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 Brian Hiortdahl, Chicago, IL 

Warm-up Question

Who are your role models?  Name two of your role models, one you know personally, one you do not.  Why do you admire them? 

Should We Identify Ourselves With This Guy

He did what? Oh, yuck!

Popular and accomplished golfer Tiger Woods has remained in the headlines in recent months after a strange car accident in front of his home led to the disclosure that he has been unfaithful to his wife on multiple occasions with several different women.  Woods took a four month leave of absence from competitive golf to work on repairing his damaged personal life.  These developments caused his many corporate sponsors to question their partnerships with Woods and whether to continue to employ him to market their products.  A handful of sponsors have stuck with him, while many have severed ties, deeming it no longer favorable to connect their companies with his now tarnished image. 

Corporate marketers have analyzed why they associated with Tiger Woods and what message their identification with him was intended to project.  Accenture Consulting, which aligned with Woods to promote its reputation of integrity (with excellent results), decided not to continue using him in its ad campaigns.  Nike, meanwhile, has chosen to retain him as a spokesman, as his athletic prowess trumps his troubled personal life for Nike’s product line and target demographic–people who are seeking shoes and sports equipment rather than guidance in making decisions. 

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/ben-roethlisberger-tiger-woods-nike-flee/story?id=10375523&page=1 

 Discussion Questions

• What is your opinion of Tiger Woods?  What is your basis for that opinion? 
• When should a person’s private life be a “deal-breaker” for public and professional relationships?
• If money were not an issue, would you hire Tiger Woods to be a spokesman for your faith community?  Why or why not?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, May 2, 2010 (Fifth Sunday of Easter)

• Acts 11:1-18
• Revelation 21:1-6
• John 13:31-35

(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

Jesus tells his disciples exactly how people will identify them with him—by seeing their love for one another.  The Greek word for “love” that Jesus uses is agape, which is complete and unconditional love, love with deep loyalty and without limits.  This is a serving and suffering love, which Jesus himself demonstrates to them, first, by washing their feet (earlier in chapter 13) and then by dying on the cross.  It is this death on the cross that is Jesus’ “glorification.”  Doesn’t seem very glorious to me. 

Jesus’ new commandment to love as he has loved them leaves the disciples in a position not unlike Tiger Woods’ corporate sponsors:  do they really want to identify with this guy?  When Jesus washed Simon Peter’s feet, Peter objected; later that night he would deny Jesus three times.  Judas never heard this gospel conversation because he had already decided to walk out and betray him.   Only one of these male disciples is left with Jesus by the time he is hanging from the cross (read John 19).  When writing later about that death, Saint Paul used the Greek word from which we get the word “scandal.” (1 Cor. 1:23)  In the eyes of the world around him, Jesus looked powerless and pathetic, an executed criminal humbled by the Romans after he humbled himself by washing the disciples’ feet like a faceless slave.  What American corporation would approach this Jesus to be their spokesman?  What disciple would stick around and follow him to such a bitter end?  Which of us is willing to love at such a cost? 

We often sing and speak about Jesus’ glory, but do we really imagine what it looks like?  We wax poetic about true love.  We identify ourselves as Christians, often with the sign of the cross.  But in our culture, the cross is usually a lovely gold necklace instead of a torture tool, bling not black eye.  To wash feet was shameful, and to die on a cross was worse.  We, so concerned about our cred, our image and our reputation, can scarcely imagine being so concerned about others.  We have a much different idea of glory.  Yet this is Jesus’ brazen invitation to us, to love one another as he loved us.  

Discussion Questions

• What about Jesus attracts you, and what about Jesus scares you?
• Does Jesus threaten your image?  How are you tempted to deny being identified with Jesus?
• Is there someone you find difficult to love?  How might you serve them?  What might you actively do to love them even if you don’t feel like it?
• How would people know that you are a disciple of Jesus?

Activity Suggestions

Write a letter to one or both of your role models (identified in the warm-up question). Thank them for being a blessing in your life and tell them why you admire them and how they remind you of Jesus. 

Closing Prayer

Loving Jesus, open our eyes until we can see true glory.  Open our hearts until they are wide enough to embrace you and to love one another.  Open our hands until we can serve with the true love that you have commanded and shown us.  Amen

Contributed by Sylvia Alloway, Granda Hills, CA

Warm-up Question

Do you have everything you need? If not, what do you think is lacking? Are all needs physical? List some non-physical needs.

