Contributed by Dennis Sepper, University Pastor, Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA

Warm-up Question

How many friends have you checked in on today by text, Facebook or cell phone?

An Unexpected Message…

A couple of months ago and email showed up in my inbox.  When I opened the email, the message read, “Are you the Pastor Dennis Sepper who lived in Cincinnati?”  It was from the former organist of the church I served there.  I have to admit that it felt good to know someone was thinking of me and searching for me on the web.  That unexpected email led to a renewed connection with someone I cared about but our paths just led to different places and we lost touch.

About a month ago the student congregation at my school received a postcard from a group called the Gideons (these are the folks who leave Bibles in hotels and who may handout small New Testaments at your school or church).  The postcard stated that the local Gideon chapter prayed for our church’s mission and ministry by name and they wished us well.  The students of the congregation were touched to think that the Gideons would care enough that they would remember them by name in prayer.

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever received a message or a Facebook friend request from someone that you didn’t expect?  How did it make you feel?
• Has anyone told you that they prayed for you by name?  If so, how does knowing that fact affect your day or your life?  Does it give you more energy?  Does it make you more hopeful?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, June 5, 2011 (Seventh Sunday of Easter)

Acts 1:6-14

1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11

John 17:1-11

(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

As you may have noticed, our Gospel this week is really a prayer.  It is a prayer spoken by Jesus, directed to God, right after Jesus had eaten this last meal with the disciples and right before the passion and crucifixion of Jesus begins.  Also, you may have noted that Jesus uses the word “glory” quite a few times in this prayer.  You should know that in the Gospel John whenever the “glory” of Jesus is mentioned it is a reference not only to the resurrection of Jesus and his ascension to heaven, but it also includes Jesus’ suffering and death.  In John’s view the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension is how Jesus is glorified and how Jesus gives glory to God.  There is no way our experience can be the same as Jesus’ but we know what it means when, to experience a success, we have to work hard to achieve it.  Sometimes we have to “suffer” for a greater good.  As Christians we are a resurrection people but we walk the way of the cross.

In this final prayer, Jesus’ character is revealed and it is consistent with what he has shown throughout his life.  Jesus prays that God be glorified (verses 1-6), he then moves on to pray for the disciples (verses 6-19) and then Jesus prays for us! (See verses 20-27 which are not a part of our text this week but it’s only fair to look at the whole prayer of Jesus.)

What Jesus asks for in this prayer is that the close relationship that God and Jesus have that this closeness might now include the disciples and the Church throughout the world and throughout the centuries.  What is more, Jesus wants us to experience the love that God has for Jesus and Jesus has for us and Jesus asks God to

Prayer is a truly amazing thing.  God has given us the privilege to talk to God directly anytime we want or need to pray.  We don’t have to address God with special words, we don’t have to pray through a pastor or anyone else and there are no special rituals we have to perform to get God’s attention.  Our prayer can be as simple as saying “God, I need you.”  Prayer is one of the ways we stay connected to God.  Like texting or using Facebook to stay connected to our friends, prayer is how we stay connected to God.

Think about this: Jesus knows he is headed to his suffering and death and yet Jesus takes the time to pray for his disciples, who will deny and abandon him, and Jesus takes the time to pray for us.  Like that person who sent me an email or like the Gideon folks praying for the students at my school, it is a little bit of unexpected grace that Jesus prays for us that we might experience the love of God and Jesus and share that love with others!

Discussion Questions

• How do you view prayer?  Do you see it as a privilege or as an obligation?  Why do you feel that way?  Do you see your personal prayer as an informal conversation with God or as a formal thing?
• What do you think about the fact that just before his suffering and death Jesus prayed for his disciples and us?
• Do you pray often or only when you need something from God?
• If prayer is difficult, what would make prayer easier for you?

Activity Suggestions

Think of someone who might be surprised to hear from you.  It could be a grandparent or a distant relative or a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while.  Then write a note, ask to be their friend on Facebook, or text them and let them know you are thinking about them.  Better yet, let them know that you have prayed for them.  If that unexpected grace feels good for you, imagine how it will make them feel.

Closing Prayer

Abba, our heavenly Father, you are indeed worthy of our praise and worship.  We thank you for Jesus who was so loving that he prayed for us before his suffering and death.  By your Holy Spirit help us to glorify you in word and deed as we walk the way of the cross following Jesus.  Help us to love one another, along with the stranger, that all the world might know your love.  To you be the glory and the honor forever and ever.  Amen.

