Contributed by Jay McDivitt, Mequon, WI

Warm-up Question

What is one thing you have learned about “faith” from a grandparent and/or a parent?

Christian Kids Not Really Christian?

Kenda Creasy Dean, a professor at Princeton and author of Almost Christian, argues that more and more young people in Christian churches are embracing a “watered-down,” and not really “Christian” faith – something she calls “moralistic therapeutic deism” (MTD). MTD doesn’t reject basic Christian beliefs, but it doesn’t really encourage them either. Instead, MTD affirms that “God” created the world and is available to help you feel better when you’re down, but otherwise stays out of the way. God wants us to be nice and happy.  The God of MTD says good people who go to heaven. While these may be common assumptions about faith, Dean argues, these are not the historic claims of the Christian faith.

Why are kids embracing this watered-down version of the faith? Primarily because no one is taking their faith development very seriously. While parents will bend over backwards to drag kids to tutors, coaches, practices, and games to make sure that they learn or even excel in algebra, hockey, dance, soccer, or piano, it seems the name of the game for religion is to “expose” kids to faith – and hope they soak something up. Far from the radical commitments of the first disciples, many Christian churches assume that kids are doing well if they make a few good friends at youth group, have fun at camp, learn how to be nice, and avoid premarital sex or illegal drugs.

The problem lies mostly with parents, Dean argues: Too many parents don’t understand themselves why the Christian faith makes any real difference in their lives or in the world. They get “nice” and “good” – and, perhaps, “pure.” But they either didn’t grow up in the church or they were taught the same watered-down version of the faith.

What to do about it? The jury is still out. Many see a new passion growing among young people who want a faith that matters in a world that seems to be off balance. Others see an increasing decline in Christianity in North America that will bring faith practice here to the same low levels seen in Europe for decades.  One thing is for sure: Dean has started a conversation which will continue for some time as churches, parents, and young people wrestle with what it means to be Christian in the 21^st century.

Discussion Questions

• What do you think of Dean’s suggestion that Christianity has become mostly a religion of “nice” and “happy” people?  Does this sound like the Christian faith you see at church or in your home? Why or why not?
• Other than being “nice” and “happy” – and praying to God when you need help – what does it mean to you to be a Christian? What’s the real Christian faith, if the version Dean talks about is fake?
• When you think about the future, how do you want the next generation of kids (your kids or your friends’ kids) to learn about being Christians? What would you do differently from what you’re experiencing at home and at church today? What would you do the same?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, October 3, 2010 (Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost)

Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4

2 Timothy 1:1-14

Luke 17:5-10

(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

The disciples ask Jesus to “increase our faith!” How many of us have asked the same thing? When we read about tragedies around the world—or experience them ourselves in cancer, car accidents, or parents losing jobs—it’s hard for a lot of us to believe that God is real and doing good in the world. Faith gets rocked all the time, especially in the confusing and changing and crazy years of the teens and twenties.

Jesus’ response to this very normal request is surprising and a little bizarre: “If you had just a teeny-tiny bit of faith, you could move mountains.” Assuming none of us has ever told a mountain to move and had it obey, this seems like a rather strange exaggeration. Not all that helpful, at least on the surface.

But maybe that’s the point. Maybe what Jesus is saying is that the amount of faith isn’t what matters. We sometimes say “That woman is really faithful; she does x, y, and z for the church.” or, “I wish I could have faith like that guy; he’s always got the right answers.” That makes faith all about us—about how often we go to church, when and how we pray, what we do or don’t do on Friday night or Sunday morning, or how many Christian t-shirts or pieces of jewelry we wear. But if faith is all about us, then not only are we off track, we’re doomed.

That’s what is dangerous about the “almost Christian” faith that Dean describes. It’s all about us.  Faith becomes how we feel, about how nice we are – and God only enters the picture when we have a problem that we can’t fix. Then we pray “help me!” and hope God will show up and do something.

