Prepare

In Romans 14, Paul turns from love, the focus at the end of chapter 13, to welcome. It is a practical explanation of what that love looks like when we are living together with people who believe and practice differently than we do.

The church in Rome is struggling to get along. There are significant differences among the believers, especially around faith practices that affect daily life: what foods they should eat and which days should be treated as holy. Paul refers to some believers as “weak” and others as “strong.” Some scholars believe these differences also carried an ethnoracial component, with the former consisting primarily of Jewish followers of Jesus and the latter primarily of Gentile followers. Whatever the exact circumstances, these are not abstract theological disagreements. They affect how people eat, worship, and live together.

And Paul does not tell them to stop caring about these differences. In fact, he says, “Let all be fully convinced in their own minds” (verse 5). Conviction is not the problem. The problem is what happens when our convictions become a reason to judge, despise, or exclude another person.

Paul calls the church to hold deep conviction alongside deep humility. We may be convinced of what we believe, but our certainty does not make us God. We do not belong to ourselves; we belong to Christ. Whether we eat or do not eat, whether we observe one day or another, we do so for the Lord. Christ alone is Lord, and judgment belongs to God.

So how do the strong and the weak, and all those who hold different convictions, live together? They welcome one another. They hold tightly to what they believe without using those beliefs to push someone else away. Christian community does not require the disappearance of difference. Instead, Paul imagines a community in which conviction is accompanied by humility because all are held together by something greater than themselves: the love of Jesus Christ, Lord of all.

Opening Activity

Tell about a time you met someone who practiced their faith differently than you. This could be another Christian, someone of another faith, or someone with no faith at all. How did you discover your differences? How did you respond? Did it affect your relationship? 

Text Read Aloud

• Romans 14:1-12

Holding Conviction and Practicing Welcome

It’s been 25 years since 9/11. I was in second grade, Mrs. Claxton’s class when an announcement over the PA system told all the teachers to turn on the news. I couldn’t fully understand the magnitude of what happened that day. In the weeks that followed, I remember a strong sense of unity and people rallying together. It was only later that I learned not everyone experienced those weeks that way. Muslim Americans faced suspicion, discrimination, and violence in the wake of the attacks.

Most of you know 9/11 only as history. Yet, the way Americans view Muslims today is not something of the past. Just this week, Pew Research Center reported that 42% of U.S. adults say Muslim Americans have a negative impact on the country. Meanwhile, 59% of Muslim Americans say there is a lot of discrimination against Muslims in the United States.

What would it feel like to walk into school knowing that roughly four out of ten adults believe people who practice your religion are bad for the country you call home?

The church in Rome knew something about the damage judgment can do to a community. In Romans 14, Paul is not talking about people of different religions. He is addressing Christians who hold different convictions and practices. Some eat only vegetables while others eat meat. Some observe particular holy days while others do not.

Paul does not tell them to stop caring about what they believe. In fact, he says, “Let all be fully convinced in their own minds.” Conviction is not the problem, Paul tells them. Your judgement is, because it’s tearing apart the community.

That is where humility comes in. We can hold tightly to what we believe while remembering that our certainty does not make us God. Whether we eat or do not eat, observe a day or do not observe it, Paul says we do so for the Lord. Christ is Lord; we are not.

And humility makes welcome possible. If I do not need to be your judge, I can make room for you even when we disagree. Welcome does not mean pretending our differences do not matter. It means refusing to let those differences become a reason to despise, exclude, or push someone away.

Paul is speaking about relationships among Christians. But that posture should also shape the way Christians approach neighbors who do not share our faith.

You may have a teammate fasting during Ramadan, a Catholic friend who attends Mass every week, a friend who is atheist or agnostic, or a classmate whose family has different beliefs about food, prayer, or holidays. What does your faith ask of you when you believe you are right and the person sitting next to you believes something different?

Be fully convinced of what you believe. Hold that conviction with humility. And let that humility lead you toward welcome: loving, listening to, defending, eating with, learning from, and being a neighbor to another person.

