Contributed by Jay Gamelin, pastor at Jacob’s Porch, a Lutheran campus mission to The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

Warm-up Question

What are some rituals you do every day when you first get up; is there anything special you may do?  Is there something you do every night before going to sleep?  Where do these rituals come from?

We Shall Live!

When the two women were trapped under the rubble, all was darkness.  The earthquake had flattened their university classroom in Haiti and the five floors above them were now on top of them.  Only the light of one cell phone showed the situation.  One woman had her leg trapped; the other had just a small pocket of space amid the rubble in which to move.  The two women had shared a class and knew each other’s name.  They became more than friends.  They were companions through a terrible ordeal.

For six days they took turns yelling for help.  When they heard voices they knew it was day.  When the voices were gone they assumed it must be night.  They had nothing to drink and just a few crumbs from a cookie to eat.  But the two prayed, sang hymns, talked about boys, and rested when they could.

After six days, one woman said to the other, “We are not going to live.”  The other encouraged her to hang on and have hope.  She began talking about their life ahead.  She spoke of the conversations they would have in a year, remembering this time together.  Suddenly, the world changed.  Light poured in and they were pulled out.  Malnourished, feeble–but alive, they separated on the way to health stations, hoping to see one another again.

One year later, the women talk and reminisce about the horrific time in that small hole in the rubble.  One woman is missing her leg; the other says she has nightmares.  But they laugh when they meet. They still talk about boys.  They remember that hope is what brought them through the valley of the shadow of death.

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever faced need and not able to get what you needed?  If you have, how did this feel?
• If you have not, imagine what it would feel like to see others enjoying great wealth while you were hungry?  What would you do to support your family?  What if you were not able to do so?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, January 9, 2011 (Baptism of Our Lord)

Isaiah 42:1-9

Acts 10:34-43

Matthew 3:13-17

(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

It is confusing: why would Jesus want to be baptized? This Jesus, who has done nothing but live righteously, comes to be baptized, to be “forgiven” of sins.  Clearly John sees this is not the way it should be and tries to stop the event.  But Jesus knows something about this holy moment.  Jesus knows that he is pointing the world to a whole new reality.  Jesus is becoming a model for what the rest of us are to do and be.

When Jesus was baptized, he did this to “fulfill all righteousness.”  Typically this means to be righteous under the law.  Jesus is following a “rule of faith” as a way of showing the rest of us what we are to do.  As Jesus comes up from the water, a voice declares that he is righteous and beloved, a source of pleasure for the speaker.  Jesus is made righteous.  The law is no longer the rule but is fulfilled in baptism.

Often we think this is a voice for Jesus alone, but it expresses as much what God thinks of us as what God thinks of Jesus.  When we are baptized, God is well pleased.  This is done to forgive sins, to be sure, but it makes us family.  We are made righteous.  We are brought from death to life, just as Jesus was brought from death to life.  Baptism binds us to God as Jesus was bound to God.  It shows us that Jesus’ path of suffering and hope is our path also.  Jesus becomes our companion in this journey, as do all who are baptized into God’s family.

The two women in Haiti were baptized by shared suffering into a relationship they had not expected, but it was being bound to one another that brought hope and life.  They lived together through the dark and found one another in the light.  Our baptism is about having a companion in our own darkness and knowing that light is coming.

Discussion Questions

• What is the darkest place you have ever been?  What was it like in the darkness?
• Were you afraid of the dark as a child?  What did you do when you were afraid?  How did this help?
• Think of a dark time in your life.  Who was there to be beside you?  Who was a person that helped bring light to you when you felt the darkness?
• How was this person Jesus for you?  What did this person’s actions tell you about how Jesus is at work in, through, and for you?

Activity Suggestion

“Though I walk in darkness…”

Materials:  Bandanas, cloth, or other way to make blindfolds for half the group.