But that’s not what faith is all about. Faith is the hope that God has planted in us by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Faith is the trust that God didn’t just create the world—and occasionally shows up to fix things when we ask for help—but rather, God is turning the whole world upside down and inside out. God is the one moving mountains, destroying death, forgiving sin, healing divisions, and changing lives. Faith is the gift God gives us to see that “this is most certainly true” and the encouragement to tell the world about what we have seen.

Believing that God is turning the world upside down means that we will see, live, and talk differently. It means we will question more about “the way things are” and believe more about what God is doing. And it means we will have to practice seeing, speaking, and living the faith. Christian faith is a sheer gift, but it does not come naturally; it comes with practice. And practice takes patience and time.

That’s why it is so important for us to listen to our ancestors. Part of the problem of “MTD” is that it is all about “here and now” – it’s about my issues and my life. But Christianity is about the Beginning and the End; it’s about how Jesus is the first and last Word in creation. And that message has been given to us by those who have gone before us. The reading from 2 Timothy is a great example: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you…Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.”

By the gift of baptism, we have living in us the same faith that was given to our parents, our grandparents, and all those who have gone before us. It is solid stuff which makes bold claims about the past, present, and future of creation that go way beyond being “nice” or “happy.” And it is ours to live, to grow in, and to pass on to those who come after us. Since we believe that we “rely on the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to God’s own purpose and grace,” we know that whatever we do with this gift, God will keep on giving it to us and to our grandchildren, now and forever. And thanks be to God for that.

Discussion Questions

• What is different about what your grandparents believed and what you believe? If your answer is “not a lot,” why? If it’s “a lot,” what do you think created the difference?
• When have you ever wished for “more faith”? What happened?
• What difference does Jesus actually make in your life? In your parents’ lives? In the life of your church?

Activity Suggestions

• Arrange for a few older members of the church to come and talk about thier faith life. What was confirmation like for them? Did they ever leave the church? Why or why not? What do they think is the most important thing for young people to learn about Jesus and/or the church? [Perhaps this is a good time to pair each youth with an older adult for a mentoring/prayer partner relationship, if you don’t have one already.]
• Make a “faith family tree.” Have them draw their family trees – including non-“family” members (such as godparents, etc.). Identify what each person did (or didn’t) teach them about Jesus and the Christian life.
• Write a letter to your kids/grandkids/godkids/nieces/nephews. Whatever you imagine for your future in terms of relating to the next generation, pick a kid that you will someday be responsible for. Write them a letter about what you want them to know, learn, and experience as a child of God.

Closing Prayer

God of our ancestors: you have planted in each of us the seed of faith. Help us to grow in a deep and meaningful relationship with you. Teach us the important stuff, and strengthen us to pass it on to those who come after us. Thank you for all the faithful people who have gone before us and for giving us faith, especially when it’s hard to believe. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Contributed by Claudia Bergman, Erfurt, Germany

Warm-up Question

How does one grow radishes?

Will Work for Food

If you were looking for an internship this summer, you might think you know what the most sought-after places were: Capitol Hill, newspapers, and fashion magazines. But think again. This year, there was a run on internships that involved living in group housing or tents, earning little or nothing, and getting your hands dirty.  Students looking for internships, career-changers, and people who love to cook now turn to farmers to show them how to turn the soil.

Why do people volunteer to bend their backs for hours on end to pick radishes, get a sunburn from picking weeds between tender spinach leaves, or cook lunch from scratch for 200 hungry workers every day? Apparently, it is not just about getting the foot in the door with a future employer. Many of the interns at farms are looking for their calling in life or striving for a hands-on connection to the land. Asked about his motivation, Evan Dayringer, a farm intern with a math degree from Michigan State University, said, “It felt good to have some work that was real.”