Contributed by Seth Moland-Kovash, All Saints Lutheran Church, Palatine, IL

Warm-up Question

Have you ever spoken up for someone else? Maybe it was for a younger sibling to your parents… maybe a new student to a teacher?

Speaking Up

An advocate is defined as “a person who pleads for or in behalf of another.” In other words, advocates speak up about something that isn’t directly about them. Usually it means speaking for someone who couldn’t speak for themselves. Lawyers are advocates. Most people do not have the training, expertise, and knowledge of the law to speak for themselves in court.  Lawyers advocate for them.

Your church (the ELCA) is a bunch of advocates. We have advocates who work in Washington, DC, in state capitols, and even at the UN.  They speak for peace, the environment, or fair budgets for the poor. Advocacy (speaking up for those who can’t speak for themselves) is part of our calling as disciples of Jesus. For instance, you can read at http://capwiz.com/elca/issues/alert/?alertid=46674501&type=CU about a “season of prayer” for the people of Sudan leading up to the planned independence of South Sudan on July 9.

Discussion Questions

• What faith-connections do you make with public or political advocacy? What biblical stories or ideas come to mind?
• What is an issue or cause that motivates you? Why?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, May 29, 2011 (Sixth Sunday of Easter)

Acts 17:22-31

1 Peter 3:13-22

John 14:15-21

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year C at Lectionary Readings.)

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

Gospel Reflection

Jesus promised his disciples that he wouldn’t leave them alone forever. Jesus was talking with them before his arrest, trial, and crucifixion about leaving them… but not alone. Still, his disciples were getting afraid. They weren’t sure they would know what to do, what to say.  So Jesus promised them an Advocate. This Advocate (which we call usually call the Holy Spirit) will be with God’s people forever and is called “a Spirit of truth.” This Advocate will help us find the truth, will help us live the truth.

Discussion Questions

• Do you ever feel the Holy Spirit’s presence with you? Is it comforting?
• What truth or truths would you like the Advocate to help you find?
• What things would you like the Advocate to advocate for you? With God? With someone else?

Activity Suggestions

Visit the ELCA’s Legislative Action Center at http://capwiz.com/elca/home/ to find out about the things that need your voice in advocacy. Or, you can “like” ELCA Justice Town on Facebook.

Closing Prayer

Good and gracious God, we thank you that you have sent the Holy Spirit to comfort us and to advocate for us. Inspire us, by your Spirit, to speak for others as you give us the ability.

Contributed by John Hougen, Pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church, Melrose Park, PA

Warm-up Question

If your house of worship had a bouncer, and the bouncer was Jesus, would he let you in? Why or why not?

Who’s In and Who’s Out

One of the common issues faced by groups of friends and organizations is deciding who’s in and who’s out. Most groups of friends form without consciously deciding why some are in and some are outside the group: it seems to “just happen.” On the other hand, fraternities and sororities vote to include or exclude each prospective member. Honor societies and professional organizations develop criteria that must be met for membership.

What about Christian congregations and ministries? A few have strict criteria for membership, but most eagerly welcome all comers. When newcomers show up, the delicate process of integrating them begins. It’s an art. It doesn’t “just happen.” Each newcomer changes the dynamics of an existing group. A newcomer with a great sense of humor and keen insights can lift the morale of an existing group. A newcomer who can’t keep a secret can change a group from one in which personal problems are shared and resolved to one in which personal problems are kept private. To bring someone from the outside into a Christian group involves negotiating differences in personalities, perspectives, preferences, beliefs, interests, and “style.”

Discussion Questions

• Discuss Bible stories in which Jesus welcomed a newcomer into his group of followers. How did Jesus practice the art of welcoming?
• Think about the congregation or ministry group to which you belong. Are there formal requirements for membership or participation? What are the unwritten “requirements” a newcomer must follow to fit in?
• Can you remember a time when your congregation or ministry group made adjustments in its usual way of doing things to make newcomers feel welcome?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, May 15, 2011 (Fourth Sunday of Easter)

Acts 2:42–47

Psalm 23

1 Peter 2:19–25

John 10:1–10

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year C at Lectionary Readings.)

