Brian Hiortdahl, Overland Park, KS

Warm-up Question

What is inside you?

It’s What’s Inside That Counts

Scientists at MIT have developed a prototype “GPS” for locating things inside the human body with a marker that can be swallowed instead of surgically implanted.  It is hoped that this technology can eventually be refined to a level of accuracy which can be used reliably to detect tumors and inform cancer treatments:

www.cnet.com/news/scientists-have-developed-a-gps-system-that-can-track-inside-the-human-body/

Discussion Questions

• Why do you think is it easier for us to locate and track items and movements outside the human body than inside it?
• What are the potential benefits and potential drawbacks of this technology?
• If there were a GPS inside you to map your thoughts and feelings, whom would you trust to use it?

Fifteenth 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

The Pharisees worked hard to transform the ordinary into the sacred, to make everything in daily life holy and acceptable to God.  This involved rituals to change “unclean” into “clean” and common into special.  One of many ways they did this was with carefully prescribed washings of utensils and hands before eating, which was only to be shared with others who were faithful enough to eat only “clean” foods prepared and served in “clean” vessels.  At its best, this practice was a careful way of honoring God; at its worst, it divided people, diminishing some while making others feel superior.  Jesus sees and names a sad hypocrisy beneath the shiny exterior of this practice.  Clean hands don’t excuse dirty hearts.

As usual, Jesus turns everyone’s thinking inside out:  Listen to me, all of you, and understand:  there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.  The real threats to our relationship status with God aren’t germs or forbidden foods or other people’s opinions or anything else outside of us; the real threats are the sins festering in the heart that leak out of us in unholy words and actions.  (Jesus pushes this so far with his disciples that some verses are omitted from polite worship…read and visualize verses 18 & 19!)  Washing the dishes properly to be right with God is like trying to fight cancer by wearing nicer clothes—or like trying to improve my own life by controlling someone else’s behavior.  It’s not really getting at the problem.

Centuries before this gospel episode, God told Samuel:  the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart (1 Samuel  16:7). That’s where Jesus is focused.  And as the scientists at MIT can tell you, it is much easier to track and treat things outside the human body than inside it.

But remember the good news from recent readings in John 6!  We already have an ingestible treatment for the diseases of the human heart – the flesh and blood of Christ in the common looking bread and wine of Holy Communion.  Through our mouths (and also ears), God gets inside us to diagnose and overcome the real threats to our well-being.  Jesus turns what everyone assumed completely inside out:  we are most threatened by what is inside coming out, and we are healed and saved by what is outside going in.

Discussion Questions

• Discuss this quote from Jaroslav Pelikan: “Tradition is the living faith of the dead.  Traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.”
• What religious traditions or practices draw you closer to God?   Which ones get in the way?
• Identify some well-intentioned ideas that end up separating and hurting people.
• Where do you see hypocrisy in yourself?

Activity Suggestions

• Spend time in silent prayer as a group, with each person quietly examining her/his own heart.  Silently invite Jesus to heal and cleanse specific things inside you.
• Invite a medical professional to talk about new technologies and how they can either bless or backfire.  Are there parallels in church life?
• As a group, identify one Christian practice that annoys you or seems stupid.  Research and learn about how it started and the good intentions originally behind it.
• Write a thank you note to the people in your church who prepare Communion – and always in clean cups

Closing Prayer

Wise and loving Jesus, enter our hearts and minds and bloodstreams.  Heal what is unhealthy, cleanse what is dirty, remove what is harmful, mend what is broken, and strengthen all that is good, so that what comes out of us in words and actions is your love and grace.  Amen

Don’t panic!  Faith Lens is only on a hiatus during the summer.  The next Faith Lens will be posted on August 28 for Sunday, September 2.

Scott Mims, Virginia Beach, VA

Warm-up Question

• When it comes to your faith, who have been some of the most important people in your life?
• What about them has made such a difference?

How Do You Know?

In 1651 a London tailor named John Reeve, claiming to have received a special message from God, started a small Protestant sect along with his cousin and group spokesman, Lodowicke Muggleton.  They were known as the Muggletonians, and a recent online article from National Geographic outlines how this staunchly anti-scientific group mapped the cosmos.

Against all evidence to the contrary, the Muggletonians insisted that the Earth was the center of the universe around which the sun, moon, planets and stars revolve. They based their views on a literal reading of the Bible, and yet now, thanks to the knowledge we have gained through scientific inquiry and space-age technology, we have a vastly different, more accurate picture of the universe.  Among other things, this story highlights what remains a lively debate between faith and science, especially when it comes to the question, how do we “know” what is real and true.