The rise of Community Supported Agriculture has contributed to this run on farm internships. The more people get exposed to fresh organic vegetables, the more interested they become in learning how to grown and distribute them. An example is Angelic Organics in Caledonia, Illinois, led by the now famous Farmer John. Through its Learning Center, Angelic Organics offers volunteers an opportunity to work with the farm animals, grow vegetables, learn bread baking, help with the dishwashing at the cooking classes, develop resources, or do office work and outreach. The name of their newsletter is Let’s Grow!, which summarizes what farmers and interns at farms are all about.

Discussion Questions

• Does your family have a vegetable garden?
• How often does your family eat fresh or home-grown vegetables?
• Do you notice a difference in taste between a meal cooked from fresh organic vegetables and a TV-dinner that might have the same basic ingredients?
• Do you know people who can fruits and vegetables, make their own jams, or bake their own bread? What, do you think, is their motivation?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, September 26, 2010 (Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost)

Amos 6:1a, 4-7

1 Timothy 6:6-19

Luke 16:19-31

(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

What a strange story! It is as if Luke envisions two worlds. The first world is similar to the one we know. It is a place where the rich and the poor, the fortunate and the underprivileged, compete for society’s resources. The rich people indulge in everything that our wonderful world has to offer, while the poor people do not even have enough to heal their wounds and feed their physical hunger.

The second world, however, is totally different and seems to exist in the future end times. It is a two-layer world separated by a chasm. On the one side will be what Luke calls “Hades,” a hot, fiery, and dry place where those people live who are being punished for something. Here, the rich man suffers from thirst and heat. On the other side of that world, there will be an area where father Abraham dwells. It is a place where there is an abundance of water, cool shade, loving people, and plenty of food. Lazarus, who suffered his entire earthly life, sits at the head of the table, literally “in Abraham’s bosom,” like a tired little boy who rests close to the one he loves. Lazarus gets to eat foods that he never had before and could not have possibly imagined. He is comforted and cared for, his pains soothed and healed.

Luke imagines there to be some kind of connection between these two parts of the end time world because in the story the rich man in Hades can still talk to Abraham, who dwells on the other side. The rich man wants Abraham to order Lazarus to serve him.. But Abraham refuses. Lazarus gets to stay in the company of the father of his faith while the rich man is left to suffer.

Luke’s vision suggests Jesus who, according to New Testament tradition [e.g., 1 Peter 3:18-22], went into Hades and was resurrected from the dead. But Luke also develops a picture of the end times twhich involves a reversal of circumstances. Whoever was rich will now become poor. Whoever suffered will now be cared for and healed. Whoever was hungry will now have plenty. When the Gospel of Luke describes the end times in such a way, it follows a tradition that was widespread during the time the Gospel originated.  Jews and Christians imagined scenarios where the insufferable circumstances of the times would be turned around. These writers based their idea of the reversal at the end times on the Old Testament (the Hebrew Bible) where God is described as being the one who will return the corrupt world to the original beauty intended at creation.

What did people at Luke’s time think about the future? They thought that the just would be rewarded and the unjust punished. And how would one be able to distinguish between the just and the unjust? Our story from Luke has two answers. First, the rich are in danger of being considered the unjust, especially when they are not willing to share their fortunes.  Second, whoever listens to the Scriptures and obeys (Luke says to “Moses and the prophets”) will be counted among the just.

However one understands Jesus’ parable of a future world split between Hades and a place in Abraham’s bosom, it contains both a warning against blindness in the face of need and the promise that God’s faithfulness will still our hunger and make our hurting bodies and minds whole.

Discussion Questions

• Do you think  a vision of the end times where there will be a divide between the just and the unjust changed peoples’ behavior in the past?  How much do you think it motivates people today?
• How does this portion of the Gospel still speak to us today considering that most of us would be counted among the rich?
• What encourages people to care for the poor and to follow Scripture, in your opinion?
• Luke uses the image of a rich feast at the end times where everybody gets his or her fill and is healed of their sicknesses. How do you imagine the future in God?

