Contributed by Scott Moore, Erfurt, Germany

Warm-up Question

When have you misunderstood someone to the point where it was either funny or embarrassing?

Messed Up Message?

On a cell phone anywhere, U.S.A.— As cell phone technology improves and the phones themselves getting “smarter” with every new version, one thing seems to be struggling more than in the past: text messaging. Newer auto correct features now allow the phone to decide how the word should be finished based on the first few letters and based on entries from previous text messages. The advent of such smart technology and the “failtexts” it brings with it is causing everything from a good chuckle to more serious relationship crises. Without the advantage of someone’s voice to help interpret the meaning of text messages, it seems that communication is more challenging now than ever. “Well, you need a sense of humor, I guess,” said one seventeen-year old. Another user mused, “I don’t use the feature. I don’t want the phone messing up my messages. It’s crazy.”

Needless to say, not only do the texters themselves have to pay closer attention to what they write before they hit “send”, but the readers have to try to be open and forgiving of miscommunications. But only if they can tell it’s a fail message.

Discussion Questions

• Survey: (please raise your hand) Do you use your text function throughout the day 5 times or less?…..6-10?…..11-25?…..26-50?…..More than 50?   What does that number say about the you, if anything?
•  What are the advantages of texting over other forms of communicating?  What are the disadvantages?
• When have you ever missed out on something “important” to you where you were because you were texting and not able to pay attention?
• When has texting helped you be more present in someone’s life?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, December 18, 2011 (Fourth Sunday of Advent

2 Samuel 7:1-11

Romans 16:25-27

Luke 1:26-38
(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

An intimidating angel comes out of nowhere with a message for a woman on the verge of adulthood. “God really likes you. God thinks you’re great.” That’s what it means to find favor with God. Somehow this young person got on God’s radar screen. Or rather, God simply put her on the radar screen. God chose her. God’s love makes her special. But somehow she didn’t know it yet. Here she was going about her business of getting ready to settle down with a nice guy from her home-town and maybe start a family and make a go at this thing called life. Now this angel—which comes from the Greek word for bringer of news or messenger—is throwing a wrench into all their plans. A son? How? We’re not trying to have kids yet. Pregnant you say? By the Holy Spirit? Uh huh.

This is a strange beginning to a strange and overwhelming conversation with an angel of the Lord. Mary started out “perplexed”, out of sorts. As the story gets more surreal, she seems to get calmer. It would be easy to think that the average person would just have shut down after that kind of communication at the start. We might even respond with a polite, “Well, thanks for stopping by, here’s the door.” But that’s not what happens here. Before she finds out she will bear Jesus, the Son of the Most High God, Mary has been prepared through God’s loving favor.  God’s loving favor for her precedes her being made ready for the eternal Word of God, Jesus.

Mary is the prototypical (the first example) Christian. She is the first one to be prepared to bear Christ. In fact, she is called that in the Orthodox tradition—theotokos, which means “God bearer”. It is a special term for Mary as the one who bore God, in this case Jesus the Christ. But just as Mary was loved into readiness, we too are loved first by God and drawn into the message of good news of Jesus. For some that comes later in life when we are consciously aware of the message, for others that happens very early on, first in the waters of baptism, with learning about the message of Christ afterwards.

Mary seems a little confused about the message Gabriel passes on to her from God. But Gabriel is able to clear things up. Mary gets it. Not only does she understand clearly what the message actually is but she also accepts it in faith. She offers herself to be an instrument of God’s will, even though this may have meant shame and ridicule among family, friends, and neighbors. The clarity of the messenger and the message reach someone who is open for God’s word. God’s love, Mary’s response. This is certainly something to rejoice about. And, in the next story (Luke 1:39-56), that is exactly what Mary does—sings a song of praise to God for loving her and choosing her to work great things in the world.

