.  Go with a light heart and be a positive force of change.

Discussion Questions

• Earthquakes, fires and civil unrest!  Why do you think the network news leads with bad news and closes with good news?
• Why do rumors of salacious trouble spread faster that stories of triumph and joy?
• What is the good news in your community?  What is the good news in the world?
• What local causes can you serve to better your community?

Activity Suggestions

•  Either as a large group or in small groups, brainstorm on large sheets of paper lists of comic book heroes with their positive and negative traits.  Discuss results.  In round two, allow students to use phones to brainstorm lists of historic heroes with their positive and negative traits – Winston Churchill, Martin Luther, Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher . . . Discuss results.  In round three, allow students to list on a small sheet their own positive and negative traits.  Ask, “Did you find it difficult to list our own faults and talents?  Is self-examination a normal part of your life?”
•  Invite students to share their favorite scenes (either description or video) favorite scenes from heroic movies and literature.  Yes, comics and graphic novels are literature.
•  Since Stan Lee’s death, his 1968 article about racism and been shared and re-shared.  Read and discuss the article.

https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a25022397/stan-lee-marvel-racism-1968-essay/

•  Watch and discuss Dr. Pinker’s TED Talk, “Is the world getting better or worse? A look at the numbers.”

https://www.ted.com/talks/steven_pinker_is_the_world_getting_better_or_worse_a_look_at_the_numbers/transcript?language=en

Closing Prayer (inspired by Psalm 22)

To you, dear Lord, we lift our souls.  We trust you.  Help us to be brave in the face of failure.  Lead us and teach us the ways of truth.  You are our salvation and you forgive our youthful transgressions.  Forgive us our sins and show us your merciful path.  Pull us out of our distress and let integrity be our guide.  In your name we pray, amen.

Angie Larson, Clive, IA

 Warm-up Question

Who is your favorite king or queen,  real or fictional? What qualities do they have?

What Kind of King?

Immediately following the shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburg, PA, Tarek El-Messidi took to Launch Good to raise funds for the Synagogue and the victims’ families. The interesting thing  is not that funds were raised, but that a Muslim organization, Muslims Unite for Pittsburgh Synagogue, did it.  Muslim and Jewish groups have not always cooperated in the past and are often in conflict in the Middle East.

However, El-Messidi had a different vision. He hoped to raise over $25,000 to take the financial burden of funerals off of families affected by the shooting.  “We wish to respond to evil with good, as our faith instructs us, and send a powerful message of compassion through action,” he wrote on the organization’s webpage. Through his faith lens he talks about the recipients as fellow human beings being impacted by hate and tragedy. He led the Muslim community to see commonality with their Jewish brothers and sisters in their shared Abrahamic roots. His Launch Good effort has now raised over $238,000 for the victim’s families. “I think it says that there’s a lot more good in humanity than there is bad and evil and hatred,” said El-Messidi in a radio interview.

Discussion Questions

• What is your initial reaction to Tarek El-Messidi’s plan? What did he risk to lead this effort?
• How else could El-Messidi have responded to this tragedy? Do you think there are others who would disagree with El-Messidi’s plan?
• Do you agree with the final statement? Do you think there is more good in humanity than bad, evil, and hatred?

Christ the King Sunday

(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

“What kind of king are you?” Pontius Pilate seems genuinely interested in why the Jews seem to hate Jesus so much. Pilate wants to see if he has a political rebellion on his hands; it’s his job to get to the bottom of this mess between Jesus and the religious leadership. Jesus questions back, asking why Pilate is posing his question:  How did you hear of me? What have you heard?

Pilates’ curiosity is peaked. He wants to know what Jesus has done that is so bad that his own people have pushed him towards this moment. Jesus answers, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.”

This world tells us that power comes from might, that kingdoms are made by threatening military force and coercion. The Jewish leaders, Pontius Pilate, and Jesus knew this.  The Roman Empire ruled with power and might. They kept people in line by violence and crucifixion. They thwarted conflict by killing of those who disagreed. It was clear who ruled in this kingdom.

