ELCA Faith Lens's Blog

Wednesday, December 25, 2024

December 29, 2024–The Gift of Time

Catalyst Question

When you think of words like “education” or “school,” what comes to mind?

Witnessing a New Era

Merry Christmas!

Now, you might be thinking, “How was Jesus forn was just a few days ago, and now already he’s a 12-year-old?!” Rather than a mutant-like growth pattern, a la Marvel’s X-Men, this is simply a reflection of how little scriptural material addresses Christ’s childhood.

Even so, it’s remarkable how normal this childhood appears. In Luke 2:41-42, we find Jesus in school. Not exactly like the middle school that today’s 12-year-olds attend, but a school quite common for the day: religious instruction. At the temple, Jesus learns from the teachers, probably rabbis with the possibility of priests chiming in as well. He both listens and asks questions.

One fascinating thing about this story is that, apparently, the adults welcome Jesus as a student. They gave Jesus the gift of time. Jesus finds welcome and support amongst his elders as he seeks to grow. Today, we might call that mentorship. It sounds like this article, which describes how having mentors increases the likelihood of success among adolescents as they grow intellectually, socially, and psychologically. Similarly, research from the Springtide Institute found that an interested adult in an adolescent’s faith life led to a more robust spiritual experience for the young person.

This Christmas (and don’t forget, Christmas lasts for 12 whole days), give the gift of time to someone younger than yourself. To mentor someone can be as simple as knowing their name, taking an interest in their life, sharing your passions, and taking their questions seriously. It made a difference in Jesus’ life and can make a difference for people today, too.

Ask Yourself: Who is someone older than me that took an interest in my life? Take a moment to reach out to that person and thank them for the impact they made.

Ask a Friend: Jesus, our greatest teacher, took the time to learn. How can we help one another stay humble enough to learn as we grow in our own callings?

The post December 29, 2024–The Gift of Time appeared first on Faith Lens.

Saturday, December 21, 2024

December 22, 2024–A New Way for All to Win

Catalyst Question

How do you define success?

Witnessing a New Era

This week, a new era in began in college sports: a twelve team playoff to name the national champion in collegiate football. For many years–in fact, for more than a century–champions were determined through voting of either coaches or media professionals. In 2014, a four team playoff format began. This week, this playoff expanded to include twelve contenders, with teams from Indiana University and the University of Notre Dame inaugurating this new era.

With more games, there will be more fans who witness the plays on the field, and likely more who will watch on television as well. Given the size of these stadiums, hundreds of thousands of people will experience this first playoff in person, and millions more at home. At the end of the whole process, we’ll witness one winner amongst the field of 134 contenders.

It’s odd that this new method of crowing a champion begins during Advent. Advent is also a new era of victory, but one where God prioritizes a very different sort of success. As we hear in this Sunday’s reading from Luke 1:399-55, God isn’t interested in crowing one winner. Mary’s song reminds all who hear, or read, that God lifts up the lowly, that all might become winners. Rather than a playoff to crown one true champion, Jesus arrives in Bethlehem to share divine success with all who play the game of life.

It’s interesting that, rather than a stadium full of adoring fans, God arrives among us through a backwater town. Born into a feeding trough, there was no live stream to witness Christ’s arrival. Especially because Jesus is God’s victory for all people.

In Advent, we await the successful culmination of Emmanuel with God’s arrival among us in Jesus. Jesus is the victorious presence of God in Christ. This divine arrival, which successfully brings divine blessing to all creation, is starkly juxtaposed this week with a very different kind of winning.

Let’s remember, as we approach the manger this week, that Mary reminds us God’s success is defined in profoundly different ways than our own. There is no tournament to God’s blessing, for in Bethlehem, God chooses to bless us all.

Ask Yourself: How can I encourage others with the Christmas reminder that there is no competition needed to earn God’s blessing?

Ask a Friend: Who are the “lowly” people, mentioned by Mary, who God lifts up? Who are those that the world looks at as losers but God welcomes into the winners’ circle?