Discussion Questions

• When have you been perplexed by a message someone passed on to you?
• When has someone dear to you entrusted you with an important task?
• When have you been willing to change something about your life in order to do something good for others?
• What kind of message from God would you find “perplexing?”
• If the word angel simply means ‘messenger’ in Greek (the language of the New Testament), what do you think angels look like?

Activity Suggestions

Playing Gabriel:

Participants create messages (either on paper, or spoken, or sent as text messages) of God’s love and favor and speak them or hand them out to members of the congregation, strangers, family or friends. Some example messages: (Feel free to create your own in the same style but your own words!)

“Greetings, Child of God. You are special. God loves you and wants to do great things with you.”

“Hey there! You know what? God thinks you’re alright. Keep it up. God has big plans for you.”

“Hi, friend. You may not know this but God is with you. All the time. And God wants you to pass that message on.”

“God wants you to know something. Ready? You are so loved! And, you are important.”

Closing Prayer

O God who shows favor to the young, make your love and favor known to us. Empower us to turn and open our hearts and minds to you. Guide us to be faithful servants, like your servant Mary. Let us bear Christ in the world. We ask this in the name of the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Contributed by John Wertz, Blacksburg, VA

Warm-up Question

What is your favorite animal?  Why?

Blessing of the Animals

According to the Humane Society, there are over 164.6 million cats and dogs living as household pets in the United States. For many, pets are a beloved member of the family.  Today, on the Sunday closest to October 4, churches around the country will hold Blessing of the Animals services as a way for Christians to give thanks to God for the joy and love that pets bring to the lives of their owners.

The love of pets and animals is neither new nor exclusive to the United States.  People have loved and cared for animals as a part of God’s creation for centuries.  One of the most famous animal lovers was St. Francis of Assisi who referred to the animals as his brothers and sisters.  Once, according tradition, Francis was once traveling with some companions and they happened upon a place in the road where birds filled the trees on either side. Francis told his companions, “Wait for me while I go to preach to my sisters the birds.”   On another occasion, Francis supposedly persuaded a wolf to stop attacking some locals if they agreed to feed the wolf. Given Francis’ connection to animals and the fact that the church commemorates (remembers) Francis of Assisi on October 4, the Sunday closest to October 4 seems like a perfect time to celebrate the Blessing of the Animals.

In addition to his love of animals and all of creation, Francis was known for his devotion to the poor.  Though born into a wealthy family, he gave up his inheritance to serve the poor and founded the Franciscans, a monastic order. Francis believed that it was important for his faith to bear fruit in the world, so he took a vow of poverty, worked with lepers, acted as a peacemaker, and inspired others to adopt a way of life focused on serving God and others.

Discussion Questions

• Why do you think people participate in a Blessing of the Animals Service?  What do you think a Blessing of the Animals Service says about our relationship to creation?
• Francis of Assisi famously said, “Go and preach the Gospel.  Use words if necessary.”  Can you think of a time when you or someone else shared the Gospel—the good news about God’s love for the world in Jesus Christ—without using words?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, October 2, 2011 (Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost)

Isaiah 5:1-7

Philippians 3:4b-14

Matthew 21:33-46

(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

For Francis of Assisi, it wasn’t enough to study about God.  He wanted to bear the fruit of God’s love by living out his faith through his actions in the world.  Francis took seriously the call to serve others.  He devoted his life to caring for the sick and those in need.  He rejected the world’s obsession with stuff and chose a path of simplicity and poverty.  He cared about creation and loved the world around him.  “Go and preach the Gospel.  Use words if necessary.” was not simply a slogan, it was a way of life.

For some people, there is a disconnect between what they say that they believe and how they act in their daily lives.  They may speak about the importance of loving their neighbor, but when their neighbor is in need, they turn their back.  They may talk about following Jesus’ example, but somehow they never manage to move beyond fulfilling their own selfish desires.  According to our reading from Matthew, the chief priests and the Pharisees are just this type of person.  They know the story of God’s relationship with God’s people, but it doesn’t seem to influence how they treat others and the world around them.  They appear to be more concerned about themselves than about bearing the fruit of God’s love in the world.