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

Gospel Reflection

Read John 10: 1 – 10 slowly. This is one of those Bible passages that can be very confusing. Commentaries reveal that knowing Greek (the original language of the text) and examining early manuscripts will not make the text more understandable. In verse one, we might think Jesus is the gate. That is confirmed in both verses seven and nine where Jesus is quoted as saying “I am the gate.” But, in verse two, we might conclude Jesus is the shepherd. And, sure enough, in verse eleven of John 10, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.” However, if Jesus is the gate and / or the shepherd, then who is the gatekeeper? And, what about those thieves and bandits? Who are they? Also, it is not clear whether the point of this passage is that Christians should follow Jesus out into the world or if those who enter the Kingdom must rely on Jesus to get in. In verses three through five, the sheep are being led out of the sheepfold. Verse 9 refers to sheep which “come in and go out.”

Is Jesus the gate, the gatekeeper, the shepherd, or all three? Are the sheep going out or in or both? Whew! A lot of questions come up in this short passage. It is reassuring to read that we are not the only ones to wonder what this means. Verse 6 says, “Jesus used this figure of speech…, but (his hearers) did not understand what he was saying to them.”

Let’s find our place in the text and go from there. You and I are among the sheep. That’s clear. It also is clear that the sheep will be safe with their shepherd but not with thieves and bandits. The Good Shepherd is Jesus (or perhaps a faithful follower of Jesus in a leadership position). Thieves and bandits are those who lead the sheep away from Jesus. This text and other Bible passages point to these conclusions: e.g. John 10: 11ff, Jeremiah 23: 1-4, 1 Peter 2:19–25, and the  Psalm 23.

Among the “thieves and bandits” who might lead us astray are those who try to convince us that we’re not good enough to be part of Jesus’ flock. Sometimes such “thieves and bandits” are self-righteous people of faith who look down on us because we don’t meet their standards for “true believers.” Sometimes authority figures, such as parents and teachers, crush our sense of self-worth. And, some of us have done really bad things. No matter how often we hear that God forgives us, we can’t forgive ourselves and, in effect, decide that God’s love for sinners does not apply in our specific case.

But, in this passage, Jesus says it is not the quality of the sheep but rather the inclusiveness of the Shepherd / gatekeeper that decides who is in the flock. Verse 9: “I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.” Later in the chapter, Jesus’ inclusiveness is underscored when he says, (verse 16) “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” Even if we feel we don’t belong to Jesus, Jesus reaches out to us and promises inclusion.

Discussion Questions

• If Jesus includes you and me, who is excluded?
• Do you know anyone who feels they are not good enough to be one of Jesus’ followers? How could you demonstrate or explain to such a person that Jesus wants to include them?
• Do you think people from faith traditions that are not Christian are among those who will become “one flock” (John 10: 16)? If so, should we try to convince them to become Christians? Should we trust that Jesus loves and accepts them as they are? Should we believe that, eventually, Jesus will, in His own way, bring them to Himself?

Activity Suggestions

• With others in your congregation or ministry group, recall times when you were newcomers. Ask: what obstacles were experienced as you tried to become part of a group? And, what made you feel most welcome? Develop a strategy for welcoming newcomers that incorporates insights from your discussion.
• Bring together representatives from several religious traditions and compare how new members are integrated into your respective communities.

Closing Prayer

Good Shepherd, help us to trust that you include us in your flock. Call us in to safety and out for nourishment and service. Give us generous hearts, open minds, and holy wisdom so that we might integrate into our communities all whom you send our way. Amen.

Contributed by Jay Gamelin, pastor to Jacob’s Porch, a Lutheran Campus mission to The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.

Warm-up Question

What is the sickest you have ever been?  What did it take to get better?  If you are still feeling the effects of illness or injury, what are the steps you are taking to improve your health?

Hope and Modern Medicine

There is a correlation between an optimistic patient and the likelihood of improved health say researchers at Duke University.  Gathering data from several thousand patients undergoing cardiac diagnostic testing, they found that patients with a positive outlook for the coming 15 years were half as likely to die from heart disease as the most pessimistic patients.  Even after removing data from the most affected and depressed patients, a positive outlook still remained as a large factor in the continued health of the patients—for many as much as the medication they took to treat heart disease.

This research suggests that creating hopeful expectations for patients, even what may seem like unrealistic hope, can have a profound impact on the health of patients.  The study highlights the growing understanding of how a person’s health is not simply an equation to solve with medicine and surgery but also something impacted by mysterious forces that stem from emotional and spiritual well-being.

In other words, it takes more than medicine to provide the best care.

