{"id":5109,"date":"2014-02-11T07:48:01","date_gmt":"2014-02-11T12:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/?p=5109"},"modified":"2014-02-06T13:03:02","modified_gmt":"2014-02-06T18:03:02","slug":"february-16-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/february-16-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"February 16, 2014&#8211;Above and Beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Contributed by Erik Ulstead, West Des Moines, IA<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Warm-up Question<\/h3>\n<p>Would you rather do the bare minimum or overachieve?\u00a0 Why?<\/p>\n<h3>Above and Beyond<\/h3>\n<p>New York City is poised to be the latest community to enact a law that requires businesses with at least fifteen employees to offer paid sick days.\u00a0 Some business owners are wary of the new requirements.\u00a0 They fear this law will be hard on medium-sized businesses that are already struggling.\u00a0 \u201cNot only will I have to pay the worker who stayed home sick,\u201d said one businessman, \u201cbut I also have to pay another worker to cover the shift.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2014\/02\/shutterstock_94428592edit.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-5125\" style=\"margin: 5px\" alt=\"shutterstock_94428592edit\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2014\/02\/shutterstock_94428592edit.jpg\" width=\"200\" height=\"133\" \/><\/a>Mayor Bill de Blasio supports the new law and wants to go even further.\u00a0 He promises to \u201ccontinue fighting until all families have this fundamental right.\u201d\u00a0 De Blasio believes there are already many small businesses that are offering paid sick leave to their employees.\u00a0 \u201cNo one should be forced to lose a day&#8217;s pay, or even a week&#8217;s pay, simply because illness strikes. And by this time next year, 300,000 additional New Yorkers will be protected by that law. We won&#8217;t wait,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>In the past few years San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C. have established similar laws.\u00a0 San Francisco\u2019s law, which requires all employers to offer at least five paid sick days per year, was enacted in 2007.\u00a0 According to a 2011 study done by the Institute for Women\u2019s Policy Research, six out of seven San Francisco employers said their profitability didn\u2019t suffer as a result.\u00a0 Mayor de Blasio has watched these communities closely and feels strongly that paid sick leave laws are good for everyone.\u00a0 Andrew Rigie, executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, agrees.\u00a0 \u201cMost employers want to offer their staff paid sick leave \u2013 it\u2019s good for morale.\u201d\u00a0 New York\u2019s paid sick leave law is set to take effect in April.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Discussion Questions<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>What\u2019s the sickest you\u2019ve been?\u00a0 Did you miss school or work because of your illness?<\/li>\n<li>Why do you think the New York City mayor is so vocal in his support of the paid sick leave law?<\/li>\n<li>How do you feel about a law requiring business owners to pay employees when they miss work due to illness?<\/li>\n<li>What do you think about the companies who are offering paid sick leave even though they aren\u2019t required to do so?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, February 16, 2014 (Sixth Sunday after Epiphany)<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=258525609\">Deuteronomy 30:15-20<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=258525637\">1 Corinthians 3:1-9<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=258525672\">Matthew 5:21-37<\/a><\/p>\n<p>(Text links are to <a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/\">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 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.elca.org\/Growing-In-Faith\/Worship\/Lectionary.aspx\">Lectionary Readings<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic <a href=\"http:\/\/www.agnusday.org\/\">Agnus Day.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Gospel Reflection<\/h3>\n<p>The verses from Matthew are part of Jesus\u2019 Sermon on the Mount.\u00a0 He has moved quickly from the Beatitudes and talking about salt and light into some pretty controversial stuff \u2013 anger, adultery, divorce, and oaths.\u00a0 At first glance, Jesus appears to be taking a rigid, legalistic approach to these topics.\u00a0 Statements like \u201cif you say, \u2018You Fool\u2019, you will be liable to the hell of fire,\u201d and, \u201cif your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away,\u201d are startling, if not entirely preposterous.<\/p>\n<p>In those days, God\u2019s people had become devout adherents to the <i>letter<\/i> of many of the laws of Moses.\u00a0 However, they were neglecting the <i>spirit<\/i> of these laws.\u00a0 For them it was about showing others how righteous they were, even though they were neglecting to look with loving-kindness on those in need.\u00a0 More specifically, Jesus is adamant that men start treating women better.\u00a0 In this sermon he has harsh words for men who look with lust upon a woman, assault women, or \u00a0divorce a woman for no good reason.<\/p>\n<p>This section of Matthew has been debated for centuries.\u00a0 What is Jesus saying about the nature of sin?\u00a0 Does he really want people to cut off their hands?\u00a0 Should someone really be thrown into prison for calling someone a \u2018fool\u2019?\u00a0 Is it okay for a divorced person to get remarried?\u00a0 These are good things to discuss and explore with your group.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, it\u2019s important to remember that the Sermon on the Mount is about the command to care for the lost, last, and least in society.\u00a0 Jesus calls us to be mindful of how we treat others.\u00a0 Our actions matter to God because God\u2019s people matter to God.<\/p>\n<h3>Discussion Questions<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>What\u2019s the most startling thing you heard Jesus say in the gospel reading?<\/li>\n<li>Who are some of the people in your community who are among the last, least, and lost?<\/li>\n<li>How is God calling you to go above-and-beyond the letter of the law to show kindness to others?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Activity Suggestions<\/h3>\n<p>We\u2019re on the heels of Valentine\u2019s Day, a time when we are reminded to love others.\u00a0 This activity is a call for Christians to emphasize love every day of the year, not just on February 14.\u00a0 Consider making a \u201cWall of Love\u201d in your meeting space.\u00a0 Draw a large heart on a poster board or mural paper.\u00a0 Decorate it as you see fit.\u00a0 Use sticky notes to write ideas of how people can go out of their way to love others.\u00a0 Post the sticky notes onto the Wall of Love.\u00a0 Ask everyone to come up with at least three ideas.\u00a0 Be sure to talk about ways to put these ideas into action in the week ahead.<\/p>\n<h3>Closing Prayer<\/h3>\n<p>God of love \u2013 you call us to be passionate about caring for those in need.\u00a0 Help us look past the easy answers and be with us as we do the difficult work of justice and peace.\u00a0 For the sake of Jesus, your Son. Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Contributed by Erik Ulstead, West Des Moines, IA &nbsp; Warm-up Question Would you rather do the bare minimum or overachieve?\u00a0 Why? Above and Beyond New York City is poised to be the latest community to enact a law that requires businesses with at least fifteen employees to offer paid sick days.\u00a0 Some business owners are [&hellip;]<\/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":[],"class_list":["post-5109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-post"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>February 16, 2014-Above and Beyond - 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\/february-16-2014\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"February 16, 2014-Above and Beyond - Faith Lens\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Contributed by Erik Ulstead, West Des Moines, IA &nbsp; Warm-up Question Would you rather do the bare minimum or overachieve?\u00a0 Why? 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