In an effort to help the chief priests and the Pharisees understand the gap between what God does for them and their actions, Jesus shares this parable of the vineyard.  In the parable, the tenants disobey their Lord, murder his messengers, and ultimately reject and kill his son.  Upon hearing the story, the Chief Priests and Pharisees are enraged.  How could anyone act this way toward their master?  They quickly declare that these disobedient tenants should be punished and that the punishment should be death. As Jesus continues to speak, the Chief Priests and the Pharisees begin to understand that this is not a random story, but a story about them and the way they are living as God’s people in the world.

Now, in fairness to the chief priests and the Pharisees, I imagine that they truly believed that they were acting faithfully and that Jesus was the one being unfaithful to God.   As we look back, however, it appears that these men failed to grasp that they, like all of God’s children, are caretakers of the gifts God has given us, and that we are all called to use those gifts in God’s service in the world, not simply to hoard them for themselves.

A great deal has changed in the centuries since Jesus first shared this parable, but the call for God’s people remains to build our lives on the cornerstone of Jesus, to bear fruit, to live out our faith in daily life, and to do God’s work with our hands.   What will the fruit you bear look like? Only you can know the answer to that question, but God has given you a variety of gifts and the key is to claim the gifts God has given you and to look for ways to use those gifts to help others know the good news of God’s love.

Discussion Questions

• How do you think the chief priests and the Pharisees felt when Jesus finished sharing the parable?
• Instead of learning from Jesus and admitting their mistake, the chief priests and the Pharisees get more angry and more upset with Jesus.  Why do you think they refused to learn and change?
• What is a cornerstone?  What does it mean to have Jesus as a cornerstone in our lives?
• Name one gift or talent God has given you.  How can you use that gift in God’s service in the world?

Activity Suggestions

• Invite the group to identify two gifts or talents that God has given each person who is present.  Work together to discover ways that those talents can be used to bear the fruit of God’s love in the world.
• Make a banner or art display that depicts a tree bearing fruit.  Give each worshiper (or participant in your group) a slip of paper shaped like a piece of fruit and invite them to identify one gift or talent God has given them and write it on their fruit.  Collect all the ‘fruits’ and hang them on the tree.
• As a group, volunteer at a local animal shelter.

Closing Prayer

Loving God, through your teaching you help us to understand more fully how you want us to live as your people in the world.  Inspire us to claim the gifts and talents you have given us and to use those blessings to bear the fruit of your love through our words and our actions.  Amen.

Contributed by Jen Krausz, Bethlehem, PA

Warm-up Question

When would you rather be last at something, rather than first?

It’s Not Fair–Thank God

My father-in-law passed away over the summer. He was only 63, and our family was not ready for a leaky heart valve which led to a lengthy hospital stay, followed by strokes which left him comatose and unable to respond.

But in the weeks before the strokes, while he sat in the hospital waiting for his kidney function to stabilize, an amazing thing happened. His heart toward God changed.

A previous church had judged his family for the behavior of another family member instead of offering help or support. This unchrist-like behavior had turned him off to churches—we thought, for good. He was a loving father, grandfather and husband. He helped many people and treated others better than they deserved in many cases. He just didn’t want to get involved with churches anymore, and held God at a distance because of the way God’s people had treated him.

But when he landed in the hospital, he started talking to our pastor. People from church, many of whom he did not know, called and visited. They became the hands and feet of God to him, and he began to see, through this caring and through talks with the pastor, that God loved him. He expressed his wishes to join the church when he recovered, not knowing that the expected recovery would not take place.

At his funeral, the pastor was able to share this story of a man who discovered God’s love and salvation at the end of his life. What an inspiration to those who heard that story!

