Warm-up Question: How do you want to be buried when you die?


Some of the human remains of Saint Andrew the Apostle, also named “the First-Called,” were brought to Riga, Latvia on October, 24th from Odessa under police escort. The bones of St. Andrew are priceless relics considered to be holy by the Orthodox Church (as well as the Roman Catholic Church).

The relics, housed or kept in what is called a reliquary, were on display in the Cathedral of Riga for only four days. Faithful Orthodox Christians from as far as hundreds of miles away made the journey in order to be near the bones of this venerated saint. Saint Andrew is considered by the Orthodox Church to be the apostle who brought the Christian faith to Russia and then further to the Baltic States. Saint Andrew is seen as the founding apostle for Orthodox Christianity (the Eastern Church) just as St. Peter serves that role for Roman Catholic Christianity (the Western Church).*

The relics of St. Andrew from Odessa represent only some of his earthly remains. His skull, for example, is kept in the cathedral in Patras, Greece, where it was returned in 1967 after having been removed in the year 1460. Some of the remains of St. Andrew were taken to Scotland where he was adopted as the patron saint of Scotland.

*Note: The Lutheran Church has its direct roots in the “Western Church.”

Discussion Questions

• How many saints can the group name?
• Where have you ever seen a painting or sculpture of a saint?
• When have you ever seen a relic of a saint?
• Would you go to a church where you knew there were going to be bones of a saint on display (even if they are in a box of some sort)? Why?

Information on Lutheran-Orthodox relations

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, November 30, 2008 (lessons for the Festival of the Apostle Andrew).
(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 A at Lectionary Readings.)

• Ezekiel 3:16-21
• Psalm 19:1-6 (4)
• Romans 10:10-18
• John 1:35-42

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

Gospel Reflection

Andrew the Apostle, or as he is called in the Orthodox Church, Andrew-the First Called. He is called that because that’s what he was: the first disciple called by Jesus, as we see from this lesson in the Gospel of John. And, no sooner than he had been asked to follow Jesus, he went and got his brother Peter to check this Jesus of Nazareth out, “we have seen the Messiah!” That’s certainly good news. Before Andrew even spends a few years following Jesus around, he is calling others to “come and see,” to come and experience this Jesus. Those first disciples spent lots of time and energy sharing with others the good news about Jesus the Messiah (the Anointed One, which is what the word “Christ” means).

The early Christian communities that got to experience those first real, living apostles were so blessed. They got to hear the story first hand from eyewitnesses of the resurrected Christ. They felt so blessed by having these faithful witnesses among them that they cherished and respected everything about them: the scripture they may have used, the bishop’s staff they might have had, the chair they sat in to teach or preach, maybe even their clothes, and certainly their earthly remains — bones.

The bones of these holy followers of Christ were kept and guarded just as we respect our own beloved dead. The communities they served believed that these faithful witnesses were a living example of Christ among them. They felt close to Christ because of their presence. They believed that it was still true even after they died. That’s why the things and the remains of these holy men and women became so important for the early Church (we’re talking already in the 1st and 2nd centuries.)

This idea of holding sacred the remains of the saints (apostles, martyrs, teachers of the Church, etc.) is still practiced today in the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches, among others. During the time of the Reformation, visiting, touching, and praying in the presence of relics of the saints was believed to help knock off time in purgatory (which is like a kind of pre-heaven cleaning place with lots of pain and torture to get all the sins worked out before going to heaven). And because that practice got really corrupt in the years before Martin Luther was born, he had some reasons to critique it. And, he did — a lot!

Those of us in the Lutheran or Protestant traditions have been very strongly influenced and taught to see relics of the saints as bad things. We think about how they were abused in the middle ages to make money off of poor faithful Christians. And, many Christians were spending a lot of time praying to various deceased saints asking them to talk to God on their behalf.

