Contributed by Bill King, Lutheran Campus Ministry at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA

Warm-up Question

When you have an important school assignment to finish, what distractions are hardest for you to resist?  Why?

Driven to Distraction

If you have watched a basketball game on television you have seen rabid fans seated behind the goal trying to distract an opposing team’s free throw shooter.  “Shirtless” Bill Sproat, a student at Utah State has taken distraction to a new level, making it an art form. Sproat says that he actually hates basketball, calling it a “worthless” sport, but he loves finding new ways to get in the heads of opposing players.  At Aggies’ home games you can find him behind the goal dressed as a  snorkeler, Chippendale, or cupid.  He tries to match his character to the opponent; for example, he showed for a game against the University of Hawaii dressed as a hula dancer.  But his signature move comes in the second half of the game; he strips off his top and lets his ample torso undulate behind the backboard. 

There is some debate in basketball circles over whether the antics of fans like Shirtless Bill actually make any difference.  Top players say that if you are properly focused on the rim you do not even see the fans.  But Bill has his own focus, “If I can get them to laugh then I can get them to miss. If I get them to look at me, they’re in big trouble.”

Discussion Questions

• How do you react to “Shirtless” Bill Sproat?  Do you find him admirable for his passion or a bit desperate in his desire for attention?
• What do you think motivates someone like Bill, who regularly shows up to watch a game he hates?
• Fans’ efforts to distract players are perfectly acceptable at a basketball game but are grounds for ejection at a tennis match or on a golf course.  Why?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, July 18, 2010 (Eighth Sunday after Pentecost)

Genesis 18:1-10

Colossians 1:15-28

Luke 10:38-42

(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

It’s tempting to choose sides.  In this week’s lesson Jesus visits the home of Mary and Martha and we recognize sibling dynamics of many homes.  There is Martha—dutiful, responsible, eager to follow the rules.  She works hard and expects others to do the same.  You want her in charge of your project.  But she is rather high strung and prone to act like a martyr.  Mary, in contrast, takes life as it comes.  Sensitive and solicitous, she’ll drop everything if you call her up with a problem.  She is light and breezy, often artistic, easy to be with—and absolutely maddening if you need her to act on a tight schedule.  Mary and Martha love each other, but you know they drive each other crazy.

Most of us identify with either Martha or Mary, so it’s hard to avoid choosing sides in their little domestic tiff.  We tend to read this story through the lens of our own experience.  If little brother has just trashed our room—yet again—we weigh in on Martha’s side, “Yeah Lord, why shouldn’t Mary do her part instead of sitting on her duff?”  But if our daily experience is being compared to a “perfect” but rather joyless sibling sister we can see why Mary opts out of the hospitality competition.  Still, if we get too caught up in identifying with one sister or the other, we miss the point of the story.

Jesus gently rebukes Martha, not for being who she is, but for allowing herself to be distracted from what is most important.  The hospitality Martha offers is praiseworthy, but in her worrying about all the little tasks of entertaining, she has ignored her guest.  She has forgotten that the issue is not what she can give Jesus but what he can give her, if she will take time to listen.  The good has become the enemy of the best.

A defining characteristic of modern life is the lack of silence.  From morning to night we envelop ourselves in a blanket of distraction; there is no moment when we are not texting, tweeting, talking, or pumping tunes into our ears.  Before we can follow Jesus we have to discipline ourselves to stop and listen for his voice.  The challenge for good church folk is sometimes distinguishing being busy from being faithful.  Can you slow down and listen today?

Discussion Questions

• Where do you find yourself in this story of Mary, Martha, and Jesus?
• Why do you think we tend to fill our day with unceasing sound?
• What “good” things occupy your time which might be distracting you from hearing Jesus?
• Jesus tells Martha she is busy with many things, but has lost sight of what is most important.  What IS most important to you, so important that you will sacrifice everything else to have it?