Jesus tells us that his kingdom looks different. His kingdom is in many ways the opposite of the Roman Empire. Jesus’ kingdom lifts up the least, the lost, the lowest, and the lonely. His kingdom sees leadership as service to others, not pushing others around. His kingdom seeks healing and love, not force and pain. His kingdom seeks to persuade, not to coerce. Jesus’ kingdom is different.

Discussion Questions

• How is Jesus’ kingdom different from the Roman Empire?
• What are some ways our world is like Jesus’ kingdom? What are some ways it’s more like the Roman Empire?
• Are there ways that your church, school, or youth group is more like one kingdom or the other?

Activity Suggestions

Bring in pictures or names of famous leaders, fictional or real.  Examples include Pharaoh, King Arthur, Lord Voldemort, Queen Victoria, T’Challa (Black Panther), Adolf Hitler, King Wenceslas, King David, King Henry the 8^th, King Tut, Genghis Khan, Cleopatra, Queen Elizabeth, Moses, Martin Luther King Jr.  Ask students to think about the leadership style of each person. Did they rule in a Christ-like manner? Did they rule with force and dominance? What results did these leaders achieve? What were the challenges?

Closing Prayer

Blessed Savior, We thank you that your kingdom comes. Help us to see ways to bring your kingdom to earth in service of our neighbors. Forgive us when we err and guide us to care for the least, the lost, the lowest, and the lonely in our communities. Direct us to be servant leaders like your son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray.  Amen.

Mary Ellen Helms, Loveland, OH

Warm-up Question

What are some of the things going on in the world that worry you? How do you picture the end of the world?

Birth Pangs

When we turn on our smartphones these days, the news can be overwhelming. Whether you see articles on Twitter or a news site, there is always something major happening to cause concern. Political divide, natural disaster, war-torn countries in crumbles – there is no shortage of bad news. We can become overwhelmed with current events and want to tune it all out and just go on living without being informed. While this can be attractive and necessary at times (unplugging is good!); we are not called to be people who shut off our ears, eyes, brains, and hearts from current events. We are called to understand the overarching story of God’s love for God’s people and God’s desire that the Kingdom of God may come.

Recently, the United Nations released a study about climate change which might have a lot of us worrying. Summarizing the report, this article about the danger of doing nothing about this impending disaster warns that “‘rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society’ are required to ward off the worst impacts of global warming.”  This language is intimidating and can make us feel powerless in caring for God’s creation.

When we think about our first call to be stewards of creation (Genesis 1:26-28), we remember we are partners with God in caring for creation. That is a hard job! Instead of ending on a note of negativity, the article closes with a quote from one of the report’s authors, Natalie Mahowald “We have a monumental task in front of us, but it is not impossible, this is our chance to decide what the world is going to look like.” It is not too late to care for our world.

Discussion Questions

• When you think about current events, what makes you worry about the future? What are stories that give you hope?
• What do you think God sees when God looks at how we care for creation? How might we do better?
• Think of a time when you’ve needed to unplug from the news. What was that like for you? Did it help the problem go away? Why or why not?
• What actions can we take to make the world a better place? What are some practical steps you can take today?

Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Daniel 12:1-3

Hebrews 10:11-25

Mark 13:1-8

(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 B at Lectionary Readings

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

Gospel Reflection

When we reach this point in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus’ days are numbered. He has already ministered to many across the countryside and miracles have been done in God’s name. Before this chapter, Jesus answers many questions and shares parables with his followers. Jesus’ teaching ministry is coming to an end and it seems like he is trying his best to pass along a lot of nuggets of wisdom to his disciples.

It is no wonder that Jesus starts the teaching in today’s lesson by talking about how the physical things we’ve  built on this earth will not endure. Jesus walks with his disciples at the Temple and they point out the vastness of the things all around them. Jesus seems a bit frustrated;  They are looking at impressive structures dedicated to God and missing the point of God’s true power.

Jesus knows that the times to come will not be peaceful until the Kingdom of God is fulfilled. He warns his disciples about some of the upcoming threats, many of which we are still familiar with today: wars, political strife, natural disasters, and more. He prepares them by saying “This is but the beginning of the birth pangs”.

