Pericope Partners, are short stories that
connect the ministries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
with weekly lectionary readings. These vignettes are collected and
shared by ELCA churchwide ministries, based on the Revised Common
Lectionary Readings Cycle C pericopes for the 14th Sunday after
Pentecost through Christ the King (Sept. 2 - Nov. 25, 2007).
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Fourteenth Sunday after
Pentecost (September 2, 2007)
Fifteenth Sunday
after Pentecost (September 9, 2007)
Sixteenth Sunday
after Pentecost (September 16, 2007)
Seventeenth Sunday
after Pentecost (September 23, 2007)
Eighteenth Sunday
after Pentecost (September 30, 2007)
Nineteenth Sunday
after Pentecost (October 7, 2007)
Twentieth Sunday
after Pentecost (October 14, 2007)
Twenty-first Sunday
after Pentecost (October 21, 2007)
Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost (October 28, 2007)
Reformation Day (October 31, 2007)
All Saints Sunday (November 4, 2007)
Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost (November 11, 2007)
Twenty-fifth Sunday
after Pentecost (November 18, 2007)
Christ the King Sunday - The Last Sunday after Pentecost (November
25, 2007)
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost (September 2, 2007)
by Donna Wiegel
Vocation and Education
Each year since 1999, the New Jersey Synod of the
ELCA has taken an intergenerational group to Bosnia. On the surface the
mission is simple: to bring a day of fun to children whose childhoods
have been taken away by a decade of war in the Balkans. But the
theological foundation is much deeper, grounded in God’s command for us
to love and serve one another.
This crew of 20 spends two weeks traveling by bus
from town to town in Bosnia, setting up Friendship Camps in village
schools. Each Friendship Camp includes music, arts and crafts, a service
project, and physical activities in the gymnasium. Congregations in New
Jersey donate funds to provide new gym equipment and lunches for each
school, as well as hand-crafted tote bags and toys for the children.
The morning of the Friendship Camp, village
children are already lined up in the schoolyard, waiting for the bus to
arrive, heralding a day of fun. And why is that? Because relationships
have been built between the Americans and the Bosnians; at the end of
the day, the Bosnian children know that these Americans from New Jersey
will return next year, the year after that, and so on.
The participants are profoundly transformed by
their experiences, especially by what they receive in return: lasting
relationships with people who are loved by God in a place far from their
comfort zones. They have shared in the light of Christ, who is the same
yesterday, today and forever.
(Inspired by Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16)
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (September 9, 2007)
by Karen Ressel
Global Mission
At an open air church service I was reminded of
what it means to be part of the body of Christ. I had been greeted and
found a place to sit. I began to reflect on my first field assignment
with Lutheran World Federation–Uganda/Sudan.
I had spent the past week interviewing refugees and
internally displaced persons (IDPs) in South Sudan. People spoke of ways
LWF is improving their lives. Boreholes provide clean, accessible water
for better health; schools educate young people; there is assistance to
those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. I could hear their gratitude,
but I could see the need was still very real.
I couldn’t understand the local language, but the
service had a familiar rhythm and the readings and sermon were
translated into English. From the hilltop you could see the small round
houses these people lived in and the paths that they walked. It was very
peaceful.
After the service I was greeted enthusiastically by
a school teacher. As we were shaking hands she said, “It doesn’t matter
what we look like, we are the same to God. If you are a leaf, or a root
or a branch it doesn’t matter, you are still a part of the tree and all
of the parts work together for the good of the tree.”
I was reminded that day that I am part of God’s
Mission in the world. God will bear the burden; I only need to answer,
“Yes” when I am prompted by the Spirit to act.
(Inspired by Psalm 1:3)
Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (September 16, 2007)
by Joanna Stallings
Campus Ministry
This past year I received an e-mail from a student
at my home. It was an urgent request for conversation. I knew it was
important because she chose to contact me there.
Luckily I had her cell phone number, and I dialed
quickly. Without preamble she blurted out an emotional account of her
life. Earlier that week she was raped. After making a police report,
being subjected to interviews, an exam and the arrest of her
perpetrator, she called to tell someone what happened. She was
devastated, hopeless and angry with God.