Discussion Questions

• Do you believe the study?  Do you think a positive attitude and hopeful outlook improve health?  Why or why not?  What evidence do you have of this in your own or in another’s life?
• How do you think a positive outlook affects your everyday life?
• What would change for you tomorrow if a miraculous event happened in your life?  How might you see the world differently if you had a tremendous amount of hope?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, April 3, 2011 (Fourth Sunday in Lent)

1 Samuel 16:1-13
Ephesians 5:8-14
John 9:1-41

(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

The impossible is just that- not possible.  We are taught that there are immutable laws in the universe that define and govern the way we interact.  Following in the steps of Newton, Einstein, and Curie,  scientists are still working hard to discover the rules of the universe so that we can better understand how we interact with the world.

So what do we do when we encounter something that goes against these laws?  In today’s text we see four ways to reflect on outrageous hope.  The man born blind is confronted first by the disciples.  They assume that the man’s condition is a result of sin.  Next, after the man is healed, the neighbors assume that the healed man must not be the man born blind but someone else.  Third, when he is brought to the priests they assume that there is foul play involved and wish to focus on condemning the method by which the man is given vision.  All three of these find some fault, some way to explain the problem so that it makes sense in their understanding of the universe.  For them the man being blind then given vision is a problem not a solution.

Last is the man himself.  When asked he answers with sublime simplicity: “I do not know whether (Jesus) is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”(9:25)   The man does not try to answer why he can see, he simply states the obvious, he can see.

When we encounter the unbelievable hope we have in Jesus it is so easy to try and explain it, to make sense of it, to try and reason why Jesus is or perhaps is not who we say Jesus is.  But one thing is true.  A man was blind.  Many, many women and men witnessed this.  Jesus healed this man and he could see.  Many, many women and men witnessed this and even died defending what they saw.  Even his parents!  This is what we know: it really and truly happened.

Perhaps when we try to explain everything we just make it complicated.  Perhaps living in hope and faith is not knowing and explaining but simply stating “I do not know how.  One thing I do know: He was dead and now he is risen.”

May we have hope.

Quotables

Faith is, at one and the same time, absolutely necessary and altogether impossible–Stanislaw Lem

Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast– Lewis Carroll

Things are only impossible until they are not–Jean-Luc Picard

Discussion Questions

• What makes it difficult to believe impossible things?
• What is the difference between believing and knowing?
• What is the difference between us and the disciples?  How do we come to trust what others have seen?

Activity Suggestions

Faith Box:  Have a box in the room.  Put something that may seem improbable in the box.  Perhaps have a picture of Mount Rushmore and stick it in.  Or write 10 tons of rocks on a sheet of paper.  Tell the youth that Mount Rushmore or 10 tons of rocks is in the box.

• Do they believe you or not?  If they do, why?  If not, why not?
• What is one thing you believe but have no proof?  (Life in outer space perhaps?  Or the Loch Ness Monster, Sasquatch, whatever)  What causes you to believe this?
• What we believe is often determined by the trust we put in the person making an impossible claim.  Who told you about this impossible thing?  Do the students trust this teacher?  Why or why not?
• The thing in the box: do the students believe what you put in there?  Do they trust your witness?
• What does this say about whether or not we trust the disciples?  What do we trust about the teachings we have learned?  What makes it hard to trust?

(DON’T SHOW THEM WHAT WAS IN THERE.  MAKE THEM LEAVE WITHOUT GETTING THE PROOF THEY DESIRE)

Closing Prayer

Jesus, you really died.  You really rose.  Help us to trust those who have told us this impossible thing.  Amen

Contributed by Aaron Matson, Leganger Lutheran Church, Toronto, SD

Warm-up Question

Have you ever been a part of a great celebration? What were you celebrating? How did feel to be a part of such a celebration?

From Mountaintop to Spring Training

A few short months ago, the San Francisco Giants were on top of the baseball world, celebrating a World Series Championship. Winning the World Series is the dream of any baseball player from the first time he picks up a baseball and bat. It is the pinnacle, the mountain top, of achievement for a baseball player. It is an experience that can never be taken away:  the final out,  the celebration on the field and in the locker room,  the parade in front of the cheering hometown fans.

But right now, the Giants, like every other Major League Baseball team, are going through the daily grind of spring training. Like everybody else, the Giants are taking grounders, running sprints, and practicing bunting and base running. While they are hoping for another championship at the end of the season, they know that the life of a baseball player is not primarily mountaintop celebration, but the daily routine of honing his skills to be the best player he can be. The life of a baseball player is filled with ups and downs, but through the ups and downs, baseball players do what they have been trained and coached to do – play baseball.