Reflection Questions

1. What differences among believers are causing conflict in the church in Rome?
2. What do you think Paul means in verses 7 and 8, about not living or dying to ourselves?
3. Paul tells believers to be “fully convinced” in what they believe while also warning them not to judge one another. How can conviction and humility exist together?
4. What do you think Christian welcome looks like when we genuinely disagree with someone or believe differently than they do?
5. Think about your school, team, workplace, friend group, or family. Where might you be tempted to judge or distance yourself from someone because of what they believe or practice? What could welcome look like instead?

Closing Activity – Conviction Line

Create an imaginary line across the room, from “strongly agree” on one end to “strongly disagree” on the other. Read each statement below and invite participants to stand somewhere along the line based on what they believe.

• Respecting someone’s beliefs means you should not tell them you disagree.
• Having a strong conviction means trying to convince others that what you believe is true. 
• It is easier to welcome someone when you understand why they believe what they believe.
• You can be completely convinced you are right and still be humble.
• Welcome does not require agreement.

After each statement, invite a few people from different places on the line to explain why they chose their spot. Encourage participants to listen rather than argue or try to change someone’s mind.

• At the end, notice what happened: you held different convictions, listened to one another, and remained together. How might we practice that same kind of humility and welcome beyond this room?

Closing Prayer

Holy God, we give you thanks for all our neighbors: those who believe and act like us, and especially those who don’t. Where our beliefs differ, give us humility. Where judgement threatens our relationship, increase our welcome. Bind us together in the love and grace that only comes from you, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Amen. 

Prepare

Each year in the Easter season, we venture into Acts, a book of the Bible I like to talk about as “Jesus is risen, now what?” And what we learn through Acts, about what it means to be people of faith, is much different than what the world often tells us marks a faithful life. So often we hear on the news or from others in the world that Christians act, dress, and talk a certain way, or in more recent weeks we’ve been told that Christians need a war to follow God. But we don’t find any of those things in Acts. In Acts, we find a community that is desperate for survival, at odds with empire, and who have no idea how they are going to survive.

When this text tells us that everyone gave what they had and nobody was in need, we see them acting much more like a family than how we often think about churches. The people of this early church relied on one another to survive, not because of who they were or where they came from. Rather, because following Christ required it. We know from later on in Acts that this type of community didn’t last very long. However, for a brief time, their gathering as people who believed in the resurrection of Christ allowed them to overcome the challenges that come with being a Christian community. 

We’re talking about Awe today. The text says it was the awe and reverence that the early followers had for Jesus and the signs and wonders the apostles were still performing, that built that community. Which is to say, Christ’s presence built the community, not human strength, kindness, or pleasantries. We don’t know exactly what these signs and wonders were that were spreading the gospel, yet I have to imagine they were a continuation of Jesus’ ministry: sitting with people, loving them despite their failings, calling out cultural wrongs, performing miracles. All signs and wonders that many churches continue to do today, though not often the ones that make the news. 

Opening Exercise

Awe is a feeling of wonder, respect, and admiration mixed with joy and fear in response to something vast and

“Earthset” captured on Flight Day 6 of the Artemis 2 mission to the moon. (Image credit: NASA)

powerful.

Share about a time you remember experiencing awe. Find a photo that attempts to capture either what gave you awe (the mountains) or the feeling (celebrating a sports victory). 

• What commonalities do you find between your photos? 

Note: Nowadays, I ask our youth to use their phones to find a photo, with a device or two on standby in case someone doesn’t have one. In the past, I would have printed a set of “awe” photos for students to pick from.

Read the Text

Acts 2:42-47

Awe and Belonging

When I think about the book of Acts, the first thing I think of is a community that shared everything so that no one was in need.  This verse has stuck with me in a way that many Bible verses don’t. I suspect it’s because it’s so incomprehensible to me. I’ve known incredibly generous people who give their time and money to help others in need. I have even given money and time on my own, but I have never been a part of a community where everybody had their needs filled. I mean that in a physical sense, but this verse could just as easily apply to emotional safety, friendship, hobbies, academic support, and love.