Martin Luther and his reforms emphasized the fact that we do not need anyone else to speak on our behalf aside from Jesus Christ. The saints are there to serve as good examples and to inspire us and strengthen us in our faith in God through Jesus Christ. So, it is a good thing to know and tell the stories of the saints so that we are strengthened to be able to tell the great story of God’s love in Jesus.

Here are some details of the story that is told about Saint Andrew:

• Andrew began his missionary activity in modern day Greece and Turkey. He then moved on further North into the area of Ukraine and Russia. He is known as the apostle to bring the Christian faith to those areas of the world.
• His very recognizable symbol is an X-shaped cross. It is known as the St. Andrew’s cross because Andrew was crucified upside down on a cross made in that shape. It was believed that the X-shaped cross made dying last longer and more painful.
• For a more detailed version of Andrew: http://www.chrysostom.org/firstcalled/life.html
• November 30th is the day on which St. Andrew the Apostle is commemorated in Churches all around the world.

Discussion Questions

• What things, symbols, art, or music remind you to trust in God, stay strong in your faith, and tell others the good news of Jesus Christ?
• Who in your life right now — even if they don’t know it — helps you stay strong in your faith and encourages you to live a life that reflects your faith? It can also be someone who is no longer alive.

Activity Suggestions

• Leave nothing unsaid
  Send a post card, letter, or email to the person who inspires and encourages your faith. Let them know that they are a witness to you and others, and that you thank God for them.
• Saints online
  Post photos or video clips on your congregation’s youth Web site (if you have one) or your Facebook page of the people who have been saints and witnesses of faith in your life. Do it as a way of honoring and thanking them, as well as spreading their story and witness.

Closing Prayer
(Prayer for the Festival of Apostle Andrew. Evangelical Lutheran Worship, page 54.)

Almighty God, you gave your apostle Andrew the grace to obey the call of your Son and to bring his brother to Jesus. Give us also, who are called by your holy word, grace to follow Jesus without delay and to bring into his presence those who are near to us, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Contributed by Pastor Scott A. Moore
Eisleben, Germany

In Vietnam, a reporter is allowed to report on what they see, unless it embarrasses the government that is. The jailed reporter, Nguyen Viet Chien, almost three years ago helped expose a case against the transportation department, where officials used monies to gamble on European soccer matches and on luxurious living. The reporting was backed up by tapes and confessions and many officials were arrested and jailed for the abuse.

How is the reporter rewarded for his hard work? He is sentenced to jail for 2 years. When given a chance to apologize for his reporting for the way it embarrassed the country, Chien refused to do what another reporter working on the same case had done and did not recant the exposé citing the truth as his defense.

U.S. officials condemn the action and in an official statement stated, “These results are particularly worrisome in light of the serious corruption issues that their earlier investigations had brought to light… The United States has repeatedly called for full freedom of the media in Vietnam and urges the government of Vietnam to support these freedoms, which are so critical to combating social scourges such as corruption and abuse of power, and to the further economic development of Vietnam.”

Discussion Questions

• Is there a time when you think telling the truth is not a good idea?
• If you found out something very important that would embarrass someone you highly respect, say a teacher or pastor or political leader, would you divulge this information online or to the press? What would be reasons you would? What reasons would prevent you from revealing the information?
• If someone knew something about you that was true but embarrassing, would it be OK for them to share this with other people?
• If you had done something embarrassing or that you were ashamed of, how easy would it be for you to admit this to someone you love and respect? What would you expect or ask for in return (e.g., confidentiality, understanding, forgiveness, not to let it hurt your relationship, etc.)

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, November 16, 2008.
(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 A at Lectionary Readings.)

• Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18
• Psalm 90:1-8 [9-11] 12
• 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
• Matthew 25:14-30

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

Gospel Reflection

It’s pretty easy to believe and respected the servant who buried the talent in this story. First of all, he admits to his master, someone whom he loves but someone who is also “harsh” and steals (reaping where he does not sow), that he did not do what he was asked. He did not take the money (a talent being a unit of measurement equaling around one year’s wages), money that may have been unjustly gotten by the master, and invested it as the others had done. Perhaps this would have made him an accomplice! Perhaps he did not want to deal with the dirty money. Perhaps he was a patsy, a do-gooder, who did not do what he was asked out of a sense of justice and was punished. And on top of it all, he did not hem and haw and make up stories; he told the truth. He said straight out that he hid the money. Perhaps he said this with some pride, accusing the master of his own crimes.