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever had to practice or rehearse for an activity in which you were  involved?
• Do you ever get tired of practicing or rehearsing? Was the joy of being a part of the activity worth it?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, March 6, 2011 (Transfiguration of our Lord)

Exodus 24:12-18

2 Peter 1:16-21

Matthew 17:1-9

(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

Have you ever had a mountaintop experience? That is, have you ever had an experience where you felt the presence and love of God in a way you never had before? Maybe you felt that way at a week at camp, or at a retreat. Maybe you  had one at a conference or Bible study with a particularly engaging and insightful speaker or teacher.

Mountaintop experiences are wonderful things. They can renew your spirit, refresh your faith, and inspire you to live a more healthy, faithful life. In the rhythm of the life of the Church, weekly worship services are meant to be mini-mountaintop experiences.  Hopefully you leave worship renewed, refreshed, and inspired—at least some of the time. Ideally, somewhere in the liturgy,  scripture readings, fellowship, hymns, or sermons you hear the Gospel preached and your faith is renewed and refreshed for the next week.

The season of Epiphany is a season of mountain top experiences, and in today’s Gospel lesson, we literally see a mountaintop experience in the transfiguration of Jesus. Six days after he predicts his suffering, death, and resurrection, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to a high mountain. Jesus is transfigured before them; that is, his appearance and very being are changed.  His clothes are a dazzling white and Moses and Elijah appear with him. A voice from heaven speaks words very similar to those uttered when Jesus was baptized, “This is my Son, the beloved, listen to him!” And then, as suddenly as the experience started, it ends; Jesus is alone again, and he tells them to tell no one what they have seen until he had risen from the dead.

And in the middle of this miraculous event, the disciples are terrified, scared stiff–as  I imagine any of us would be. This is the mountaintop experience to end mountaintop experiences, an Epiphany overload of awe and wonder and revelation. They have an experience where Jesus is revealed to be divine, the Son of God. Shown in the presence of the two biggest names in the Old Testament, Moses and Elijah, Jesus is revealed as the completion and perfection of what God had been doing throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and Israel’s collective history.

In the middle of this awesome and amazing event, Peter, not knowing what else to say, proposes building dwellings for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. As terrified as he is, he knows what a miraculous event he witnessed and he doesn’t want it to end. In his mind, this is a mountaintop experience that can’t be topped – and won’t be, until he had seen the risen Christ.

But the experience did end; Jesus and the disciples had work to do. Jesus did not come to this world to stay on mountaintops; he came to bring God’s kingdom to earth in his ministry, death, and resurrection. Like Peter, we too want to stay in mountaintop experiences.  That is understandable. Who wouldn’t want to stay in the place where we can see the glory and power of Christ in amazing ways?

But the life of faith is not meant to be spent on mountaintops, it is meant to be spent in active engagement in the life of the world – in getting our hands dirty, in using our voices to speak for the oppressed, in speaking truth to power, and speaking words of compassion and love to our neighbors. Sometimes words of love need to be a kick in the pants so that others straighten up, and sometimes they need to be words of gentle understanding and comfort. But either way, they need to be words of Christ’s love and compassion. Put simply, it is our work to be engaged in the world, proclaiming the Gospel by loving and serving the neighbor.

A boat in a port is safe, but that is not what boats were made for.  Jesus could have stayed on the mountaintop, but that’s not what he was sent for. Life on the mountaintop is safe, but that is not what our Christian vocation is. Our vocation, our calling, is to spread the Gospel of Christ in word and deed, and to be engaged in the world in lives of love and service, so that the light of Christ shines through us.

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever had a “mountaintop experience” in your faith life? Did you wish you could stay there?
• Has that experience helped you to live out your faith in the daily grind of life?
• What are some ways you can live out your faith and be engaged in the world?

Activity Suggestions

• Review the promises that parents and sponsors make in Baptism and that people make when they affirm their Baptism (pages 228 and 236). Talk about how theses faith practices help sustain and strengthen a Christian’s faith in between mountaintop experiences.
• Bring newspapers or news stories from the Internet and find stories of people in your community and around the world that need us to be engaged in the world as signs of God’s loving presence. Go to the ELCA Advocacy (http://www.elca.org/Our-Faith-In-Action/Justice/Advocacy.aspx) page to find some ways you can be engaged as Christ’s hands and feet in the world.

Closing Prayer

Everlasting God, we thank you for all those mountaintop experiences where we have felt your presence in amazing and incredible ways. Holy Spirit, help us sustain our faith as we come back down from those mountaintops to engage the world. We pray for all those that need the help of your Church and we pray that you awaken the compassion within us so that we may bring your love and healing presence to them. Amen.