Activity Suggestions

1. Split up your group in several small groups. Hand each group a sheet with one of the following texts printed out: Luke 14:7-14, Luke 15:1-7, Luke 17:20-37, Luke 18:1-8, Luke 18:18-27. Ask each group to read one of these stories (all of which are close to the one about Lazarus) and to find the characteristics of the Kingdom of God as described in them. Compare and contrast the different visions of the end times according to these stories in the Gospel of Luke.
2. Either together or in small groups, read the above texts about the Kingdom of God (you may also use just a selection of texts). Ask each individual to complete the following sentence: “In my opinion, the Kingdom of God will be like …”
3. Provide materials for artwork and ask each member of your group to create an artistic image of what they think the Kingdom of God will be like. Arrange the results on a wall or a place where they can be viewed for a few weeks, if possible by the entire congregation. If you did exercise #2, you can add these responses to your mural.
4. Arrange for somebody from a local feeding ministry to come and talk to your group about their reasons to feed the hungry. Find out whether your church is involved in a feeding ministry in your area. Use part of your lesson to collect ideas how your group can organize a food drive to benefit one of the feeding ministries nearby. 

Closing Prayer

Loving God. You fill our plates and cups every day, and we thank you for that. Yet, seeing that so many of your beloved children go hungry over and over again must sadden you.

We admit

• we do not share our resources as we should.
• we do not use your wonderful creation to its full potential.
• we do not distribute the fruits of your earth justly.

We ask you,

• help us to share.
• help us to work for justice.
• help us to appreciate what we have by providing a feast for others.

God of plenty, make us people who love abundantly and give freely. Amen.

Contributed by Jack Saarela, Lutheran Campus Ministry, Yale University

Warm-up Question

Has trying to follow Jesus ever put you at odds with your parents wishes or values? 

Honor Thy Father?

Mark tells us in his gospel that at the very beginning of his public ministry, Jesus walked on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and saw James and John in a boat mending their fishing nets. That’s the scene depicted in the painting on this page. “Immediately,” (one of Mark’s favorite words) Jesus invited them to be his disciples. Apparently, without a second’s hesitation, they laid down their nets, and set off to follow Jesus. Then Mark inserts an interesting detail: “ . . . and left their father Zebedee in the boat.”

Imagine the older man sitting on the bow of the boat in the painting as Zebedee, father of James and John, and head of the small family-run fishing operation, “Zebedee and Sons”.  James and John may have been excited, flattered, or expectant at the prospect of following Jesus. But I wonder how Zebedee felt, what he thought about Jesus’ coming along out of the blue and calling his sons away to be his followers. Do you think Zebedee was pleased as punch to assume all the burdens and responsibilities of the family fishing enterprise on his own, solitary shoulders?

Discussion Questions

• What do you think? How does Jesus look to you if you’re Zebedee, left alone in the fishing boat?
• Can you name any time in your life when your being a Christian disciple has led to tension within your family? Within your group of friends? 

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, September 5, 2010 (Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost)

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

Philemon 1-21

Luke 14:25-35

(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

In my ministry with students at the University of Florida, we used to offer a Bible study series every few years entitled, “Things We Wish Jesus Had Never Said!” We didn’t have any trouble coming up with a long list of texts from the gospels containing very hard, challenging words from Jesus.

Today’s gospel text was almost always among them. William Willimon, Methodist bishop and former chaplain at Duke, asks, “What is this, Jesus on a bad day?” Jesus seems to be in no mood here for compromise or halfway measures in the matter of following him. “Hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters”? . . . “Yes, [hate] even life itself”? . . . “Give up all your possessions”? And then, to top it off, “carry the cross”? Ouch!

Yes, part of the challenge of Jesus’ words can be explained by the fact that he is using hyperbolic language to catch our attention. And sure, Jesus doesn’t imply “hating” in the sense of an emotion, but rather a kind of detachment from family and possessions that allows us to keep them in proper perspective as secondary and tertiary loyalties in our lives, when our first love ought to be serving God and loving our neighbor.

