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

Warm-up Question

How do know if something is true?

Searching for the Truth

With the November 2 election drawing near, if you are anything like me, you are tired of the political ads on TV, on the web, and in print.  We all may be at the point where we do not listen to them anymore.  In addition many of us simply do not trust the truth of claims made by one candidate against another.  Stretching the truth, quoting out of context, and old fashion mudslinging now seem to be the norm of every election cycle.  How can we tell if a candidate is telling the truth?  One way is to visit websites like www.factcheck.org , a project of the University of Pennsylvania which follows political commercials and, as the title says, checks the facts to make sure candidates are telling the truth.

But we must also consider that we live in a time when some scholars and philosophers tell us that truth might no longer be “objective” and thus true for all.  They argue that more and more truth is defined by a community of people.   Maybe that is why, in a survey done is August of this year, nearly 1 in 5 Americans said that President Barack Obama is a Muslim, even though during his campaign there was a large controversy over a statement made by his Christian pastor in Chicago and he has on more than one occasion stated the fact that he is a Christian.  There simply exists a certain community of people in our country for whom believing the President is Muslim is a true fact and they cannot be persuaded differently.

Also, with advances in computer software, one can now edit a picture, cutting and pasting from other pictures so to make a new compilation which looks “real.”  When it comes to truth we can’t even trust our eyes anymore.

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever questioned the truth of a statement made by a political candidate or other adult?
• What do you think about the idea that truth is defined by a community of people and is not “objective” and true for all?
• Have you ever been fooled by a Photoshopped picture?  How did it make you feel when you found out the photo was not true?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, October 31, 2010 (Reformation Day)

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Romans 3:19-28

John 8:31-36

(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 Reformation Day Gospel text comes from a section of John’s Gospel where Jesus is in a series of controversies with the religious leaders of his time.  In this particular section the religious leaders are questioning the divine commissioning of Jesus.  Jesus argues that he and God are one and that his life, words, and teachings come from God and are true.  The religious leaders believe that authority and truth come from the Torah (the first five books of the Bible, which contain the law).

In our text Jesus challenges us to think about truth in another way.  Jesus states, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples.”  What Jesus is talking about is continuing in a relationship to Jesus.  In John’s gospel our relationship to Jesus is of prime importance.  As we abide in Jesus and Jesus abides in us, we know the truth of the Gospel (see John 15:7 where John uses the same image) and that truth is what sets us free.  We seek the truth by staying in a close relationship to Jesus and as we continue in Jesus, the Holy Spirit reveals the truth to us.

The truth of the gospel that led Martin Luther to reform the church came from his relationship to the living Jesus.  All his life Luther knew “about” God and the God Luther knew was an angry God.  Luther could find no grace, no peace.  Then, while working on a lecture series on Romans, as he was reading and studying Romans 3, the Spirit opened Luther’s eyes and heart and mind—the gospel truth touched Luther in a new way.  Luther’s relationship to Jesus caused him to see the Bible in a new way.  Luther discovered the truth and the truth set Luther free.

It isn’t what we know “about” God that sets us free, it is our faith, our trusting relationship with Jesus that sets us free and saves us.  The truth is Jesus.

Discussion Questions

• Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines truth as “the body of real things, events, and facts; a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted a true.”  Do you agree with this definition?  What does the word “truth” mean to you?
• Can there be “truth” without evidence, facts, or proof?  If so, how do we then know if that something is true?  Could it be that it is something that works in our lives and in our living?  In our relationships to others?
• On most Sundays in worship we recite the Apostles’ or Nicene Creeds.  These are summaries of what we hold to be true about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  However, which comes first, our relationship with Jesus and God that causes us to speak the creeds, or the creeds that teach us the truth about God in an objective way?
• How do we nurture our relationship to Jesus and keep it strong and alive?

Activity Suggestions

• Since this is Reformation Day, you might want to be prepared to share a brief biography of Martin Luther.  You could especially highlight the freedom Luther experienced when the truth set him free.
• We usually think of truth the way Webster’s Dictionary defines it above, as a series of facts or propositions.  Jesus speaks of truth as a relationship with him and God.  Using an online Bible Concordance or search engine look up “truth” and see how Jesus uses the word in other parts of the Gospels.  To get you started, here are some passages in the Gospel of John 1:14-17; 4:23-24; 14:6; 14:15-17.  What is the nature of the truth Jesus speaks in these passages?