A community where nobody is in need would certainly be awe-inspiring to me. What’s striking is that, for this community in Acts, Awe comes first. We read that the people were filled with awe after Jesus’ resurrection and before a community formed where everyone had what they needed. Awe came first. Awe at what? At the presence of God. 

While Jesus was in heaven, his followers continued his ministry. People were perceptive enough to notice the Jesus-like work in their midst. Then they were bold enough to claim it. This community existed because people were dwelling together with God. Today, we often talk about God, but this wasn’t about opinions, education, or even the Bible. This was a community of people who had experienced God’s grace and trusted one another when they shared their experiences. It was holy in a really simple way.

Awe and Belonging

If we were to continue reading Acts, we know that this community without need does not last. It makes me wonder if it’s the Awe fading away into the background that leads to the dissolution of the community. Being in awe of Jesus, or God’s power, or the Holy Spirit’s guidance, changes what it means to be a person of faith in our world. We are not starting each day looking for a way to serve. We’re simply starting each day asking God to show us awe. We no longer have a to-do list so much as we are tasked with looking for where God shows up in mysterious and powerful ways. Perhaps being a follower of Christ starts with the expectation that God is already doing something wonderful. Our role is to notice it.

Reflection Questions

• What does the text say caused the awe the community experienced? What do we think those wonders and signs were?

• Do you know any extremely generous people? Have you ever asked them why they give so much?

• When you have experienced awe, what did you want to do next?

• Where do we look to find God doing something wonderful out in the world?

Closing Activity 

• Make a list of things, or types of things, that inspire awe. (Ex. Nature, someone sharing something deep, a good dessert)
• Send your group to find something that deserves awe and wonder and bring it back to your space.
• Share with a partner what was awe inspiring about what you brought back.

Closing Prayer

Holy One, you created a world more marvelous than we can even know. Lead us into awe this week, spark wonder in our minds and reverence in our hearts. Guide us into community through a deep appreciation of your majesty. Amen.

Bio

Lindsay Batesmith is the pastor of Rejoice Lutheran Church in Erie, CO. She is consistently in awe of the power of vulnerability to connect us to each other and invite the Holy Spirit to transform lives. When not at Church or her favorite coffee shop, Lindsay is usually playing with her dog, Echo, or watching the Great British Bakeoff with her wife, Tillie.

Contributed by Paul Baglyos, St. Paul, MN

Warm-up Question

 Got glory?  What is glory, and how do you get it?

Number One or Being One?

At one point during the past basketball season, Syracuse University reached no. 1 in the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) ranking for men’s college basketball.  The website for Syracuse University Athletics reported the achievement under the familiar boast, “We’re Number One!”

It feels good to be number one, whether in sports, artistic ability, scholarship, or any other endeavor that requires hard work, discipline and dedication.  Individuals strive to be number one.  So, too, do schools and corporations, groups and nations.  To become not just good but the best at something brings honor and recognition, distinction and acclaim.  In common understanding, this is glory.  Glory sounds like the cheer of a crowd or the applause of an audience; it looks like a trophy or other award.  Glory walks with the confident step of a winner, and savors the rewards of success.

Discussion Questions

• In what ways do people, either individually or collectively, strive to be number one?
• Describe a situation in which you were, or wanted to be, number one.  Why was that important to you? 
• Have you ever experienced glory?  Describe your experience.

 Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, May 16, 2010 (Seventh Sunday of Easter)

 Acts 16:16-34

Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17

John 17:20-26

(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

Jesus prays that his followers “may all be one,” which is different than being “number one.”  His glory consists, not in distinguishing himself from others so as to draw their cheer and applause, but in forging relationships with others so as to share their lives and include them in his life.  This is a different understanding of glory than that which boasts, “We’re number one!”