Break the group into pairs.  Have each person in the pair take a turn being blindfolded and led by their partner. Explain to the group to take this exercise very seriously.  You are to be trusted.  Give the group a destination, perhaps to the sanctuary or other place that they must negotiate their way.  Then the other person is led back to where you began.  You can provide obstacles, or direct them to a tricky route to make the event more or less difficult as desired.

Process:

• Did you trust your partner?  Why or why not?  Were you surprised by anything they did or didn’t do?
• What was helpful about having a partner?  How would this activity be different if you did not have a partner?
• Name some folks in your church who you think are a role model of faith.  What is it about their walk that you admire?  How are they helping you in your walk?  What ways do they help “enlighten” (i.e. teach, show, help, provide an example) you when you feel like you are in the “dark?” (confused, not understanding, or being plain ole’ selfish)

Closing Prayer

God, we are your beloved and with us you are pleased.  Thank you for all you give us to help us in our journey, especially the people who join us in baptism to be your children.  Thank you for our role model, Jesus, who shows us the way.  Thank you for the role models in our friends and church members who lighten the path.  Hear us lift these role models up to you, aloud and in our hearts…. (allow time for names to be spoken or prayed for silently).  Thank you for these partners in hope and light.  We pray this in the name of our savior, Jesus.  AMEN.

Contributed by Jose Valenzuela, Alleluia Lutheran Church, Phoenix, AZ

Warm-up Question

What are some of the challenges you face in being both a follower and leader?

Rooted In Baptism

Some fear that our neighbor to the south, Mexico, is spiraling into a civil war rooted in the drug trade.  Since 2006, Mexican president Felipe Calderon has declared war on the drug war in the country, which has, in turn, fueled a bloody war among the different Mexican drug cartels.  As one cartel is dismantled, several others battle each other for control in the power vacuum.  In September 2009 experts estimated that over 13,000 people had been murdered in Mexico due to drug related activity alone.  According to US crime rates, there were approximately 16,000 murders in US in 2008 of all varieties.  Last week cartels openly attacked Mexican army posts along the border.

As the violence taking place in Mexico spills over into the United States there has been an increase in kidnappings, weapons trafficking, and murders related to the drug war in Mexico.  Making the drug war even more problematic is the fact that most of the drugs produced in Mexico are shipped to the United States to feed our nation’s drug habit.  In addition, there seems to be a limitless number of desperate Mexicans seeking a quick way out of poverty.  The tempting lure of money in the drug trade seems to bring in more and more members to the powerful cartels. 

As Mexico continues its war on drugs, many are becoming fearful and pessimistic that this war can actually be won.  A growing number of people in Mexico and the US are considering calling the Mexican war on drugs a failure and going back to the drawing board.  Some experts have even suggested that if a new strategy is not crafted soon, Mexico runs the risk of becoming a failed state.

Source:  http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/mexico/drug_trafficking/index.html

Discussion Questions

• What should the United States’ role be in the war on drugs in Mexico?
• What responsibility, if any, does the United States’ have in the drug war in Mexico? Why?
• Does our country have a drug problem?  If so, whose problem is it?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, April 18, 2010 (Third Sunday of Easter)

Acts 9:1-6 [7-20]

Revelation 5:11-14

John 21:1-19

(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 C at Lectionary Readings.)

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

Gospel Reflection

I grew up in Arizona.  After I graduated from high school I spent the better part of 15 years moving around the country going to colleges, getting married, starting my career, and starting a family.  In 2002 I was living in Brooklyn, NY, serving a parish as a Youth Minister, when I started to hear the calling to come home.  During the summer of 2002 my family and I moved back to Arizona to be closer to family.  Mostly I wanted to be closer to my grandparents as their health declined. 

Three weeks after I moved back to Arizona, my grandmother suffered a massive stroke. Three weeks after that she suffered a second “big one” and she died.  A few days after her funeral, I had fallen asleep in my recliner while watching TV late at night.  I woke to the sound of footsteps near my bedroom and looked to see my grandmother standing in the doorway to my bedroom.  She walked out of the room and simply said to me, “Mijo, go to bed and rest. It’ll be fine.  Just rest.”  I got up, went to bed and wept.