Activity Suggestions

• Make a list of everything you did in the last 24 hours. Think about how much time you spent in each activity; was it a good use of your time?  Think about how your choices support or undermine your ability to follow Jesus.  Share your list and thoughts with someone in your group.
• In the next week, do a “cyber-fast” for one whole day.  Turn off your phone and computer—no texting, e-mails, calls, Facebook, Web browsing, etc.  At the end of that time think about how your day was different from normal.  What was uncomfortable?  What was good about being disconnected?  Talk about the experience in your group next week.

Closing Prayer

Lord, the alarm just went off and the race is on.  There are so many things I need to do, so many demands on my time, so many people’s expectations to meet.  Help me to take a deep breath, still my racing heart, and listen for your voice amid the noise of this day.  Give me the wisdom to distinguish the urgent from the important, that I may rest in your love and live only for you.  I pray in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Contributed by Scott Mims, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Virginia Beach, VA 

Warm Up Question

 As a group list your answers to the following: 

• When you think about the world today and about your future, what are some of the things that make you most anxious or afraid? 
• What are some of the things that make you most optimistic or hopeful? 

Evil at Work?

On June 2, 2010, something went terribly wrong in the life of Derrick Bird.  Bird, a taxi driver, drove his taxi down England’s northwest coast on a three and a half-hour shooting spree that left 12 people dead and 25 others injured before turning his gun on himself.  Many of the shootings appear to have been completely random.  This rampage in the county of Cumbria was Britain’s deadliest since 1996, and is especially shocking in a nation where such events are very rare. 

Although the actions of Derrick Bird have deeply shaken the surrounding community, the reasons behind his behavior remain guesses at best.  Like other such attacks, investigators are able to piece together possible factors, symptoms, and signs, but only after the fact.  How then can we understand such things?  Are such seemingly random yet devastating events, as one commentator put it, the acts of greatly disturbed people “gripped by uncontrollable primitive urges,” or are they evidence of the forces of evil at work? 

Discussion Questions

•  Do you believe in the existence of unseen evil forces at work in the world and in people’s lives?  If so, what evidence is there that suggests you are right?  If not, why not?
• Do you believe we have “free will?” What place does human choice play in the events of the world that we would call evil or wrong?  What are some of the circumstances, factors, or situations that might not leave people free to choose?
• Regarding what makes you most anxious of fearful for the future, what part, if any, do random uncontrollable events such as terrorism or war play?
• Regarding what makes you most optimistic or hopeful, did you include God on your list?  Why or why not? 

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, June 20, 2010 (Fourth Sunday After Pentecost)

Isaiah 65:1-9 

Galatians 3:23-29 

Luke 8:26-39 

  (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

 Our gospel lesson this week might well be entitled, “Dialoguing with Demons,” as Jesus confronts the forces of evil at work in the life of a man in the non-Jewish territory of Gerasa. Having recognized Jesus for who he is, the “Son of the Most High God,” the unclean spirits (for it turns out that there are many) submit to Jesus’ command to come out of the man, begging Jesus not to send them back to the abyss but, rather, to allow them to enter into a large herd of pigs nearby.  Jesus gives them permission to do so and the pigs are destroyed.  The man, on the other hand, is made well. 

So what is the miracle here?  How we understand it may have to do with our worldview.  That the man’s behavior is abnormal is not in doubt.  However, the cause behind his actions is.   For many modern readers the surprise in this story is its talk about demons and unclean spirits.  We are perhaps uncomfortable thinking in terms of unseen forces of evil being at work in people’s lives.  Scientific and psychological approaches to this event are much more comfortable for us, and so it is not surprising that many modern interpreters equate the “demons” of this story with some form of mental illness.  The miracle, then, is Jesus’ ability to heal a mentally ill man, restoring him completely to his right mind, something that even the wonders of our modern medical science are often unable to do. 

The surprise in this story for people from earlier times may well have been different.  For them, the existence of evil powers was not in doubt.  What is extraordinary here is the universality of Jesus’ power.  Jesus has, in effect, entered enemy territory.  Yet even here, he has the power to heal, save, and to defeat the powers of darkness with a word.  Not only does Jesus’ ability to defeat evil on its home turf confirm his identity as “Son of the Most High God,” it also demonstrates that God’s saving and healing love are for everyone – Jews and Gentiles alike. 

