Skip to content
ELCA Blogs

Faith Lens

April 28, 2013–Lesson Before Dying

Contributed by Paul Baglyos, St. Paul, MN

 

Warm-up Question

Whose are you?  Who are yours?

Lesson Before Dying

shutterstock_94130377editLt. Col. Mark Weber lives with his wife and their three sons near the Twin Cities in Minnesota.  Recently, Lt. Col. Weber published a book called Tell My Sons, which is a collection of personal stories and life lessons that he wanted to pass on to his sons before he dies from the intestinal cancer with which he was diagnosed in 2010.  In a newspaper interview and on a YouTube video, Lt. Col. Weber has talked about his reasons for writing the book.  Watch the news video and/or read the news article and consider the following discussion questions.

 

Discussion Questions

  • How do you think being a father helps Lt. Col. Weber to face his illness and impending death with courage, humor and hope?
  • Do you think it’s a good idea for Lt. Col. Weber and his wife to discuss his terminal illness openly with their sons?  Why or why not?
  • What do you think is the most difficult and painful aspect of this story?
  • What do you think is the most hopeful and inspiring aspect of this story?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, April 28, 2013 (Fifth Sunday of Easter)

 Acts 11:1-18

Revelation 21:1-6

John 13:31-35

(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

Here Jesus is speaking to his disciples shortly before his arrest and crucifixion.  The “he” at the very beginning of verse 31 (“When he had gone out . . .”) refers to Judas Iscariot, who has just left the supper table in order to betray Jesus to those who wanted to arrest him.  Jesus speaks about his impending suffering and death as his being “glorified.”  This might seem odd to us because there is nothing “glorious” about the humiliation and agony Jesus is about to face.  Jesus makes it clear, however, that he is not glorifying his impending death but rather glorifying God to whom his entire life is devoted.  Not even the certainty of his own death dissuades Jesus from his devotion to God.  Jesus testifies that his life belongs entirely to God and not to the power of death; death cannot extinguish his life, even though it will take him away from his disciples to where they “cannot come” (verse 33).

Jesus calls his disciples to share his life of devotion to God through their love for one another.  His glory becomes also their glory when they love one another just as he has loved them.  Love is the sacred purpose of human life in the image of God; love is the power of God that overcomes all suffering and death that afflict human life.  There is nothing glorious about suffering and death, but there is glory – God’s glory – in life lived in love for others even in the face of suffering and death.  To live in love for others even in the face of death is to share Christ’s victory over the power of death.  Our lives, after all, do not belong to us alone but to God who has created us to love one another, and to love all others, as God in Christ loves us.

Discussion Questions

  • How does the story of Lt. Col. Weber provide an example of what Jesus calls us to, loving others even in the face of death?
  • What do you think Jesus means by loving one another “just as I have loved you”?
  • Who do you love just as Jesus loves you?  Who loves you just as Jesus loves you?  Whose love do you count on each day?  Who counts on your love each day?

Activity Suggestions

Within a group discussion share one example of how, in the past week, you have loved another person as Jesus loves you, or how someone else has loved you as Jesus loves you.  If you can’t think of a good example from the past week, try to anticipate a good example that might occur in the coming week.  Discuss how love for others can be a defiance of the power of death.

Individually, write an intention to love another person as Jesus loves you.  Using the closing prayer below, pray as a group that each of you might be able to fulfill the intentions you have written.  Keep your intention with you throughout the coming week for your own personal prayer and as your own personal reminder to love that other person as Jesus loves you.

Closing Prayer

Pray together the prayer attributed to Francis of Assisi on page 87 in Evangelical Lutheran Worship or page 48 in the Lutheran Book of Worship.  If you do not have access to ELW or the LBW, you can find the text on the internet.

October 28-November 4, 2009 – Signs of the times

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

Warm-up Question:  How easy do you find it to forgive a friend when something bad happens that is clearly their fault?

surgeons200Finding fault and placing blame are things that all people do. Somehow it just seems to make us feel better when we can place the blame for someone on someone’s shoulders. Of course, it only serves to make us feel comfortable if we can place the blame on someone else’s shoulders. There are times when placing blame isn’t just a matter of words, but of serious consequences: sometimes thousands or millions of dollars, or other punishments.

One way that this happens is through medical malpractice lawsuits. A doctor or hospital can be sued for malpractice if a mistake is made in treating a patient or something is overlooked that should have been seen or treated.

One current proposal that is part of the debate on the healthcare system as a whole is to limit the amount of money that could be awarded to patients or families in malpractice cases. Called “tort reform,” one proposal would limit the amount of money that people could win to $500,000 for punitive damages and $250,000 for “pain and suffering.” The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this change would save the government $54 billion over the next 10 years.

Some say that the legal awards need to be limited to be reasonable and to cut the costs that doctors have to pay for malpractice insurance. Others say that there is no amount of money that should be considered too great for the family of someone who has died because of malpractice. 

Discussion Questions

  1. What do you think? Should there be a limit on the amount of money that a doctor or hospital would have to pay in a malpractice case?
  2. If someone you loved died because of a clear case of malpractice, how much money do you think would be a fair punishment?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, November 1, 2009 (All Saints Day).

(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.)

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

Gospel Reflection

Lazarus was dead. He was dead and buried and in the tomb. Jesus was late. The emergency message had been sent, but Jesus wasn’t there at the right time. Mary (Lazarus’ sister) said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” What do you think that she felt Jesus could have done? Whether she was right or not, she felt that Lazarus would not have died if Jesus had gotten there in time. Perhaps there was a hint of blame in her statement.

Where is God when it hurts? Why doesn’t God seem to be around to help me now like he helped all those people in the Bible? These are common questions that come to our minds when something bad happens. We want to know where God was and why God let that thing happen. In this story, we see that people even during the Bible times had the same experiences. Mary wanted to know why Jesus hadn’t gotten there in time. She wanted to know why this bad thing had to happen to her family. She was in pain.

And Jesus had healing for her pain. It wasn’t like anything she could have imagined. She imagined that, if Jesus had been able to get there before Lazarus died, then Jesus could have healed him. But once he was dead, Mary thought that was the end of the story.

Today, on All Saints Sunday, we remember again that death is not the end of the story for any of God’s saints. Your grandmothers and grandfathers, any of God’s children who have died, are alive again. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Nothing can separate us from God’s love; not even death (Romans 8:37-39).

Discussion Questions

  1. Tell about a time you were in pain and wondered whether God was even there.
  2. Have you seen signs that God is there in painful times? What do those signs look like? (Hint: Look at the other people in the room… they may be the signs for you)

Activity Suggestion

Create an “All Saints” remembrance with your youth group. Bring a memento or photo that makes you think of someone who has died. Tell your friends about that person. Say, “I am thankful to God for ________ because __________.”

Closing Prayer

Good and gracious God, we thank you for all the saints you have given us who have shown us your love and your mercy. Help us to continue to live as your faithful children until the day when we are reunited with all your saints. Amen.

(Or use the prayer for the “Rememberance of the faithful departed” found on page 82 of Evangelical Lutheran Worship.)