My grandparents were born and raised in Mexico.  My grandmother came to Arizona as a child, but she always considered herself to be Mexican.  When she became an American citizen, she fully embraced the America life, but she never forgot where she came from.  Her life was devoted to her family. At the time of her death, our family understood what we stood for because of her.

As Jesus drew his ministry here on earth to a close, his final interactions with his disciples were intended to communicate what he expects from his followers.  Quite simply, his followers are expected to lead by Christ’s example. I find it interesting that Jesus meets the disciples where their lives together started, at their roots. 

Many of us find it difficult to come to terms with our roots.  I know that as a second generation Mexican-American, part of my identity resides in Mexico, even though I’ve never resided there. And a part of my identity resides in this country, even though I have been regarded by many in my daily life and in my Church as not being American enough.  So I often struggle with the question: Whom shall I follow?

The way I reconcile it all comes down to baptism.  Through my baptism I am a child of God. In the sacrament of baptism I receive many acts of grace from God.  At the same time God has very high expectations of God’s family.  Spending time in community, in prayer, in scripture, working for justice and peace for all of humanity—these are the things that God expects.  So how will I do this?  How will I get all this done? 

I will follow you, Lord…

Discussion Questions

• Describe a time in your life where you felt very lost and were looking for something or someone to grab on to. 
• How does understanding or maybe not understanding your roots influence your relationship with God?
• What does it mean to “follow Jesus”?

Activity Suggestion

Make a family tree that goes back to your great grandparents.

Closing Prayer

Holy and mighty God, you have filled us to the brim with life and goodness.  You have given us the gift of community and the gift of feelings.  Thank you.  In the midst of our searching and finding, may we find glimmers of you.  Watch over us, lead us, direct us, help us when were lost and keep us humble when we feel found.  And help us to be mindful of the many in this world and community who are still searching.  May your good news be proclaimed with love, dignity and respect.

Contributed by Claudia Bergmann, Eisleben, Germany

 

Warm-up Question

What does being in an earthquake feel like?

 
Awaiting the Big One

“Did you feel it?” That is the question everyone asks whenever the news in California reports a small earthquake. Most California quakes do not do any visible damage, and only a small percentage are actually felt or heard by the people living in the region. But seismologists predict that there is a 63 percent chance of a strong and destructive earthquake within the next 30 years in the area of San Francisco. Taking all of California together, the chances for what’s called “the Big One” are 99.7 percent.

 

California will probably experience a strong earthquake in the future because of movement in the earth’s crust. The Pacific and the North American Plates meet there and grind against each other for hundreds of miles. This is even visible to the naked eye and is called the San Andreas Fault. The movement of the earth’s crust slowly builds up pressure and energy, which is, at some point, released in an earthquake. On April 18, 1906, such a pressure release killed 3000 people in San Francisco and destroyed large areas of the city.  Seismologists from the University of California in Berkley have found that the earth, although solid on the surface, reacts to the movements of sun and moon, just as water does. These mini-tides can be recorded as tremors which make areas like the San Andreas Fault move. Scientists write in the current issue of the magazine Nature (December 2009) that such small tremors do not cause big earthquakes but increase the strength of the movements happening in the San Andreas fault.

 

Did you feel it? Californians hope that this question will always be answered with “no”. But chances are that one day soon an earthquake and its aftermath cannot be missed. Learning more about how earthquakes originate and what makes them stronger might help us take better precautions. Unlike other animals, which sometimes sense impending earthquakes better than humans, we have to rely on scientific data to have an idea when one might be imminent.

 

Discussion Questions

1. Do you live in an area where earthquakes are likely? If so, do you ever talk or think about measures which you and your family can take to protect yourself from the effects of an earthquake? If not, would you worry if your parents wanted to move the family to an area where earthquakes are likely?