 Discussion Questions

• Do you know anyone who is “turned off” to church because of a bad experience? What do you think might change someone’s mind once they’ve had an experience like this?
• What can churches do to minister to people who have been mistreated in the past?
• Do you think it matters to God whether someone comes to faith early in life or at the end of their earthly life? Why or why not?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, September 18, 2011 (Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost)

 
Jonah 3:10-4:11

Philippians 1:21-30

Matthew 20:1-16

(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

Wouldn’t it be great to work one hour and get paid the same as people who have worked an entire day? Absolutely, it would. However, would you like to be the person who worked all day and had to watch someone who only worked an hour get paid the same as you? Not likely.

Unfortunately, people who have followed Christ for many years can take the same attitude as these day-long laborers did in this week’s scriptures. According to these verses and others (such as Jesus’ promise to the thief on the cross that he would be with Jesus in Paradise on that same day), those who come to Christ at the end of their lives are promised the same reward: eternity with God in heaven.

Is that fair? Well, Jesus cautions, we may not want to be so focused on what’s fair. After all, let’s consider that Jesus’ payment on the cross for our sins wasn’t fair to him, was it? If things were really fair, we would all be in trouble! This parable reminds us that God is in charge, and it’s up to God to decide what happens to people. If God decides to give people every opportunity to find faith and salvation, even with their dying breaths (and it seems that God has), what is that to us?

I would add that there are many blessings in following Christ here on earth, so even grumbling about fairness is not really justified. In God’s economy, glorifying God also benefits us in many ways. Go figure!

I don’t know if you grew up like I did, hearing my parents use verse 16 of this scripture as a life lesson. Whenever my sister and I clamored to be the first to get or do anything, we heard, “The first shall be last, and the last shall be first.” And although we got tired of hearing these words, they were a good reminder that being first is not necessarily best in God’s eyes. God takes everything into account; even the last and least are important to God, and they should be important to God’s followers as well.

Discussion Questions

•  Do you consider yourself to be a long-time follower of Christ or a new believer—or someone who is still seeking faith?
• If you consider yourself a long-time follower, how do you feel about those who come to faith at the very end of their lives?
• What special opportunities belong to those who are last (think about being last in line, last to do something)?
• Does your view of what’s fair change when you consider that no person deserves salvation or even God’s love?

Activity Suggestions

As a group or individually, commit to visiting at least one person who is in the hospital. It could be a church member, or a non-member that someone in the class knows. The purpose of the visit is not to evangelize, but to show love and concern. Pray out loud for the hospitalized person during the visit (ask first to make sure they are open to it).

Brainstorm other ideas for how to show God’s love to others in a non-judgmental way. There are many ways for students to do this in their daily lives—sitting with someone at the lunch table who normally sits alone, offering to help carry an injured student’s books, helping a struggling student with homework, treating brothers and sisters the way they would want to be treated, etc. It is so sad that so many people miss out on church (and God) because they have not experienced the love of God’s people! We as a church need to make sure we are reversing this trend, not reinforcing it.

Closing Prayer

Holy God, you can do anything in this world, but you choose to work through flawed people. Give us strength and willingness to be your hands and feet to the people around us, especially those who are hurting and need your love. Thank you for being unfair to us and forgiving our sins when we didn’t deserve it. In Jesus’name, Amen.

Contributed by Sylvia Alloway, Granada Hills, CA

Warm-up Question

If you found out about a terrible injustice done to a friend or family member what would you do? If the injustice was done to a stranger, what would you do?

Demonstrations Rock Cairo

Protests continue in Cairo, Egypt, where thousands of demonstrators have assembled in Tahir square to call to account the oppressive government of Hosni Mubarak, the country’s sole leader for 30 years. Shouting and waving signs, protestors call for democracy and demand that the leader step down.

Mubarak has appointed a Vice President, fired his cabinet, said that he will not run for re-election, and agreed to talk with representatives of the opposition, but the unrest has not died down. Tents have appeared in the square, giving the impression that the rebels are in for the long haul.

The government has cut off Internet and phone services, but pictures and descriptions of the violence between the police and the opposition have leaked out. The United Nations estimates that 300 have died and a thousand more have been wounded.