Finally, this is the last week to take this survey and give your feedback about Faith Lens as we determine the format for the next season of this resource!

The post December 22, 2024–A New Way for All to Win appeared first on Faith Lens.

Saturday, December 14, 2024

December 15, 2024–What Are You Waiting For?

Catalyst Question

In some situations in life, we know the right thing to do and yet don’t do it, even in the simplest of circumstances. What do you think prevents us from taking action to do the right thing?

Active Waiting

Sometimes Advent can seem a bit boring. People can treat this powerful season of life like it’s the waiting room for Christmas. They endure these four weeks as though there’s nothing to do but scroll through the lectionary until the heavenly doctor arrives.

That approach clearly doesn’t take the Advent readings seriously, especially this week’s Gospel. In Luke 3:7-18, John the Baptist tells his followers that Christ is arriving soon. With Jesus on the way, John suggests, there’s no time like the present to make the necessary changes they’ve been avoiding in their lives. Have you been greedy? Stop it. Have you been selfish? Stop that too. Have you used your position of power to take advantage of others? Definitely quit that nonsense.

Advent isn’t a boring waiting room. This waiting for the Messiah is the months or years of intentional practice that lead up to a major performance. Advent is active waiting.

Consider the 2026 Winter Olympics, scheduled for Italy. Athletes have already been training to give themselves a chance to win. Amateur and professional athletes are competing against their national teammates for an opportunity to represent their country. At the same time, Olympic officials are scheduling backup locations in case of facility problems or weather interruptions.

Waiting without changing isn’t at all what the Advent season is about. Advent is the season where we wait on God while both listening to God’s call for justice and shaping our lives around that call. While this season is defined by waiting for Christmas, it is not a season that waits on change. It is a season that expects change without delay.

Ask Yourself: What are three things I can do to live God’s justice in my own life?

Ask a Friend: What is something we can do together to help change the church or our community so it better reflects God’s love?

One last reminder: please take this survey and give your feedback about Faith Lens as we consider the path ahead for this devotional resource!

The post December 15, 2024–What Are You Waiting For? appeared first on Faith Lens.

Wednesday, December 4, 2024

December 8, 2024–What’s Wrong with a Remake?

Catalyst Question

What’s your favorite remake? It could be a song, movie, or other piece of art. How does it compare to the original?

What’s Wrong with a Remake?

In Luke 3:1-6, John the Baptist cries out, “Prepare the way of the Lord!” Straight paths. Leveled hills. Smooth roads.

It’s all so unoriginal.

Hundreds of years before John’s wilderness prophecy, another prophet said the exact same things. In Isaiah, after Jerusalem is overrun by enemies and God’s people are forced into Exile, the prophet similarly calls for leveled trails and paved streets.

But is there anything wrong with a remake? Recently, the film adaptation of Wicked–a massively popular Broadway musical–became quite successful in its own right. Story continuations in the Moana and Gladiator universes saw similar support. Remakes are also quite popular with music. Somewhere Over the Rainbow, from the original Wizard of Oz, was recast as a ukulele lullaby by Izzy. Luke Combs’ recent cover of  Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” reignited appreciation for Chapman’s talent by today’s audiences. It seems there’s something essentially human in connecting our current lives with stories from our past.

In that light, John the Baptist doesn’t appear lazy. Instead, he seems deeply connected with the human condition. And of course, getting connected with the human condition is just what God is up to in Jesus.

Advent is a time when we can appreciate the present relevance of ancient stories. Isaiah was a prophet who saw his homeland conquered by an outside empire (Babylon). John the Baptist was a prophet who saw his homeland conquered by an outside empire (Rome). Both of them saw the need for God in the midst of that suffering. Both of them wanted any obstacles removed that might prevent God’s quick arrival. John remembered Isaiah’s prophecy. John found resonance with Isaiah’s ancient words for his present situation. And so, John recast those words for his own life.

Just like John’s prophecy, your prayer life doesn’t need to be original to be meaningful. Sometimes, the words of scripture sum up just how we feel. At other times, worship lyrics give voice to the depth of our hearts. Not only can we learn from the faith of those who came before us. That faith can carry us in moments when our world seems to fall apart.

