Faith Lens

Warm-up Question

Have you ever been in an earthquake? Where were you and what happened?

Finger Pointing

At the close of 2014 that was a lot of finger pointing back and forth between North Korea and the United States of America. Conflict between the two nations began at least 70 years ago but the close of 2014 brought a flurry of finger pointing. It began in late November with the hack of Sony Pictures’ computer systems. In the days following, evidence surfaced that the attack originated in North Korea, likely in retaliation to Sony preparing to release a comedic movie called The Interview about assassinating North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. North Korean officials deny their country is responsible but the FBI says North Korea is the culprit.

Hackers next told Sony to stop the “movie of terrorism” and threatened terror attacks against people who see The Interview in theaters. In response major theater chains cancelled plans to show the movie and Sony officially canceled the movie’s release. President Obama criticized Sony for failing to consult the White House in deciding to censor the movie but later applauded when the movie was released on Christmas Day in theaters and online.

Starting Christmas Eve, Sony’s PlayStation Network and Microsoft’s Xbox Live networks experienced multi-day outage via denial-of-service attacks. FBI investigating is where or not North Korea is involved.

On December 22^nd and 28^th North Korea suffered a nationwide internet and 3G mobile phone networks outages. In response North Korea blames the US for engineering the outages and said, “Obama always goes reckless in words and deeds like a monkey in a tropical forest”. US officials have not commented on whether they had a role in the outages and refuse to respond to avoid provoking a response from North Korea.

Discussion Questions

Have you seen the movie The Interview? Why or why not? Is it responsible to release a movie about the assassination of another nation’s current leader? What would your response be if North Korea released a movie about assassinating President Obama?
Which country is to blame in all the finger pointing? Is one or the other more in “the right?”
Should we be afraid of further escalation between the 2 countries – i.e., nuclear attacks?

Baptism of our Lord

Genesis 1:1-5

Acts 19:1-7

Mark 1:4-11

(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

At the beginning of the Gospel of Mark, John the Baptist comes as a messenger with one message: Get ready God is coming. John is like a hand that points to Jesus – the One God sends. John says to anyone who will listen, “the One who is more powerful than I is coming.” John knows who he is and that his job is to finger point to Jesus.

John’s words and appearance were like the prophet Elijah who also finger pointed to God doing something new. Here in Mark’s story John proclaims baptism (washing) and makes it new in making baptism a moment where God’s invitation to repentance and forgiveness happen. John baptizes and then points to Jesus and says “I have baptized you with water… he will baptize with the Holy Spirit.” Jesus baptism will be even better because he will baptize with the Holy Spirit.

Then Jesus is baptized. Jesus sees the heavens ripped apart and hears God say “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” In baptism God finger points to Jesus and comes to earth as a flesh and blood human being. We hear God’s voice in baptism too call us beloved sons and daughters. God finger points to us and gives us new birth in the Holy Spirit to live and love like Jesus.

Discussion Questions

Why was a person like John sent to get people ready for Jesus and not a religious leader or ruler from Rome? Why did so many people respond to John’s message?
Do you think only Jesus saw the dove-like form of the Spirit and the voice of God when he was baptized? What difference does this make?
What difference does baptism make in your daily life? What do you do each day that tells the world everyone is a beloved child of God?

Activity Suggestions

Make a large, finger pointing hand out of cardstock. (Think of the foam “#1” fingers of sports teams). On one side write “points people to Jesus“. On the other side “points people away from Jesus.”

Now as a group write or draw ways that you as individuals, church community and nation point and fail to point the world to Jesus on each side. Brainstorm together what do you do and what do you fail to do to tell the world that everyone is given the new life of Christ?

Closing Prayer

God of the finger pointing, help us to receive the daily gift of baptism in pointing the world to your Son. As North Korea and the USA point fingers, transform our finger pointing into the love and life of turning lives around and knowing you. Thank you for messengers like John the Baptist. Help us to tell and show the world you are here and that the world is loved by you. Amen.

Warm-up Question

When were you ever afraid of the dark?

Let There Be Light

A 31 year-old physicist at MIT, Jeremy England, has been mixing things up a bit in the world of physics and the question of the origin of life, as we know it, here on earth (and perhaps existing elsewhere). The Big Bang followed by primordial ooze giving birth to life is not enough for the young physicist. According to England, there are even more fundamental laws of nature at work. His premise is that where there is energy (as in the form of light) and conditions for heat to be released, the inanimate can become animate. The physics world is divided and still debating his theory. If proven to have merit and accepted it could change how we talk about the origins of life. As England suggests, “You start with a random clump of atoms, and if you shine light on it for long enough, it should not be so surprising that you get a plant.”

Discussion Questions

How does the sun feel on your skin or face?
When do you most like being in the sun?
When have you noticed the life-giving effects of sunlight?
How do you feel during this ‘darker’ time of the year with less hours of sunlight each day?