Jesus seeks to become one with others as he is one with the Father, and to draw people into a new experience of unity with him and with one another.  Sometimes the theological word “atonement” is explained as “at-one-ment,” which points to the relational character of Jesus’ work in the world.  Jesus cultivates at-one-ment with and among people, opening his life to theirs and calling them to do the same with others.  Christian discipleship involves dwelling in unity with Jesus, sharing his unity with the Father and forging unity with other people.  Glory, for Christians, is not about being better than others.  It is not about being the best, but about seeking relationships with others so as to share life together and overcome the divisions which pit people against one another in destructive competition and conflict.

Discussion Questions

• How and why is it often easier and more popular to strive to be “number one” in comparison to others than to be “one” in relationship with others?
• In what ways does the church sometimes seek to be “number one” rather than be “one” within the fellowship of faith and in relationship with the larger world?
• Why does Jesus’ understanding of glory often seem so inglorious?

Activity Suggestions

• Play, as a group, some of the games described in Best New Games, by Dale N. Le Fevre (published 2002; ISBN 0-7360-3685-7).
• Consider others who might be involved in your group but are not.  Develop a plan to include them and on your plan.

Closing Prayer

Jesus, our Savior, teach us to honor in our lives your prayer that we become one with you, those in our community of faith, and others in the world.  Amen

Contributed by Sylvia Alloway
Granada Hills, CA

Warm-up Question: What is your idea of a perfect society? Where would it be located? What would people do there? How would they be governed?

If the San Francisco-based Seasteading Institute has its way, the City by the Bay may become the City out in Ocean. Seasteading, a variation on the word “homesteading,” is the process of building human dwellings on the high seas.

The Institute is currently researching ways to put habitable buildings on supports similar to oil platforms. These structures would be modular, that is, the parts would be interchangeable. They can be taken apart and put back together in different forms, so that change and movement will come easily and the physical environment can be altered to fit the ideas of the people.

Why do the sponsors of this endeavor want to form communities on the ocean? Unlike homesteading, where the idea was simply to gain more space for people to live, seasteading has deeper purpose: to try out new ways of governing and arranging society. Ideas presented by the 600-member organization include legalizing marijuana and owning all artistic works in common. Some group other than the family may be the basic unit of socialization, or alternatively, families may live as separate units and float together for “festivals.”

What does not work will be discarded, and what does work will be recombined into a new system of government. They believe that no specific ideology is necessary and constant change is good.

An engineer working on the project said that a prototype may be ready in as few as three years.

Discussion Questions

• Many attempts have been made to create a utopian, or perfect society (artistic and religious communities, the hippies of the 60s, etc.). Most have failed to form anything close to a perfect, lasting society. Why do they fail? Why do people keep trying?
• How can you tell if a form of government is working or not? What are some signs of a good or a bad system? A just or unjust system?
• Think about a society in which nothing is fixed. Behavior that was acceptable yesterday is not so today and vice versa. Can human beings really live this way? Why or why not?
• Young people often want to get away from old rules and ways of doing things. What are some rules and behavior in your world (school, church, family, friends, job, etc.) that you would like to change? Why? With what would you replace the old ways?
• What are some rules and behavior you would like to change about the world in general?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, May 31, 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.)

• Acts 2:1-21 or Ezekiel 37:1-14
• Psalm 104:24-34, 35b (30)
• Psalm 104:24-35b (30) or Acts 2:1-21
• John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

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

Gospel Reflection

Jesus’ disciples were all strongly grounded in the traditions of Judaism. The Ten Commandments, the sacrificial system for forgiveness of sins, the required feasts and fasts had been the foundation of their lives since birth. But in today’s Gospel, Jesus informs them that a change is coming. Jesus himself is going to return to the Father and in his place he will send the Advocate (also translated as “Comforter” or “Helper”), the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit will lead them into a new way. The NRSV says that he will “prove the world wrong” in its view of sin, righteousness, and judgment. What he teaches will be not a truth, but the truth; the permanent, unchanging plan of God for the salvation of the world. Their Lord will not let them drift around unguided.