While this language and these images can bring stress and worry, they are really  pointing us to is the hope of the New Creation that God’s Kingdom will bring. When we think about ‘birth pangs’, we acknowledge there is pain and stress in labor, but the new creation – the baby’s life – makes it all worth it.

Our days are full of stress.  Many of us do not experience the immediate effects of warfare or environmental danger, but we do know many other kinds of pain—depression, worry, insecurity, judgementalism. We are called to look beyond the right now to the what’s to come. Jesus did not ignore the current reality of the world in which he lived.  Even though he knew that the things of this world would pass away, he taught, performed miracles, served, loved, and cared. In the same way, we are called to act, caring for the world we have inherited and the one we will pass on.  But we do this knowing we have a secure hope in eternal life because of Jesus.

Discussion Questions

• When you read the list of what is to come before the coming of God’s kingdom, what worries you most? What have you personally experienced? How has that changed your life?
• Are there times in your life where you’ve been led astray? What is that like in retrospect? How have you helped lead others to a life of hope instead of a life of fear?
• What is it about Jesus that gives you hope, even in the midst of difficult times?

Activity Suggestions

• Pick out a service project to do that benefits creation at your congregation. Ideas include starting a weekly recycling group, working with your property stewards to commit to using less electricity, speaking to your council about converting to LED light bulbs or something else.
• Take a big sheet of paper and write down current events that have you worried about our world, our nation, your community, school, home, and yourself. Then, starting with the world, nation, community, school, home and ending with yourself, pray your way through the list asking God to help take care of all of your concerns. Brainstorm ways you can help with your neighbors’ concerns.

Closing Prayer

Loving, mighty, and powerful God, you remind us that even the strongest edifices will crumble someday. Remind us also that our hope remains in your eternal promise given through Jesus, not in the things we create for ourselves. Make us stewards of your creation, reminding us to care for all you have made and one another. Hold us close when we worry and send us out to do your will. Amen.

Anne Williams, Ankeny, IA

Warm-up Question

• What’s a lot of money for you? Not like being a millionaire, is $500 a lot for you? or $1000? Or maybe even $100.
• Do you give an offering? What’s the right age to start giving an offering to church?

How Much is Enough?

At the end of September, St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Cathedral in Sydney Australia introduced pay as you go offering. Using tap and go technology, like McDonalds does, you can tap your chip enabled debit or credit card on the side of the offering plate. No more need for carrying cash or writing out a check! No need to sheepishly whisper “I already give online” when not putting anything in the plate! Seems like a great idea! Some embraced the new technology saying, “I hate it when I turn up to mass and realize I don’t have any cash, I would love this option at my parish.”

Others were in shock! Not about the use of the technology per se, but how the church decided to implement it. The minimum donation was $10 and the announcement on social media read “Multiple payments of $10 can be made by tapping your card once with several seconds in between each transaction.” Much of the social media storm seemed to be about the minimum offering! One Facebook user commented “If you had made it [a] $2 minimum we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation.

The response on social media was so strong that the initial announcement about tap and go offering was taken off the Cathedral’s Facebook page and this comment was put up in its place: “Thanks to the people who took the time to make rational and coherent comments on our recent post about the new collection plates.”

Discussion Questions

• Would you use or debit or credit card in church to make your offering?
• What is a good amount for a minimum offering?
• Should you even have an idea of a minimum offering?

Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost

(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

Picture this: Jesus and his crew are hanging around the Temple Courts in Jerusalem, they are watching the comings and goings of both the ordinary worshipper and those who make their living working for the Temple or as Temple officials. The worshippers coming in and saying their prayers and leaving their offerings would have been from every class. Some would have been wealthy merchants, some of would been day laborers who worked for enough money to buy one day’s worth of food.

