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Discussion Questions
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What keeps Maria focused on the work her family does in
Juarez? What motivates you to take risks to care for your neighbors? Where
is Jesus in this story?
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Where do you find Jesus -- where is your faith -- in your
relationships with others?
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If Maria hadn’t driven 30 minutes south of her home,
crossing the border into a dangerous city, do you think she would have been
inspired to live her faith in this way? What kinds of things appear like
obstacles or accidents, or take you out of your way, that can teach you
something new about your faith?
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Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, May 4, 2008.
(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 A at
Lectionary Readings.)
Acts 1:6-14
Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35
1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11
John 17:1-11
For lectionary humor and insight, check
the weekly comic
Agnus
Day.
Gospel Reflection
After walking with Jesus and experiencing his ministry of healing and
teaching, his crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus’ followers are full of
questions. They want to know when and how Jesus is going to finish what he
started. They are expecting something they can predict or count on, but Jesus
tells them that their questions are the wrong questions. What they
need to be focused on is what they are doing and where they are going --
now. Jesus sends them on a very long journey to strange and even scary
places, and although it may be uncomfortable not to know everything about their
future, or the future of this thing Jesus started, they are challenged to
believe that the Holy Spirit will strengthen their faith as they go. Even when
we’re uncertain about our future, the job we are given is to change the present;
to live in and change the world around us by sharing the story of Jesus Christ
with neighbors and strangers alike.
This is especially hard for the disciples, and for us, because Jesus takes
off! They are faced with a difficult task and the One who gave them their faith
and life, their safety net, is gone. Jesus won’t be around anymore to help them
when things are difficult, or at least that’s how it seems. They will have to
depend on the bond they had when Jesus was still around; a bond that is now held
together by this strange and unpredictable thing called the “Holy Spirit.” Can’t
you hear them? “Hey, Jesus! Come back! We’re not finished with you yet!”
It’s as if Jesus is throwing them into the deep end and leaving them to do
what Jesus started, to follow his example, to keep the story moving. I wonder if
they began to doubt and wonder if they had paid close enough attention or soaked
up enough of Jesus’ mojo while they still had him within arms’ reach.
No wonder they were staring into the clouds. Wouldn’t you? It’s as if they’re
not quite sure what to do next. So along come white-robed messengers to kick
them back into gear and to keep them from sitting around and moping about what
they have lost, the questions they won’t get answered, the uncertainty about
their future, or their ability to do what Jesus has asked them to do. The
messengers bring them back to the present: “Don’t waste your time staring into
the clouds -- look around you!” When Martin Luther read this verse, he took it
to mean that Jesus would return in the same direction as he left, that is, from
the bottom up. Luther concluded: “The whole world is filled with God. In every
alley, at your door you find Christ. Stare not at the heavens.”
In other words, just because you saw him leaving doesn’t mean he’s not still
here with you. Look around you. Go to new places. And you will surely find Jesus
there.
That’s hard to believe sometimes. It’s easy to get distracted, to begin to
believe that Jesus is sitting up in heaven, that God is far off, and that we’re
left alone here to do impossible work. That’s why the story ends with the
followers gathering as a group -- a family -- to pray. They stick together, pray
together, work together to figure out what they will do, and where they will
find strength, now that Jesus isn’t around in the familiar way he was before.
They will have to use each other’s gifts and share each other’s stories and
memories in order to respond to this mission that Jesus has given them.
This is the gift of being the church together. We learn about faith and trust
by sharing our stories and lives with each other. We rely on each other to teach
each other how God works in our lives. We listen to each other’s stories about
where and how we find Jesus, now that Jesus has left the room. As the church, we
learn how to find Jesus alive and well in our own communities and in other
places, in the faces of family and friends as well as strangers and neighbors.
Jesus, the messengers, and our sisters and brothers in faith all help us to
focus on what’s really important: finding and sharing the life-changing power of
Jesus Christ in the world and the people around us. And thanks be to God for
that. Amen!
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Discussion Questions
- When have you been distracted by fear, uncertainty about your future, or
sadness, and you needed someone to point you in a different direction? When
have you been so focused on your own needs, lost in your own world, that you
couldn’t see or didn’t have the energy to live your faith and respond to
neighbors in need?
- When have you needed to rely on friends and neighbors to get you through
a difficult time in your life? How have other faithful people helped you to
live your faith in the world differently than you would on your own? What
did that teach you about how God is present in your life?
- Where are places in your own life that God might want you to go that are
scary or uncomfortable -- or things God is calling you to do that you never
thought you would or could do? Where might you be able to serve and share
your faith, but you aren’t sure you can do it?
- When have you seen Jesus in people and places that you wouldn’t have
expected? When has Jesus surprised you in strange places, ways, or people?
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Activity Suggestions
- Leading and trusting
Set up an obstacle course, or set up a complicated task (going up stairs,
putting on makeup, cooking). Put people in groups of two. Have one partner
wear a blindfold and the other partner lead them through the course or task
with just the sound of her or his voice. Then switch. Talk about what it’s
like to not know where you’re going and having to rely on others to lead you
into scary or difficult places or tasks.
- Jesus scavenger hunt
Walk around the block or go to the mall or some other public place. Break
the group up into teams of 2-3. Have them search for Jesus and check off the
following (tell them to be ready to tell stories about these events):
- Someone helping a stranger
- Siblings getting along
- Someone picking up trash
- Someone begging for food or money
- Someone speaking a different language
- People hugging
- Someone helping a child do something she or he couldn’t do on her
own
- A family having fun together
- 3-5 other ways they find Jesus in the world that aren’t on this list
Closing Prayer
Dear heavenly Father, thank you for bringing us together to pray and study
and worship together. Please help us to find Jesus in the world around us, and
give us the strength to follow and serve you even though we may not always see
you. Amen
Contributed by Cara Cogswell
A senior at Green Mountain High School
Lakewood, CO
and...
Pastor Jay McDivitt
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Denver, CO
Permission
to reproduce for local use. Copyright © 2008 Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America. ELCA Youth
Ministry. 1-800-638-3522, ext. 2447. To offer your comments or responses to Faith Lens,
e-mail: rod.boriack@elca.org.
Program Resources
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