But there is yet another surprise in this story.  Those who witness these things and the people that they go and tell do not react with joy and thanksgiving over what Jesus has done.  Having seen the power of God at work, they all ask Jesus to leave—all except the man who was healed.  He begs Jesus that he might be with him.  Jesus instead tells the man to go back to his family, friends, and community and to share with any who will listen how much God had done for him.  “So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.” 

Discussion Questions

• Given your discussion on the presence of evil and the two different perspectives offered in the reflections above, what do you think is the most important point this story makes?  If you were to share it with a friend, what would you say about it?
• How do you feel about Jesus’ power as God’s Son to bring healing and renewed life to people? What does this gospel lesson say about Jesus’ ability to deal with some of the “darkness” and the issues or problems in your own life? 
• How important to your faith is it to hear what Jesus has done in the lives of other people?  In terms of being able to share the gospel with those do not know about Jesus, how important is it to begin with being able to share Jesus among ourselves?

Suggested Resource:  The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis: a fun yet perceptive take on the forces of evil at work in our daily lives.  

 Activity Suggestions

• Remember your baptism!  Use parts of the Affirmation of Baptism service from Evangelical Lutheran Worship to remind one another of God’s saving and redeeming love in Jesus Christ, and of the Spirit’s renewing power.  Notice, too, the “renunciation of the forces of evil” which begins the Profession of Faith.  You might gather around a bowl of water, blessing one another with the sign of the cross, or, if available, around the baptismal font.
• Share the faith.  How have you seen God at work in your life?  In the world?  Share your personal faith stories of with one another.  Perhaps have an older member of your church or faith community through whom you see God’s presence come and share their faith story.
• Pray for the world.   Using newspaper our other articles that highlight situations of evil and need in your community and in the wider-world, pray together for these needs and for the lives of the people involved.

 Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, as you overcame the forces of evil and darkness and brought healing to many, so deliver us and our world from all that would overcome us. In the power of your Spirit, heal and renew us that we may with good courage and great joy share all that God has done for us.  Amen.

Contributed by Stephanie Opsal,  West Des Moines, IA

Warm-up Question

What do you think it would be like to be a celebrity?

A Perfect Life?

Britney Spears is one of many booming pop stars who started high but experienced troubles later on.  Her fame began when she was a blonde, teenage pop singer, reaching the top of the U. S.  pop music charts by age 17.  Her music played a key role in reviving the “teen pop” icon in the late 1990s.  She has sold over 85 million albums.

Yet her shining appearance is not evidence of a perfect life.  She has lived through two divorces, little privacy, mental breakdowns, rehabilitation centers, and losing custody of her kids.  A recent article describes how she shaved her head in a public salon for attention or due to emotional disturbance.

A song I remember from her second major album, Oops!.. I Did It Again, featured a song called “Lucky”.  The lyrics of the song describe the struggles of life for all people, even a stylish Hollywood star named Lucky:

“And they say..
She’s so lucky, she’s a star.
But she cry cry cries in her lonely heart, thinking
If there’s nothing missing in my life
Then why do these tears come at night?”

By the look of it, Lucky has everything, but something is still missing in her life.  Even the most famous people experience everyday struggles like you and me, and sometimes immensely greater problems as well.  Many embarrassing details of Britney’s personal life are open to the public, but no other celebrity’s life is perfect either, even if you can’t always see behind the dazzling star image.

Discussion Questions

• Who’s your favorite celebrity?  Why?
• Did you ever want to be famous?  Why?  Do you think that life would be easy?  Describe the perks and drawbacks you think would be associated with a celebrity’s life.
• If you had the choice right now to be a famous person or an everyday person, which life would you choose?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, June 13, 2010, (Third Sunday of Pentecost)

2 Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13-15

Galatians 2:15-21

Luke 7:36-8:3

(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

Simon the Pharisee, whom Jesus visits in this week’s gospel reading, is a very law-abiding, righteous man who thinks highly of himself.  He feels very dignified before his guest, Jesus.  In contrast, the woman labeled “a sinner” kneels behind Jesus her Lord and weeps.  She gives him all that she can offer, pouring out costly perfume onto his feet and humbling herself completely.  What causes the difference in the responses of the Pharisee and the woman to Jesus?