Discussion Questions

• How does science help us to know about our world?  What sorts of questions do you think are best answered by a scientific approach?
• What kinds of questions are best answered by faith and Scripture?
• Do you think one of these approaches is more true than the other? Why or why not?
• How do we come to really know another person? Is the “data” about them (height, weight, eye color, ethnic background, etc.) enough?
• How, do you think, we really come to know who God is?

The Holy Trinity/First 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

Sometimes it is easy to forget that there is more to the third chapter of John than verse 16.  Few verses are as well known or have such wide appeal, and that can make it difficult to really “hear” the rest of this reading, because, like gravity, John 3:16 pulls us forward.  Yet, this week is Holy Trinity Sunday, so what might this passage say to us about who God is?

For starters, it is helpful to begin “in the beginning” with the Prologue to John’s gospel account.  Just as John 3:16 is a summary of the “good news,” the first 18 verses in chapter 1 are John’s summary of what is about to unfold.  Here it is, for instance, that we hear of the living Word who existed with God before even time.  “All things came into being through him,” John says.  This Word then “became flesh and lived among us” in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.  He is, as John tells us, “God the only Son” who is close to the Father’s heart, and who makes the Father known.

Having the Prologue in view, we are ready to listen to Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in John 3.  Nicodemus, a Pharisee and Jewish leader, comes to Jesus secretly one night seeking greater understanding of who Jesus is and what he is about.  “Rabbi,” he says, “we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.”  The great irony here is that Jesus has indeed “come from God,” but in a way that transcends what Nicodemus has in mind.

Likewise, Jesus’ response to Nicodemus goes beyond his expectations.  What emerges is a glimpse of the role of the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, in the double-sided new birth of baptism.  For baptism both brings us into the visible community of Jesus’ followers and is the means through which we receive the new life of the Spirit welling.  As Jesus explains to Nicodemus, without being born from above (or born anew), one cannot even see God’s kingdom, let alone get into it.

What’s more, it isn’t simply that this gift of new birth is being poured out upon one group of people – it isn’t just for the children of Israel, for example.  “The wind (or the Spirit) blows where it chooses,” Jesus says in verse 8. You cannot lock the Holy Spirit up.  As last week’s celebration of Pentecost, and indeed the whole book of Acts, demonstrates, no one human family, tribe, organization, or nation can contain the Holy Spirit; the Spirit moves and works faith where and when the Spirit wills.

Finally, to Nicodemus’ continued puzzlement, Jesus returns to the question of who he truly is and how he knows these things he is talking about.  Here again, John 1:1-2 and 1:18 are in the background.  Pointing Nicodemus back to the story of the bronze serpent in Numbers 21:1-9, Jesus then points him forward to the cross.  The cross, an instrument of torture and death, will become both the greatest display of the Father’s love for the world, and the means by which the Son will bring the world, and us, salvation and new life.

It is important to remember that, historically, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity did not take shape as the result of logical deductions about an esoteric, abstract truth.  Rather, our faith in a triune God is rooted in the concrete experience of a God who loves and heals us in a triune way. Christians come to “know” God as Trinity in the relational experience of how God is for us.  This week we get a glimpse of this as the work of the whole Trinity is displayed in John 3:  God the Father, Creator of all, sends the Son into the world. Jesus, the Son of God and Redeemer, is lifted up on the cross for the sake of the world. The Spirit of God, the Sanctifier, blows through our lives bringing new life.

Discussion Questions

• When you hear “the Holy Trinity,” what do you think of? How would you explain the Trinity to a friend? How has the Trinity been explained to you?
• When it comes to trying to understand the Trinity, do you think “mystery” is a helpful idea? Mystery as in, “The Trinity is something we cannot fully understand and we are okay with that.” Are you comfortable with mystery? Why or why not?
• Look over Martin Luther’s explanation of the Apostles’ Creed in the Small Catechism. Make a list of the ways in which God is “for us” as Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. How does this help us to know the Triune God better?

Activity Suggestion

Watch the short video, “St. Patrick’s Bad Analogies.” You can find it at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQLfgaUoQCw     Do any of the analogies that you’ve heard before appear in this clip?  How can making God “understandable” through seemingly helpful images and analogies sometimes lead to unintended consequences?  As the clip makes clear, every analogy has limits, is the definition which Patrick gives at the end of the clip better?  Why or why not?