Second Sunday of Christmas

Jeremiah 31:7-14

Ephesians 1:3-14

John 1:[1-9]10-18

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

Gospel Reflection

The eternal Word of God, Jesus Christ, is what this introduction to John’s Gospel is about. These verses right at the beginning are a philosophical-theological explanation of who Jesus is. God’s word that creates, becomes flesh – a real human being, and is light. Just like the first thing that God creates in Genesis, “let there be light.” And after there’s light, then things can begin to take shape in the midst of the chaotic stuff that was “without form and was void”. A new creation is taking place. A divine word that is a light for humanity has come. “What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (John 1: 3b-5) Light is life. The new light of Jesus brings life to the dark corners of our world and of our daily existence.

The gospel writer, John, says that the darkness did not ‘overcome’ it. The original word in Greek (“katalaben”) can mean “to take hold of,” “seize,” “comprehend,” or “understand.” So this Jesus-light shines in the darkness and the darkness can’t cover him up and make him go away and the darkness can’t get a hold of the Jesus-light. It doesn’t understand it.

Jesus gives life and somehow that is hard to understand. The creator becomes a part of the creation. The same God that says, “let there be light,” comes to the dark corners of the world to shine into the darkness. Wherever the light of Jesus Christ shines, there you will find life. “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God.” (John 1:12). As God’s children, the ones who have received the light, we have the opportunity to point to the same light of Christ as John the Baptist does. Where we see darkness, we can shine the Jesus-light of love to dispel it.

Discussion Questions

Even though we know the light of Jesus Christ, when do you still experience moments of “darkness”?
What are ways the light of Jesus Christ can dispel the “darkness” in our lives and the lives around us?
In what ways can we increase or intensify the light of Jesus?
What would you call darkness in the world?

Activity Suggestions

Candle in the darkness: Take one candle and the participants into a dark place in the church (some room somewhere where light can be kept out). See how one small candle can illumine the whole room. Read the Gospel lesson again.

Closing Prayer

God who is the creative Word, you have so often come to us in the dark moments in our lives. Send the loving light of your son, Jesus Christ, to us now. Enlighten our darkness now and send us out to be your children, children of your divine light. We pray this in the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen

Faith Lens Editor

Faith Lens is not published this week. The next posting will be for Sunday, January 4.

Dennis Sepper, Tacoma, WA

Warm-up Question

Do you think one person can make a difference in the world? Why or why not?

One Person Can Make a Difference

Detroit, Michigan—Every Saturday or Sunday Robby Elmers loads up the family minivan. Since he is only 12 years old, Robby cannot drive so his grandmother does the honors. They drive from their small city outside of Detroit to the center core of Motown. Once there Robby sets up a table filled with hot dogs, potato salad and other treats and begins to serve the homeless of Detroit.

IMG_3478edit

According to the Detroit Free Press there are some 20,000 homeless people living in the Motor City. Some people think Robby is wasting his time and birthday and Christmas money but not Robby, “It makes me feel good to be able to help” he told the Detroit News. While Robby might only be 12 years old, he is giving hope to a group of people that often feels overlooked. “It is amazing that a child so young would be out here shaking hands, talking to everyone and caring,” Shauna Johnson, A Detroit homeless woman told the Detroit News, “Robby is right out there in front.”

Discussion Questions

Do you think one person can make a difference in the world? Why or why not?
Is Robby wasting his time and money? Why or why not?
What is your passion…something you feel God is calling you to do in this world?
Watch this You Tube video, https://www.youtube.com/user/ulprojectsunlight What do you notice about the “new leaders” shown? What else do you see?
Many of you will be headed to Detroit next summer for the ELCA Youth Gathering. Together you will be instruments of hope to a city that is getting back on its feet after some really tough times. Take your passions with you and you will make a difference in the lives of the people of Detroit.

Fourth Sunday of Advent

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

Gospel Reflection

In the Advent season we begin to hear and read some of the classic Christmas Bible stories. One has to listen or read very carefully because over the years, since Christmas is such a huge event and celebration, some embellishments of the stories have crept into the account of John the Baptist and the birth of Jesus. That is not a bad thing, people love the stories and they carry so much meaning that people want to help them along a bit by adding their own contributions. For example, we all assume that when Mary and Joseph traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem that Mary rode on a donkey. It’s a beautiful image which we often see in art work but you can read Luke and Matthew until your eyes turn red and you will find no mentioned of a donkey or any other method of travel. Mary may have well walked along side Joseph!

The same is true with today’s Gospel reading. As you heard or read we really do not know much about Mary from this Gospel Reading. We know that she has found favor with God (1:30) but we are not told why; we know that she was from the small town of Nazareth (1:26) and not from the important city of Jerusalem; and we know from Matthew’s account that Mary was engaged to Joseph but not yet married (Matthew 1:18). That is not a lot to go on but Mary (and Joseph) have a great deal to teach us by example and that is where we turn our attention to next.

