The Second Half of Pentecost 2005
(Download PDF)
Pericope Partners, vignettes about ministries of the ELCA,
interpret the partnerships we share as a whole church. These brief thematic illustrations
of mission and ministry are suggested by themes from the Revised Common
Lectionary. They are
not exegetical expositions of the texts, but are intended to be suitable textual
companions/partners for use in Sunday bulletins and congregational
newsletters.
The 15th Sunday after
Pentecost (August 28, 2005 - Proper 17)
The 16th Sunday
after Pentecost (September 4, 2005
- Proper 18)
The 17th Sunday
after Pentecost (September 11, 2005
- Proper 19)
The 18th Sunday after Pentecost
(September 18, 2005 - Proper 20)
The 19th Sunday after Pentecost
(September 25, 2005 - Proper 21)
Lutheran
World Federation Sunday (October 2, 2005)
The 21st Sunday after Pentecost
(October 9, 2005 - Proper 23)
The 22nd Sunday after Pentecost
(October 16, 2005 - Proper 24)
The 23rd Sunday after Pentecost
(October 25, 2005 - Proper 25)
Reformation Sunday
(October 30, 2005)
All Saints Sunday
(November 6, 2005)
The 26th Sunday after Pentecost
(November 13, 2005 - Proper 28)
The Reign of Christ
- The Last Sunday after Pentecost
(November 20, 2005 - Proper 29)
The 15th Sunday after
Pentecost (August 28, 2005 - Proper 17)
by Kathyrn Love
Division for Congregational Ministries
Malcolm, a 6’5” man, stood to tell the congregation his name. Malcolm
had had a troubled life. He had been a man on the road to
self-destruction through substance abuse. So, the congregation was
joyful when he sounded so upbeat about his recovery and his desire for a
better life. Then, delighted, Malcolm added, “I am three weeks clean,”
and some joyful expressions turned to dismay and even discomfort. They
knew that the chance for recovery was only 26 percent.
Malcolm kept coming to church and telling his story. He loved to hum
the song, “I Fall Down, But I Get Up” and when he was employed he
proudly told people, “I am now a citizen, up from sleeping in abandoned
buildings to paying taxes.” He went to Bible study, but had to leave
early to keep the group home rules. Later he attended new members’ class
and was baptized. Every chance he got he boasted of transformation. He
claimed God sustained him and that had it not been for the church’s
invitation and encouragement, the temptations of his old life might have
overcome him.
Once lying like garbage on the ground, now Malcolm is an example of
how God’s recovery system is available for all. God says to Jeremiah, “I
will make you … a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you
but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you.”
Eighteen months later Malcolm was overheard saying to a group of
people, “I am 18-months clean.”
(Inspired by Jeremiah 15:20)
The 16th Sunday
after Pentecost (September 4, 2005
- Proper 18)
by Peter Grow-Hanson
Division for Global Mission
Our seminar on Luther’s Small Catechism was getting off to a rocky
start. Things never begin on time in rural Senegal, but this two-day
workshop for baptismal candidates seemed to be starting worse than
usual. The four presenters—an ELCA seminarian, two Senegalese Christians
and me—were seated on mats under the thatched roof ready to offer our
best attempt at contextualizing Martin Luther for a group of mostly
nomadic Fulani.
People straggled in, offering one after another the limitations of
their participation; “I have to get to market, so I can only stay until
noon,” “I can’t stay, either, I have to get to the pharmacy,” “I’m here
today, but not tomorrow” “He’ll join us tomorrow, God willing.” We began
to wonder if even a few of the dozen catechumens would really benefit
from our sessions.
Finally, Aissata spoke up. “I’m planning to spend all day today and
all day tomorrow hearing the word of God and learning how to follow
Jesus.” We four looked at each other, and back to Aissata, and without
another word, we began. Even if no one else was able to be a part of
this weekend, Aissata’s commitment was enough for us. Her witness must
have had some effect on the others, since many of their alternate plans
never seemed to materialize.
A few months later, on the eve of Pentecost, eight were baptized into
Christ’s church.
“For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among
them.”