Ask Yourself: What is one example of a Bible story, a piece of spiritual art, or a person from church history that can help strengthen your faith today?

Ask a Friend: In this Advent season, as we wait for Jesus to arrive among us as a baby in Bethlehem, what obstacles might be preventing us from finding our way to the manger? What can we do to follow John’s (and Isaiah’s) encouragement to remove those roadblocks?

Finally, remember to take this survey and give your feedback about Faith Lens as we consider the path ahead for this devotional resource!

The post December 8, 2024–What’s Wrong with a Remake? appeared first on Faith Lens.

Saturday, November 30, 2024

December 1, 2024–Breaking Into Our Lives

Advent begins today. So also, today begins a new format of Faith Lens.

Don’t worry. Faith Lens will still bring current events into conversation with the rotation of Bible passages many congregations use on Sundays. If you’re curious about that set of readings, which is called the Revised Common Lectionary, you can find many helpful resources here.. You can also read more about the Revised Common Lectionary’s history.

Advent is a word that means “arrival,” “start,” or “approach.” The advent of something isn’t its completion, but it is the beginning of the thing. We’re beginning this era of Faith Lens with an invitation for you: we want to know what it is that keeps you coming back to the resource. Please help us to do so by taking this survey.

We have learned some things by paying attention to have Faith Lens is used. For instance, we’ve noticed that shorter devotions have more readers that stay longer with the material and return to it more frequently. In other words, it’s clear that you’re more likely to engage with shorter posts, so we’re prioritizing concise, compelling connections between Christ and our current events. Yet, that data only gives us small snapshots. Click here to share more of your feedback to shape the future of Faith Lens.

While we gather that data during the Advent season, you’ll still receive Faith Lens posts with links to news articles and Sunday’s scriptures. Yet, the format will intentionally shorter. We’ll also present more questions for consideration and thoughts to catalyze your own curiosity. It’s the advent of a new Faith Lens, but it’s just the beginning. It is becoming what we will make it together.

That’s also true of the recent renovations to Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral, which is nearly ready to reopen. More than five years ago, a fire devastated this historic landmark. This space, sacred to so many, was nearly wiped from the face of the Earth. After shared devotion brought it back from the brink, now is the threshold of a new ministry era.

On December 1st, the 1st Sunday of Advent, we read about a different kind of advent. Luke 21:25-36 foretells of coming natural disasters and global turmoil. Long before R.E.M. wrote the song, the Bible forecast the end of the world as we know it. Yet, that end is also a new beginning, because that end notes the nearness of God’s reign. The end of what is comfortable for us denotes the closeness of our redemption.

At least, that’s what we’re told in Advent readings. This closeness doesn’t necessarily feel good, despite it meaning God’s reign is close. Despite R.E.M.’s catchy lyrics, no one feels fine when the world falls apart around them.

Maybe, rather than the reopening of a cathedral, your Advent is more caught up in the continued death and destruction in Gaza. Or the trauma of Haitian children being displaced from their homes or recruited into militias. Or the connection between experiencing racism and mental illness among U.S. youth. Nothing about that feels fine. Nothing about that SHOULD feel fine.

And that’s the importance of Advent. Jesus doesn’t force these bad things to happen. Instead, Jesus shows up in the midst of the bad things of this world. Our God shows up where others never would and brings goodness amidst the despair. That’s the Advent story: in midst of an occupied territory, where an empire sought to suppress the poor and marginalize the minorities, God shows up. More than that, God shows us as a member of that marginalized community. By doing so, God reminds us all of that profound promise we need as the world around us seems to end.

The end of this world is the Advent of God’s reign. A reign of justice for all. A reign of peace for all. A reign of love for all. We don’t know what that all looks like quite yet, but that’s ok. This is only just the beginning of what is yet to come. And so we pray:

God, you are the one who was, and is, and is still on the way. Be with us in the midst of this and every single day. Amen.

