Jocelyn Breeland, Sunnyvale, CA

Warm-up Question

What are you going to do this summer?

Building a Legacy

Barack and Michelle Obama have pledged $2 million to summer youth job program in Chicago. The donation comes in the form of $1 million gifts to each of two organizations – One Summer Chicago and the Chicagoland Workforce Funder Alliance. These programs offer jobs, apprenticeships, mentoring and recreation to thousands of young people in Chicago’s South Side.

One goal of these programs is to provide at risk youth something constructive to do during the summer, part of an effort to counter the violence that has plagued that city. But President Obama pointed to another important purpose of these programs.

His presidential library will be built in that community and the former president has stated one goal of the center will be to boost employment in the area, during and after construction. The former president is quoted in the Chicago Tribune as saying, “We want to make sure that some of those young people can get trained so people don’t say, ‘Why didn’t you hire anybody from the neighborhood?’ And the contractor says, ‘We didn’t have anybody who was trained.’”

The presidential center and museum are scheduled to open in 2021.

Discussion Questions

• Do you have a summer job?
• Are summer employment programs important for young people?
• How will this donation affect President Obama’s legacy?
• How does your summer plan – whether it includes work, studies, or just hanging out – prepare you for the future?

Sixth Sunday of Easter

Acts 17:22-31

1 Peter 3:13-22

John 14:15-21

(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

Today we see Jesus trying to leave a lasting impression with his disciples. He’s trying to prepare them for their lives after his crucifixion and resurrection – events that, at this point, the disciples can’t even imagine. Perhaps because he understands the confusion and emotion that will follow, he’s kept the message as simple as possible: Love me. Keep my commandments.

It sounds simple enough, but we know it isn’t. Living a life of faith is challenging.  Discerning God’s purpose for our lives – discerning that greater purpose and also navigating the many smaller moment – is hard. Resisting the temptations and distractions of the world is difficult.

In verse 8, Phillip says what many of us think, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” It would be a lot simpler to maintain the conviction of our faith if we had physical, tactile certainty of God’s presence before us. But then we wouldn’t need faith.

But Jesus wants his followers to know that, in him, they have seen the face of God on earth and that God would never make plans for us that we don’t have the ability and resources to fulfill. He will send the Holy Spirit, to walk with us. Though we do not have the physical presence of Jesus walking with us as he did with the disciples, the Holy Spirit is a comforter when we need healing or consolation, and a helper when we need guidance or the courage to live Christ’s radical message in the world.

Discussion Questions

• Jesus says, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Is he referring to the Ten Commandments, or something else?
• Does following the commandments prove your love of God?
• As Jesus prepares to leave his disciples, what legacy has he left them? How does this prepare the disciples for their lives of witness?
• How do you see the promises Jesus made to his disciples in your life?

Activity Suggestions

• Look ahead one year and list the things you need to accomplish in that time.
• Make a list of the help you will need from others to accomplish those goals.
• Share your lists with the group. (Depending on the size of the group, it may make sense to break into smaller groups.)
• Try to identify opportunities where you can provide the help that’s on someone else’s list.
• Pray together that each of the needs will be met.

Closing Prayer

Merciful Father, thank you for the gift of your son, Jesus, whose sacrifice has won our victory over death. And thank you for the many ways you bless us by providing, according to our needs, all that is necessary to fulfill your plan. Help us to listen to the voice of the Spirit of Truth and heed its divine guidance. And help us to be the voice of comfort and encouragement to one another. In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen

Bob Chell, Sioux Falls, SD

 Warm-up Question

Tell about a time you were lost. Feel free to interpret being ‘lost’ in your own way.

