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July 18-25, 2007

Football coach Tony Dungy’s memoir highlights his priorities

Warm-up Question:

Think about the person you most admire. What qualities do you admire most about them?

  

The Indianapolis Colts’ February Super Bowl victory over the Chicago Bears makes them the current hot team in NFL football. So it’s no surprise that Colts head coach Tony Dungy would be asked to write a book about his life and experiences. What might be surprising is that he initially did not have much interest in capitalizing on his team’s successes by writing a book.

What changed his mind? He realized that writing the book was an opportunity to share with others the ways in which his faith in God has helped him overcome life’s struggles. Although many fans may pick up the book to read about how Dungy brought his team to the Super Bowl and won, “They're going to be surprised to see some of the things that went into making me the person that I am," he said.

His memoir, titled Quiet Strength, was published by Christian publisher Tyndale House. Each of the 20 chapters begins with a Bible verse or a quote from someone Dungy admires. “People look at me and see a calm, cool guy on the sidelines and I want them to know that my Christian faith affects my coaching and everything I do,” he said.

Although Dungy has obviously worked long and hard to become the first African-American coach to win the Super Bowl, he seems to have a good handle on his life as a whole. Says Dungy: “Life is more than just jobs. It's more than just football and winning. It's filled with family and relationships.”

 

Discussion Questions

  1. What is your greatest talent or skill? Do you work hard at it, or does it seem to come easily or naturally to you?

  2. On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being least), how competitive are you? Are there certain situations in which you feel more pressure to win or stand out than others?

  3. Which do you think is more important in life: working hard or having good relationships with the people you love or care about? What experiences in your life have led you to your answer?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, July 22, 2007.
(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.)

Genesis 18:1-10a
Psalm 15
Colossians 1:15-28
Luke 10:38-42
 

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

Gospel Reflection
Did you know that you can sit at the feet of Jesus like Mary did in this passage? In fact, just like Jesus told Martha that spending time with him was way more important than running around the house making everything perfect, Jesus wants us to know that spending time with him is just about the most important thing we can possibly do in our lives.

It isn’t that hard work is a bad thing. Not at all! Hard work is very important, and so is being hospitable and gracious to guest and strangers. It's also true that God does not mean for us to sit around meditating on God all the time and doing nothing about it. But hard work alone is not sufficient. God wants to multiply our efforts to do good and make a positive difference in the world and with each other. And to do God’s will on Earth, we have to know God, and that requires spending some time with God.

It isn’t that Jesus didn’t value Martha’s efforts to make him comfortable, fill his stomach, and give him a place to rest—not at all. He was just letting her (and the rest of us) know that he needs to have our attention in order to tell us God’s will and show us the special work he wants us to do in the world. Martha was stressed out by her efforts to make sure her house was in order and the guests were comfortable. God never meant for us to work ourselves to the point of being stressed out. Jesus means for us to be sustained and empowered by our relationship with him; then we can see that work has its proper place in life and does not consume us.

We are more fortunate than Mary. We have God’s Holy Spirit with us all the time. Sometimes we can take that for granted. When it seems like we can have anything any time we want, it may lose some of its value. But when we sit at the feet of Jesus and settle into a grace-filled relationship, we also come to know by what it feels like when we neglect that relationship. Life will feel unbalanced until we get back to spending time at Jesus’ feet and out in the world living as servants with a message of grace.

If you have felt uncomfortable in being with Jesus, just start talking to him today—pray and meditate. You can talk to Jesus like a friend, a brother, or like anyone you feel close to and trust in your life. Once you have sat at the feet of Jesus, you will never be the same!

Discussion Questions

  1. Do you consider yourself more of a Martha or a Mary? What are the pros and cons of each role?
  2. Have you ever gotten stressed out trying to serve God or do something good for others? If so, how did that stress affect your efforts and your other relationships?
  3. Does the idea of spending time with Jesus appeal to you? If you already have a regular prayer time, describe the benefits of doing so to the group. If you do not do much praying, how do you think it might be helpful for you? Talk about why your group prays together. What can you do to further strengthen and expand how and when you pray as a group? (i.e., praying at the beginning and ending of whatever you do together, maintaining a prayer list, taking turns leading, sometimes using silent prayer, using open prayers that everyone can add to, lighting a candle or standing around an altar to help focus prayer time, etc.)
  4. Does your life feel balanced or unbalanced right now? What things make it feel so?

Activity Suggestions

Questions for God

Another way to spend time with Jesus is to read the Bible, which many youth (and adults) find difficult to understand (and unfortunately not all that interesting or relevant, sometimes). The truth about God's Word, once you begin to move around in it and think about it, is quite different.

Hand out 3 by 5" index cards and have group members write down questions they are burning to ask God. These could be things about the world that they don’t understand, about death and life, or personal questions about their lives and their faith. Do not put names on the cards; let the questions be anonymous.

Put the questions in a bowl and randomly pick out a few to read. Have group members share their insights if they can think of any Bible passages they know of that respond to the question or seem related to it. Encourage them to talk about the ‘spirit’ of the Bible passage or story even if they cannot quote it word for word. Those with topical Bible concordances can look up issues and references as well other relevant passages. Also invite personal insights that seem relevant.

Not all questions will have answers. Remind group members that some of God’s ways are just beyond human understanding. The leader, a group member, or small group can volunteer to research for a future meeting those questions that were difficult to answer.

  Closing Prayer
Dear God, we thank you for giving us the Holy Spirit to be with us through all of the good and bad times of our lives. Remind us each day to seek you for the comfort and peace and understanding that we cannot find on our own. Lead us closer to you, and help us serve others as you would want us to do. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen
 

Contributed by Jennifer Krausz
Bethlehem, PA
 

Permission to reproduce for local use. Copyright © 2007 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. ELCA Youth Ministries. 1-800-638-3522, ext. 2447. To offer your comments or responses to Faith Lens, e-mail:  rod.boriack@elca.org.

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