(Inspired by Matthew 18:15-20)
The 17th Sunday
after Pentecost (September 11, 2005
- Proper 19)
by Jack Saarela
Division for Higher Education and Schools
The Lutheran Campus Ministry at a state university in the northeast
spent six weeks last fall discussing Journey Together Faithfully, the
study prepared by the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality.
When the question of the blessing of same-sex unions and the
ordination of gay or lesbian people in faithful, lifelong relationships
arose, some of the students thought that Scripture is quite clear that
making provision for either is out of the question. They found it
somewhat surprising, in fact, that there were others in the room who
didn’t find what Scripture says self-evident at all. Others were
confused because they had gay and lesbian friends, some of them
Christians.
Only when the emotional temperature in the room had risen to an
unproductive level did the campus pastor enter the conversation. She
asked the students who seemed offended at the “lax” attitude of some
others towards homosexuality, “Do you think that those who disagree with
you are any less dependent on the Bible for their view than you?”
Silence.
Then she turned to those who were beginning to lose patience with the
more traditional students, “And do you really believe that those who
feel differently from you about this subject are any less compassionate
towards people who are gay or lesbian than you are?” More
silence—silence that indicated they had all come to a new realization
about what it means to be a Christian community.
(Inspired by Romans 14:1-12)
The 18th Sunday after Pentecost
(September 18, 2005 - Proper 20)
by Dina Tannous
Division for Congregational Ministries
God’s work can appear in the least expected moment.
Ed was flying back to Chicago. He was tired and not in the mood for
making conversation with people sitting next to him. However, towards
the end of the trip, he started talking to the man sitting next to him
whose name was Christopher. Christopher, his wife Constance, and their
three children were coming from Tanzania where they had spent 11 years
in a refugee camp having fled from unrest in neighboring Burundi.
Christopher asked Ed what he did, and Ed told him about his work in the
ELCA. Christopher had tears in his eyes and pulled out a little wallet
that had five immigration and naturalization cards and one business card
that said “Lutheran World Relief” (LWR).
LWR had helped Christopher and his family—without the work of LWR,
this family would not have survived.
The work of this church affects people thousands of miles away. Our
prayers, training and educational programs, and campaigns such as Stand
with Africa or Peace not Walls: Stand for Justice in the Holy Land are
some of the many ways members of the ELCA are doing what Christ
commissioned us to do—feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and be
disciples of the spirit.
Christopher, and his family currently live in Aurora, Illinois. They
attend a Roman Catholic church and are adjusting to the life in the
United States. The children are going to school and both parents are
employed.
God is good and merciful and definitely works in mysterious ways.
(Inspired by the day’s lessons)
The 19th Sunday after Pentecost
(September 25, 2005 - Proper 21)
by Henry Boschen
Division for Outreach
“In humility, regard others as better than yourselves.” –Philippians
2:3
One of our faith practices of discipleship is serving for the sake of
others. We seek meaningful ways to put others first. Jesus calls us to
put the welfare of others ahead of our own needs.
I see this happening in many places like Prince of Peace Lutheran
Church, Greensboro, North Carolina. They have opened their doors wide to
their neighborhood and offer the health services of a parish nurse to
all who come.
I see this in the ministry of Living Waters Lutheran Church,
Cherokee, North Carolina. There a ministry helps girls feel the love of
God and know they are valued by God and created in God’s image. Their
self-esteem has grown and, as they have developed life and leadership
skills, they have grown in faith.
I saw Reformation Lutheran Church, Culpepper, Virginia, respond to
the needs and welfare of their community’s children when they discovered
that many of their homes did not have a single book. The congregation
developed a Saturday Bible Story time and gave books to
elementary-school–aged children.
I see it in the ministry of a congregation under development in
Massaponax, Virginia, as a young pastor who didn’t relish the thought of
going door to door and inviting people to the new congregation went
faithfully anyway. He wore out several pairs of shoes knocking on
hundreds of doors to share the good news of Jesus’ great love.
Jesus calls us to change our minds from our way to His way and to
live into His way every day all the way.