The woman recognizes the reality of her sins and her true need for forgiveness.  She yearns for the grace and peace that only Jesus can offer.  The Pharisee, on the other hand, thinks he is following the Law perfectly and, thus, has no need for any forgiveness, let alone from this man Jesus who associates with sinners. 

So Jesus tells Simon a parable about two debtors, one owing 50 denarii and another owing 500 denarii.  Which one, Jesus asks Simon, will be more grateful when the creditor forgives both debts?  Simon gives what seems to be the obvious answer, “the one with the larger debt.”  But Simon’s great problem is that he is blind to his debt; he is not grateful because he does not think he owes anything.  He takes God’s forgiveness for granted.  He does not see that his pride is as serious a sin as anything this weeping woman has done.

Both Simon and the woman are in need of God’s forgiveness. The difference is that she knows her need and receives Jesus’ forgiveness, while the Pharisee, in his arrogant blindness, treats Jesus discourteously (he does not kiss him, wash his feet, or anoint his head with oil).  Simon receives little because he asks for little—and therefore shows little love in return.  The woman, acknowledging her need, receives the forgiveness she longs for. 

Jesus shows us that we are all in need of God’s forgiveness.  The Law helps us realize how much we sin, even when we’re being “good” like the Pharisee; it calls us to admit our need for grace.  Without Jesus’ perfect death for all sin and His resurrection from the dead, we would die forever. 

Sometimes we take this amazing gift for granted.  Because we hear about Jesus all the time, we incorrectly think that we would be “good enough” to make it into heaven on our own.  Like the Pharisee, we may look down on others who seem to be spectacularly sinful people.  In actuality, everyone is a sinner.  Britney Spears, a thief, your family members, a pastor, the president, you, and I are all sinners.  Our good actions are not enough to counteract our sinful mistakes in life.  In Britney Spears’ song, Lucky’s success doesn’t fulfill her; she is missing Jesus and His forgiveness in her life.  Like this humble woman, let us rejoice every day and give thanks to Jesus with all that we are.  Jesus forgives our every mistake.  By His sacrifice, he reunites us with a loving God.  What an awesome gift!

Discussion Questions

• Why do you think forgiveness and love go together?
• Try to see yourself from the perspective of both the Pharisee and the woman.  Describe a situation where you thought your actions were fine only to discover you had been blind to a failing.  Describe another time when you admitted your sin to God and accepted His forgiveness.
• Do you agree with the message of Jesus’ parable?  Does one forgiven a greater debt always feel greater gratitude?
• Consider the ideas of “law” and “grace”.  Which one is harder for you to accept?  Some persons struggle more with noticing and admitting their  sin, thinking they have no need of forgiveness because, compared to many, they are pretty good.  Others are so burdened by guilt that they can not really accept forgiveness offered by God’s grace.   Where is your greatest challenge?

Activity Suggestions

• Write a song or poem about something you learned from today’s gospel reading.  It can be directly about the story or more about a moral lesson, like the song “Lucky”.  If you want, your group could work together and perform the song.  If you prefer, you can draw a picture highlighting an aspect of the story.
• At the end of our gospel reading in the first three verses of Luke chapter 8, some forgiven sinners accompany Jesus and His disciples as they go out to share the good news of Jesus’ forgiveness.  Tell at least one person this week why Jesus’ forgiveness is important to your life.

Closing Prayer

Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we praise you for your gift of forgiveness.  Help us to more deeply understand and appreciate this eternal gift you gave to all your people.  We thank you for the example of this weeping woman; may we give our lives to you as well.  We pray for all who struggle but place their hope in something less than you, O God.  Help them to see their sin and their need for the grace given through the saving sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Lord, in whose name we pray.   Amen.

