How Can I Help?

Read It:  Philippians 2:3-5 (NRSV)

 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus..."

Learn It:

That is hard!  I remember playing sports when I was a teenager and I know I constantly regarded (thought of) myself as better than other people on my own team and better than players on other teams.  I wasn't so good, however, that I thought I was better than everyone else.  This passage from the letter to the Philippians teaches us some valuable lessons.  So often in sports, in school, in work we are taught to compete and be better than everyone else so that we can get ahead in the world.  I'm sure it was similar when Jesus was around too.  You have to be good at what you do to make a living, but I think the point trying to be made here is to realize that we cannot think of ourselves always above others or we will be selfish all the time.  The more we think about ourselves the less time we have to pay attention to others.  If we have the same mind as Christ Jesus then we would pay attention to the needs of those around us as he did and realize that the skills and talents we have may be used to better ourselves but they might be able to do a lot more to help others too.

Share It:

Where are the places and times when you feel most competitive or feel that you really do need to be better than others?  Do you notice at those times or in those situations that your benefit might or does come at the expense of others?  In what ways can you look at the interests of other people so that you aren't always focused on how things might benefit you?  How might humbling yourself by helping others might exalt you in the sight of God?  Share these thoughts and others that might come up as you talk with your family.

Live It:

As you go through this week take a look around you and try setting your goal or agenda aside and helping someone who might be struggling with theirs.  See how it makes you and the person you helped feel.  See how helping out people for the good of the community might be better than working for you own gains.  

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The Fairness of God

Read It: Matthew 20:11-16 (NRSV)
11 And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? 14 Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”


Learn It:
When I was a child I always had the impression that God was fair.  After all, God loves everyone and we are all God's children so God must be fair and equal to each and every one of us.  That is what I was brought up understanding (whether I taught that to myself or learned it I don't remember exactly).
While I was in seminary I spent some time chatting with a professor about fairness.  As you might guess the professor brought up this passage and asked me if in this passage I thought God was fair.  I couldn't help but answer with a "no" even though I very much wanted to say yes because of my childhood understanding that I brought into adulthood.  God loves us all but that doesn't equal God is fair to us all.  All the workers in the passage above received the same wage even though they didn't all work the same amount.  God gives us all the gift of life and gives us God's promises no matter what.  We may not want "this person" or "that person" to be saved as we are because they didn't believe as much or as well or they weren't as "good" a Christian as we were.  Fortunately it's not up to us.  God loves us all...no matter what.  Salvation is up to God not us.  Trust me when I say that is a VERY GOOD thing!


Share It:
What do you think about this whole idea of God being or not being fair?  What is your impression or feelings about this?  How would you differentiate fairness from God to God's love for everyone?  What are examples that you can come up with that show that God isn't fair?  Do you think God should be fair in everything or do you think that God should be "generous" in God's promises and gifts?  Share you answers and any other questions that might come up during your time together.


Live It:
Spend this next week trying to do what is loving and generous not necessarily what is fair.  There are times when those two things might be different.  If you can't find a way to do it yourself spend the next week watching others and see if you can identify times when people are being fair but not loving and times when people are being loving but not fair.  Good luck!

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Forgiveness

Read It: Matthew 18:21-35 ( NRSV)

21 Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. 

Learn It:

Today, as you may know, is September 11 and it has been 10 years since the attacks on the Twin Towers.  I think it is very profound and wonderful that today's Gospel reading is the text that Peter asks Jesus about forgiveness.  One of the helpful things to know is that 7 is a special number.  6 is the number of days that God created the world and on the seventh day he rested.  We also see the number 7 appear again and again in the Old Testament.  Seven has become the number for perfection, so when Peter asks how many times should I forgive he is picking the perfect number...he thinks anything more than that would be superfluous.  Jesus corrects him by telling him not 7 times but 77 times (or 70x7 which = 490!).  Either way to forgive someone that many times is great and meant to show that there is really no end to the amount of times we should forgive someone.

I know that many people still hurt from the attacks, but the power to forgive and heal from our past and from the injuries of others is something that is hard but very powerful.  The more we forgive the more we are able to move our lives forward and move forward God's Kingdom.  

Share It:

What does it mean to you to forgive someone?  What all needs to take place/happen so that you might feel you have forgiven someone?  What does it take for you to feel like someone truly forgives you for something you have done?  Why does it seem so hard to forgive at times?  Talk about these questions and anything else that may come up during your conversation.  

Live It:

Spend this week focusing on forgiveness.  Try to forgive someone without holding a grudge or holding it over them for very long.  At the same time make a genuine form of forgiveness.  Don't just tell them you forgive them for what they did but really reconcile your differences so that you both can return back to the relationship you had before whatever happened.  It may be harder and take more time but I think it'll be better in the long run.

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Loving the Law

Read It: Romans 13:8-14 (NRSV)

8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. 

Learn It:

Everything for Paul and Jesus is summed up in the Great Commandment in Matthew 22:34-40.  It all comes down to love.  It sounds odd at the end that love is fulfilling the law because I think we tend to think that when it comes to God's love we think that we don't have to worry about the law anymore...God's love abolishes the law and yet Paul sees it differently.  If we truly love one another as we love ourselves (or ought to love ourselves) then we shouldn't be breaking any of God's laws.  So in the end, even though we are focusing on loving others as God taught us to love each other, we are fulfilling the law.  When we love each other we won't commit adultery, we won't murder, we won't steal, we won't covet, etc.  Love is fulfilling God's law.

Share It:

Take a look at the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:1-17 and see what each one says.  Then take a look at Luther's Small Catechism and see his explanations of each one.  Take turns reading the Commandments and the explanation and talk about how each one could be completed by loving one another.  Do you think that if we truly loved one another as we love ourselves that we could live peaceably with each other? What is hardest about loving other people?  What do other people do that makes it hard to love them?  Talk about these questions and any others that may come up during your conversation.

Live It:

Take this week to try your best (you may find it harder than it sounds) to love everyone that you interact with and meet.  See what kind of reaction you may get by loving them instead of treating them as they may think you might treat them.  It may surprise them, but it might just surprise you even more.

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