From Lost to Seeing the Way

In 1987 20,000 boys fled the civil war in Sudan to begin a thousand mile journey to Kenya. Half of them died on the journey. The world watched these “Lost boys of

Sudan” as they came to be called.  Jacob Mach was one of those “lost boys.  He was 21 years old when he arrived in the USA. He had a harrowing experience on his journey from Africa to North America.  “We encountered a lot of difficulties,” he said. “A lot of friends died because of hunger, because of being eaten by wild animals.”  Despite all the challenges he faced, Jacob graduated from Georgia State University and recently became a police officer in Atlanta.  In a story about his experience he said, “The city has been wonderful to me. I felt that there was a need for me to give back to the people of Atlanta.”

Discussion Questions

• Do you find stories like this inspirational or sappy and sentimental? Why?
• Would it we worse to be lost with thousands of others in the same situation or alone in a new country where you didn’t even know the language?
• Is it worse to be physically lost or to be psychologically lost?
• Who is your ‘go to’ person when you are feeling lost?

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Acts 7:55-60

1 Peter 2:2-10

John 14:1-14

(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

Thomas asks Jesus, “…how can we know the way?”

As pastor of a congregation inside the state penitentiary I work with men who lost their way in life. The reasons are many and often complicated:  abusive or neglectful families, emotional or mental health issues, addiction, the list goes on and on. Yet, at the end of the day each of us is responsible for the choices and decisions we make in life.  The young man in the news story, Jacob, was inspired to success by his time in the wilderness of Sudan.

Each of us will spend time in the wilderness. The story of the Israelites wandering for forty years after fleeing slavery in Egypt is our story, whether it’s leaving home to serve in the armed forces,  pursue a trade, or go to college, we enter an unfamiliar and overwhelming place.  Leaving a relationship, quitting a job, grieving a death—all of these things push us into the wilderness. What we do when we are in the wilderness determines if we make it to the Promised Land or end up back in Egypt as slaves.

Whether it’s the psychological wilderness of discerning a career and wondering if we will ever find a life partner or the physical wilderness of seeking a place to sleep and food to eat, the wilderness is a painful place to find ourselves.  We cannot choose to not be lost. Even those whose fear keeps them from leaving home or reaching out to another will find themselves lost in loneliness in despair. We can only choose what we do when we are lost.

I tell the men I serve as pastor that it is important to determine if the place they are going is the place they need and want to be. Sometimes the lure of the familiar and the comfortable is nearly irresistible, especially when we are hurting. Yet, for those who have been incarcerated going back to the same people and doing the same things often brings them back to the same prison cell they were so eager to leave behind. On either side of the walls it’s worth reflecting on whether the place we are going is the place we want or need to be.

The other half of going somewhere is, of course, leaving somewhere. Whether one is fleeing a troubled relationship or moving away from home for the first time, complete with a going away party, it’s worth spending time reflecting on what we leaving. Many of us (me for one!)  have sought the ‘geographic cure,’ hoping a move to a different place would enable us to leave our problems and pain behind. It does not. The painful reality is that if we do not deal with our pain and problems they will deal with us. It’s easy for any of us to think of examples of this.

It is good to think about where we are going in life. It’s imperative that we deal with our pain and problems. This is good advice, the kind Thomas was looking for as he moved forward in life but this is not the advice Jesus gave him. More important than knowing where we are going, or dealing with what we hope to leave behind, is dealing with our “lostness.”  The most difficult part of being lost is not knowing where we are because without knowing that we cannot determine anything else.

Jesus does not tell Thomas and Philip how to find their way but says that he, Jesus, is the way. Like most of John’s gospel this sounds mystical and confusing. The author Henry Nouwen, reflecting on the story of the prodigal son helped me understand this when he wrote,

“For most of my life I have struggled to find God, to know God, to love God. Now I wonder whether I have sufficiently realized that during all this time God has been trying to find me, to know me, and to love me. God wants to find me as much as, if not more than, I want to find God. …I no longer think of God as hiding out and making it as difficult as possible for me to find him, but, instead, as the one who is looking for me while I am doing the hiding.”*

The truth is that you’ve already been found by Jesus.  Some of you, before you were even able to wander. When the pastor said your name and marked the sign of the cross on your forehead, saying,  “…you have been marked with the cross of Christ and sealed with the Holy Spirit forever.”