Closing Prayer

Gracious and loving Trinity, through water and the Holy Spirit, you name us and claim us and make us your own.  Thank you for the gift of new life and for the invitation to experience that life in the community of your church.  In your love, call deeply to our hearts.  Guide our thoughts and our understanding that we may come to know and love you as you reveal yourself to be, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God now and forever.  Amen.

Dennis Sepper, Burnsville, MN

Warm-up Question

How can you tell if someone is telling you the truth?

Spirit of Truth

Nathan Zohner, a 14-year-old student at Eagle Rock Junior High School won first prize at the Greater Idaho Falls Science Fair with his project on Dihydrogen Monoxide.  Nathan urged 50 of his peers to sign a petition demanding strict control or the total elimination of the chemical Dihydrogen Monoxide because:

• It can cause excessive sweating and vomiting.
• It is a major component of acid rain.
• It can cause severe burns in its gaseous state.
• Accidental inhalation can kill you.
• It contributes to the erosion of our natural landscape.
• It decreases the effectiveness of automobile brakes.

43 of his peers said yes and signed the petition.  6 were undecided.  And one knew that the so-called dangerous chemical is…water!

It turns out what Nathan was really testing was how gullible we all can be to what we call today “fake news”.  86% of Nathan’s classmates just accepted what Nathan was saying and believed that “water” was a threat to humankind.  Following a report on Nathan’s project, an enterprising person set up a “Ban DHMO” website and was evening selling T-shirts for the cause (the website still exists @ DHMO.org)

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever believed something to be true but later found out it wasn’t?  How did you find out?  How did it make you feel?
• Going back to the warm-up question, how do you know if something you read or hear is true?  What resources can you use to find out the truth of something?
• Is there more to truth than “the cold, hard facts”?  Can a story be “true” in regard to what it says about human nature or even God?

Day of Pentecost

Acts 2:1-21

Ezekiel 37:1-14 (alternate)

Romans 8:22-27

John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

(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

On this Pentecost Sunday we remember and celebrate the giving of the Holy Spirit to the disciples, as promised by Jesus.  In this section of John’s Gospel, the Holy Spirit is called the “Advocate” and the “Spirit of truth” (see John 15:26 and John 16:13).  Jesus makes the promise that the Spirit of truth will guide us into the way of truth.  However, as we explored above, we might ask the question “what is truth?”

In the Gospel, John gives us some answers to that question.  First, John says that Jesus is the truth (Jesus is full of grace and truth, John 1:14 and Jesus states “I am the way, the truth and the life,” John 14:6.)  John also say that the Gospel Jesus proclaims is the truth (John 8:31-32).

What that means for us today is that in baptism we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit.  This is the same Spirit of truth that Jesus speaks of in this week’s gospel text.  We take Jesus at his word that the Holy Spirit will guide us in the way of truth.

Martin Luther had another way of saying this in his Small Catechism explanation of the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed when he wrote, “I believe that I cannot by my own understanding or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to him, but the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy and kept me in true faith”

Then Luther goes on to say how the Holy Spirit also calls and gathers the community of faith…the Church.  The Spirit of truth is not just present in us as individuals but as a community, as the Church.  So while we have the ability to consider the truth of something compared to Jesus and to what Jesus proclaimed and taught, so the community of faith has that ability too.

One final point about this issue of truth…in the Gospel of John, and in the whole New Testament really, truth demands action.  The truth of Jesus calls us to be witnesses to Jesus and to the Gospel in the world.  Or to put it another way, we do not just know the truth, but the truth sets us free to action, witness, advocacy and service in the world (See John 8:32).

Discussion Questions

• What are some of the gospel truths you hold dear in your faith journey?  How does that truth set you free?
• What truths have your congregation or community of faith claimed as the reason for their ministry and mission; evangelism, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, working with prisons (and there are many more)?  How did your congregation come to that decision?

Activity Suggestions

There is an old activity that would work well this week.  It is called “Two Truths and a Lie” and it goes like this:  each person states two truths and one non-truth about their life and the others in the group must guess which statement is the false one.  The purpose of the activity, not unlike Nathan Zohner’s experiment, is to show us how hard it is sometimes to figure out truth from falsehoods.

