{"id":8614,"date":"2021-09-14T07:19:35","date_gmt":"2021-09-14T12:19:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/?p=8614"},"modified":"2021-09-20T15:09:36","modified_gmt":"2021-09-20T20:09:36","slug":"september-19-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/september-19-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"September 19, 2021&#8211;Right to Serve"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4>Bill King, Blacksburg, VA<\/h4>\n<h4><b>Warm-up Questions<\/b><\/h4>\n<p>What have you done in the past week which gave you the greatest joy and satisfaction? \u00a0Who or what benefited from your actions?<\/p>\n<h4><b>Right to Serve<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/09\/iStock-1252583712.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-8627 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/09\/iStock-1252583712-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/09\/iStock-1252583712-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/09\/iStock-1252583712-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/09\/iStock-1252583712-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/09\/iStock-1252583712-250x167.jpg 250w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/09\/iStock-1252583712-525x350.jpg 525w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/09\/iStock-1252583712.jpg 1254w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Everyone hoped that the conflict over whether to mask or not mask amid the COVID pandemic would be over by now. \u00a0It isn&#8217;t. \u00a0The number of cases continues to climb and mask mandates&#8211;and opposition to them&#8211;are also rising. \u00a0Most of the time the debate plays out as some asserting their right to be free of governmental control. \u00a0But a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/back-to-school-live-updates\/2021\/09\/07\/1034918212\/parents-of-children-with-disabilities-join-the-legal-battle-over-masks-in-school?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_term=nprnews&amp;utm_source=facebook.com&amp;utm_campaign=npr&amp;fbclid=IwAR12xwXr0pup4f2qaa4OCwzXxKhRwE6kqwRW4CIGKeKdwJww-HSjjvahd8Y\">recent article<\/a> points out that the issue can be framed as whether the vulnerable have a right to feel safe at school.<\/p>\n<p>Grayson Schwaigert has a rare genetic disorder which makes him at high risk to experience renal failure if he contracts COVID. \u00a0The governor of Tennessee has issued an executive order which allows parents to opt out of school mask mandates. As of Aug. 20, 16% of students in Greyson&#8217;s school district were opting out. His mother is the lead plaintiff in a suit which challenges the &#8220;opt out&#8221; policy. \u00a0She contends that allowing children to opt out endangers her child and makes it impossible for him to receive needed socialization and education at school.<\/p>\n<p>Schwaigert&#8217;s suit is one of a wave of actions in a number of \u00a0states which contend that opt out policies force children and their parents to choose between their health and \u00a0their education. &#8220;We hear all the time, &#8216;Oh, only kids with preexisting conditions are the ones that get sick and die,&#8217; &#8221; Schwaigert says. &#8220;Well, that&#8217;s my kid. That is my child. He has a lot of preexisting conditions, and he matters.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h4><b>Discussion Questions<\/b><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">What is the difference\u00a0between a mask mandate and laws which limit how fast you can drive in a school zone?<\/span><\/li>\n<li>How do you balance the needs of the most vulnerable with the comfort and convenience of the majority?<\/li>\n<li>Virtually all school districts require certain immunizations to enroll in a public school. \u00a0Why has the mask mandate become such a contentious issue, if the point of both is to reduce the risk of infection for everyone?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost<\/b><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=497779813\">Jeremiah 11:18-20<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=497779845\">James 3:13\u20144:3, 7-8a<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=497779884\">Mark 9:30-37<\/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 B at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.elca.org\/Our-Work\/Congregations-and-Synods\/Worship\/Lectionary\/YearB\">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<h4><b>Gospel Reflection<\/b><\/h4>\n<p>Busted. \u00a0The disciples have been having a discussion about who is the most important among them. \u00a0At some level they know that this grubbing for status will not please their master, because they \u00a0do it privately. \u00a0 They have heard him teach about denying self and saving your life by losing it [8:34-37], but they are still focused on what&#8217;s in it for themselves. \u00a0They see following Jesus as the fast track to power and prestige. So\u00a0Jesus calls them out. \u00a0&#8220;What were you discussing on the way?