First, why did Mary find favor with God? Was it because she was rich or perfect or knew her Old Testament Bible verses well? It certainly doesn’t seem so. What might have caused God to find favor with Mary and caused God to choose her for the privilege of giving birth to Jesus was her faith. The clue to that is given in Luke 1:38. After hearing this incredible news that God chose her to be the mother of Jesus, she responded in faith, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Do we have the kind of faith that allows us to say without hesitation to God, “Let it be with me according to your word”? The Holy Spirit gives us that kind of faith but sometimes we try to make excuses as to why God should choose someone else! The Good News here is that God chooses us out of God’s grace and mercy. As the song “I Am Yours” by Casting Crowns says in addressing God “Not because of who I am but because of what you’ve done, not because of what I’ve done but because of who you are.” We never “earn” God’s call; it comes to us by the Holy Spirit through the grace of God and Jesus. Like Mary all we have to do is stand there and say “Thanks! Yes! Let it be with me according to your word.”

Why did God choose a woman from Nazareth and not from the center of religious and political power Jerusalem? You might say it was to fulfill an Old Testament prophecy but there is more at work here. God’s choice of Mary is all a part of God’s great reversal where God chooses the poor over the wealthy, the weak over the powerful, the humble over the proud, the hungry over the well fed, an unknown person from a small town over a celebrity from Washington D.C. or Hollywood. Read Luke 1:46-55 which is the Psalm Reading for this Sunday. These are revolutionary words. If the Romans had heard Mary singing this song she could have been arrested or worse. But this is the way God works…in ways we do not expect, in ways that go against the stream. Again, the Good News here is take a look around the room and take a look at yourself…not many of us are powerful or a celebrity.

Finally, we are never told the age of Mary but we know that women in the Middle East at that time married young. Most scholars who concern themselves with Mary’s age say she was most likely between thirteen and sixteen years old. That puts her a little bit older than Robby Elmers, around the age of those in the You Tube video above and about the same age as most people who are reading or using this Faith Lens blog! The great prophet Jeremiah tried to use his age as an excuse to get out of the prophetic call (see Jeremiah 1:4-8) but God would have none of it. We are never too young and we are never too old to receive the call of God to service in the world. That’s because the call is not rooted in us. The call is rooted in our baptism where God adopts us as God’s children, brothers and sisters of Jesus and where God bestows on us the power of the Holy Spirit. Mary stands as a shining example in this season of Advent of a person who takes their faith in the Lord seriously and is ready and willing to act on that faith. Standing in that kind of faith in God and Christ one person can make a difference in the community they live and in the world; you and me included!

Discussion Questions

Think about the traditional Christmas creche or painting of Christmas night. No biblical text puts all the elements in the same place, but we usually depict parents, animals, shepherds, and magi gathered around the manger. What is the significance of each of these things for the meaning of the nativity? What does each these elements contribute to our understanding of this event.
Some traditions regard Mary as the model of discipleship. If that is true, what attributes does a disciple have, based on what we know about Mary.

Activity Suggestions

When couples are expecting a baby they often prepare a birth announcement. The birth announcement not only gives us information about the child (sex, length and weight) but sometimes they include some of the parent’s expectations for the child. Pretend for a moment that you are Mary or Joseph, how would you write a birth announcement for Jesus? Be as creative as you can be: make it song (rock, country or rap), a picture, a video, a poem (or Spoken Word), even a tweet. No matter what medium you choose remember to include the revolutionary words and/or ideas in Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55).

For inspiration you might want to take a look at the hymn “Canticle of the Turning”, ELW #723. The hymn was written by Rory Cooney (b. 1952) and is a paraphrase of the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). Cooney wrote the hymn to emphasize the radical nature of Mary’s words particularly how God renders the powerful powerless and raises up the lowly. Even the tune chosen for this hymn reflects the radical nature of the text with its dance-like rhythm and wild flair.

Closing Prayer

Almighty and merciful God, we are not worthy to come before you but instead you come to us in Jesus and you call us to be Christ’s disciples in the world. Through your call of Mary and Joseph you proclaim to us that we are never too young or too old to be your hands and feet in our world today. By the Holy Spirit given to us in baptism, strengthen our faith, calm all our fears, and give us the courage to serve you and our neighbor in lives of service. As your sons and daughters we make a difference in this world on your behalf. To you be all glory and honor now and forever. Amen.

Bob Chell, Sioux Falls, SD

Warm-up Questions

Has a friend ever told you something you knew was true that left you feeling hurt, angry, or sad?
Have you ever told a friend something that left them feeling hurt, angry or sad?
Was it told to hurt or help? How do you know? Did the friendship weaken or end, get stronger or stay much the same? Why or why not?