She suffered terribly. We met from time to time,
but eventually she withdrew from the campus ministry group at Virginia
Tech. She stopped coming to worship and began to tank academically.
Students were in contact with her. A member of the congregation ran into
her at the grocery store and embraced her like a cherished friend.
Despite the distancing, the gathered community continued to hold
tenuously to the rapidly raveling fabric of a once strong relationship.
The community remained unwavering; they faithfully
expressed concern in much the same way that Jesus relentlessly pursued
the lost and those like them. They persisted in reaching out to this
wounded student. They followed the example of Christ who looks for those
who feel most unlovable. Their persistence showed that they continued to
love this young woman as a worthy and treasured child of God.
(Inspired by Luke 15:1-10)
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost (September 23, 2007)
by Pat Zerega
Church in Society
Today we hear Amos speak to the commercial world of
his day, the equivalent of today’s mercantile exchange. He is furious at
those who trample on the needy and harm the poor.
The ELCA is tackling debt, poverty, and unjust
systems as the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program addresses
the financial system of our day—the banking sector. Through shareholder
advocacy, which includes dialogue with corporations, shareholder
resolutions around social issues, and proxy voting on these resolutions,
CSR asks the questions of how corporations are helping provide justice
for all.
Following the tradition of Amos, CSR is calling for
justice in lending.
Mary, an elderly woman, saw ads on TV and decided
to refinance her home. It was such a “good deal”: a nice man sat at her
kitchen table and told her he could not only refinance her home but roll
in a little extra money for that trip to see her grandchildren. When she
couldn’t make the payments she lost her home and all her savings.
Many other situations like this exist where
homeowners don’t understand the terms they are getting on their loan.
Prepayment penalties, up-front insurance payments, and unnecessary fees
are signs of predatory loans.
The CSR program has asked the major banks to be
responsible lenders that abolish predatory lending from their practice.
At the same time the CSR program encourages them to expand access to
capital for underserved borrowers and participate in community
reinvestment programs.
(Inspired by Amos 8:4-7, 1 Timothy 2:1-7, Luke
16:1-13)
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost (September 30, 2007)
by Ben Baldus
Church in Society
Remember the “A Team”—the 1980s TV show about a
secret commando unit sent to prison by a military court for a crime they
didn’t commit? They promptly escaped into the Los Angeles underground.
Still fugitives, they survived by their own wits. Their exploits often
involved helping the vulnerable and righting social injustices.
New kinds of “A Teams” are emerging in Michigan.
These are congregational advocacy teams. Their purposes are to identify
local problems and devise solutions. While they clearly don’t have Mr.
T, they are resourceful in confronting local problems.
Today’s readings haunt us to this day. Nothing has
really changed much. From Amos to Timothy and Luke, poverty and wealth
stand in stark contrast to God’s generous gifts.
University Lutheran Church, East Lansing, Mich., is
a college town congregation that has embraced advocacy as a key aspect
of its ministry. Working with Lutheran Social Services of Michigan’s
Public Policy and Advocacy Office, the church has created its “A Team”
to fashion an advocacy plan for its community.
This has involved learning about how government
impacts people, becoming effective Christian citizens, knowing about the
ELCA’s positions on current issues and, finally, identifying local needs
that ULC can feasibly address.
Like the TV show nearly 25 years ago, ULC’s “A
Team” is seeking to make a difference on its own turf. We hope that
other teams will be planted and prosper throughout Michigan.
(Inspired Amos 6:1a, 4-7, Psalm 146, 1 Timothy
6:6-19, Luke 16:19-31)
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost (October 7, 2007)
by Janice Rizzo
Communication Services
We have all seen headlines that grab our attention:
“Bin Laden looms over Padilla terrorism trial.” “Benoit strangled wife,
smothered son.” And at the checkout counter, we can’t help noticing
headlines that scream: “Multiple Personality Man Charged Triple Room
Rate!” and “Woman Delivers Own Baby While Skydiving!”