(Inspired by Philippians 2:1-13)
Lutheran
World Federation Sunday (October 2, 2005)
by Kathy Magnus
The Lutheran World Federation (LWF)
It is olive harvest time on the rocky hillsides of the Mount of
Olives in Jerusalem. Volunteers and paid workers are pulling the olives
from the branches of young and hundred-year-old trees. Two thousand
years ago Jesus spent countless hours here, overlooking what is now the
Old City of Jerusalem and making prophecies that would change the world.
He would have been well acquainted with this particular hillside and the
age-old methods of hand picking the olives.
Today this rocky hillside is also home to Augusta Victoria Hospital,
which since 1950 has been owned and operated by the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF). The hospital serves the Palestinian community, caring
primarily for refugees residing in the West Bank. No one is denied
treatment, as the hospital does not discriminate based on race,
nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender, or ability to pay. Each year
LWF harvests and presses olives from the 800 trees on its property. Some
of the oil is used in the hospital kitchen, while the rest is made
available to visitors and friends in hand-blown bottles made by
Palestinian artisans using recycled glass.
This Sunday is Lutheran World Federation Sunday in the ELCA. Our
ministry together includes not only a hospital on the ancient Mount of
Olives, but clean water projects, evangelism training, farming
techniques, ecumenical relationships, grain banks, theological
education, Bible school curriculum, literacy training, HIV/AIDS workers,
and emergency relief. We gather as 66 million Lutherans to make a
difference.
We go in Jesus’ name, for the healing of the world!
(Inspired by the day’s lessons)
The 21st Sunday after Pentecost
(October 9, 2005 - Proper 23)
by Andrew Willis
Division for Global Mission
A normal day in Jerusalem’s Old City: church bells and prayer calls
mixed with the shouts of bakers selling bread, vendors selling
vegetables, and the bustle of working people, wanderers, and tourists
crowding the narrow stone streets. On this otherwise ordinary Friday,
however, an extraordinary event was taking place: a local Christian
organization had coordinated a trip to Jerusalem for Palestinian
Christian students from nearby West Bank schools, including the four
schools administered by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and
the Holy Land (ELCJHL).
Though they traveled no more than five or ten miles from their homes,
this excursion was no everyday field trip for these Palestinian
students. Jerusalem, an integral part of both the religious and
political identity of the Palestinian people, is swiftly becoming
isolated from the West Bank. A complex system of checkpoints and
roadblocks control the movement of Palestinians in and out of the
Jerusalem area, and the separation wall is further isolating
Palestinians from the city, as well as from family, land, and necessary
health and social services. Over 1,000 Palestinian Christian
students—fifteen to sixteen years old—traveled the few miles to their
holy city that day; I later found out that for most, it was the very
first time they’d been able to visit.
The people of the ELCJHL know the importance of rejoicing always,
even in times of despair. Living and worshipping in a place where
injustice and oppression are a part of daily life, they know the depth
of God’s love and the triumph of his victory over sin and death even
when life is almost unbearably difficult. The promises of God are with
us always; we would do well to follow the example of the ELCJHL and
rejoice in God’s love in this day and in all days.
(Inspired by Isaiah 25: 9)
The
22nd Sunday after Pentecost
(October 16, 2005 - Proper 24)
by David Novak
ELCA Foundation
Gerald lived on a small farm in Missouri. At 63, he had never married
and had no close family. When I visited, I noticed wallpaper peeling off
the walls … a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling … a small
black-and-white TV with a broken antenna. Diabetes had cost Gerald part
of his left leg and his right foot, and soon it would destroy his
eyesight. Gerald’s dog had died ten days before my visit.
Ignoring his difficulties, Gerald focused on a newsletter from the
residential care facility for abused children where I served. “I see
Tony plays basketball. Can you tell me about Tony? Angelina likes to
sing. David, can you tell me about Angelina?”
Gerald’s obvious health needs and generous spirit touched my heart. I
thought of ways I might help. I asked a retired pastor friend of mine to
visit occasionally, and researched bus routes to local medical
facilities. Since I was a fundraiser, I also sent Gerald information
about our charitable gift annuities.