2. Have you ever experienced an earthquake or another natural catastrophe? Could you sense it coming? What did it feel like?

3. Some people experience pain when the weather changes or say that they can “smell” coming rain. Are you able to predict such changes? If not, do you think that some people are actually able to do it?

 

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, January 10, 2010 (Baptism of our Lord)

(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.

Isaiah 43:1-7

Acts 8:14-17

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

 

Bible Reflection

The story we hear today from the Gospel of Luke is one that describes an early part of Jesus’ life. Luke has portrayed the pregnancy of Mary and the birth of Jesus and has continued with the events in the temple when Jesus was just 12 years old. We now meet a new character. John the Baptist, whose mother visited Jesus’ mother when they were both pregnant, begins to baptize people in the wilderness. People flock to John and some even wonder whether he is the long-expected Messiah. But John shatters these hopes and points to the Messiah coming after him. John was not much liked by the government. He was put in prison and later killed. But, before his life came to an end, one of the people he baptizes is Jesus of Nazareth.

 

Something amazing happens at that particular baptism. Imagine what it must have been like for Jesus. As an adult, he decides to receive the baptism by John, which is supposed to free from sins. He steps down to the river or creek, feeling rocks and sand beneath his worn shoes. He feels both John’s strong hands as the Baptist dunks him into the water and a sense of trust that John will lift him back out. He feels the water—cold and refreshing—cleansing his body and also, in a way, his mind. Then, he sees the heaven open. He sees a dove, the Holy Spirit, coming down towards him.  Maybe he feels and hears the flapping of her wings. Jesus  hears God speaking, telling him that he is the  beloved son with whom God is well pleased. Feeling the water, touching it, being touched by John’s hands, seeing the heavens, hearing God’s voice – Jesus’ baptism addresses most of his senses and, because of it, envelopes him entirely. Unfortunately, Luke does not tell us what it is like for Jesus to hear God and to see the Holy Spirit at his baptism. But he records the effect that this sense-filling event has on Jesus:  right after the baptism, Jesus begins his work.

 

When the early church began to baptize people into a Christian life, they modeled their practices after the story of Jesus being baptized by John. Of course, there were proclamations of what baptism means, that it is an act of repentance and causes the forgiveness of sins. But more than is often the case in modern churches, baptisms in the early church also addressed the senses of the baptismal candidates. Days of fasting prepared them for their baptism. Several times before and during the baptismal ceremony, the baptismal candidates were anointed with oil. In what was called the “ephphata ceremony”, a mixture of dirt and spittle was put upon their ears and nose to symbolize the opening of ears in Mark 7:33-34. And when the actual baptism happened, a lot of water was used so that the baptismal candidates could be fully immersed. Baptism back then could be truly felt, truly seen, truly heard. It could be experienced with most of the  senses.

 

In Luther’s day the church had already moved away from some of these more sensual experiences of baptism. The church performed many remaining actions in almost magical ways, as if baptism was not valid unless all of these rituals were performed. While Luther tried to rid the church of some of the more magical looking rituals, he strongly felt that the sensual aspects of baptism should remain. In his early writings about baptism, he even demanded that baptism should be by immersion to symbolize that our old sinful self is drowned and our new baptized self is resurrected. Luther asserted that baptism should be experienced with all our senses, just as God wants to be in our minds, spirits, and body – in all of what makes us human. 

 

Discussion Questions

1. Are there experiences in life where the senses of smelling, tasting, and feeling might enhance your perception or help you remember? Do you have an early childhood memory which is connected to one of these senses?

2. What senses (hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, and feeling) do we use in worship and at what parts in the liturgy?

3. Which do you prefer, a worship service where the pastor speaks and the people listen or a worship service where all or most of our human senses are addressed? Why?

4. What are, in your opinion, the pros and cons of worship that addresses our senses?

5. Have you experienced worship in a congregation other than your own? If so, did that service address the human senses more or less than is done in your church?