You have been in the wilderness before and you will find yourself there again. Jesus has been in relentless pursuit of you your entire life, on your trail like a bloodhound. Jesus found you before you were ever lost. He’s found you every time you’ve wandered. He has you in his grasp and He’s never going to let you go.  This is the gospel of the Lord.

*The Return of the Prodigal Son, Image Books

Discussion Questions

• How is it we can be hiding from God when we really are trying hard to find God?
•  The author switches from giving advice (make certain the place your are going is worthwhile, deal with your pain or it will deal with you) to proclaiming the gospel: Jesus has you in his grasp.  Do you prefer good advice or gospel proclamations in sermons? Which does your pastor offer more of–advice or proclamation?
• How can we “get found” when we are lost? This is the place where advice and gospel meet.

Activity Suggestions

• Ask someone you admire to tell you about a time in life when they were in the wilderness and how they found their way out.
• What are the most tempting wilderness places today; places that promise happiness but deliver despair?
• Recall a time when you were lost and God found you. Were other people involved? the church? Looking back is it more a painful memory or an experience you cherish for what you learned.

Closing Prayer

Jesus, we do want to be your disciples but, like Thomas, we sometimes find you cryptic and confusing. We get so worried and preoccupied with where we are going and what’s ahead that we miss living life today. Give us the peace you promised your disciples so we can let go of our anxiety about the future. Amen.

Faith Lens

Warm-up Question

How does someone remembering your name after a brief introduction affect how you feel about them?  What assumptions do you make about someone simply because they remember your name?

Following the Shepherd

There is something about us which wants to test everything.  Take for example the question of whether sheep really do follow the shepherd’s voice.  The conventional wisdom (in part because of of this week’s gospel lesson) is that sheep know the difference between their shepherd and other folks calling out to them.  But is it true? A simple Google search of “sheep calling” quickly yields a series of videos offering some evidence that sheep do indeed respond to a particular person.  In one humorous video three persons call to an absolutely apathetic herd with no visible effect, but when the shepherd steps up, you can see the sheep’s ears perk up  far across a field.  Then a tentative walk becomes a stampede to the fence and the waiting shepherd.

Discussion Questions

• What might account for the fact that sheep seem to respond to one particular person and ignore others?
• Think about why you respond move favorably to some people than others.  How are you like the sheep?

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Acts 2:42-47

1 Peter 2:19-25

John 10:1-10

(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 this week’s gospel lesson John offers us a cluster of images around the theme of sheep and sheep herding:  Jesus as a shepherd.  Jesus as a gate.  If we extended our reading we would see Jesus as shepherd in contrast to a hired hand and Jesus as the one who unites multiple folds into one flock.  One has the image of John taking all the note cards he has of sheep-related images and chaining them together, piling them up one after another in his gospel.  That makes for a rich passage, but it can also make things complicated if you are trying to connect them together into a coherent whole.

We can get into  trouble if we push a metaphor too far or in the wrong direction.  For example, shepherds shepherd for the ultimate purpose of shearing or slaughtering.  That is probably not where John intends to take the image–the shepherd as the one who cares for the sheep in order to use them for personal gain.  So what is John suggesting by this choice of image; what is he trying to tell us about Jesus?  Good images (and this is a great one) lend themselves to many interpretations, here are just a few:

• At some deep level we belong to God and God is concerned about us.
• There is something about Jesus to which we instinctively respond when he is  clearly made known to us.
• Jesus knows us individually and cares deeply about each person.
• Jesus shows us the way.  He does not simply send us out as disciples; he models what faithfulness looks like.
• Jesus protects us from that which would destroy us.
• Jesus desires to take us from barren, dead end lives to a place of abundance where we can thrive and find joy.

Discussion Questions

• Which of the themes noted above feels the most like “good news” to you?
• What other interpretations would you add to the images of shepherd and sheep gate?
• This passage is one of a series of “I am” sayings of Jesus.  What is another image which would describe your understanding of Jesus and what he offers us?   Jesus is like…Why?