(P.S. Don’t forget to take this survey so we can reshape Faith Lens for our future together!)

The post December 1, 2024–Breaking Into Our Lives appeared first on Faith Lens.

Wednesday, November 20, 2024

November 24, 2024–The Reign of Christ

Warm-up Question

• What is your favorite holiday? Share some of the reasons why you prefer that celebration.

Holiday Origin Stories

Every year we celebrate a number of holidays. Some are national in origin, which is why Independence Day is on July 4th in the United States of America, September 16th in Mexico, and June 26th in Madagascar. Others have deep religious meaning, like Christmas, Easter, and Halloween, though each of those holidays now have many secular elements as well.

Too often, we only tell one part of the holiday’s origin story. Take, for instance, the celebration of Christmas. Of course, for Christians, this centers around the birth of Christ. Yet, there’s no obvious connection between Jesus’s birthday and bringing pine trees into our homes, eating candy canes, or hanging socks above a fireplace. While some articles, like this one, aggregate some of that history to give a bit more context, there’s volumes of books on the history of each holiday.

Of course, you don’t have to know everything about a holiday’s origins to enjoy it with your loved ones. Yet, learning more about the holiday can help you to appreciate it more deeply, as well as explain to others why you do–or do not–participate in some of the day’s traditions. So take some time to investigate the history of your favorite holidays and ask yourself: now that I know more about this, how does that change the way I feel about this event?

Discussion Questions

• What’s one holiday you want to learn more about?
• If you happen to know the origins of a specific holiday tradition, share that story with a friend.

Reign of Christ Sunday

• Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14
• Psalm 93
• Revelation 1:4b-8
• John 18:33-37

(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.)

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

Reflection on the Gospel

Many Christians across the world celebrate this Sunday as The Reign of Christ. If you think that this holiday has ancient origins like Christmas, Easter, or Pentecost, consider this: this festival is only 99 years old! Though the words from our Gospel have Christ claiming this ultimate authority nearly 2,000 years ago, it was only in the last century that the church declared a specific day to commemorate that reality. Why is that?

Much like other holiday traditions, the historical context matters significantly. In the early 20th century, after the devastation of World War I, nationalism and authoritarianism began to arise in throughout Europe. In Italy, this appeared as fascism, which took official power in 1922. Note that this is the same time that its political ally, Nazism, grew in popularity in Germany. In the face of such claims of ultimate power by political authorities, Pope Pius XI declared a feast day, “Domini Nostri Jesu Christi Regis,” The Feast of our Lord of Reigns. This is a political statement. It does not support any particular party or leader, but instead puts all governments and parties on notice: whatever power they may have is always subject to the King who is Jesus Christ.

In the midst of today’s political unrest, along with threats of parties and politicians whose power seems unmatched, we stand to benefit from this declaration as well. Our ultimate allegiance is not to a party, or even a Christian denomination, but to Christ. Our worship belongs not to worldly rulers but heavenly powers. Our salvation is not in the hands of a general or president, a monarch or a congress, but only in the hands that were pierced in a cross outside of Jerusalem two thousand years ago. This Christ, who was born in a barn and crucified as a traitor to the empire, may seem powerless.

But this is the only King who has ever risen from the dead.

Discussion Question

• How does this history change your perspective on Reign of Christ Sunday?

Activity Suggestion

• Do a media experiment. For one day, keep track of how many advertisements you see via email, on social media, on websites, and on television or streaming services. Then, ask yourself:
  • How many of them either claim some kind of power or seek some kind of allegiance from you?
  • How do you understand them being subject to the Reign of Christ?

Closing Prayer

God Who Reigns, save us from ourselves. Where there is pride, correct it with humility. Where there is hatred, counter it with love. Where there is violence, defeat it with peace. In all things, remind us that your reign is not of this world. Remind us that that your power will look different than that of our worldly rulers. Inspire us to trust in your reign over all others that seek our allegiance. In that name of Jesus, the One who reigns and the One who died and rose to life, we pray: Amen.

The post November 24, 2024–The Reign of Christ appeared first on Faith Lens.