Contributed by Bob Chell, Lutheran Campus Ministry at South Dakota State University, Brookings, South Dakota

Warm-up Question

As children, we sometimes misconstrue reality because we misinterpret what we see:  “Dad took me to watch firefighters train on an abandoned house. For years I thought firefighters drove around looking for run-down houses to burn and was scared they would burn down our house.”  

Sometimes we are mislead:  “When I was little, my Dad told me that the tune played by the ice cream van was the ice cream man letting everyone know that he’d run out of ice cream.”

What have you believed which turned out to be untrue?

Life Out of Doubt

A young woman lay dead; nearby, an abandoned truck was stuck in the mud.  The investigation was quick.  Within hours, police had suspects and by evening Greg Taylor and Johnny Beck were in jail, charged with murder.  Both were crack addicts who admitted they were only looking for their next high.  Johnny Beck was released before trial for reasons which are unclear. Greg Taylor was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.  That was sixteen years ago.  A month ago Greg Taylor was released from prison upon the recommendation of a special innocence panel which found “clear and convincing evidence” that Gregory F. Taylor was innocent and had been convicted based on flawed evidence and unreliable testimony.

Source:  (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/18/us/18innocent.html)

Discussion Questions

• Had this been you or someone you love, would you be grateful or bitter upon release after sixteen years?  How would you reconcile the two feelings?
• Have you ever had first-hand knowledge of a news story that didn’t match what you heard in the media?
• Have you passed on a story you later learned was untrue? What were the consequences for the person in the untrue story you passed on?  For you?
• Did you take any action upon learning the story was untrue?  What was the result? 

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, April 11, 20110 (Second Sunday of Easter)

Acts 5:27-32

Revelation 1:4-8

John 20:19-31

(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

Thomas stands in a long line of doubters stretching back to the beginning of the faith.  Abraham was skeptical that God could deliver on the promise of a son while Sarah, his wife, laughed in God’s face.  Moses doubted he could accomplish what God called him to do.  Gideon demanded proof.  Elijah ran away.  Jeremiah and Job—even Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane before his arrest and crucifixion—struggled with doubt.  One theologian notes that the only people in scripture who are certain of God’s will stone the prophets and crucify Jesus.

Doubt is not an enemy, but a friend.  Doubt keeps us from being a sucker for every get-rich, get-beautiful, get-saved scheme that comes along.  The danger is that, surrounded by pop-up ads and bogus invitations to wealth and intimacy, we will become cynical and cease to believe anything.

Yet, it is doubt that pushes us forward in life and faith.  Doubt is a way of life for high school and college students:  Doubting your major, doubting your current romance, doubting there will ever be a romance, doubting your career plans, doubting your faith.

Doubt is useful when it pushes us beyond the superficial to the substantive, when it pushes us to ask hard questions and look at life, and ourselves, with clear and open eyes.

Doubt is at the heart of education.  It drives the scientific method.  How does this work…what would happen if…can I prove…?

In our personal life doubt keeps us awake at night and commands our attention. It is unpleasant but useful, drawing us to attend to those things most important in our lives.  Doubt pushes us to change and grow.  It forces us to ask hard questions about faith, family, and vocation, the things which define who we are.

Doubt is not the end but the beginning.  Most of us, when plagued by doubt, try harder to figure it out, to think it through, to discern the truth—and we should.  Whom we choose as a life partner, the career we choose, the faith we embrace will shape and change the rest of our lives.

Easter isn’t about happy endings, Jesus springing up three days later so we can have Easter eggs, a new outfit and time off from school or work.  Easter is about a God who stands with us, suffers with us, even dies with us.

The poet Gerhard Frost once wrote: “Doubt gnaws at faith but faith gnaws back, and faith has better teeth.”  God’s promise is that Jesus can and will break through the locked and shut doors of our lives, the prison of doubt we live in.  Jesus comes through the wall, breaks in, and speaks “Peace be with you.”  God’s peace isn’t a promise that there will be no doubt, pain, struggle, indecision, or any of the other things which are part of being human, part of being in relationships. God’s peace is a promise to walk with us, to strengthen us, to sustain us, to forgive us, to challenge us.