 

Activity Suggestions

1. Jesus and the human senses.

Split your group in four small groups and assign each of them one Gospel. Ask your groups to find stories where Jesus not only speaks to the people but addresses their other senses. Share these stories in the large group and talk about what Jesus accomplishes when he helps people to understand his message by letting them smell, taste, feel, or see.

 

2. Making people understand.

Read the healing story in Mark 7:32-37. Talk about the way Jesus addresses the human senses there and what effect that has on the bystanders watching.

 

3. Heightening the senses in worship.

If using our senses helps us experience things on a deeper level and helps us remember, why don’t we use our senses more in worship? Think about the way that worship in your congregation could be more sense-oriented. Ask your pastor how he/she plans worship services with the use of our senses in mind.

 

4. Using our senses.

Here are some suggestions for activities where your youth can try their senses. If you have a small group, let everyone try a few samples. If you have a larger group, split them up so that everybody has a chance to experience this exercise. If you make it a competition, you might have a prize for the winner(s).

 

a) Smelling: Prepare samples of distinctive smelling things such as communion wine, herbs, flowers, incense and other in containers that are all the same size and are closed with a lid. Then, see who can identify of an object by using only the sense of smell (you need to cover participants’ eyes and have someone else present them with the opened container).

 

b) Tasting: You can also have a taste test using foods which people try with their eyes covered. In that case, make sure to choose foods which everybody likes and tolerates.

 

c) Feeling: Have people feel small objects – again, with their eyes covered – and name what they should represent. Cookie cutters or wooden toy animals work well.

 

d) Hearing: Play the beginnings of famous pop songs (or even hymns) until the first person can name the title. Ask your group to listen to half of them with their eyes open and to the other half with their eyes closed. Ask whether it was easier to guess when they only used their sense of hearing rather than their senses of hearing and seeing.

 

Closing Prayer

Almighty God, you want to be close to us and be with us in our minds, spirits and bodies. Help us to open our ears so that we can hear your word. Help us to open our eyes so that we can see your marvelous deeds. Help us to open our open our mouths and noses so that we can taste and smell your wonderful gifts of creation with renewed wonder. Help us to open our hands so that we can feel the hands of our brothers and sisters in ours. Amen.

Contributed by Scott A. Moore

  

Warm-up Question

When have you ever helped someone who was “stuck?”

 

Preparing a Way for Spirit

 

The National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) along with Jet Propulsion Laboratories (JPL) and some partners from other countries around the world have been working diligently to find a way out for a stuck Mars rover named Spirit. Spirit has been stuck for over six months now in an area where the ground is made up of very fine, soft sand. The six wheels (one of them has not been working properly for quite a while now) cannot seem to get the traction needed to move forward in any significant way. NASA is not giving up on Spirit, which along with its twin, Opportunity, has continued to function well for five years longer than the originally planned mission of three months. Teams here on earth are working with sample rovers in artificially created environments trying to recreate the actual conditions in order to find the perfect solution…to find a way out. Some of the attempts range from trying various wheel directions and speeds, to having Spirit try to dig itself out with its robotic arms. Just before the Thanksgiving Day weekend, Spirit was commanded to move its wheels forward. NASA indicated that the rover completed a spin which should have equaled a total of 13 feet. The rover actually only moved 0.2 inches forward, 0.1 inches to the left, and 0.1 inches further down into the sand.

To follow the story   http://marsrovers.nasa.gov/home/index.html

• Is it worth the time and effort for NASA to get Spirit unstuck?
• When should someone call it quits and move on?
• Have you ever wanted to help someone else get “unstuck?” If you tried to do something, how did that go?
• What kinds of situations frustrate you the most?
• When have you been “stuck” in a situation where someone else kept trying to help you?
• Where in your life, in your congregation’s life, could you use a little “push” to move forward?
• Who are the people in your life, who are usually able to help you move forward?
• How are they able to help you best?