Activity Suggestion

Shepherd Me, O God (ELW 780) is a hymnic setting of Psalm 23, which accompanies John 10 in the lectionary this week.  It offers an active image of shepherding, of God taking us to an abundant place.  Read the hymn (sing it if you have the musical support) and then imagine what that abundant place would look like for you.  Using colored pencils or crayons draw what that place looks like and then share your picture with a partner or the whole group.

Closing Prayer

Lord, the truth is that I have never seen a shepherd in the flesh; that world seems far away from me.  But I know what it feels like to be vulnerable and lost.  I know how much I long to be more than a face in the crowd and valued in all my weird uniqueness.   I know how hungry I am for purpose and hope.  So be my shepherd and draw me near to you.  Open my ears to hear your call and respond in trust.  Amen.

Dave Delaney, Salem, VA

Warm-up Question

• We live in a time when chatting with strangers is considered dangerous, especially for young people. What is your reaction to a stranger who tries to talk to you? If you found yourself seated on a plane next to a stranger who seemed interested in talking, what would you say to start a conversation?  Or if someone just walked up to you and said hello?  Or what would you say if that stranger wondered why you looked sad (or happy).  Would you tell him or her your story?
• Long walks or runs are some people’s very favorite way to clear the mind; everything just calms down and a sense of ease takes over.  For other people, long walks or runs just provide more opportunity for the brain to run wild, either in good ways or bad.  Some people get their best ideas on a long walk, while other people find that the vacuum just allows old painful memories to fill the space.  Which are you?  What happens to your mind when you’re on a long walk?
• If you have ever experienced an especially painful or discouraging loss – death of a close friend or loved one – what kind of conversations did you have with people right after it happened? Where did you look for comfort?  Were any of those conversations or encounters less than helpful?  What was the most or least helpful thing someone said or did during your time of grief?

Kindness of Strangers

A story about encountering strangers:  A new app called VizEat lets travelers book interesting food experiences in 110 different countries around the world. Two French entrepreneurs developed the program after returning from a series of international vacation trips. They realized that, because they always ate in restaurants while traveling, they weren’t sure that they had experienced the daily authentic cuisine of a country’s people.  VizEat has been called the AirBnB for food because it allows people to visit the homes of strangers who will prepare a meal for them.   Like AirBnB and Uber, the hosts set their own prices or agree on a price and a menu with the guest, and payment is electronic, so that when the guests arrive, the entire group can concentrate just on the meal.  As this story reveals, though, those who have tried this service have found themselves just as interested in the hosts and their homes and stories than in the food.

It is encouraging to realize that there is no shortage of “kindness of strangers” stories, even in unpleasant times.  A recent story concerned a man named Eugene Yoon who, in the words of the story, “felt called to do  … one really big random act of kindness. He didn’t know who he was supposed to help or how, all he knew was that he had to help someone and it had to be life-altering.”

Discussion Questions

• Everyone has encountered a stranger at some point in their life.  But have you ever had a truly extraordinary encounter with a stranger that you did not expect?  These two stories are interesting in that they involve people who actually set out to have new encounters with strangers and find that the experiences are far beyond what they anticipated.
• Are you the kind of person who would try any of these things?  What kind of setting or circumstance would inspire you to go seek out a stranger?

Third Sunday of Easter

Acts 2:14a, 36-41

1 Peter 1:17-23

Luke 24:13-35

(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 gospel writers make assumptions about their readers that may not be as true now as they were when they were written.  Luke presumes that his readers are very aware of the geographical settings in which the stories are placed, which would not be as true for us today.  Events from the Old Testament that had previously occurred in the location where the New Testament event is set are often important to the background of a particular story.