But perhaps the master was righteous. Perhaps what he sowed and reaped he did to feed the hungry. Perhaps he was a powerful man who performed actions that seemed disreputable, but may have been for a good cause (sort of like Robin Hood). Maybe the servant was ashamed and scared of the master’s power.

In a story, it is easy to make things out to be black and white, cut and dried truths. We can decry the “lazy slave” for not doing what his master had done just as we can decry the Vietnamese government for suppressing the truth. But perhaps they did so out of a love for their country. Perhaps they doubted the reporting. Perhaps they believed they were the arbiters of justice. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps… When “truth” seems so obvious to one and not to another, how do you know which is truth?

We all else seems up fro grabs, know this to be the truth: Jesus Christ has died for us. It is signed and sealed by the reporting of many witnesses who had nothing to gain by this proclamation but death and loss. The resurrection was true because it was witnessed by many. They all reported this truth and it was greeted with skepticism, the greatest may be Paul. Paul persecuted the church but was later visited by the resurrected Christ. As proof this was true and not false was the way he kept to his story despite beatings, stonings, shipwrecks, poverty, and worse (2 Corinthians 11:23ff). Paul was willing to go to jail and even die for the truth. Just like Nguyen Viet Chien, the truth could no be denied.

In a time of doubt and faith, of wondering what is true, we remember that what can be seen as true is often understood by what comes to light (1 Thessalonians 5:4-5); how the person speaking the truth clings to what they believe. This witness is what we can believe is true, and in this witness we are called to believe. While we may not have been on-the-scene witnesses, we can believe what we have been told just as we can believe the reporter who reports the corruption by his jailing.
Live clinging to this truth. Invest in the gift of this confession. Live out your calling to serve a good and honest master — Jesus Christ — one who loves and adores you, and trusts you with this gift.

Discussion Questions

• How do you know when someone is speaking the truth? How are you convinced? In what ways does technology help or complicate sorting out what is true? (Internet, Youtube, email, TV, Photoshop, digital photos, Twitter, cell phones, social networks, Second Life, avatars, blogs, etc.)
• What are the things that make believing God difficult?
• If the story is true — Jesus Christ is truly the son of God, died and risen to love the world into relationship with God — how would this change the way you see the world? Setting aside all doubt, what would this mean about the way you live in the world? How would it change your relationships? How would it change the decisions you make?
• What if it is true? What if it is true?

Activity Suggestions

Defend a lie

Find a student who loves something so much that they are sort of obsessed by it. Perhaps it is a sports team, a high school musical, or a favorite band, actor, or other celebrity or famous person. Now ask them to defend NOT liking this thing or person or team. Give them a moment to collect their thoughts, then allow them a 30 second argument of why whatever it is we know they love is something they do not love. After they try to convince us they do not love this, allow others to question them, trying to discover the truth.

• Was it difficult to defend what you know is not true?
• How did it feel trying to pretend you did not like what everyone else there knows you love?
• Would you be willing to die to convince us of this truth? Why or why not?

Share this parting thought: if the disciples KNEW it was a lie, why would they all be willing to die for it? Why would all the witnesses be willing to endure persecution if they knew Jesus was not resurrected? Why would they all be beaten, chased, jailed, starved, poisoned, and killed if they truly knew it was a lie?

Closing Prayer

Jesus, forgive us for our doubts, but it can be so difficult to believe. Help us to trust your witnesses and to live out loud on behalf of the truth that you are our savior and Lord. Amen

Contributed by Jay Gamelin, pastor of Jacob’s Porch, Lutheran Campus Ministry to The Ohio State University