At the time, the disciples did not know what Jesus meant. Even after his resurrection, as they obeyed his command to “wait for power from on high,” they still did not know what form the power would take. And then… Flames! Wind! Beautiful flowing speech! There could be no doubt that this was the power Jesus promised, the Advocate who would teach them all things.

The world tells us to depend on ourselves for moral and spiritual guidance. Truth is relative. Absolutes spoil all the fun and feel oppressive. But Jesus says to depend on his Spirit to guide us into truth. In him we will be gloriously empowered, free to live in God’s purpose and love in the world with the promise of eternal life. We are free to give witness to a different truth that is God’s truth… a truth that calls for compassion, justice, humility, change, service, faith, and obedience.

Discussion Questions

• What are some common (not necessarily Christian or religious) views of sin, righteousness, judgment, and the world? In what way does the truth of Christ prove these ideas wrong?
• We know that God has given us his Spirit, but we don’t always “feel” his presence. In what ways can we encourage each other in “dry” or difficult times when we feel alone or abandoned by God?
• Create a list of what you consider to be rules or values that are consistent with your faith in Christ. Do this quickly as individuals and then compare your lists. How are your lists alike and how are they different? Make up situations in which somebody breaks what you as a Christian consider to be “a rule.” How might a community striving to follow Christ (a church, family, youth ministry group, or school) handle the situation? How might those who believe in a fluid and changing morality deal with it?
• How can we work with and live with each other compassionately and with a desire to respect each others differences and opinions while at the same time being concerned about God’s will and desire for us?

Activity Suggestions

Expand on question 3.

In groups or as a class, make up a story about a seasteading community. It might be fun to frame it as science fiction or based on existing and developing technologies. They have decided on a way to rule themselves, for instance, having all things in common. A problem comes up that their system doesn’t cover, for example, is there any such thing as stealing or trespassing in this kind of community? They try to work it out among themselves. Resolve the story in a way that demonstrates the need for the guidance of the Spirit.

Extension Ideas: Have the class cooperate in writing out and illustrating the story by hand; write out and illustrate the story in a computer publishing program; dramatize the story and perform and/or film it.

Whose rules and why?

Talk about what “rules” there are in your congregation or that you believe are rules or values of being a Lutheran Christian. List them. Some jumping off points for discussion:

• Where did the rule or value come from? Who decided that it was important?
• What is the purpose of the rule? (To honor God, protect children, safety, to keep a room neat and tidy, to respect and welcome visitors, to save money, to guide your behavior, etc.) Is it changeable or permanent? Why? How do congregations decide?
• What practices and rules may have come about through history or through decisions made by a congregation based on their neighborhood, community, or cultural context? (e.g., use of religious art in the sanctuary, providing worship and other things in more than one language, allowing coffee in the sanctuary during worship, worship times and styles, etc.)
• What changes would you propose for your congregation? What existing practices, values, or rules you would like to affirm?
• What’s the best way for the congregation, or a group within the congregation, to reflect on whether or not a rule, value, or policy is consistent with what God encourages or expects us to do?

For help in facilitating group discussions that may stir up diverse reactions, opinions, and emotions, check out the ELCA resource “Talking Together as Christians about Tough Social Issues” (PDF).

Suggested Songs

• “Lord of All Hopefulness,” Evangelical Lutheran Worship, #765
• “Praise to the Father (for his loving-kindness),” Lutheran Book of Worship, #517

Closing Prayer

Gracious Father forgive us for seeking our own way when we should be turning to your truth; for believing the inventions of world, instead of finding our way in your Word; for chasing after the changeable and temporary, instead of resting in your eternal Spirit. We thank and praise you for the forgiveness we have received through your beloved son, Jesus. Through the power of the Comforter, remake us in Jesus’ likeness and manner. We pray this is his blessed name, Jesus Christ. Amen.