Closing Prayer

Gracious and loving God, your Servant Jesus said that he is the way and the truth and the life.  May we always abide in Jesus and Jesus in us, that we might be faithful disciples of Jesus following wherever he may lead us.  Keep us in your truth that we might enjoy the abundant life you promise.  In your Holy Name we pray.  Amen

Contributed by Jay McDivitt, Grace Lutheran Church, Thiensville, WI

Warm-up Question

Have you ever owed someone something? Has anyone every owed you? How does it change a relationship when people owe each other?

Debts Forgiven

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank agreed on June 29 to back $4.6 billion in debt relief for the country of Liberia. On June 30, Haiti received word that they had fulfilled obligations under the “Heavily Indebted Poor Countries” (HIPC)  program, and $1.2 billion in debt has been forgiven there.

For years, churches (including the ELCA) and other groups have urged wealthy countries and international banks to forgive debts that cripple the economies of emerging/developing nations. Large debts, often built up by oppressive past regimes, saddle countries like Haiti, Liberia, Kenya, Ethiopia, and others, with large interest payments. In Honduras, for example, an estimated 12.3% of the total value of exports goes to service the interest payments on their $5.1 billion in debts.

Debt relief in Liberia frees up resources to rebuild the country from years of conflict; in Haiti, forgiven debt frees up $20 million in interest payments for 2010 alone, which will help that country rebuild after the horrific January 12 earthquake.

Although there has been some progress on debt relief in recent years, there are still many heavily indebted poor countries in the world. In Haiti, for example, the $1.2 billion that was just forgiven is just over half of what they owe – the country still has $1.051 billion in outstanding debt.

Under HIPC, indebted countries have to show that they are creating stable economic growth and establishing sustainable programs to reduce poverty. Several nations continue to work toward these goals and having their debts reduced or forgiven. Activists and churches continue to work with them and to lobby wealthy governments and banks to make faster progress on eliminating these heavy debt loads.

For further information consult these sources:

(http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE65T09220100630)

(http://www.jubileeusa.org)

Discussion Questions

• Why do you think churches such as the ELCA are interested in forgiving poorer countries’ debts? Can you think of a reason why not to forgive debt?
• Do you know anyone who has had a debt forgiven?   (Currently, there are lots of people attempting to renegotiate mortgage or credit card debt.)  How would it feel to have a debt canceled?
• How much do you know about things like debt and interest?  How much do you talk at home about finances – savings, mortgage, charity, credit cards, etc?  Why is it important to know about things like that?  Who could teach you?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, July 20, 2010 (Ninth Sunday after Pentecost)

Genesis 18:20-32

Colossians 2:6-15 [16-17]

Luke 11:1-13

(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

You probably noticed that the version of the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus taught the disciples that day is a little different from the one you normally pray during worship. (There’s a long reason for that; ask your pastor about it sometime!) It’s also a bit different from the other place where Jesus teaches people how to pray (Matthew 6:9-13 – check it out). One interesting place where they differ is in the part about forgiveness:

            Matthew: “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

            Luke: “And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.”

 Debt was a big deal in Jesus’ day. It was very easy to fall into debt – crop failure, bad business, death of a husband/father – and very hard to get out of it. When you owed someone something, that gave them control over your life and your future – which was, of course, a huge distraction. More than that, it could lead to becoming a slave or prisoner. It’s not surprising, then, that one of the first things that happened when some Jews in Jerusalem attempted to overthrow the Romans was to burn all the records of debts.

It’s interesting that Luke uses “sins” instead of “debts” in his version of Jesus’ prayer – but when talking about our relationship to others, they both agree that forgiving debt is the primary way that we practice forgiveness with our neighbors. There may be many reasons for that – here’s one guess:

Since God gives us daily bread – whether we deserve it or not – it is strange to think about us “owing” God, at least not the way we “owe” the bank or our neighbor. God gives and gives – and we could never begin to pay it back. Instead, God asks that we live our lives in a loving relationship with God and with our neighbors.

 Unfortunately, we aren’t always good at loving God or our neighbors. That’s sin – a broken relationship with God and others. And in this prayer, we ask God to heal that relationship – to forgive the ways that we fail to respond lovingly to God’s grace.