In the case of the Emmaus Road story (even though the location of Emmaus in Jesus’ day is disputed), what takes only one verse to tell – “Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures” – actually reflects a walk of perhaps 6-8 hours, in which there is a lot of time to talk about things.  Moreover, the route from Jerusalem to Emmaus cuts east-to-west through a part of Judea that recalls events from nearly every stage of Israel’s long history, starting with Abraham.  As each site was passed on the road, Jesus could simply point to it and invite the disciples to recall Israel’s many attempts to  live out God’s covenant with them – some of them very faithful and others not at all.  In each case, Jesus could point to the hope that Israel had for God to be present among them, guiding and guarding, as they would strive to live out their call to be a blessing to the world.

As they came toward the end of their journey, Luke says that Jesus “appeared to be going further” – on to the world, perhaps?  But the two disciples persuade him to stay for dinner, in which he breaks bread and thus reveals himself to them.  Here we might notice the same pattern of “word and sacrament” that is part of our Sunday worship service.  In the first part of our service, we hear the scriptures opened up as someone interprets for us the things concerning Jesus.  Then in the latter part of our service, the bread is broken and we are reminded that in this meal of the gathered community is where Jesus is most truly revealed to us.  The hope is always that we too will experience our hearts burning within us as we hear God’s word and that Christ will be made known to us in the breaking of the bread.

Discussion Questions

• The two disciples do not recognize Jesus on their walk, apparently neither his voice nor his appearance.  If they did not recognize him, how much more might we think of Jesus as a stranger.  The long tradition of the Christian faith has taught that Christ comes to us both in ways we can trust and in ways we might not expect.  We believe that Christ is truly present in the bread and wine of Holy Communion, but Matthew 25:31-46 makes it clear that Jesus considers himself to be present also in the lives of those most in need in the world.  How can we, as disciples, grow in the practice of watching for the presence of Jesus in others we meet?  How do we live our lives knowing that we could meet him at any time?
• When the disciples realize that they have had an encounter with Christ, their first instinct is to hurry back to Jerusalem to the apostles.  If you had an encounter with someone who you were sure was Jesus, what would be your first instinct?  Who would be the first person you would go find and tell?
• Cleopas had a companion on the walk whose name we don’t know, although many people have tried to identify him or her through the centuries.  Who is your “go-to” person for conversations about faith, troubles, questions, or even joys and new insights about life and faith?

Activity Suggestions

• Get your group into pairs or threes and send them on a short walk – maybe 10-20 minutes – either around your church building or outside and invite them to share with each other the same kinds of things the two Emmaus Road disciples discussed:  What are their favorite stories of Jesus from the gospels?  What are their hopes for themselves and their church?  How will they begin to look for Jesus in their lives over the next week?
• If your group would benefit from reviewing the long history of ancient Israel’s life with God before Christ, print out strips of paper or cards with Old Testament events or personalities and invite the group to put them back into chronological order on a table or on the floor.  Then see how they might tell the whole story of God working through the people to bring blessing and good news to the world as things led up to the coming of Christ.
• “Their eyes were opened” occurs several places in the Bible, not always for good.  In Genesis 3 it happens when the man and woman disobey God and eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge.  In Isaiah 35 and John 9 and some other places, though, it refers to someone who is literally blind being given new sight.  In still other places (such as Ephesians 1) it is refers figuratively to realizing something for the first time.  If you have a group that learns best via craft or other activity, prepare a paper blindfold for each person.  On the outside, have them write things that people in the world believe about God and Jesus that are false, and on the inside have them write things that are true about God and Jesus.  Conclude that activity with a conversation about the best ways to help others see the love of God in Christ.

Closing Prayer

God of life and resurrection, we are thankful that your Son, our Savior Jesus, has been revealed to us in word and sacrament.  Give us burning hearts when he speaks to us and clear eyes when we receive his body and blood, so that we too may hurry to others and share with them the good news that he lives and meets us on whatever road we travel.  In his holy name we pray, Amen.

Angie Larson, Clive, IA

Warm-up Question

How did you come to believe in Jesus?