The arrival of government troops is not bad news. The army is seen as neutral and even sympathetic towards the protestors’ cause, unlike the police, who represent the Mubarak leadership exclusively.

Older members of the resistance suggest that a slow transition might be best for the country as a whole. But the young people who began the protest want Mubarak to leave immediately. There seems to be no doubt that Mubarak will leave office. The only question is when.

Discussion Questions

• Why do you think so many of the protestors are young people? If you were a young Egyptian would you join the demonstrators? Why or why not?
• How might a democratically elected leader (rather than a leader for life) change the country for the better?
• Read over today’s Gospel lesson again. Could a Christian join in a demonstration like the one going on in Egypt without violating the principles Jesus outlines here?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, February 20, 2011 (Seventh Sunday after Epiphany)

Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18

1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23

Matthew 5:38-48

(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

“Do not resist an evildoer.” What, never? “Give to everyone who begs from you.” Surely not everyone. “Love your enemy.” What enemy? Just who is Jesus talking about here? In the historical context he is talking about representatives of the Roman Empire: governors, officials and soldiers.

Any Jew of that time would have understood this. The Romans were keeping them from the Great Kingdom God had promised them, a peaceful, prosperous Israel ruled by a descendant of King David. If it weren’t for those lousy Romans, the Jews would be fulfilling their destiny in the Promised Land. This was the attitude to which Jesus was speaking.

Imagine how shocked his Jewish listeners were when he told them, not how great and deserving they were, but how humble and giving they should be. His uncompromising words (“Be perfect… as your heavenly Father is perfect”) were meant to wake up God’s chosen ones to what they were actually chosen to do – set an example of humility, generosity and love to the world.

As Christians of today, we don’t like to hear this any more than the people of Jesus’ day did. The world rejects the virtues our Lord describes. Which, of course, is all the more reason to practice them.

In a world full of selfishness, unrest and injustice His words still apply – “Do not resist…Give to everyone… Love your enemy.”

Discussion Questions

• As a class, discuss the absolute quality of Jesus’ words:   do this, period. Is this a just a way of speaking, or are we literally to do these things all the time?
• Give examples of the way the world (TV, advertising, education, games) encourages us to think of ourselves as great and deserving. How can we combat these influences and practice Christ-like humility instead?
• What would the Egyptian conflict look like if the rebels practiced “love your enemy”?
• What would your life look like if you practiced the words of Jesus in the Gospel lesson?

Activity Suggestions

• Take an example from history in which Christians engaged in peaceful protest (for example the Civil Rights Movement). Discuss what the result of this participation was.

• Invent a modern scenario in which a Christian could/should participate in peaceful protest. Discuss what the result might be.

Suggested songs: Onward, Christian Soldiers, Take My Life and Let It Be

Closing Prayer

Lord, we give thanks and praise that you are the God of justice and peace, of courage and humility. You call us to action against evil, yet bid us to practice gentleness and love. When we question how these things can be, remind us to be imitators of Christ in all things. Only through Him and His words to us can we fulfill His commands. In the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen

Contributed by Bob Chell, Lutheran Campus Pastor, South Dakota State University

Warm-up Question

What’s your favorite reality show? Why?

Schadenfreude

Google “why we love reality TV” and you will get 50,500,000 results in 0.24 seconds. Type in “list of reality TV shows” and you’ll find 500+ shows in 13 categories encompassing life from cradle (Toddlers in Tiaras) to teens (My Super Sweet Sixteen) young adults (Cribs) dating, (the Bachelor) marriage (Bridezilla) and the aftermath (Cheaters). The last is only one of the twenty two ‘hidden camera’ reality shows.

As television mirrors real life, real life returns the favor with the recent posting of a Duke University student’s web power point of her sexual partners titled “An Education Beyond the Classroom: Excelling in the Realm of Horizontal Academics” listing names and evaluating the sexual prowess of those with whom she shared her body.