But there’s a group of scribes wandering around together, probably talking about some ancient text they are working on. These scribes make their livings through the Temple system. They copy manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible. They write down the thoughts of smartest Sadducees and priests. They like to flaunt it. As Jesus says in verse 38, they like to walk around in long robes and like to be greeted with respect. Jesus is warning his disciples that the scribes have no time for charity – they devour widows’ houses, and they want only to make themselves look good. According to Jesus, these scribes with receive a greater condemnation (v.40).

The scribes wander off, leaving Jesus’ disciples wondering what this condemnation might be, when Jesus decides to sit down across from where people make their offering. The disciples look for places to sit close by, maybe to catch a glimpse of what Jesus is seeing. They sit and watch people, all kinds of people, make their offerings. Jesus sees a woman start walking up to the treasury, he calls his disciples to watch her. They can see she’s going to make an offering, but she can’t have much – all she has is two small coins. To be honest, it looks like all she has in the entire world. Jesus looks back at his disciples seated around him and says that the widow has put in more than all the others contributing to the treasury. He goes on to explain that since she gave all she had, all she had to live on, she gave more than those who gave their “extra” money to the treasury.

After watching her leave the Temple courts, Jesus stands up and calls for his disciples to follow him, it’s time to see something else…

Discussion Questions

• It’s clear Jesus prefers the poor woman over the scribes, why?
• Thinking back to the warm up question, what would you consider an abundance of money? How much would make a real difference in your life?
• Could you give up your last $5 to your church? Would you?

Activity Suggestions

• Invite your pastor, a member of your church council,  or perhaps the congregation’s treasurer,bookkeeper, or accountant to share with the students how much it takes to keep your congregation running. Have them discuss the important of benevolence – the church giving offering to the synodical or churchwide ministries, like ELCA World Hunger.

Closing Prayer

Gracious and loving God, you give us everything, from the air in our lungs, to the resources we have to spend. Help us make wise choices, as individuals, families and congregations about how to honor the offerings given and shared by your faithful children. Amen.

Bryan Jaster,  Winchester, VA

Warm-up Question

What is something traumatic that happened in your life?  What did you do in response?

Beyond Death’s Stench

Mikah Meyer is on a 3 year journey to visit all 417 national parks and discover the power of healing and love.

Imagine being 19 years old and having one of your parents die.  When Mikah Meyer was 19 his father died suddenly of esophageal cancer at the age of 58 years.  He was devastated.  His father would never see him grow up and be able to celebrate life with Mikah.  The assumption that his father would live to be 80+ years old was shattered.  The realization that life isn’t infinite and that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed hit hard.

His father loved to travel and Mikah set a goal that when he was 30 years old he would hit the road and set the world record for being the youngest person to visit all the national parks while sharing along the way that life is worth living and to appreciate time and people while we have it. So, at 30 he did.

Once he started his national park tour something happened that had begun in his life as a 19 year old. That year was the first year when he met an adult who was openly gay.  Gay before that was a topic that wasn’t even spoken of.  So after meeting more people in his 20s and making public that he was a gay Christian, he began to encounter many who felt they weren’t loved by their church or by God.   He thought that sharing that part of his life during his tour of national parks would decrease financial support from congregations.  Living out of his van, he visited congregations on Sunday mornings and relied on the hospitality of friends and strangers to continue his journey.

However, he decided to share that part of his identity after being contacted via social media by a young teen who was in the closet about being gay. The teen reached out after finding out about his past work setting up “Queers for Christ” in Washington, D.C. The teen thanked Myer for letting him know he wasn’t alone and that he could accomplish his dreams, just as Meyer was accomplishing his.

So now honoring his father’s life, he travels living out of a converted van as an openly Gay Christian,  performing as a contra tenor singer who sings for his supper.  He preaches at congregations about living God’s limitless, boundary-less love and proclaims that we are all children of God, worthy of love. He has been able to stay on the roads because America’s Christians have funded a gay man to set a world record.   He has currently visited 368 of the 417 national parks and will finish April 29, 2019 at the Lincoln Memorial.