Nonetheless, it’s not at all easy to keep family commitments and pursuit of income and possessions in their proper place. My experience is that it’s impossible, as are a lot of other things Jesus asks of us. Love my neighbor as myself? Turn the other cheek? Sometimes, maybe, but it’s not my first instinct.

That’s why I find Jesus’ words later in the gospel of Luke to be such good news. In chapter 18, Jesus appears to make another set of impossible demands of a rich young man (to go sell all he has and give the money to the poor). The man is saddened, and turns away. One of the disciples then asks Jesus, “Who, then, can be saved?” Jesus replies with the good news I’m talking about: “What is impossible for mortals is possible for God.” (Luke 18:26-27)

For mortals like you and me, it’s virtually impossible to follow Jesus on the terms he establishes. But through the action of the Holy Spirit, God makes the impossible happen.

Discussion Questions

• Can you think of other sayings of Jesus you wish he had never said? Words of his that are difficult to hear and challenge our assumptions?
• Some suggest that mainline Christian churches like the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are not growing because we fail to raise the bar for being a Christian, and settle instead for an “easy believism,” practicing and living out our faith as an “optional extracurricular activity.”  Do you think they are right? Why, or why not?
• How do we accept the free grace of God in Jesus (the fact that God makes impossible discipleship possible for us) and yet not just sit back and “let God do it”? 

Activity Suggestions

• Watch a video about the challenges faced especially by young Christians in China at:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbgDlMmAGaw
• Is “easy believism”  even possible in places like China?

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, it’s not that I don’t want to “follow your more dearly and love you more dearly”, it’s just that it seems set up for my failure. Your demands and expectations are so high! But I believe that even my wanting to follow you is already the work of your Spirit within me. Make what seems impossible for me possible today. Amen

Contributed by Scott Moore, ELCA Representative for the Luther Decade and Coordinator of Wittenberg Center Activities.

Warm-up Question

What would it mean to you to give away half of everything you have?

Generosity in Abundance

Once again in the news, Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet have upped the ante on what it means to be generous with one’s wealth by inviting their rich peers to take the “giving pledge.”  As the home page states, “the Giving Pledge is an effort to invite the wealthiest individuals and families in America to commit to giving the majority of their wealth to the philanthropic causes and charitable organizations of their choice either during their lifetime or after their death.”

The first 40 wealthy individuals or families to take the Giving Pledge are setting an example of generosity when many are much more concerned about their security in uncertain economic times. If you are wondering how much wealth is at stake, here are a couple of statistics. With just the 400 billionaires in the United States alone, there is a net worth of about $1.2 trillion. That means around $600 billion for charity if all 400 took the pledge. 40 of the first approximately 75 people agreed to participate. Their net worth is about $230 billion. One of the richest men, Warren Buffett, has pledged to give more than 99% of his wealth to charity.

This pledge is just beginning. The initiators hope that the number of those willing to share from their wealth will continue to grow. 

Discussion Questions

• When was the last time you shared some of your “wealth” where it felt like a sacrifice?
• What does your congregation do with the “wealth” it has?
• What do you get out of sharing from what you have?
• When have you shared your wealth with someone, knowing there would be nothing in it for you?
• To which charity would you or do you give when you share your wealth?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, August 29, 2010 (Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost)

Proverbs 25:6-7

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

Luke 14:7-14

(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

Imagine that! Jesus eating, but this time not with ‘sinners,’ as we always like to mention. Instead Jesus is going to a respectable Sabbath dinner at the house of one of the religious leaders in town. But he was being watched to see how he would behave and what he might say. Perhaps, the other guests thought that Jesus only knew how to break bread with ‘sinners’ and ‘undesirables’.  Maybe they hoped that Jesus would be an interesting dinner guest.  After all, Jesus had just completed his teaching and preaching tour in the villages on his way to Jerusalem where some of the Pharisees warned him to stay away because Herod was after him. Jesus responds that that he will continue doing what he has been doing. (13:32-33)

Just before they all sit down to eat, Jesus takes a moment and heals someone on the Sabbath, with a questioning challenge to those gathered. (14:3)

Now Jesus turns his attention to those gathering guests, jockeying for the best seat at the table. Jesus warns them to be humble and to not assume a higher place so that they might be lifted up. Turning to the host of the dinner Jesus encourages him to not throw a party in hopes of getting something in return. Share your banquet of abundance with those who could never offer anything in return.