It doesn’t stop there. Much like the twenty two “hidden camera” shows, a  Rutgers University student thought it would be funny to leave his webcam on when his roommate had a romantic encounter, twittering other friends to ‘tune in.’

His roommate, the unwitting star of the video, Tyler Clementi, took his life the next day, jumping off the George Washington Bridge.

YouTube now has a video about “the two worst people in the world” meaning, of course, those who posted the webcast on the internet…and, as day follows night, articles, video’s and, of course, Facebook groups condemning or defending all of those listed above. One cannot tell the victims from the victimizers.

Discussion Questions

• How do you feel about yourself when you find yourself delighting in the misfortune of others?
•  Why do people consent to be on a reality TV show. What does it say about them?
• What does the proliferation of internet sites devoted to the misfortune of others say about our culture? About you and me?
• Will you surf the net differently for having read this article?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, October 24, 2010 (Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost)

Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22

2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

Luke 18:9-14

(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

I love words and this text calls to mind two of my favorites; “supercilious” (soo-per-sil-ee-uh s) meaning “disdainful: having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy” and the German word, “schadenfreude” (\ˈshä-d^ən-ˌfrȯi-də\), meaning pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others.

It is easy to see the Pharisee as supercilious. I love the word because pronounced aloud it contains the word ‘silly.’  And how silly for one person to think they are better than another, right? (Do not answer this question aloud.  I, like Jesus, am setting a trap for the unwary.)  Schadenfreude is the feeling we get when the trap is sprung.  Surely you’ve had the feeling, haven’t you? If you’ve ever been passed by a reckless driver going 30 miles over the speed limit only to see them pulled over by the state trooper five miles later, I know you have.

To be a Pharisee one had to be devout, taking faith seriously and working to live as God would have one live. Tax collectors did, in fact, impoverish others as they enriched themselves.  Both can be, and were, scoundrel or saint in different contexts.

Jesus didn’t come to tell bad people to be good people. When my children were young I remember driving by the county jail one day with them when one of them pointed to the jail saying, “That’s where they keep the bad people.” I wouldn’t have thought much of it if I hadn’t spent the previous afternoon visiting a student there. “No,” I said, “that’s where they keep good people who make bad choices.” Don’t get me wrong. I, like you, know there is evil in the world. Only a dolt would believe otherwise. Yet, at the end of the day there is only one kind of people not two. Jesus didn’t come to tell bad people to be good people, Jesus came to forgive sin and call us into discipleship.

If we are honest with ourselves, we can and do play both parts in Jesus’ parable.

Discussion Questions

• Would you answer the warm up question differently after having read the news article and reflection?
• Do you know people who, because they are smarter than others, believe they are better than others? How many words can you substitute for “smarter” in the above sentence?
• What does it say about us when we find ourselves delighting in the misfortune of others?
• Martin Luther said we were simul justus et peccator, both saint and sinner. What does this mean in the context of this parable?
• Have you ever gone to a pastor, teacher, or someone else in authority to take responsibility for having hurt another? Did that ease or add to your burden? Why?
• What is the significance of Jesus forgiving sin and calling us into discipleship versus calling us into discipleship and forgiving sin. 

Activity Suggestions

• Read what this Wikipedia article says about simul justus et peccator, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theology_of_Martin_Luther, and discuss whether you agree with Martin Luther.  Why or why not?
• Keep a log of the time you spend watching reality shows this week, and another of the time you spend texting, chatting via the internet and on facebook. Next week talk about how these activities  enrich and impoverish your life.
• Identify those places where things contrary to God’s way of living are portrayed as glamorous on TV and in your school or workplace.
• Pray for the saints and scoundrels you see on TV, in your school or workplace, and in your homes. Include yourself.

Closing Prayer

Forgiving God, I have mocked and teased others and relished their misfortune. Forgive me and break open my heart so I can feel the pain of another. Healing God, I know the pain of my brokenness and work to hide it from others, from you, and from myself. Help me face my pain and give me the courage to share it with someone of trust, that your grace and forgiveness may become real in my life. Amen.