Telling Painful Truth

The decision of a grand jury not to indict Darren Wilson for the shooting death of Michael Brown has sparked controversy far from Ferguson, MO. Some see this as yet one more example of a crimminal justice system which is apathetic at best–and hostile at worst–to the black community. Others suggest that the whole controversy has been prompted by a rush to judgement before all the fact were known. Officer Brown was simply doing his job, they suggest.

double-thumbs-edit

As the story has spun out it has become clear that it is hard to know the truth with absolute certainty, that “facts” are not nearly as easy to come by as some might think. It is not always easy to know, much less tell, the truth when the history is complex and the present is clouded.

Discussion Questions

Find someone who disagrees with you about the ‘truth’ of what happened in Ferguson and argue the opposite side of what you believe with them. Discuss how you felt. Did your opinion change at all?

What truths should you share with a friend? Some examples: You have something on your face… People are talking about you… Did you know that your Mom/Dad/brother/sister… Why or why not should you tell?

How you decide when to tell a painful truth?

Third Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

John 1:6-8, 19-28

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

Gospel Reflection

People didn’t come out to hear John the Baptist because they liked what he had to say. He talked almost exclusively about repentance and sin. He referred to his congregation as a ‘brood of vipers.’ He dressed like Elijah, an Old Testament prophet and when he attracted crowds he attracted the attention of the religious leaders who questioned his credentials. The people followed him and the religions leaders were suspicious of him for the same reason; he told the truth, John touched peoples need for repentance and forgiveness in a way which allowed people to change.

We know there are things wrong in the world. What happened in Ferguson, Missouri is an example of that. We know, too, there are things wrong in our own lives. Difficult truths we don’t want to face and truths we are unaware of. The people in Bible times are more like us than unlike us. They loved their families, they wanted to be happy, they wanted to please God and do the right thing—and they, too, weren’t always certain what that was.

Undoubtedly, some were simply curious to see what the fuss was about while the person next to them was full of questions of cosmic dimensions: Why is there something rather than nothing? What should I do with my life? People full of doubt, regrets, confusion and more came to hear John for the same reason we gather each week around God’s word and God’s promises. We yearn to hear the word that will cut through the clutter and anxiety and pain of our lives and enable us to make sense of things.

There are times in each of our lives when we can see with utter clarity what is important and what we value. When loved ones die or when relationships crash and burn, our hearts tell us what we really value, what is of real value.

The philosopher Heidegger speaks of those moments when we see deeply into the essence of life as “enabling us to understand our being unto death.” That is a philosophical way of saying we know who we are and what is important. We can see the true value of things. We realize that new phone isn’t as important as family or when someone we love dies, the things that don’t matter—and realize they never did.

I told you that so I could tell you this: Heidegger says this insight into the essence of life cannot be grasped but only revealed. It means we cannot figure things out, that there will always be pain and problems in our world and in our lives; difficult truths to face.

We sometimes live with the illusion that if we can only make it until the end of the semester, it will get better, it will be different. Or, if we only had another chance, we would do things differently. There is a part of us that believes if we are given enough time and enough chances we’ll get it right.

John the Baptist says “STOP!” Turn away from your obsession with yourself. God’s word is breaking into your lives, the living Word of the living God. Telling you you are forgiven. You are loved. You are gifted, valued and treasured.

The next few weeks are weeks of chaos. We have a family tradition at Christmas, perhaps you do too. It’s the family explosion when there are too many people in too small a space for too long a time. Somebody finally gives vent to the tension everyone feels.

If that happens in your home remember John who says, we’ll never get it right, there are no perfect people or perfect presents. There IS a living, loving God who breaks into our lives with words of hope and promise. A promise to be with us as we face our difficult and painful truths.

Discussion Questions

Is there a ‘truth teller’ in your family? When is this useful? When is this useless?
When is the truth helpful, when is it hurtful?
Have you had an experience where you felt the ‘essence of life’ was revealed? Is it a story you like to share or to keep to yourself? Why?

Activity Suggestions

Thank a truth teller in your life who told you a hard or difficult truth because they cared about you?
Google “how to tell a difficult truth.” Are there any useful suggestions? Is there a difficult truth you need to tell?

Closing Prayer

God, thank you for breaking into our world in Christ and breaking into our lives with your Spirit of knowledge and truth. Help us to listen to your word, even when it’s a hard word for us to hear. Give us kind and loving hearts so we speak the truth in ways that encourage and help others. In Jesus name, Amen.

January 11, 2015–Finger Pointing

January 4, 2015–Let There Be Light

No new Faith Lens for 12/28/14

December 21, 2014–One Person Can Make a Difference

December 14, 2014–Telling Painful Truth