Belief, Doubt, Certainty

GlobeServe Ministries in Ghana, West Africa has been expanding at an amazing rate.  The organization has been in existence for twenty years and started out with a passion to go to villages where there are no churches and share with them the love of God.  GlobeServe started in the small town of Adidome and had five people for their first worship service. According to Rev. Samuel Kofi Dunya, the head of GlobeServe, they are now planting a church in rural northern Ghana and in the northern Volta region every four days and there is talk about moving into surrounding Burkina Faso and Togo as well. 

GlobeServe operates on the belief that, as neighboring communities see and hear about the difference a church and Christian leaders are making in one village, they will ask that it be done in their communities too.  They see the change in their neighbors even though they are not sure what is causing it. Rev. Dunya said, “The chiefs come and say to me, we want that for our community too. It’s God who opens the doors. They do not know what it means to have a church and faith in Jesus, but they invite us in and they are changed.” Each week GlobeServe churches have approximately 63,000 worshippers, most of whom had never heard of Jesus before.  “They keep asking and we keep going,” says Rev. Dunya, “it’s amazing what the Spirit can do with the unbeliever.” In Ghana many are coming to faith in Jesus and peace is growing between villages because people  see what God does in the lives of those who believe.

Discussion Questions

• Have you thought about how you came to faith?
• Do you talk to others about your faith? Why or why not? What can get in the way of sharing your faith with others?
• What gets in the way of others seeing the Spirit in you?

Second Sunday of Easter

Acts 2:14a, 22-32

1 Peter 1:3-9

John 20:19-31

(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

Some call this text the “Doubting Thomas” passage because we often focus on Thomas unfavorably. Let’s set the scene in John’s gospel. The resurrected Jesus has appeared to Mary, but not yet to the other disciples. The disciples are hiding out in a locked house, fearful that what happened to their friend Jesus might happen to them.  This makes sense, doesn’t it? It would be scary to have watched your friend die and know that those same people are likely looking for you.  Here in the midst of their fear, Jesus shows up! Locked doors cannot keep him out!  Fear cannot keep him out.  He shows up among the disciples and offers them peace.  Then Jesus shows them his scarred hands and side. Yet, one is not with him, Thomas.

When Thomas returns his friends tell him of the risen Lord. No wonder Thomas struggles to get his head around what they are telling him. It’s not so much that he defiantly doubts.  Like all this friends, he is overcome with grief and fear. Before he can believe he wants the same thing his friends got, to see Jesus’ hands and side. When Jesus arrives the second time he offers Thomas the same thing he offered to the others a week prior.  Indeed, Jesus offers him more, the opportunity to touch his wounds.  But it seems that he does not need to touch after all; the intimate offer from one who loves him causes Thomas to exclaim, “My Lord and my God.”

Belief comes from the Holy Spirit. It moves from disciple to disciple until it spreads across the world. In rural Ghana Jesus is still walking through doors and making himself known by the visible change occurring in community after community.  In our own communities Jesus is still making himself known despite our struggles and doubts, showing how the Holy Spirit comes through our locked doors and our fears to help us.

God’s care is ever as personal as Jesus’ gentle invitation to Thomas.  When you doubt or struggle, Jesus comes, showing the marks of his cross, so that “you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”

Discussion Questions

• How do you experience Jesus in your life?
• Why would you want to have life in Christ?  What does that mean?  How is that different from any other form of “life?”
• What “doors” of fear or doubt could Jesus walk through in your life?

Activity Suggestions

Ask students to write a statement of doubt. Have them list their fears, their questions, their unbeliefs on a paper.  Discuss the following quote alongside of their statements. Anne Lamott – “The opposite of faith is not doubt, it is certainty.”

Closing Prayer

Blessed Savior, Use us to speak hope in your son’s name for the world.  Guide us to be able to show others so that they may want some of the peace that we have through your son.  Lord, we give you our doubts. We give you our fears. We give you the doors and barriers we put up, knowing that you will walk right through them. Thank you for bringing your son through all of them and to us.  In your name we pray, amen.