Opening Activity
Place a large piece of soft cloth on each table for this activity. It’s best if the cloth is blue to match the Advent season. As participants find their seats, invite them to touch the piece of soft cloth. What thoughts, feelings, or memories stirred as they touch it?
Some examples might include:
- a memory of a soft blanket that is special to them
- a thought given to those who have made the fabric
- a feeling of being safe and warm in a coat, etc.
Before reading, invite participants to listen for Jesus’ words about people who wear soft robes.
Read Text Aloud
Leading Softly
This gospel lesson invites us to consider whom we look to for leadership. In this Season of Advent, we await a Messiah whom we already know is Jesus. However, have we ever taken the time to wonder why we see Jesus as our leader? It is not enough to think of Jesus only as our Savior from sin. We must also wonder why we follow him. This is the question John the Baptist sent to Jesus from his prison cell: ‘Are you the one we are waiting for?
To this question Jesus responds:
“… the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with a skin disease are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.” (Matt. 11:5)
Jesus is a true leader because those who suffer, those who are on the margins, and those facing real struggles in their daily lives are being cared for by him. Jesus’ leadership is not limited to the spiritual. It is lived out in tangible, earthly ways. His leading allows humanity to have hope, a new chance at life, and to flourish in the present moment.
In our present moment, there are leaders today whose actions undermine proven medical care, disrupt people’s lives, and push people deeper into poverty. They promise a return to a fabled, great past. They promise to be leaders for all. However, their actions are showing us that they are not what Jesus proves real leadership to be.
Today’s gospel lesson encourages us to turn to Jesus, and to trust only in his leadership. As we do so, we are invited to continue his work of healing those who are sick, giving new chances at life for those who need it, and helping those who are impoverished. We are encouraged to not trust those who live in lavish homes and dress in nice fabric, but rather to trust in Jesus (and those who follow his example of true leadership). As we wait for the Messiah, whom we know already is Jesus, we also wonder why we follow him as our leader.
Our answer is clear: Jesus causes “the blind [to] receive their sight, the lame [to] walk, those with a skin disease [to be] cleansed, the deaf [to] hear, the dead [to be] raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.” (Matt. 11:5, edited)
Ending Activity
- What do you think Jesus meant when he seemed to cast some judgment at those who wear soft robes?
- Think back to what memory, feeling, or thought was first stirred when you touched the soft blue fabric. What might it mean for that thought to influence how we follow Jesus?
- Some examples of this might be:
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- if the memory was of a soft blanket that is special to them, could they work on creating a soft blanket to be gifted to hospitalized children or refugees?
- if the thought that came up was for those who have made the fabric, could they research companies that treat their workers ethically and do some holiday shopping at their stores?
- if the feeling that arose was that of being safe and warm in a coat, could they donate some warm, winter clothes to their local charity?
Remind everyone that we are invited to lead like Jesus, to trust only in his leadership, to lift up leaders who lead like him, and to be leaders ourselves who act like Jesus.
Ending Prayer
Remind all participants that, as followers of our leader Jesus, our leadership means that we make a positive difference in this world. However, as Lutherans we must always remember that our work and leadership is not the end-all-be all. Jesus is, after all, the Messiah.
What might you do in the week ahead as followers of our leader Jesus? A good place to start might be remembering that, no matter what, Jesus is Savior and Leader of all.
Introduce them to the following prayer and encourage them to pray it after they finish each day’s work:
Lord,
it is night.
The night is for stillness.
Let us be still in the presence of God.
It is night after a long day.
What has been done has been done;
what has not been done has not been done;
let it be.
Let our fears of the of the world and of our own lives
rest in you.
The night is quiet.
Let the quietness of your peace enfold us,
all dear to us,
and all who have no peace.
The night heralds the dawn.
Let us look expectantly to a new day,
new joys,
new possibilities.
In your name we pray.
Amen.
Bio
David Larson-Martínez is a consecrated deacon of the Lutheran Diaconal Association and an ordained pastor serving at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, MN. A graduate of Valparaiso University and Luther Seminary, he grew up in Cuernavaca, Mexico and now happily calls the Twin Cities home. David treasures his large cross-border family—his mom, five siblings, and a growing crew of nieces and nephews who live in both Mexico and the United States.