Salvation Army the Victim of a Hoax

We have all seen the familiar red pot and patient bell ringer in front of stores at Christmas. Collectors for the Salvation Army receive gifts ranging from a few coins to hundreds of dollars. Forty per cent of the aid association’s capital comes from the humble red Christmas pots.This year, however, the Army’s Charleston, S. C. chapter was the victim of a baffling hoax. A seeming act of great generosity turned into a great disappointment as a check for $25,000 bounced after the group had already spent part of it on the needs of some 100 families.

Other charitable organizations in the Charleston area received large checks, supposedly from Force Protection, Inc., a manufacturer of armored trucks, but only the Salvation Army cashed theirs. Force Protection knew nothing about the “gifts,” which were drawn on a bank account closed months before. The case is being investigated, but no arrests have been made.

The loss means a lack of funds that will translate into less help for the poor, even as the recession brings more and people to the door of the nationally known charity.

Source: Associated press article from Yahoo.com

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_fake_checks_charities 

Discussion Questions 

1. What motive could someone have for giving bad checks to a charity?
2. If you came face to face with the person who committed this fraud, what would you say to him/her?
3. Some believe that fewer and fewer people care about doing right simply because it is right. Do you agree?  If lying, cheating and stealing are on the rise, what, if anything, can the church and/or  individual Christians do to stop this trend?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, January 17, 2010 (Second Sunday after Epiphany)

(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.

 Isaiah 62:15

I Corinthians 12:1-11

John 2:1-11 

Gospel Meditation 

So there was the wedding party and all of a sudden they ran out of wine. What’s the big deal? Couldn’t they drink something else?  No, they could not. Wedding parties of the day were huge, week-long affairs to which the entire community was invited. By the rules of hospitality, the host was expected to provide generously for his guests. Not to do so was a social error so great that it could ruin a family’s reputation. 

Many people interpret this story to mean that Jesus approves of marriage and he most certainly does. Others say it proves that God has nothing against good times, which is emphatically true, as well. 

But Jesus is also responding to a serious social need. And look how he responds. The “master of the banquet” (similar to what we call the “best man”) is so impressed with the wine that he takes the groom aside to comment on it. “You have saved the best until now.” Jesus can turn the plain and ordinary into his best. In this way he reveals his glory! 

The world can only give us bounced checks – IOUs for happiness and contentment which can never truly fulfill our needs. Depend on worldly glitter and gadgets for lasting satisfaction and you will come away empty every time. But Jesus’ presence can turn the “water” of our lives—broken promises, dead-end ambitions, and foolish desires—into his celebratory wine.  From Him flow new promises, ambitions, and desires, which lead to inner peace and joy that are not dependent on outward circumstances. 

And since we receive both physical and spiritual blessings from God, does it not make sense to share them? Many in our own neighborhoods are physically hungry. Even more suffer from spiritual want. Like the Salvation Army, let us continually give both physical comfort and the message of the Gospel to those in need. 

Discussion Questions 

1. Think about the benefits of knowing and serving Jesus as our Savior. List and talk about some of them.
2. What does it mean to be in need? Compare what we think we need to what we really need. Discuss the needs you mentioned in the warm-up question. How do we satisfy these needs?
3. In a time when more and more people are without even the basics of life, the Salvation Army and other charitable organizations are stretched to the limit as to how many they can help. What can your church, your Sunday school class, and you personally do to help the poor of your community? 

Activities 

1. Plan a project for your church or youth group that will help the poor of your community. Some examples: You might sponsor a food or clothing drive (especially focusing on clothes for children, babies, or adults going on job interviews).  Cook and serve a monthly evening meal in the church hall.  Offer babysitting service for the children of parents who are searching for work. Try to make it something that will bring you face to face with those in need. 
2. Plan a project that will fulfill spiritual needs.  Some examples: Go door to door telling people about your church and/or passing out Bibles.  Read or act out Bible stories for children.  Sponsor a youth concert with Christian music. 

Suggested songs: Great Is Thy Faithfulness, Give Thanks (with a Grateful Heart)

 Closing Prayer

Merciful Father, who supplies our needs with your best, turn our hearts outward. Open our eyes to the needs of those around us and, out of the help, love, and encouragement that you have first given us, help us to give generously to all. In the name of your Son, Jesus Christ Our Lord, we pray.  Amen.

Contributed by Connor Early (10th grade student), Clive, IA
and Angie Larson, Clive, Iowa

Warm-up Question:  What would you do to help people in need? Are there limits to what you would do?