Check out more of Mikah’s journey at https://www.mikahmeyer.com/

Discussion Questions

• How many national parks have you been to?  What would be a challenge to trying to see all 417?
• What is a favorite place you like to go to experience the beauty of creation?
• Mikah Meyer experienced death face-to-face when his dad died. How did he respond? What can we learn from his actions?   What big dreams do you have that God might be calling you to do?
• What is something that you feel is “off limits” to talk about at church, in school, or in your family? What is one way you can start a conversation about it and promoted loving people who may be different in some way?

All Saints Sunday

(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

“There is a stench”

Death stinks. Literally, death stinks.  Bacteria quickly break down proteins in dead bodies into cadaverine and putrescine—and the stench rises.   Death stinks too for those who mourn as the reality of loss and death of a loved one takes hold.  There is a stench in death.

Before our story begins in John 11, Jesus made mud and healed a man of blindness.  This action made “the Jews” or perhaps we could say “the religious authorities” irate.  When they ask if he is the Messiah, Jesus’ answers do not appease them.  They accuse him of blaspheming and try to arrest him.

The stench of death continues.  Jesus gets word that Lazarus, whom he loves, is ill.  Jesus says this illness will lead to God’s glory.  He waits a few days and the disciples are puzzled that he would go back to the place where he was to be stoned to death.  He goes anyway, and finds Lazarus to be dead four days. Martha says, “If you had been here my brother would not have died.”  She proclaims Jesus to be the One, and then goes back and tells Mary that Jesus is in town.

Here is where our text picks up the story, John 11:32-44.  The Jews and Mary are weeping.  Jesus is disturbed, first when seeing their pain, and then upon arriving at the tomb of Lazarus. Jesus being “disturbed” in Greek is like him making the snorting sound of a horse when he encounters the stench of death in the grief of the Jews (remember they were the ones who tried to arrest and stone Jesus), Mary, and Martha.  Greatly moved by Lazarus’ death and the love for his friends is Jesus when surrounded by the stench of death.

Jesus stands at the cave and commands for the stone to be taken away.  Martha protests that “there is a stench” because Lazarus has been dead four days.  There is nothing to be done for Lazarus now and he can do nothing for himself in death.

Jesus response to the stench of death is startling:  “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”  Jesus next prays, thanking God for hearing him and hoping that the crowd might believe God sent him.

Then he shouts, “Lazarus, come out!”

With those 3 words Jesus flips the stench of death upside down and writes a new script where death is defeated by the way of resurrection, life, and love.  With the words “unbind him and let him go” we see the completion of the seventh sign in John’s gospel of Jesus’ identity.  From now on being in relationship with Jesus means we face death and pain with him.  It means learning that, in spite of the stench of death, Jesus can and will bring life.  Nothing is ever so dead that it keeps Jesus from bringing life for us.  Abundant life is always ever now.

Discussion Questions

• Why do you think Jesus delayed in going to Lazarus’ tomb? When was a time when if felt like God waited too long and then something truly good happened after all?   How can we trust that God will bring life out of death in our world?
• Abundant life is now and resurrection is now. What is one way you can share the abundant life that God gives with someone in class or your neighborhood?   Make a plan and do it!

Activity Suggestions

Find a dead, decaying animal.  Really. Find an animal that smells like death.   Be smart about handling it and smell the stench of death together.  Unlike our recent ancestors, most of us don’t come in close contact with the death of animals or human family members.   If you are adventurous, take a trip to a morgue or schedule a visit to see cadavers in a research lab.

Another option:  Duckweed or other high-protein plants emit smells like decaying flesh when decomposing.   Get some duckweed and let it rot for a week in advance.  Then smell it.

Once you have allowed your noses to recover, talk about what death smells like.
When else have you smelled something dead?

Have you had a close friend or family member die?  What was that like?   Were you sad?

When has a relationship died?  When has a relationship healed or experienced new life?

Closing Prayer

Oh God, the stench of death is real and so are your surprising ways of bringing abundant life.  Challenge us to live and love like your son Jesus today in your creation and with the people we encounter now.  Thank you for rolling away the stones in life, calling us to “come out” of our tombs, and unbinding us so that we might live again each day.  Amen.