Good editors always use headline-friendly synonyms.
Instead of saying “agreement,” use “pact”; don’t print “prohibit,” when
you can say “bar”; and a “promise” sounds so much better if it is a
“vow.” Likewise an “increase” is fine but “jump” pumps life into the
headline.
Why do writers and editors do this? They are
attention-getting methods for the skimming audience. An editor wants to
turn headline skimmers into readers. It’s as simple as that.
It is what I keep in mind when laying out an issue
of Seeds for the Parish. I ask myself “What can I say that will let
people on the go decide to take the time to read this article?” I think
that is what God was doing with Habakkuk in today’s reading: “Then the
Lord answered me and said: Write the Vision; make it plain on tablets,
so that a runner may read it.”
In other words, “Write this in big letters on a
tablet and post it near the main road so that everyone from all the
world, even those running by, can read the message.”
What is the headline God’s proclaiming to the
world, the headline appropriate for Lutheran World Federation Sunday?
What is so important that everyone needs to know it? It is the headline
that changed Martin Luther’s life and the lives of so many others
throughout history. It is the headline that is just as powerful today as
it was when Habakkuk first put it on that tablet. Today it might be
written this way: “Unbelievable! God Gives Hundreds of Millions Free
Gift” with a subhead of perhaps: “Poor and broken people given hope as
they are saved by grace.”
(Inspired by Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4)
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost (October 14, 2007)
by Darrell Morton
Federal Chaplaincy Ministries, Synodical Relations
The young girl who served Naaman was a slave taken
far from home. She had lost control over her own life. But rather than
focusing on her own pain, she noted her master’s needs and became for
him a messenger of hope.
Similarly, chaplains may find themselves in places
where they would rather not serve. Even so, we have dedicated ELCA
chaplains throughout the war zone. Like those they serve, they would
rather be home with those they love, but they endure the separation and
danger because they are messengers of hope.
When Chaplain Corey Bjertness was informed that he
and his unit had been extended from one year to sixteen months in Iraq
he wrote: “The 34th ID is one day closer to going home. So are we all.
The Bible says, we are one day closer to streets of gold. We are one day
closer to no more sorrow, no more pain, no more hardship of any kind.
Although this life becomes our primary reality, there is another.
Although this life’s hardships absorb me and capture me, there are other
truths. I’m not sure what heaven looks like, but I am sure it will be
great. So, hang on tight. Don’t let the pain win. You can do it. You
will not always feel the way you do today. Remember, ‘You are one day
closer to someday.’”
God’s word of hope is spoken in unlikely places by
unlikely people, even by people like us.
(Inspired by 2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c)
Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost (October 21, 2007)
by Kristine Perry
Diaconal Ministry Community of the ELCA
Today’s text has Jacob wrestling with the man at
the Jabbok. I was reminded of this Bible story on a recent companion
partnership trip to Nigeria.
Yusof Amos of the Lutheran Church of Christ in
Nigeria shared the story of a group of evangelists from his congregation
who were called to travel by foot to a remote village in the hills to
plant a new church. They packed a few items for this four-day journey.
Two days into the journey, they came upon a river they had to cross. A
young man in the group could not swim, but because the water was just
waist high, he insisted on crossing the river with the others.
The current was stronger than any of them expected,
and, despite rescue efforts, the young man drowned. The group had to
decide whether to return the young man to his family for burial or to
continue on the journey. They entered into deep prayer, asking God for
guidance. The Holy Spirit instructed half of the group to carry the body
back to the man’s family, while the others proceeded to the village.
I wondered, “What would Americans do in the same
situation?” In our grief, perhaps we would return home. But these people
answered the call to Word and Service – to bring the Gospel to God’s
people while serving the needs of the family by returning their beloved
son.
Thanks be to God when we wrestle with God and
answer God’s call to serve one another.
(Inspired by Genesis 32:22-31)
Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost (October 28, 2007)
by Erica Spilde
Global Mission
A favorite Latin American prayer states, “Lord, to
those who hunger, give bread. To those who have bread, give hunger for
justice.”