Jorge Munoz may sound like the name of a typical New Yorker, but he is much more than that. He is a school bus driver! But more importantly, Jorge Munoz, 44, has supplied over 70,000 meals to the homeless over the past four years.

Every night he pulls up in his white pickup truck and unloads as many as 140 meals with hot food, coffee, and hot chocolate. Both food and gas costs are estimated to be about $400-450 a week, which he pays for with his $700 a week paycheck. People of all backgrounds come to receive a meal, usually their first and only for the day.

Jorge says that seeing these people remind him of when he first arrived in America in the 1980’s. He was born in Columbia and his father had died when he was young. His mother had moved to Brooklyn to earn money to support him and his sister, and he soon followed. He achieved citizenship with his mother and sister in 1976. He stood on the streets not looking for work, but as an immigrant, much like the people he serves.

Jorge began his now non-profit meal program in the summer of 2004, naming it “An Angel in Queens, Inc.” His work has consumed much of his time, money, and space, but he or his sister carries the work on every night of the year. When asked why he spends so much time helping people he doesn’t even know, he replied:

“I have a stable job, my mom, my family, a house… everything I want, I have. And these guys [don’t]. So I just think, ‘OK, I have the food.’ At least for today they’re going to have a meal to eat.”

Discussion Questions

1. How is Jorge helping to make a difference in the world? What steps is he taking to reduce hunger?
2. How do you think the people feel towards Jorge’s generosity? What is something they might say to him?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, November 29, 2009. (first day of Advent)

(Text links are to oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at Lectionary Readings.)

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

• Jeremiah 33:14-16
• Psalm 25:1-10 (1)
• 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
• Luke 21:25-36

Scripture Reflection

In the 1st Thessalonians text, Paul writes about increasing and abounding in love. In Luke, we are reminded to not be weighed down by the worries of this life. Both texts spread news about living a life of abundance instead of a life of scarcity. Often we think that we do not have enough. We do not have enough money. We do not have enough material goods. We do not have enough of whatever it takes to fill our need or want.

The good news is that love abounds and God provides. Jesus tells us that the kingdom is near. The kingdom is within us.

In the Gospel, we are warned against things that lead to a life of scarcity. Jesus tells us to look out for those things that get in the way of living the abundant life that God has planned for our lives. When we look at life as short and precious as it is, we can adopt an attitude of gratefulness; abounding in love.

Jorge Munoz adopts this way of life. He does not let his career as a bus driver or that he’s an immigrant keep him from giving in abundance. Instead, he realizes that he has much to give from his abundance. He is not weighed down by what he lacks, but gives from what he has. We can do the same.

Discussion Questions

1. In what area of your life do you feel like you have scarcity? What is scarcity?
2. Realistically, do you think you would be like Jesus, James and John, or the other ten disciples?

Learn more about: 

• Service and mission opportunities for youth and young adults
• Justice and peace resources for youth
• Make It Simple resource about simplicity and generosity
• ELCA World Hunger 
• Just For Life ELCA Outdoor Ministry Curriculum

Activity Suggestion

Everything I have

Ask your group to write down everything that they own all over a huge piece of paper. Or do it as a huge collage of photos, pictures, and drawings.

1. Step back and look at all the things listed.
2. What’s your first impression?
3. What are your first thoughts about your life, generosity, need, decisions you make, lifestyle, and how you will live life?

Closing Prayer

Blessed Savior, thank you for serving us. Help us to remember to serve others. We know that at times we look towards power and prestige; we ask you to help us redirect ourselves during those times. Bless those who serve others with their lives. Enable us to learn and live extraordinary lives of service. In your name we pray. Amen.

Contributed by Erik Ullestad
West Des Moines, IA

Warm-up Question: How would you define greatness?

Dr. Norman Borlaug

Dr. Norman Borlaug, a man who is credited with saving the lives of over 1 billion people and being the “grandfather of the Green Revolution,” died last week at the age of 95. Most of Borlaug’s life was spent finding new ways to increase grain yields in developing countries. His discovery of new type of hybrid wheat strains helped nations avoid widespread famine in the 1950s and 1960s. He was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for increasing food security in Mexico, Pakistan, and India. Some call Borlaug “the most important man you’ve never heard of.” 

