SCROLL DOWN FOR MAY 4 AND MAY 11
Welcome to Hunger Sermon Starters!
The lessons for each Sunday in the church year proclaim God’s grace in Jesus Christ. Also derived from a Sunday’s texts are lessons for the Christ-inspired and Christ-like life of God’s people. The comments here will help you find hunger-related threads—sermon starters—among the themes of this day’s texts. (We’re presuming you have already done your exegetical work on the texts.) God bless your proclamation (and teaching) of what is most certainly true
May 4, 2008
7th Sunday of Easter
First
Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35
Second
Gospel: John 17:1-11
· last Thursday, we celebrated the Ascension of Our Lord and now wait with the disciples in that 10-day period before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit—another example of the Church of the “already” but “not yet”
· as Jesus speaks to those gathered in Acts 1, the degree of responsibility that he gives them—and us—is truly amazing; God’s people are given God’s power to do God’s work without necessarily having all the details
· sent back to reality by two men in white robes, the disciples are reminded that it’s not about standing around gazing into Heaven but about God’s mission that has been given them—and us
· “constantly devoting themselves to prayer…“; we can’t continue the important work that God has given us of feeding the hungry without staying connected to the source of all life
· I Peter reminds us that this hunger work will not be easy; we will meet indifference, resistance, sometimes even hostility, but the Spirit of God is with us
· I Peter also exhorts us to keep on keepin’ on: humbly, not anxious; disciplined, steadfast—standing in solidarity with those in need because that is what Jesus has done and continues to do through His Church
· In John, Jesus prays for his disciples and those of us involved in hunger-related work
· Giving glory to God somehow involves doing and completing the work that God has given Jesus—and us—to do
· As we consider Jesus’s prayer for unity, might we consider hunger-related work as one very important item that can—and does—unify all Jesus’ followers?
“Humanitarian aid knows no political boundaries. Neither is it to be withheld as a military weapon…As Christians, we are given the mission to find out where humanitarian aid is being withheld because of political reasons and to become advocates for a freer system of distribution. How can we as congregations and as individuals become more involved in ministering to the needs of those who we often view across great boundaries, real or imagined? (so that we may all be one, emphasis mine). Share Your Bread: A Lectionary-based Planning Guide, copyright 2000, ELCA, pp. 46-47.
Pastor Ellen Arthur
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May 11, 2008
The Day of Pentecost
(Mother’s Day)
First
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
Second
Gospel: John 20:19-23
· The Spirit is poured out on all gathered, and the good news can now be heard in many languages; the Spirit gives us language, energy, enthusiasm for feeding the hungry and freeing the captive, even if the language might seem/be foreign at first
· Psalm 104 is loaded with great images for hunger relief work:
§ God’s wisdom abounds in all of nature
§ All creatures are made by God and belong to God
§ Verse 27 is the crux of the matter: “These all look to you to give them their food in due season.”
§ Notion implied here that when people are not fed, God is somehow absent—or seems to be absent. Do we want to be party to such a situation?
· I Corinthians 12 emphasizes the “variety of gifts” that exist among God’s people. How can each gift be used in the work of feeding the hungry? This Pentecost Day and the gift of the Spirit compel the Church to be bold and varied in its message and methods.
· “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” It is good for hungry people to be fed. It is good for well-fed people to share and be fed in their sharing. It’s not just about what we can do for ‘them’.”
· The Gospel according to John offers us:
§ The peace of the Risen Lord that is ours
§ The gift of the Holy Spirit breathed (blown, spirited) on the disciples
§ We are sent in Jesus’s place with God’s gifting and gracing
For most people in this culture, the mother is the primary “feeder” of the group. Might this Mother’s Day be a time to honor our mothers with a gift to the World Hunger Appeal?
Summertime, which is just around the corner, is often a difficult time for food pantries to keep up with the demand. Soon children will be out of school for the summer, and school-related feeding programs stop. Now parents or caretakers will need to supply three meals a day, and food pantries will be used even more. Consider cash gifts that have greater purchasing power in the hands of a pantry, Second Harvest outlet, or ELCA domestic hunger grant recipient.
Pastor Ellen Arthur