Often we may act like the Pharisee, proud that we
are “not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers.” We may look at
our choices in life and say, “Hey, I’m not so bad.” Yet when we consider
ourselves in the context of this prayer, we may start questioning the
ways that we sin “by what we have left undone.”
As in the ELCA, one of the ministries of the Costa
Rican Lutheran Church (ILCO) is to advocate for legislative policies
that will benefit marginalized populations with whom the church works.
When I discuss this aspect of the church’s work, people often get
uncomfortable with its “political” nature. Why do we feel good about
giving bread to the hungry but feel as though work for justice to end
hunger is too political?
It is not hard to identify U.S. policies that have
had negative impact on the most vulnerable in Central America and around
the world. We may separate ourselves from government actions, saying
that we are not responsible for the decisions of our political leaders,
yet we know in our hearts we have the power to effect change if we would
just be bold enough to use it.
Let us be like the tax collector and humbly
acknowledge our sins of complacency so that we may discover our very
biblical hunger for justice and act upon it.
(Inspired by Luke 18:9-14)
Reformation Day
(October 31, 2007)
by Dave Daubert
Evangelical Outreach & Congregational Mission
I was on vacation and visited a mission
congregation meeting in a school auditorium. In theory they saw
themselves to be a welcoming place—it even said so in their Yellow Pages
ad. My wife and I went in and sat down.
Early in the service the pastor invited everyone to
greet other people with a warm welcome. As a visitor, I always play the
role of the introvert and see if the people will come and actually be
friendly. The woman in front of my wife and me turned and said hello. A
woman behind us did the same.
Then they moved on. People were actively greeting
and hugging and shaking hands, but no one else talked to us. For what
seemed like a long time we stood watching as people were being friendly,
but only with friends. As a visitor, I had the same experience I have in
many congregations: everyone was too busy being “friendly” to notice me.
It reminded me again of Romans 3:23. “All have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God” is true for us when we
gather. Most of our congregations have a self-image that says that “we
are a friendly bunch.” Yet we continue to be friendly to friends without
welcoming the stranger. Sin is not just something for other people to be
concerned with. It is also about us—even when we gather to be the
church.
(Inspired by Romans 3:19-28)
All Saints Sunday
(November 4, 2007)
by Joel Thoreson
Office of the Secretary
On All Saints Sunday we give thanks for those who
have gone before us, the great cloud of witnesses doing God’s work in
the world.
In 1853, Arne E. Boyum, a poor young man from
Norway’s Sogne Fjord, arrived in America with the hopes and dreams
typical of new immigrants. He found the Norwegian community facing a
lack of pastors to serve it, and was selected by that community as one
to minister to it. He was ordained by Elling Eielsen, and kept to his
calling, initially walking to various congregations in Wisconsin, Iowa
and Minnesota.
Pioneer pastors struggled to unite the faithful
against worldly temptations. Enjoying the religious freedom in America
and freed from the restrictions of the old country’s state church, many
immigrants left the Lutheran church. Yet the faithful found strength
through pastors and congregations joining together around language and
theology, sharing resources, educating pastors and supplying areas with
clerical leaders.
Beginning with Henry Melchior Muhlenberg and the
formation of the Ministerium of Pennsylvania in 1740, this model was
replicated throughout the many ancestor bodies of the ELCA. Other early
leaders, such as William Passavant, led the way in creating hospitals,
orphanages and other social ministry organizations. These individuals
were not wealthy or highly educated, but, to paraphrase the psalmist,
they were humbly adorned with victory in their efforts through the gifts
of the Lord.
These and other examples of the work of the saints
who went before us are preserved for research and study in the archives
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
(Inspired by Psalm 149)
Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost (November 11, 2007)
by Diane Monroe
Evangelical Outreach & Congregational Mission
Three generations enjoyed a casual dinner out. As
the meal ended, the family ritual of “fortune cookie time” led to
good-natured banter as we read our pithy life lessons and amusing
predictions to one another.