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Their embarrassed silence says it all. \u00a0They know perfectly well that their focus on personal status is not what Jesus is about. \u00a0But just in case they have any doubts about what he values and expects of them, Jesus lays it out, &#8220;If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.&#8221; \u00a0Then he places a child in front of them and tells them to care for those like him or her. \u00a0The point is that a child is pure vulnerability, pure need. \u00a0There is no percentage in serving a child, no reciprocal payoff which benefits the giver. \u00a0That, says Jesus, is what you need to be about&#8211;finding ways to be servants, not masters.<\/p>\n<p>The disciples are very concerned about their status, their rights as the inner circle. \u00a0Jesus tells them that the only right which love has is to give itself.<\/p>\n<p>In <em>Morality: \u00a0Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times, <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/outlook\/a-rabbis-final-call-for-a-commitment-to-the-common-good\/2020\/11\/25\/127943fe-2d95-11eb-bae0-50bb17126614_story.html\">Rabbi\u00a0Jonathan Sachs argues<\/a> that the\u00a0great crisis of the modern world is that we are so individualistic that we have lost sight of the fact that we can only live in a community. \u00a0We are so focused on the &#8220;I&#8221; that there is diminished sense of &#8220;We.&#8221; \u00a0Society has become a collection of individuals who ferociously defend \u00a0their rights, yet have little sense that with rights come responsibilities. \u00a0This, says Sachs, is a recipe for social chaos and bitter politics.<\/p>\n<p>Winston Churchill famously observed, &#8220;We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.&#8221; \u00a0How would our society be different if we had a greater sense of &#8220;We?&#8221; \u00a0How would it be different if our first thought was not how to protect our preferences, but how to serve those most in need of our care?<\/p>\n<h4><b>Discussion Questions<\/b><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>What gives someone status in your social circles? \u00a0Are those things which Jesus values?<\/li>\n<li>What is the difference between having a spirit of service and just allowing yourself to be abused to no purpose?<\/li>\n<li>Do you agree with Sachs that our society is in danger because we have too much focus on &#8220;I&#8221; and not enough on &#8220;We?&#8221; \u00a0Can you give examples?<\/li>\n<li>When you think about your long term goals, what do you most want; how will you define success?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><b>Activity Suggestions<\/b><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Who in your school or neighborhood is like the child which Jesus put in the midst of the disciples&#8211;needing care, with little ability to reciprocate? \u00a0Find a way to serve that person without receiving any public recognition.<\/li>\n<li>Write a letter or send an email to your legislator. \u00a0Make it in behalf of a bill which will not benefit you personally, but will make for a more just and kind society.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><b>Closing Prayer<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/h4>\n<p>Loving God, it is so hard to see beyond my own interests. \u00a0I spend most of my day trying to prove I am worthy of respect. \u00a0Lift my eyes to see the communities which need my talents and compassion. \u00a0Help me measure myself less by what I achieve than in how faithfully I follow Jesus&#8217; example of service to those on the edges. \u00a0Most of all, remind me that I need not prove I am worthy of love, because you have claimed me in my baptism. \u00a0Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bill King, Blacksburg, VA Warm-up Questions What have you done in the past week which gave you the greatest joy and satisfaction? \u00a0Who or what benefited from your actions? Right to Serve Everyone hoped that the conflict over whether to mask or not mask amid the COVID pandemic would be over by now. \u00a0It isn&#8217;t. [&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-8614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-post"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>September 19, 2021-Right to Serve - 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\/september-19-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"September 19, 2021-Right to Serve - Faith Lens\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bill King, Blacksburg, VA Warm-up Questions What have you done in the past week which gave you the greatest joy and satisfaction? \u00a0Who or what benefited from your actions? 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