And when that relationship is healed, it puts our other relationships into perspective.  We realize that we have a role to play in helping clear the way for people to be in relationship with God. One of the biggest distractions that get in the way of our relationship to God and each other is debt,  both literal debt and all the other ways we make people depend on something or someone other than God (grudges, revenge, unhealthy or abusive relationships, and on and on).

So sin (broken relationships) and debt (belonging to someone other than God because of what we owe) are connected. God can’t heal our broken relationship with God if we’re spending all our energy and time owing and owning each other. And so we pray for the strength to cancel debt – to forgive each other and free each other to be in a relationship with God.

 The writer of Colossians got this, too. To a community that fought about all kinds of silly stuff, the writer tells them to remember who’s really in charge – and what really matters: “God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses,  erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross” (vv 13b-14). In Jesus, all debts are forgiven. All the records of sin and broken relationships have been erased by God’s grace – so we are free to set aside all our own grudges and debts and broken histories with each other. And thanks be to God for that.

Discussion Questions

• How would you describe the connection between “sin” and “debt”?  How does the meaning of the prayer change when we take the word “debt” out of the version of the Lord’s Prayer we pray in church?
• What would happen if everyone stopped owing other people anything? How would relationships change if no one had any debts?
• Tell a story about a time you’ve been forgiven – by a parent, teacher, friend, sibling, or someone else. What does it feel like to be forgiven?
• Tell a story about a time you’ve forgiven someone else. What does that feel like?

Activity Suggestions

• Check out www.jubileeusa.org. Find the countries listed on that website on a map/globe. Pray for those countries. Use the resources on the website to write letters to government or bank leaders asking for debt relief. Put together a poster or some other project to help educate folks at church about debt relief. (For ELCA resources, check out: https://www.elca.org/Our-Faith-In-Action/Justice/Advocacy/Issues/Global-Poverty-and-Disease/Debt-Relief.aspx)
• Draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper. On one side, write the things you “owe” other people (real debt, things you’ve done to hurt people, etc). On the other side, write the things that other people “owe” you (debts, grudges, payback for helping them out, etc). Nail them to a cross, or pile them up and burn them. Or – add them to a stack of copies of credit card bills or mortgage statements, and run them all through the shredder.

Closing Prayer

God in heaven, your Name is Holy. Build up your power among us, and take us where you want us to go.  Thank you for feeding us  day by day with all that we need – and for forgiving us for all the ways we break your heart by giving our allegiance to people and things other than you.  Help us to forgive people for anything and everything they owe us, and keep our feet on the path of mercy and grace.  Everything we are, and everything we have, belongs to you, O God, forever and ever. Amen.

Warm-up Question: Share a rule you have to follow at school, home, sports team, or perhaps even at church that you feel is not fair. Why do you obey?

An Ohio man acting as the drum major for a band in the presidential inaugural parade nodded and gestured to President Barack Obama and was suspended from the band for his actions. The leaders of the Firefighters Memorial Pipes and Drums stressed to the whole band that they were participating as a military procession and all decorum would be required. The band leaders stressed not to look at or gesture to the president. During the parade, the drum major made eye contact with the president who smiled then waved at the major, and the drum major gave a wave in return.

As a result of the suspension, the drum major has resigned his place in the band saying that the glow of being in the parade has worn off and that he no longer wished to be in the band. The band has received criticism for their decision but has not wavered despite critical e-mails and phone calls.

Discussion Questions

• Share whether you think the decision to suspend the drum major was fair. What can you say about both sides of the argument.
• If this was you and you knew you were not supposed to look at the president, but he was walking right by the platform, what do you think you would do?
• Why do you think the rule was there to begin with? What reasons might you give to hold to this rule rigorously?
• When do you think it is OK to break a rule?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, February 1, 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.)

• Deuteronomy 18:15-20
• Psalm 111 (10)
• 1 Corinthians 8:1-13
• Mark 1:21-28

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

Gospel Reflection

In the text in 1 Corinthians, the question is whether it is OK to eat food set aside for idols. What would happen is that an animal would be sacrificed to an idol. The animal would then be butchered for meat and sold. According to Jewish law, this food would not be kosher and therefore would not be food that a Jewish person could eat. But what happens when the rules change? What happens when following the law no longer defines you but something else all together? What happens when Jesus comes and changes everything?