Drew, not quite three years old and definitely not
able to read yet, declared he wanted to read his message. Everyone
responded with broad smiles and endearing chuckles, assuring Drew, the
first grandchild and the center of our attention, that we all would love
to hear his fortune. Although not exactly sure what he’d say, we did
anticipate a delightful glimpse of the world through the experience and
imagination of a child.
With the tiny strip of paper pinched between his
little fingers, Drew stared intently at it before “reading”
GOD-LOVES-DREW.
Whoa! Where did that come from? Who expected a
response with spiritual depth? How could this little guy speak of God’s
love with such assurance?
Today’s reading reminds us of the awesome privilege
parents, grandparents, and the faith community have for passing on the
faith. God’s grace cradles the capacity for faith growth. Bit by bit,
through daily encounters with others that faith is nurtured and shaped.
As adults our role is to “show and tell” God’s love and to provide
opportunities for even the youngest among us to articulate God’s
presence in our lives.
(Inspired by 2 Thessalonians 2:1–5, 13–17)
Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost (November 18, 2007)
by Timothy Spring
Campus Ministry
She arrived in September to be the cantor for
Holden Evening Prayer at Montana State University’s Campus Christian
Center. She did a grand job. I learned later that it was the first time
she sang that service.
Kerry, a first year student, became a regular among
our music leaders. Her energy and enthusiasm were contagious. Her own
interest and experience with Celtic music helped us introduce a Celtic
liturgy. Kerry asked about the preparations before worship on Easter
Sunday. I explained that we would be doing an Affirmation of Baptism.
She said “I’ve never been baptized, but I’d like to be.”
During the summer, when her family members could be
present, Kerry was baptized. She continued to be a worship leader into
the fall, until she moved to Texas to be closer to her dad. Soon after
her move she began worshiping at a small Lutheran congregation. She
filled out a time and talent sheet and indicated an interest in music.
The next Sunday the pastor asked if she’d be able to help lead Holden
Evening Prayer in a couple of weeks. Kerry answered, “I think I can help
with that.”
Students may be involved in campus ministry for
only a season, or a year or more when they are on campus, but in that
short time the church is privileged to walk with them on that part of
their journey of faith, inviting them to sing a new song and then
bidding them farewell and Godspeed as they go to new places to continue
the song of all creation.
(Inspired by Psalm 98)
Christ the King Sunday - The Last Sunday after Pentecost (November
25, 2007)
by Wyvetta Bullock
Office of the Presiding Bishop
Leaders come in all shapes and sizes. They are not
always the folks with official titles or positions. In an urban
congregation on Chicago’s West Side there are many leaders without
titles. Mrs. Annie Mae Liddell is one of them. Mrs. Liddell is
eighty-something and still going strong. She raised eight children of
her own and as many foster children. I have known Mrs. Liddell for 20
years. The first time I saw her she had a baby in her arms, and today
she still cares for little ones in our community. She is amazing in her
patience and compassion for children. Mrs. Liddell shepherds them with
tender/tough love. She provides a safe presence in the midst of a
neighborhood that is often shaken by violence. The young people on her
block know her as the “praying lady.”
In addition to her role as mother, grandmother and
foster mother, Mrs. Liddell is a faithful member of the congregation’s
choir. When she lifts her voice with the chorus of “He Reigns Forever,”
you truly believe that he does! Mrs. Liddell’s leadership does not end
with children and the choir; she serves as a member of the church
council and on our local community organization’s board. She marches in
the streets for peace and serves meals to the hungry. Her witness to the
reign of God in Christ is steady and persistent.
May God continue to raise up leaders like Mrs.
Annie Mae Liddell so that the world may know the reign of Christ.
(Inspired by Jeremiah 23:1-6, Psalm 46, Colossians
1:11-20, Luke 23:33-43)
Scripture quotations are taken from the
New Revised Standard Version Bible, © 1989 by the Division of Christian
Education of the National council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
and used by permission.
Please contact the
editor with questions, comments, or corrections.
E-mail:
Ben.McDonaldColtvet@elca.org
Phone: 800.638.3522 ext. 2565
© 2007 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.
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