The time for hunting Easter eggs is over, but if we are hunting for God working in our lives, we need only look where we doubt.  There we will find God’s Spirit moving us to growth and faith.

Discussion Questions

• Recall a time when you thought you would never be happy again.  Was God at work in you and others?
• How do we discern when doubt is useful and when it is useless?
• If doubt is a good thing, can we be certain about anything?

Activity Suggestions

• Ask several persons you love and trust if there was ever a time when they wanted to run away and leave their life behind because they were embarrassed, ashamed or in deep pain.  Ask what enabled them to survive that time and, looking back, how they see that God was at work in their lives during that time.
•  Reflect on a time when you were so unhappy you wanted to quit, give up, move, and get away from doubt and pain.  What enabled you to survive?  Is there a learning there for your faith?  for your future?

Closing Prayer

God of grace and mercy, we want to believe and trust your promises.  Give us courage and perseverance to confront the doubt and pain and brokenness in our lives.  Give us, also, the wisdom to know when to let go of broken dreams and move on.  Move our hearts to forgive others and ourselves, so we may live with Easter joy.  Amen.

Contributed by Claudia Bergmann, Erfurt, Germany

Warm-up Question

What was the worst day of your life?  the best?

The Best and the Worst

What would it feel like to receive the highest praise for your performance at school or on the job, and 24 hours later to have the same performance called the worst ever?

Sandra Bullock would know. Three weeks ago, she received two Golden Raspberries, awards for both the worst female lead of the year and the worst female part in a screen couple. Twenty-four hours later, she was awarded the Oscar for the” best actress in a leading role” for her performance in The Blind Side.

The Golden Raspberry award, first handed out in 1981, is a golf ball-sized depiction of a raspberry sitting on a film reel, spray-painted gold and worth $4.79. What started as an impromptu ceremony at the house of John Wilson is now covered by CNN and other major networks. While not everybody who was awarded a Golden Raspberry accepted it at the ceremony, Bullock showed her sense of humour by giving an acceptance speech and handing out copies of the worst movie of the year to the audience.

A day later, Bullock, who had taken a break from acting a few years ago because she did not consider herself good at her job, held 8.5 pounds of gold-plated britannium in her hand. This statuette, the so-called Oscar, was proof that she was good at her job as an actress.

Sandra Bullock became the first performer to receive both awards in the same year. While the Oscar will cement her position as one of the top-earning Hollywood screen stars, the “Razzie” might remind her of what it is like to be loved and hated at the same time for what you do.

Discussion Questions

• Do you follow the Oscars and other award shows? If so, do they influence your interest in seeing a movie?
• What types of movies do you like? Why?
• Who do you think should get an Oscar or a “Razzie” for a recent performance?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, March 28, 2010  (Sunday of the Passion/Palm Sunday)

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Philippians 2:5-11

Luke 22:14-23:56

(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

Our long reading for today is full of joy, love, and hope—but also fear, sadness, and hatred. It is also full of events that bring Jesus’ story to a close: the Last Supper, Simon Peter’s denial of Christ, Judas’ betrayal, Jesus’ trial, a prophecy to the daughters of Jerusalem, the crucifixion, and the deeds of Joseph of Arimathea. Our text is a lens which focuses on the worst and the best in the life of Jesus and his followers.

Take the disciples and their relationship to Jesus. First, they come together, eating and drinking as if they are a family. Their meal is the beginning of the Eucharist, when we remember Jesus’ life and deeds, and taste his presence in our lives. But soon, the family is torn apart and the worst happens. One disciple betrays Jesus, another denies that he ever knew him. And then, Joseph of Arimathea, who had never even been a disciple of Jesus, risks his life to provide Jesus with a proper funeral. The worst and the best behavior, all within a few hours.

Or take Jesus himself. He has so much to say in our text.  His emotions include loving care of those around him, utter despair, and absolute trust in God’s love. Jesus himself experiences the worst and the best of all emotions, and again, all within a few hours.