 

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, December 6, 2009 (Second Sunday of Advent)

(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.

• Malachi 3:1-4
• Luke 1:68-79 (78)
• Philippians 1:3-11
• Luke 3:1-6

 

Gospel Reflection

In the sandy Judean desert, a voice communicates a message of action. The word of God comes to John, son of Zechariah and cousin of a man named Jesus of Nazareth. John is called to go and preach a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” The voice of the prophet Isaiah is quoted as the guiding principle of what John is doing. He is preparing the way of the Lord. He is making the Lord’s paths straight. Valleys filled, mountains and hills brought low. Crooked made straight and rough made smooth. He is eliminating every possible barrier between the Lord and the world. 

 A “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” This seems to be the method to remove every barrier. Repentance seems to be the manner of preparing the way of the Lord. Repentance often sounds to us like simply saying sorry. There is certainly an emotional part to repentance but it is much, much more than that. Repentance in the New Testament is based on a word which means “to change one’s mind.” Repentance is seeing things in a new way, turning towards that new way, and living in that new way.  John’s baptism of repentance is a calling, and a gift of God. It is a call to be washed and set on a new path. It is a call to conversion. This call to repentance is a setting of our thoughts and actions in the Lord’s direction. Not only are we to be turned toward him, but we are to be turned to face the same direction our Lord faces.

Repentance means having our minds turned away from ourselves and our often selfish ways and to be shaped by God’s mind. It is seeing the world with God’s eyes. Perceiving and acting in love for the world and for our neighbor.

Being turned in repentance seems like an easy task. John called for a once and for all repentance. Our reality is often much different than that. We are often called by the voice of God to turn in the right direction, but find ourselves stuck and only able to move in tiny increments.  Or, we try so hard to turn ourselves that we overshoot our goal. God is very patient with us. Again and again God calls us to the way. A way of love, a way of sacrifice, a way of Christ.

Our repentance—never perfect, and never permanent—locates us in the central drama of Advent:  preparing the way of the Lord. In the world, and in our real lives. To that we can only say—“Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

• What does God’s “way” look like?
• When are you most comfortable living in that “way?”
• When have you had real difficulties seeing things with a godly mind?
• When have you been successful at getting temporarily unstuck?
• What helps you in your own “changing of your mind” or repentance?
• What makes it difficult for you?
• Who helps you to repent?

 

Activities

Preparing the Way of the Lord for Others
Here is a list of ideas your group might try in order to prepare the way of the Lord for others:

1. Write and deliver invitations for Christmas worship to people you know are not part of a faith community.
2. Think about the things in your congregational community which might create barriers between the world and the Lord.  Take some action to “smooth” them out!
3. How can you visually help members of your congregation to prepare as they come to worship (sidewalk chalk sayings/Bible verses that address people as they come to church, posters and signs that do the same thing, maybe even a play on various traffic signs: one way, yield, stop…around various locations in church like the baptismal font, altar, pulpit, etc.)?
4. Can your group serve as the greeters in worship, helping worshipers “get ready?”
5. Could you literally “roll out the red carpet” (a saying which communicates a generous and honor-filled welcome) in your worship space, or outside your church as a symbol of the way we walk toward God.  Or, roll it out from worship into the world?

 

Preparing the Way of the Lord for Ourselves
Perhaps your group could write some prayers for yourselves and for other individuals in the congregation to pray at home as a preparation for worship. These could be thematic, scriptural, or guided by the church year. See Lutheran Book of Worship (LBW) and Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW) for examples.

 

Closing Prayer

God of mercy, God of strength. We have so often walked a different path than the one you want us to walk. We need your guidance. Turn our minds to be like yours. Guide our steps. Lead us by your grace. We pray in our Lord Jesus’ name. Amen

Contributed by Pastor Julie A. Kanarr
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
Port Angeles, WA

Warm-up Question: Where would you look for signs of God’s presence?