In our daily lives, we are surrounded with a “quid pro quo”, “tit for tat” way of surviving. We all know that you have to be savvy and crafty and do favors for those who might be able to help you out in the future. That is how we are taught to survive and succeed in school and business. We like to quote the Golden Rule, “do unto others,” often with the sense of “treat people as you hope to be treated by them.” We love films like Pay it Forward in which the main characters do something good in hope that it will spread, eventually—maybe hopefully—coming back to them.

Even the wealthy do-gooders like Gates and Buffett hope to make society better through education. If we invest in others, then it will eventually be better for all of us. All of this is certainly true, noble, and to be encouraged. Jesus radically suggests that we should share with those who cannot hope to repay us. Share from what we have because we are blessed. Give without expecting anything in return. Jesus’ promise is that there will be a reward of another kind in the time beyond time.

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever felt like you have given and given and it hasn’t changed the person or the situation? How did that affect your attitude toward giving?
• How should we approach giving to those where it seems unlikely that our gift will make an obvious difference (alcoholics, drug addicts, etc.)?

Activity Suggestions

Learning About Local Ministries of Giving

Check out local food/clothing ministries and present the information to participants. Perhaps there is a local chapter of United Way that can help you see what kinds of organizations are near your congregation.

Other nationally based organizations that engage in feeding ministries include (but are not limited to) Bread for the World and ELCA World Hunger Appeal.

If your congregation already supports a local ministry such as a feeding program, food pantry, battered women’s shelter, homeless shelter, or literacy program, perhaps your group can participate by working with that ministry at some point in the near future.

 Half of All You Own

Anonymous giving of half of your group’s wealth…

Hand out paper and writing utensils and ask the participants to estimate their “wealth”…the value of all they personally own (how much would they have if they were to sell everything they have for cash) plus cash and savings…then ask them to cut that in half. Collect the sums (without names) and add it all together.  See how much money your group could accumulate.

Talk about whether or not they would survive giving half of what they own. What would that look like?  How would their lives change?  What could they accomplish with their combined wealth?

Discuss whether it is harder or easier to be generous when you are very wealthy.

Closing Prayer

God of grace and abundance, you have blessed your earth with the resources to meet the needs of your whole creation. Grant that we may receive with mindful thanksgiving what you have given us and then generously share it with those in need. We ask this in the name of the one who gave us his life, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Contributed by David Delaney,  Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries, Virginia Synod, Salem, VA

Warm-up Question

Think of the most unexpected thing that has ever happened to you.  It could be anything:  a good surprise, a horrible tragedy, school suddenly canceled, a public disaster, a family event – anything.  Were you ready for it when it happened?

Blow Out, Blow Up…Have No Fear

Spring and Summer 2010 have been dominated by one news story more than any other:  the British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  It began in April, when a BP oil rig caught fire and collapsed, destroying the pipe that led from the rig on the surface of the water down 5,000 feet to the opening on the sea floor. It produced such a visible and disastrous effect on the environment that it was still a daily headline near the end of July, even when the leak was successfully capped. 

Public accusations, calls for justice, and pleas for help stand alongside a  host of “should haves”– the United States government should have exercised more regulation, British Petroleum should have been more careful, the oil industry should have been less greedy, solutions should have been thought of sooner, everyone should have tried harder, environmentalists should not care so much.  