The journey of Jesus Christ and his disciples which we witness in today’s reading is not a straight and even path. On the contrary, it is full of ups and downs, extreme events and extreme emotions.

Guess what? Anyone who tells you that your faith journey will be a straight and even path is wrong!  All Christians go through ups and downs in their faith. There are times when we are certain of God’s presence in our lives. There are times when we truly feel and taste that Jesus Christ is present among us as we eat of his bread and drink of his wine. There are times when we look into the waters of baptism and have the feeling that God looks back at us. But there are other times as well. Times when we question God’s presence in our lives, when we doubt, when we even fear that we have lost our faith and might never find it again.

Faith doesn’t start at one point and grow continually after that. It gets stronger and it gets weaker.  It might disappear and then be reawakened within us with even greater strength. But there is one thing to remember. The ups and downs in our faith journey have to do with us, not with God. We believe that God’s love for us is a steady stream, something that does not grow or lessen depending on how we behave and feel.  Ups and downs in our faith life are normal and human. Sometimes the way is very clear and sometimes we are not so sure what God desires of us.  This is one of the reasons why Jesus could, on the one hand, pray that God would take this cup from him (Luke 22:42) and on the other hand trust his life into Gods hands (Luke 23:46). And it is one of the reasons why Simon Peter, who denied ever knowing Jesus, became once again a proud believer and a founder of the Christian community.  But at whatever point on the faith-scale we are, we can trust that God’s loving attention is ever upon us.

Discussion Questions

• What has been the absolute lowest point on your faith journey? What was the high point?
• How do you think the faith journey changes as one gets older? Does it get easier to believe? Does it get harder?
• Are there things which your family or your congregation can do to support you when your faith drops to a low point?

Activity Suggestions

Meet the Text Word-by-Word

Assign each person in your group a role in the gospel narrative. Have print-outs of the entire text and markers of different colors ready. Give individuals and groups of speakers time to read and mark up the entire text. You need the following speakers: a narrator, Jesus, Simon Peter, the disciples, a maid, a man at the fire, the men who mocked Jesus, the elders, Pilate, the soldiers at the cross, the criminal at the cross.  Then, have your group read the entire passage out loud.

Afterwards, discuss what they found out about the different characters as they spoke the words. What did the characters feel and think as they witnessed the last hours in the life of Christ? What did Jesus feel and think? What changes in the behaviour of the main characters occurred?

Faith Map

Ask your students to draw a faith map of their faith journey, marking important dates or events in their lives. Provide large sheets of paper, different pens, images, scrap-book materials, glue, etc. Give your students ample time to do this creative exercise and ask volunteers to share their faith maps with the group. Perhaps you can display the faith maps somewhere in your church.

Following One Disciple’s Up-and-Down Faith Journey: Simon Peter

Ask your students to research the life of Simon Peter as it is portrayed in the New Testament and in Christian art. Provide them with a few key scripture texts about Simon Peter to look up, along with art work reflecting his life. (For art work about Simon Peter go to www.textweek.com, “Peter”)  Similarly to the exercise above, ask your students to develop a faith map of Peter’s life which you can display in your church.

Some Scripture texts about Simon Peter: Mat 14:28-31, Mat 16:13-20, Mark 1:16-17, Mark 1:29-31, Luke 5:4-11, Luke 24:1-12, John 1:44, John 13:2-11, John 20:1-9, John 21:15-17, Acts 4:7-22, Acts 9:32-10:2, Galatians 2:11-14. You might also use this exercise to explain to your students how to use a  concordance  to look up biblical phrases or names. If your group is large enough, they might be able to look up all occurrences of the name Simon Peter in a concordance.

Closing Prayer

Faithful God,  we experience highs and lows in our faith, ups and downs, times of certainty and times of doubt. We pray that you meet us on our faith journey in whatever corner we might be hiding. We pray that you pick us up and show us the way when we fall. And we pray that you show us people with whom we might share our faith, if we happen to have an overabundance of it. Amen.