Paul Grayhek, a resident of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, decided that a giant rock he discovered in his backyard after a small landslide looked like the hand of God. Grayhek, age 52, had lost his previous job and was praying for a sense of direction in his life when discovered the rock on March 8, 2009. Grayhek determined that the rock’s appearance and proximity to his house was a direct sign from God that he should follow his dream of becoming a counselor for troubled youth. “I prayed between licking my wounds and looking for a job,” he reported. “We rarely get rockfalls and this formation is twenty feet from my house. It’s definitely a symbol of the hand of God in my life.”

Grayhek recently put the rock formation on eBay, intending to auction it off and use the money to help pay for his education. His idea was that the massive nine foot by four foot “hand of God” rock formation would actually remain in his yard, and that the buyer would be purchasing the “complete and exclusive rights” (including literary and movie rights) to the rock.

Grayhek’s rock formation did garner a lot of attention, and at one point, his eBay listing had over 5,000 “hits” in an hour. Grayhek was pleased by all the publicity “his hand of God” rock received. He was interviewed by multiple radio and newspaper reporters from around the world and received over 800 e-mails. He attributed the interest in his “hand of God” rock to a deep spiritual hunger in people’s lives. “There were days when I didn’t get a lot of sleep,” Grayhek said. “I answered 95 percent of all those messages. I think it touched a lot of people.”

Grayhek’s rock attracted a high bid of more than $16,800. But as all three of the top bidders backed out, Grayhek realized that he was being “played.” Grayhek noted that he wasn’t very sophisticated when it comes to on-line auctions, and admitted that he had “muddled” the auction. Still, he was unfazed.

Although nobody actually ended up buying the rights to his rock, Grayhek did grant free permission for a picture of it to appear in a book that Harry Charon is writing. Charon’s book will also feature a grilled cheese sandwich bearing a possible image of the Virgin Mary, a tree trunk that might have an imprint of Jesus, and a picture from the Hubble Space Telescope that some people believe shows an image of Christ. “I don’t know if it (the rock formation) would mean anything to me, but that’s not the issue,” explained Choron. “The issue is what it means to the person who discovered it. I think in general people just want to feel they’re connected somehow, that miracles do occur, and it’s something that supports their faith.”

As for Grayhek, he has decided that the purpose of his rock was to help him spread the word of God. “I’m convinced now that’s why the hand showed up in my backyard” he explained. “It wasn’t just a symbol for me to strengthen my faith; I was supposed to share it.” He still intends to finish his master’s degree in social work and become a counselor for troubled youth, but hasn’t yet figured out where he will get the $10,000 he needs to pay for his schooling next year. “I have no idea,” he said. “It’s just called faith and trust. I’m surprisingly calm about it.”

For more information and to see a picture of the rock, check out: www.2news.tv/news/43640977.html

• What thoughts and emotions do you have in reaction to Paul Grayhek’s ideas about his rock? (For instance, are you sympathetic toward him? Cynical? Skeptical? Amused?)
• Do you think that God communicates with people through personal, private signs? Why or why not? Is it possible for something to be an answer to prayer without being a direct sign from God? Why or why not?
• How would you determine whether or not something is a sign from God? What criteria would you use? What might happen if someone falsely concluded that a particular event or object was a sign from God?
• Do you think that living with an expectation that one might find signs of God in ordinary objects is supportive of faith in God? Or is it a hindrance to genuine faith?
• Think about a time in your life when you have had an important decision to make (or imagine a time when you may have to make such a decision in the future). Do you tend to make those kinds of decisions on your own or in consultation with others? Where do you turn for guidance? What role does prayer play for you in this? How might you seek to discern God’s will for you at such a time? Where do you see the “hand of God” at work in your life?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, June 7, 2009.
(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.)