Closing Prayer

Spirit of Truth, on this occasion of Jesus giving you as a gift to us and the Church, we ask that you remind us that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.  By your power let us clearly hear the truth of the Gospel and Jesus’ teaching.  Move us to action as witnesses, disciples, and advocates in our own day.  We ask this in name of Jesus, our Savior.  Amen

Leslie Scanlon, Chesapeake, VA

Warm-up Question

Tell about a time this week you felt lonely.  Tell  about a time this week you felt part of a group.

Think of it like “high/low,” “rose/thorn,” “mountain top/valley,” or whatever metaphor you like to use.

A Lonely Lot

With the rise of technologies that claim to facilitate communication, you might think that we would feel more connected than people in decades and centuries past.  However, an article recently posted by NPR reports that a survey conducted by the health insurance company Cigna concluded that “Americans are a lonely lot” with over 50% of those surveyed responding, “that they feel alone or left out always or sometimes.”

The UCLA Loneliness Scale uses a series of statements and a formula to quantify someone’s sense of loneliness and was used in the survey to determine that many Americans do not feel truly connected to those with whom they are in relationship.  Loneliness is not just an “emotional” issue, but can also negatively affect your physical health in a major way.

The survey results also suggest that the average sense of loneliness is progressively higher as you look at younger and younger generations. (Note: those surveyed were all over 18 years of age.) Some studies have reported a correlation between more screen time/less face-to-face time and higher instances of depression and suicide, but the Cigna survey did not find enough evidence to blame social media for the generational trends.  That might be because not all social media use is equal—positive and negative personal interactions can happen on social media platforms, but they can also be used somewhat passively.  Technology can aid in our relationships being built up, but can also be the means of breaking them down.

Discussion Questions

• What ways do you interact with people on a daily/weekly basis (outside of the obvious answer: school)?
• To what clubs, teams, and groups do you belong?
• How would you describe your use of social media (active/passive, regular/occasional, etc.)?

Seventh Sunday of Easter

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

1 John 5:9-13

John 17:6-19

(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 B at Lectionary Readings

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

Gospel Reflection

For the past two Sundays, the Gospels readings in John 15 have been from Jesus’ final discourse to the disciples before his arrest, trial, death, and resurrection.  This Sunday, we skip to chapter 17. Jesus is no longer talking to his disciples, but praying for them.

In the repetitive, seemingly roundabout sentences characteristic of John’s gospel, Jesus articulates in prayer to God (the Creator) that his followers are in fact God’s followers, and that, although he is about to die, it does not change that fact that they are God’s beloved children.

In verse 11, Jesus prays for protection for his flock which he is about to physically leave behind.  One of the reasons he worries for them is because they are going to remain “in the world” (v.11) without him, but “they do not belong to the world” (v.16).

This is not true just of those disciples who physically walked with Jesus, but is true of us too.  We are “in” but not “of” this world.  We are called to take part in the aspects of life that this world makes possible, but we are called to do so in a way that gives glory to God.  We are not called to tuck ourselves away and interact with only those who believe, worship, and look like us; we are called to be one (as Jesus talks about in verse 11).  That is not to say that everyone in the church is always going to agree 100% of the time on every topic.  However, there is a way to remain connected and in relationship, despite our disagreements.  We do all of this as part of keeping God’s word and making God’s name known.

This is not always easy work.  Jesus knew this, and that is why he prayed that God would protect, teach, and lead his disciples then and us now.  As people of faith, we are called to not be “of” the world—giving into every whim we might have or striving to be what society tells us we should be.  We are sent out into the world to do God’s work with our hands…as ONE people of God, ONE flock, ONE church.

Discussion Questions

• What is one example of how you are (or someone you know is) “in” but not “of” the world?
• What can get in the way of the church being “one”?
• You have been given the Word of God; what is God sending you out into the world to do? (be as specific as possible)

Activity Suggestions

• Make a plan of how your youth group can work together (as ONE) to do God’s work in the world…and get started. SMART goals (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria) are helpful when working to create a concrete and achievable plan.
• Brainstorm ideas about how to make your youth group, church, or other faith-based group more “one.” What is getting in the way of unity in the midst of diversity?  How can you overcome those obstacles?
• Play a group-building game to help build “oneness” in your group. There are lots of ideas on Pinterest and Youth Ministry blogs.  When choosing, keep in mind the participants’ levels of comfort with physical contact.

Closing Prayer

Gracious and loving God, you have given us so much—your Word, life, and each other—for that we are thankful.  Thank you for being with us in our time together and we ask that you would continue to be with us and protect as we go out into the world this week.  Help us to remember that we are never alone. Amen.