As soon as the spill happened, everyone had an opinion about what was wrong and how to proceed.  And yet, before the spill, few people outside of the oil and gas industry could have said how much oil drilling goes on in the Gulf of Mexico.  Even fewer could have identified the specific risks associated with deep-water drilling.  The American public has received quite an education during these days, and Christians have been faced with an additional series of questions that derive from our faith and the witness of the scriptures. 

Discussion Questions

• What in human nature and need allows a person or company, in the name of profit, to ignore the risks of endangering the environment, workers, and those living near the work area?
• Is it right for people to suddenly pile-on to BP about this spill when they have been ignorant and uncaring for decades regarding the risks of deep oil drilling?
• What part of the story bothers you the most – The apparent carelessness of BP?  The effect of the spill on sea life in the Gulf?  The effect of the spill on Gulf Coast residents in general and on the fishermen whose very lives depend on the presence of sea life?  The apparent dismissal of the scope of the tragedy and lack of empathy for those affected by BP executives?  The grandstanding and political opportunism practiced by those in the American government as they argue about what action should be taken? Something else?
• How (if at all) is the Gulf spill any different from the smaller moral and ethical decisions we make every day?  How prepared are you for a disaster that might strike close to home and affect you? 

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, August 8, 2010 (Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost)

Genesis 15:1-6

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

Luke 12:32-40

(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

This passage consists of a huge string of wisdom sayings from Jesus – so many that each one by itself would be topic enough for a whole discussion. These sayings, along with those in surrounding passages, are all oriented toward anticipating the future with clear certainty about God’s sovereignty over, not only the inhabitants of this world, but the events of history.  Jesus advises us first to know our priorities, making sure those are carefully sorted out, so that being recipients of the grace granted to us by  God holds first place in our lives.  If we have that clarity of orientation, then we will also be ready when Christ returns. 

Jesus does not call us to prepare by focusing on that final event – the return of Christ and judgment of the world – but rather by focusing on him, sent by the Father to bring humankind to faith.  Even today we hear Christian people fret over the second coming of Jesus, proclaiming that they know the date for the so-called “rapture of the church.”  This passage rejects such speculation.  We are not to look far into the future, calculating the “profit” we will make in figuring out God’s timetable.  Instead, we are to be about our daily work – loving Jesus, sharing the good news with others, and bringing whatever gift we have been given to the service of God’s people.  

Discussion Questions

• What has been your experience with so-called “neo-dispensationalist” readers of the Bible.  (These are Christians who spend most of their time trying to figure out exactly what Jesus said to avoid speculating on – the date and time of his return.  The “Left Behind” books are examples of this.)  How do you understand the promise of Jesus’ return, and that in all times we are to believe that it will be soon?
• The Bible presumes throughout that the future is in God’s hands, which means that human worry and exertions to create security are not to be trusted (see Ecclesiastes 3 and Matthew 6:19-34).  On the other hand, some Christians in New Testament times were so convinced of this that they made no positive contribution at all to their community (see II Thess. 3).  How does one balance the absolute trust that “God will provide” with realism about the need to work and plan?
• The first part of the gospel passage speaks of your “treasure.”  This can be defined as the things that pull on you when you make your decisions, things you want to protect.  They do not have to be material objects!  What are those things for you ?

Activity Suggestions

Leaf through scripture and see if you can identify people occupied doing their ordinary work.  These are people who are often the very ones whom “the master finds alert when he comes.”  God often calls just such to be great instruments for God’s purposes in the world.  What is your ordinary work?  How do you focus on Christ day-to-day and so make him your first priority?   Does it help your walk of discipleship to imagine what Christ might find you doing should he return at some point today?

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, we recall your command to your disciples to proclaim the gospel to the whole world, and we hope to make it our own by our obedience to this calling.  We pray for all who have been affected by natural and unforeseen forces.  Help us find words to console those whose mourning includes the frustration of a disrupted life.  Let them, with us, keep our focus on the work to be done in the present, so that you may find us faithful servants and good stewards of these gifts you have given us – the lavishness of grace and the beautiful abundance of creation.  Amen.