I visited Gerald a few more times. After his death, I got a call from
a bank in Kirksville. Gerald had named us as beneficiary of some CDs.
Then a second bank in Kirksville called. More CDs. Then the bank in
Milan called, and then the bank in Green City. Gerald had given
virtually all he had to children in need.
“Whose image is on the coin?” Jesus asks. God’s image is upon us all
and on everything that surrounds us. It certainly was on Gerald. When
his time on earth drew to a close, I am confident he heard Jesus say,
“Gerald, this is a beautiful thing you have done for me.”
(Inspired by Matthew 22:15-22)
The 23rd Sunday after Pentecost (October 25,
2005 - Proper 25)
by Becky Sorenson
Lutheran Student Movement
God calls each of us to love our neighbor, but for many people in the
world this is a calling that is much easier said than done. We’re forced
to think about the question—Who is my neighbor?
Thankfully, I’ve had many opportunities in my life to see that
everyone is my neighbor. High school service projects took me from the
poorer parts of my own hometown to Appalachia, where I learned that
“neighbor” didn’t simply refer to the people who lived next door to me,
or even in the same city as me. Then, while studying at the University
of Minnesota-Twin Cities I was fortunate enough to travel twice to
Tanzania, East Africa, with my Lutheran campus ministry. Talk about the
opportunity of a lifetime! I was shocked that going so far from home
actually made the world feel like a much smaller place. It doesn’t
matter where we are, or how much money we have, we’re still all
neighbors.
This year, thanks to grants from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans,
college students around the country are exploring this question of “Who
is my neighbor?” by participating in service-learning projects. The
students will not just be doing, they will be learning by doing. They
will be put in places and situations that many of them have never been
in before. They will learn that a “service project” entails much more
than going to a community and just helping them. I’m sure these
service-learning projects will have a similar effect on these students
as mine did on me. They will feel called to embrace God’s commandment to
“love your neighbor as yourself.”
(Inspired by Matthew 22:34-46)
Reformation Sunday
(October 30, 2005)
by Michael Root
Department for Ecumenical Affairs
The heritage of the Reformation is not just a witness to our
justification by grace through faith for the sake of Jesus Christ. The
Reformation also bequeathed us the lamentable division of the Church.
The last 50 years have seen great strides toward a deeper agreement in
the gospel between Lutherans and Roman Catholics, none more important
than the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ)
signed by Roman Catholic and Lutheran church leaders on Reformation Day,
1999.
And yet, this event almost did not occur. In the summer of 1998, the
Vatican released an endorsement of the JDDJ so qualified and limited
that the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) stated that a joint signing
ceremony would be impossible. Testy meetings followed; tempers were
tried. In the meantime, Johannes Hanselmann, the retired bishop of the
Lutheran Church of Bavaria and former president of the LWF, met
privately with his old friend, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, vacationing in
Germany. Each called in a theologian to help out and, together, the four
produced the first draft of what became the Annex to the JDDJ, ironing
out small difficulties. This private initiative created some perplexity,
but it was a crucial step toward the affirmation of the consensus.
The path toward unity in the truth is not an easy one; we must be on
the lookout for initiatives of the Spirit. Cardinal Ratzinger is now
Pope Benedict XVI. On this Reformation Day, we should pray for impulses
toward a shared understanding of the gospel, both within our own church
and among our sisters and brothers in Christ.
(Inspired by the day’s lessons)
All Saints Sunday
(November 6, 2005)
by Yutaka Kishino
Division for Outreach
Glory Lutheran Church started as a satellite ministry of Taiwanese
Lutheran Church housed at St. Mark Lutheran Church, San Diego.
The Pacifica Synod granted the status of Synodically Authorized
Worshipping Community to this developing Chinese outreach ministry, but
it does not have a full-time pastor. Instead, lay worker Betty Chen
trains others to lead Bible study and, once a month, one of the pastors
from St. Mark administers the sacraments. In the last two and a half
years 25 new Christians have been baptized at Glory Lutheran and 65
people regularly attend worship services.
