![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2010\/07\/shutterstock_55843996.jpg\")
<\/a>Spring and Summer 2010 have been dominated by one news story more than any other:\u00a0 the British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.\u00a0 It began in April, when a BP oil rig caught fire and collapsed, destroying the pipe that led from the rig on the surface of the water down 5,000 feet to the opening on the sea floor. It produced such a visible and disastrous effect on the environment that it was still a daily headline near the end of July, even when the leak was successfully capped.\u00a0<\/p>\nPublic accusations, calls for justice, and pleas for help stand alongside a\u00a0 host of \u201cshould haves\u201d–\u00a0the United States government should have exercised more regulation, British Petroleum should have been more careful, the oil industry should have been less greedy, solutions should have been thought of sooner, everyone should have tried harder, environmentalists should not care so much.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
As soon as the spill happened, everyone had an opinion about what was wrong and how to proceed.\u00a0 And yet, before the spill, few people outside of the oil and gas industry could have said how much oil drilling goes on in the Gulf of Mexico.\u00a0 Even fewer could have identified the specific risks associated with deep-water drilling.\u00a0 The American public has received quite an education during these days, and Christians have been faced with an additional series of questions that derive from our faith and the witness of the scriptures.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Discussion Questions<\/h3>\n\n- What in human nature and need allows a person or company, in the name of profit, to ignore the risks of endangering the environment, workers, and those living near the work area?<\/li>\n
- Is it right for people to suddenly pile-on to BP about this spill when they have been ignorant and uncaring for decades regarding the risks of deep oil drilling?<\/li>\n
- What part of the story bothers you the most \u2013 The apparent carelessness of BP?\u00a0 The effect of the spill on sea life in the Gulf?\u00a0 The effect of the spill on Gulf Coast residents in general and on the fishermen whose very lives depend on the presence of sea life?\u00a0 The apparent dismissal of the scope of the tragedy and lack of empathy for those affected by BP executives?\u00a0 The grandstanding and political opportunism practiced by those in the American government as they argue about what action should be taken?\u00a0Something else?<\/li>\n
- How (if at all) is the Gulf spill any different from the\u00a0smaller moral and ethical decisions we make every day?\u00a0 How prepared are you for a disaster that might strike close to home and affect you?\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, August 8, 2010 (Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost)<\/h3>\n
Genesis 15:1-6<\/a><\/p>\nHebrews 11:1-3, 8-16<\/a><\/p>\nLuke 12:32-40<\/a><\/p>\n(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser<\/a>. 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<\/a>.)<\/p>\nFor lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.<\/a><\/p>\nGospel Reflection<\/h3>\n
This passage consists of a huge string of wisdom sayings from Jesus \u2013 so many that each one by itself would be topic enough for a whole discussion. These sayings, along with those in surrounding passages, are all oriented toward anticipating the future with clear certainty about God\u2019s sovereignty over, not only the inhabitants of this world, but the events of history.\u00a0 Jesus advises us first to know our priorities, making sure those are carefully sorted out, so that being recipients of the grace granted to us by\u00a0 God holds first place in our lives.\u00a0 If we have that clarity of orientation, then we will also be ready when Christ returns.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jesus does not call us to prepare by focusing on that final event \u2013 the return of Christ and judgment of the world \u2013 but rather by focusing on him, sent by the Father to bring humankind to faith.\u00a0 Even today we hear Christian people fret over the second coming of Jesus, proclaiming that they know the date for the so-called \u201crapture of the church.\u201d\u00a0 This passage rejects such speculation.\u00a0 We are not to look far into the future, calculating the \u201cprofit\u201d we will make in figuring out God\u2019s timetable.\u00a0 Instead, we are to be about our daily work \u2013 loving Jesus, sharing the good news with others, and bringing whatever gift we have been given to the service of God\u2019s people.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Discussion Questions<\/h3>\n\n- What has been your experience with so-called \u201cneo-dispensationalist<\/a>\u201d readers of the Bible.\u00a0 (These are Christians who spend most of their time trying to figure out exactly what Jesus said to avoid <\/em><\/strong>speculating on \u2013 the date and time of his return.\u00a0 The \u201cLeft Behind\u201d books are examples of this.)\u00a0 How do you understand the promise of Jesus\u2019 return, and that in all times we are to believe that it will be soon?<\/li>\n