Borlaug grew up on a farm in northeast Iowa, the great-grandson of Norwegian immigrants. His grandfather was instrumental in founding a Lutheran church in their community. As he grew, Borlaug developed a love of agriculture and science. He took what he learned in the field and applied it in the labs at the University of Minnesota. From there, he studied how various seeds and fertilizers responded to different climates and geographies.

In addition to the Nobel Peace Prize, Borlaug has also been awarded with the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. The only other people to receive all three honors are Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Elie Weisel, Nelson Mandella, and Martin Luther King Jr. In 1986 Borlaug established the World Food Prize which acknowledges people who work to increase the quality and quantity of food in the world.

People close to Dr. Borlaug described him as humble, gracious, and unassuming. In one of his last interviews, Borlaug summed up his efforts by saying, “You can’t build peace and tranquility on empty stomachs and human misery.”

• ELCA News Service, September 25, 2009: “Dignitaries, ELCA Pastor to Memorialize Norman Borlaug, Nobel Prize Winner“

Discussion Questions

• What, if anything, did you know about Norman Borlaug before reading this article?
• How are people in your community working to feed hungry people?
• Think of your definition of greatness. Does this definition apply to people like Dr. Borlaug? Why or why not?
• How important is it for great people to also be famous? What are the benefits? What are the drawbacks?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, September 20, 2009.

(Text links are to oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at Lectionary Readings.)

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

• Jeremiah 11:18-20
• Psalm 54 (4)
• James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a
• Mark 9:30-37

Gospel Reflection

Jesus and his friends are taking a long walk (30+ miles) from Mount Hermon to Capernaum. As with any road trip, there were lots of different conversations along the way. One discussion centered on the topic of greatness. The disciples were arguing about who among them was the greatest.

Before we become quick to judge their selfishness, let’s remember the life they had been living for the past few years. Most of these men were from humble origins. They literally dropped everything when Jesus told them to “come and follow me”. This ragamuffin group walked from town to town, not knowing where they would sleep or what they would eat. They had lived as peasants alongside a man who called himself the King of Kings and Son of God. Wouldn’t we be tempted to have a similar conversation about who was the best, the favorite, the most loved, or the greatest disciple?

We learn that Jesus chose not to engage the disciples in the conversation until after they had arrived at Capernaum. Instead of privately addressing his friends, he chose to publicly admonish them for their egocentric chat earlier in the day. Jesus’ decision indicates that he is really angry with his friends and he wants them to be humbled, or perhaps he thinks that there might be others in the room that have had similar discussions with their friends. Siblings that argue about who is the favorite. Servants that claim to be the most dedicated. Carpenters who think they are the best at their craft.

Jesus tells everyone that being great requires becoming a servant; being powerful means becoming childlike. In saying this, Jesus not only reminds his disciples about the foolishness of their argument, but he also is telling people about himself. Jesus’ greatness is not exhibited by military might, shrewd political strategy, or the ability to wave a hand and make things happen. His greatness is manifested in serving others and caring for those in need.

Earlier in Mark 9 we hear Jesus tell his disciples not to tell others about the amazing things that happened on the Mount of Transfiguration. Those words, along with the appointed text from today, give us a clear indication of how Jesus chooses to function. He preferred to teach, heal, and preach quietly and faithfully instead of boasting about his importance. Jesus’ greatness is seen in his service to others and not in making a public spectacle of his mighty acts.

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever argued with your friends, classmates, siblings, etc. about who is the smartest, best-looking, or greatest? Why? What difference did it make?
• Why do you think Jesus doesn’t want to draw a lot of attention to himself?
• What do the images of “servant” and “child” tell us about how Jesus defines greatness?
• Does Dr. Borlaug fit Jesus’ definition of greatness? Why or why not?
• Who is someone you know that seems to exemplify this kind of humble greatness?

Activity Suggestion

(Check with your worship committee or pastor before doing the following activity… or at least give them a heads-up.)

Give each student several colorful index cards or sticky notes. Set out colored pencils or markers for everyone to share. Have people write an affirming statement or scripture verse on each of the papers. (Example: “Jesus loves you” or “Romans 8:38-39”.)

Go to the sanctuary and place these notes into the pages of the hymnals. If a worship service is taking place after your meeting time, stick the note in the page of one of the hymns that will be sung during worship. That way, you know someone will read it!

Closing Prayer

God, help me to serve you by serving others. Give me grace to be humble in my serving. Thank you for sending your son to make the ultimate sacrifice so that we might live eternally with you. Amen.