Paul explains that the food has no intrinsic value, and is neither good nor bad — it is just food. They are free to eat whatever they wish and no law defines them. So you would think Paul is saying, “Go ahead and eat!” But this isn’t the case. He realizes that others who are hearing the good news and are Jewish may be put off by the apparent disobeying of a law by Christians that others may think of as very important. Just because they are free from this rule and it has no place in the new covenant in Jesus, he asks the church to follow the rule so that it does not become a stumbling block to others. In other words, the rule is silly and they don’t need to follow it, but they gotta so people won’t freak out and not listen to them anymore. It may seem silly that the drum major can’t make eye contact with the President of the United States, but for the whole group this was the rule and it needed to be followed by all.

As Christians, we know a freedom of living. We are free from the old rules and laws and trying to achieve perfection so that God will love us. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, the divide between humanity and the Lord is torn down and we are fully loved. This means we are free. Luther would say we are “Lord of all, slave to none.”

But this same freedom is not something that we take lightly. It comes with a message and way of living that reflects what it means to be free. Yes, God will love us even when we make mistakes. God will love us even if we make poor choices. These actions will not change God. We are free from any laws or rules that are meant to move or force us into relationship with God. But, if we ignore all the rules, we may forget that the world is watching us and we are communicating something important by our actions, words, and lives. They are looking for God and we need to reflect the goodness of God. Even though we are free from the law, we are still called to obey the law for the sake of the world.

Here’s another way to look at it: Imagine your parents or guardians have promised you a new car and purchased it for you. They have said that no matter what, they will always buy you a car and will take care of it, no matter what. Does this mean you drive it recklessly? Would you purposely drive your car into a tree just because you know your parents will buy you a new one? Do you take a milkshake and pour it on the floor just because your parents will fix it and clean it? No, you still follow some rules. You care for your life and do what you can to show your parents that you are thankful for their gift. You take care of the car as your way of saying “Thanks for the car!” How you drive is an expression of how you feel about your parents. And in all of this, others are watching too. They will know how you feel about them by how you drive!

How much more should you take care of your life? How you live expresses how you feel about God and your thankfulness for what God has done. Yes, the rules will not change how much God loves you, but we follow them as our way of saying thank you and as a way of showing our love and respect for God.

Discussion Questions

• What rules does your church have about the building or grounds? (e.g., no drinks in the sanctuary, no running around the altar, pick up after yourself, etc.) What are the reasons for some of these rules?
• What are some rules you have for yourself? (e.g., be kind to friends, listen when one is talking, return things I borrow, etc.) What are the reasons for these rules?
• What are some rules you think God may have for you? (e.g., praying daily, caring for our bodies by not turning them over to worldly things, worshiping, etc.) What are the reasons for these rules? Why would God want these things from us, even if they don’t change God?

Activity Suggestion

Throwing it Away

Bring a bag of candies or a snack to church with you; something in wrappers like Hershey Kisses, Reese’s Cups, or snack chips. Before the class, set up with one student that when you give out the candies and promise them another if they ask, he or she will find ridiculous things to do with the candies like throw them away without unwrapping them, tossing them behind bookcases, stepping on them, or any other creative way to “waste” the snack. Before class, give each student some candy and promise them another piece if they ask. During the class and discussion, the student should be asking for more of the candy or snack and then obviously doing silly things with it. Be careful this does not go overboard to the point of distracting from the rest of class or causing chaos. Let it happen, then both student and leader should move on to the discussion.

• Discuss with the class how it felt to see the student waste the free gift of candy. Did it seem right? How should he have behaved?
• Since he or she received a free piece of candy no matter what, why would it matter what they did with the other pieces?
• What opinion do the other students conclude about the student wasting things?
• What does his or her behavior say about the person and how they feel about the teacher?
• Compare this to life and the decisions we make. If we are forgiven anyway, why do we need to respect, follow the rules, and live a life worthy and pleasing? What does our behavior say about how we feel about God?

Closing Prayer

God, there is nothing we could do to make you love us any more and there is nothing we could do to make you love us any less. With such a gift, how can we not praise and thank you! Give us courage to live lives pleasing to you, not to make you love us but because you already do. Help us to live everyday as a thank you for your gift of life. Amen.

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