- The Bible presumes throughout that the future is in God\u2019s hands, which means that human worry and exertions to create security are not to be trusted (see Ecclesiastes 3 <\/a>and Matthew 6:19-34<\/a>).\u00a0 On the other hand, some Christians in New Testament times were so convinced of this that they made no positive contribution at all to their community (see II Thess. 3<\/a>).\u00a0 How does one balance the absolute trust that \u201cGod will provide\u201d with realism about the need to work and plan?<\/li>\n
- The first part of the gospel passage speaks of your \u201ctreasure.\u201d\u00a0 This can be defined as the things that pull on you when you make your decisions, things you want to protect.\u00a0 They do not have to be material objects!\u00a0 What are those things for you\u00a0?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Activity Suggestions<\/h3>\n
Leaf through scripture and see if you can identify people occupied doing their ordinary work.\u00a0 These are people who are often the very ones whom \u201cthe master finds alert when he comes.\u201d\u00a0 God often calls just such to be great instruments for God\u2019s purposes in the world.\u00a0 What is your ordinary work?\u00a0 How do you focus on Christ day-to-day and so make him your first priority?\u00a0\u00a0 Does it help your walk of discipleship to imagine what Christ might find you doing should he return at some point today?<\/p>\n
Closing Prayer<\/h3>\n
Lord Jesus, we recall your command to your disciples to proclaim the gospel to the whole world, and we hope to make it our own by our obedience to this calling.\u00a0 We pray for all who have been affected by natural and unforeseen forces.\u00a0 Help us find words to console those whose mourning includes the frustration of a disrupted life.\u00a0 Let them, with us, keep our focus on the work to be done in the present, so that you may find us faithful servants and good stewards of these gifts you have given us \u2013 the lavishness of grace and the beautiful abundance of creation.\u00a0 Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Contributed by David Delaney,\u00a0 Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries, Virginia Synod, Salem, VA Warm-up Question Think of the most unexpected thing that has ever happened to you.\u00a0 It could be anything:\u00a0 a good surprise, a horrible tragedy, school suddenly canceled, a public disaster, a family event \u2013 anything.\u00a0 Were you ready for it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1400],"tags":[5883,1695,319,425,569,462,394,5885,5884,410,5882,1210,469],"class_list":["post-1858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-post","tag-bp","tag-confidence","tag-faith","tag-faithfulness-to-god","tag-fear","tag-gifts","tag-gods-love","tag-gulf","tag-oil-spill","tag-promise","tag-rapture","tag-second-coming","tag-trust"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
August 4-10, 2010\u2013Blow Out, Blow Up\u2026Have No Fear - Faith Lens<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/august-8-2010-blow-out-blow-up-have-no-fear\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"August 4-10, 2010\u2013Blow Out, Blow Up\u2026Have No Fear - Faith Lens\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Contributed by David Delaney,\u00a0 Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries, Virginia Synod, Salem, VA Warm-up Question Think of the most unexpected thing that has ever happened to you.\u00a0 It could be anything:\u00a0 a good surprise, a horrible tragedy, school suddenly canceled, a public disaster, a family event \u2013 anything.\u00a0 Were you ready for it […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/august-8-2010-blow-out-blow-up-have-no-fear\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Faith Lens\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-08-03T12:40:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2010-08-04T15:37:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2010\/07\/shutterstock_55843996.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"421\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"faithlens\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"faithlens\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/faithlens\\\/august-8-2010-blow-out-blow-up-have-no-fear\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/faithlens\\\/august-8-2010-blow-out-blow-up-have-no-fear\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"faithlens\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/faithlens\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b8300066980f72581b618e79dbe972e7\"},\"headline\":\"August 4-10, 2010\u2013Blow Out, Blow Up\u2026Have No Fear\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-08-03T12:40:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2010-08-04T15:37:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/faithlens\\\/august-8-2010-blow-out-blow-up-have-no-fear\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1201,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/faithlens\\\/august-8-2010-blow-out-blow-up-have-no-fear\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/15\\\/2010\\\/07\\\/shutterstock_55843996-252x300.