When Pastor Jan Brosen preached at Glory Lutheran for the first time,
someone told her: “You are a good witness for abortion.” When the
pastor, born with cerebral palsy, hesitatingly asked, “Pardon me?” the
statement was repeated, and this clarification added: “In our culture, a
person like you would have been aborted. But it’s a good thing you
weren’t, or the church would be without a good pastor and a great
leader!”
The relationship between Pastor Jan and Glory Lutheran continues to
be a positive one. This Easter she baptized six adults and four
children. One by one they knelt beside her on a cushion and she said to
each, “Child of God, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit.”
Ten new saints were added to the family of God! And Pastor Jan,
another saint, was there to affirm the mystery—Happy are those who share
the joys and burdens of each other. They are indeed the saints of God!
(Inspired by Matthew
5:1-12)
The 26th Sunday after
Pentecost (November 13, 2005 - Proper 28)
by Craig Settlage
Division for Ministry
“Encourage one another and build up each other.” –1 Thessalonians
5:11
One of the privileges of serving on the churchwide staff of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is being invited to be the
churchwide representative at a synod assembly. Over the years I have
attended ELCA synod assemblies from coast to coast. Each synod has its
own way of conducting a assembly, and each year there are particular
concerns that emerge during the discussion and debate on memorials and
resolutions. At times these debates become quite intense, and it is the
role of the churchwide representative to respond to questions regarding
a synod action and the churchwide expression of the ELCA. Sometimes such
discussion can indicate what some perceive to be a divide between their
particular place of ministry and the ELCA churchwide offices in Chicago.
However, what is far more prevalent is the gratitude for the shared
ministries carried out by the churchwide expression with and on behalf
of the congregations and synods of this church. Again and again the
voting members of ELCA synod assemblies will struggle with the financial
challenges facing their synod, and then commit to continuing the mission
support that comes from the synod for such churchwide ministries.
The ELCA is an embodiment of what Apostle Paul expresses in the
second lesson for today. We live in an anxious age where there is need
for the ministry of the gospel. We need each other as partners in that
ministry and thus his exhortation is important: “Therefore encourage one
another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.” Baptized
member, congregation, synod and churchwide—we are all “one in mission.”
Thanks be to God.
(Inspired by 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11)
The Reign of Christ - The Last Sunday
after Pentecost (November 20, 2005 - Proper 29)
The Last Sunday after Pentecost—Reign of Christ
(November 20, 2005 – Proper 29)
by Roger Willer
Division for Church in Society
How big is your God? One danger in the otherwise salutary Lutheran
emphasis on God being “for us” in Christ is that our thinking about God
can become limited. God becomes not much bigger than the relationship
between Jesus and me. Against this tendency, the breath-taking advances
of scientific knowledge can crack open an experience of humility and awe
before God. Scientists and science teachers in our congregations can
enrich our thinking with this knowledge.
One example from contemporary scientific understanding: if the 14 or
so billion years since the big bang were placed into 14
encyclopedia-like books, the time since Christ would include only the
last letter of the last sentence of the last page of the last book. Yet
God's work and Christ's reign includes all the rest of those 14 volumes
of space-time. Mind-bending? Yes, but certainly the writer of Ephesians
meant nothing less than this when he wrote that God put his power to
work in Christ in raising him from the dead and putting “all things
under his feet.” Whether it is the mind-bending immensity of space-time,
the confounding complexity of the human brain, or the never-ending
variety of species created through evolution, science broadens our
understanding of “all things under his feet.”
The ELCA Alliance for Faith, Science, and Technology assists the ELCA
in carrying-out its mission in this age of science. The Alliance is a
group of scientists and others dedicated to, among other things,
reminding us how big, how confounding, how wonder-full, how truly
awesome is the Spirit whose power holds the universe together and is yet
“for us” in Christ. How big is your God?
(Inspired by Ephesians 1:15-23)
Please contact the editor with questions, comments,
or corrections:
E-mail:
wendy_mccredie@elca.org
Phone: 800.638.3522 ext. 2565
© 2005 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Produced by the ELCA
Department for Communication, 8765 West Higgins Road, Chicago, IL 60631;
800.638.3522. Photocopy permission granted to ELCA congregations.
|