• Isaiah 6:1-8
• Psalm 29 (2)
• Romans 8:12-17
• John 3:1-17

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

Gospel Reflection

The readings for today (Holy Trinity Sunday) invite us to consider how God chooses to become known to us. In the Gospel, we hear the story of Nicodemus who comes to Jesus at night to ask him questions about God and faith. Nicodemus approaches Jesus with a mixture of curiosity and skepticism. On the one hand, Nicodemus recognizes that the “signs” that Jesus has been performing are an indicator that Jesus is a “teacher who has come from God” (verse 2), but on the other hand, he struggles with what Jesus has been teaching because it does not fit in with his existing understanding of God and salvation. Nicodemus’ conversation with Jesus is filled with misunderstanding and ambiguity. The confusion arises because the Greek word “anothen” (verse 3 — pronounced aah-no-thin) means both “from above” and “again.” Nicodemus wonders how it is possible for a person to be literally born “again” (anothen) while Jesus describes how one must be born “from above” (anothen) (verse 7).

Nicodemus seeks signs of God’s hand in the world, but he has difficulty recognizing that the sign of God’s presence is fully embodied in Jesus, “the Word made flesh and living among us” (see John 1:14). As his conversation with Jesus unfolds, he becomes increasingly confused (compare verse 2 with verse 9). By the end of this passage, Nicodemus has disappeared quietly back into the night. However, Nicodemus does appear at two other points in John’s gospel. He challenges the other Pharisees who want to judge Jesus without giving him a fair hearing (John 7:50-51). He also accompanies Joseph of Arimathea to seek Pilate’s permission to remove Jesus’ body from the cross, brings the spices to prepare his body for a proper burial (John 19:38-42). Nicodemus is on a journey that finally leads him toward faith.

Like Nicodemus, we also seek signs of God’s hands, and like him, we may struggle with confusion and misunderstanding and look for those signs in the wrong places. The conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus reminds us that signs of God’s work don’t come to us as private messages or hidden in ordinary objects. God’s love is for the whole world, shown through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Jesus names the cross as the sign of God’s love for the world. In John’s Gospel, the cross is portrayed as the instrument of God’s redeeming love. Jesus is the one who demonstrates the greatest love by laying down his life for his friends (see John 15:13). By being lifted up on the cross, Jesus draws all people to himself. This sign of death becomes a symbol of life and salvation. The hand of God is at work in the cross of Jesus to bring redemption and life for all.

Discussion Questions

• Compare and contrast the experiences of Nicodemus in the Gospel with the experience of Paul Grayhek (from the “hand of God” rock news story). What was each of them seeking? In what ways were each of them disappointed? In what ways were each of them transformed?
• Imagine that Jesus, Nicodemus, and Paul Grayhek from the news story were in a conversation together. What do you think they would say to each other? What questions would they ask one another? Where would each of them see the hands of God? Invite three persons from your group to “role-play” that conversation.
• What do you think about when you look at a cross? How, where, and when do you (and/or your congregation) use the sign of the cross (either as a physical object or as a gesture)? What meaning does that carry for you?
• In what ways is Jesus a sign of God’s love for the world? Where might you look for signs of that love today? In what ways do you experience God’s presence through worship? In what ways does God’s love for you shape how you live your life?

Activity Suggestion

Signs of God; Signs of faith

Name as many signs and symbols of faith as you can that are in your church, or that you are familiar with.

• What are they and what do they represent?
• Do you know the history of some of them? (cross, water, sea shell, fish, candles and light, liturgical colors, loaf of bread, etc.)
• Considering today’s world and your generation, what new symbols of faith and God can you imagine or create that would communicate our Christian faith with others? God’s love for all people everywhere? If you have a special youth meeting space or room, use some of the new symbols of faith to “decorate” your space and as springboards to discussion. (Keep any existing or traditional symbols or signs up as well.)

Closing Prayer

Dear God, we give you thanks that your love and forgiveness is for all people everywhere. Help us to never forget your presence in our lives and that you call us to do your good work – to be your hands – in the world. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.