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"BP\",\"confidence\",\"faith\",\"faithfulness to God\",\"fear\",\"gifts\",\"God's love\",\"Gulf\",\"oil spill\",\"promise\",\"rapture\",\"second coming\",\"trust\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Post\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/faithlens\\\/august-8-2010-blow-out-blow-up-have-no-fear\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/faithlens\\\/august-8-2010-blow-out-blow-up-have-no-fear\\\/\",\"name\":\"August 4-10, 2010\u2013Blow Out, Blow Up\u2026Have No Fear - 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Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, August 8, 2010 (Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost)<\/h3>\n
Genesis 15:1-6<\/a><\/p>\n Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16<\/a><\/p>\n Luke 12:32-40<\/a><\/p>\n (Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser<\/a>. 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<\/a>.)<\/p>\n For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.<\/a><\/p>\n This passage consists of a huge string of wisdom sayings from Jesus \u2013 so many that each one by itself would be topic enough for a whole discussion. These sayings, along with those in surrounding passages, are all oriented toward anticipating the future with clear certainty about God\u2019s sovereignty over, not only the inhabitants of this world, but the events of history.\u00a0 Jesus advises us first to know our priorities, making sure those are carefully sorted out, so that being recipients of the grace granted to us by\u00a0 God holds first place in our lives.\u00a0 If we have that clarity of orientation, then we will also be ready when Christ returns.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jesus does not call us to prepare by focusing on that final event \u2013 the return of Christ and judgment of the world \u2013 but rather by focusing on him, sent by the Father to bring humankind to faith.\u00a0 Even today we hear Christian people fret over the second coming of Jesus, proclaiming that they know the date for the so-called \u201crapture of the church.\u201d\u00a0 This passage rejects such speculation.\u00a0 We are not to look far into the future, calculating the \u201cprofit\u201d we will make in figuring out God\u2019s timetable.\u00a0 Instead, we are to be about our daily work \u2013 loving Jesus, sharing the good news with others, and bringing whatever gift we have been given to the service of God\u2019s people.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Leaf through scripture and see if you can identify people occupied doing their ordinary work.\u00a0 These are people who are often the very ones whom \u201cthe master finds alert when he comes.\u201d\u00a0 God often calls just such to be great instruments for God\u2019s purposes in the world.\u00a0 What is your ordinary work?\u00a0 How do you focus on Christ day-to-day and so make him your first priority?\u00a0\u00a0 Does it help your walk of discipleship to imagine what Christ might find you doing should he return at some point today?<\/p>\n Lord Jesus, we recall your command to your disciples to proclaim the gospel to the whole world, and we hope to make it our own by our obedience to this calling.\u00a0 We pray for all who have been affected by natural and unforeseen forces.\u00a0 Help us find words to console those whose mourning includes the frustration of a disrupted life.\u00a0 Let them, with us, keep our focus on the work to be done in the present, so that you may find us faithful servants and good stewards of these gifts you have given us \u2013 the lavishness of grace and the beautiful abundance of creation.\u00a0 Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Contributed by David Delaney,\u00a0 Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries, Virginia Synod, Salem, VA Warm-up Question Think of the most unexpected thing that has ever happened to you.\u00a0 It could be anything:\u00a0 a good surprise, a horrible tragedy, school suddenly canceled, a public disaster, a family event \u2013 anything.\u00a0 Were you ready for it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1400],"tags":[5883,1695,319,425,569,462,394,5885,5884,410,5882,1210,469],"class_list":["post-1858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-post","tag-bp","tag-confidence","tag-faith","tag-faithfulness-to-god","tag-fear","tag-gifts","tag-gods-love","tag-gulf","tag-oil-spill","tag-promise","tag-rapture","tag-second-coming","tag-trust"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGospel Reflection<\/h3>\n
Discussion Questions<\/h3>\n
\n
Activity Suggestions<\/h3>\n
Closing Prayer<\/h3>\n