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THE FINAL 15 BACK FINAL 15...V XVII Wednesday Rise Up Together Thursday Bear Burdens Friday Build Bridges Saturday Break Chains Sunday Bring Hope Extra Going Home with Mark JOURNAL...XVIII XX
INTRODUCTION The triennial ELCA Youth Gathering is a unique place of faithbased meaning making and discipleship formation. 1 To that end, we encourage congregational groups to begin and end their day together dwelling in the Word. The act of beginning and ending the day dwelling in God s Word is a faith practice that helps establish an intention for the day and heightens awareness of one s identity as a follower of Jesus. The morning opportunity is called First 15 and the evening opportunity is called Final 15. The devotions are designed to help Youth Gathering participants interpret the daily text in light of the whole community s encounter with God in a particular place, Detroit, Mich. They can also be used in different contexts as resources focusing on texts from Mark s Gospel, or especially highlighting one s response to God s grace by building bridges, bearing burdens, breaking chains and bringing hope, the daily themes of the 2015 ELCA Youth Gathering. 1 Jessicah Krey Duckworth, Wide Welcome: How the Unsettling Presence of Newcomers Can Save the Church, Fortress Press, Minneapolis, 2013, pg. 23 IV RISE UP TOGETHER
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FINAL 15 WEDNESDAY PRAY (Lead the group in prayer, using these or similar words.) God of mercy, help us to not be afraid of new places and experiences. Many of us have never been to Detroit before and don t know what to expect at the Gathering. We ask that you help us keep our hearts and minds open to the experiences we will have here. May we not only tell people about your grace and love, but also show them through our actions. Amen. Invite the group to center themselves and prepare to give their full attention to the present moment. Allow enough time for silent preparation. Inform the group that they will hear the same text three times, and then identify three readers. Ask the first reader to read the Bible passage aloud. Before the same text is read for a second time, ask the group to pay special attention to any phrases, words or images that stick out to them. Read the text a third time. Tonight s text is Mark 16:1-8. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS What phrases, words or images were you drawn to in Mark 16? What are you afraid of as we begin your journey in Detroit? How will you rise up together with the people of Detroit this week? Is there something weighing on you (a situation) back home that may keep you from fully experiencing your week in Detroit? What experience or encounter touched you most today? VI RISE UP TOGETHER
WEDNESDAY RISE UP TOGETHER THINK ABOUT IT Gathering planners believe we were called by God to come to Detroit. We are here to proclaim the good news of the resurrected Christ to a city and its people who have often felt discounted or forgotten. Your presence here demonstrates to Detroiters that people of faith aren t afraid of the messiness, brokenness or neediness of a sinful world. We all stand together at the foot of the cross no one better than the other clinging to the promise of Jesus resurrection. In Detroit we will proclaim that Christ is alive! This is the great truth that fills our faith with meaning and is the good news we proclaim in the world. Jesus has triumphed over death; Jesus has overcome sorrow, anguish and the power of darkness. Through the Holy Spirit, we are empowered to fulfill the mission given by the young man dressed in a white robe (16:5) to the women who came to the tomb Jesus is the good news! PRAY (Ask for a volunteer to close in prayer.) One of the great joys of the Final 15 is the opportunity to lift up specific people, ministries and world situations together in prayer. In addition to welcoming prayers from the group, the corporate prayer concern for tonight is the citizens of Detroit, that they might see the light of the risen Christ in our presence among them. 2015 ELCA YOUTH GATHERING. VII
FINAL 15 THURSDAY PRAY (Lead the group in prayer, using these or similar words.) Almighty God, we live in a world that is hurting. Help us be mindful of how we can bear each other s burdens and know how to ask for help when our burdens become too much for us to bear. Renew us by your grace so that we can share your love through our words and actions. We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen. Use the same process as described for Wednesday s Final 15. Tonight s text is Mark 2:1-12. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS What caught your attention as you listened to the text? What does it mean to you that God saved us in Christ? Is salvation just about going to heaven after you die? Have you ever caught yourself thinking that someone who is sick or poor was responsible for their situation? How did you bear another s burden today? What can you do to stand with the people of Detroit while you are here and when you go home? What experience or encounter touched you most today? VIII RISE UP TOGETHER
THURSDAY BEAR BURDENS THINK ABOUT IT Our ancestors in Jesus day believed illness and injury to be the direct result of sin. Today, we simply don t believe that God is about seeking out sinners and striking them down with paralysis, disease or anything else that might hurt us. This is a word of hope to the man who is sick in body and in spirit. This word assures him that he need not fear that God is waiting around the corner to strike him down again. In Jesus Christ we believe that God has come among us not to condemn us, but to save us. PRAY (Ask for a volunteer to close in prayer.) In addition to welcoming prayers from the group, the corporate prayer concern for tonight is the people working to improve the safety of Detroit s residents and the first responders who bear the burdens of others in an emergency. 2015 ELCA YOUTH GATHERING. IX
FINAL 15 FRIDAY PRAY (Lead the group in prayer, using these or similar words.) Loving God, you remind us time and again not to be afraid. Guide us as we build bridges of understanding through our experiences in Detroit. We pray all these things through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. Use the same process as described for Wednesday s Final 15. Tonight s text is Mark 6:47-51. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Did you hear anything new? Anything different? Do you have any new ideas about the text? Did you have an assumption about Jesus or Detroit that changed today? What does it mean for you to build bridges in your relationships, in your community, with God? What experience or encounter touched you most today? What touched you most at tonight s mass gathering? X RISE UP TOGETHER
FRIDAY BUILD BRIDGES THINK ABOUT IT We naturally view Jesus through our own experiences and expectations, both of which have been shaped by our self-centered perspective. Sin limits our view of ourselves, the world, and God to the narrow settings in which we immediately live. We have a difficult time understanding Jesus because Jesus does not fit into our view. Unfortunately, we sometimes attempt to make Jesus fit into our view instead of letting Jesus transform it. Like the disciples in the boat, we sometimes don t recognize Jesus because he doesn t show up as we expect. One thing valuable about being with new people in new places is that our assumptions about Jesus may change. PRAY (Ask for a volunteer to close in prayer.) In addition to welcoming prayers from the group, the corporate prayer concern for tonight is the immigrants who cross the Ambassador Bridge here in Detroit and the unaccompanied minors, kids just like us, who are escaping danger in their homelands on our southern border. 2015 ELCA YOUTH GATHERING. XI
FINAL 15 SATURDAY PRAY (Lead the group in prayer, using these or similar words.) Merciful God, you sent your Son to earth as a servant. Gather us around the cross of Christ and help us to be a source of healing for the oppressed and those who need healing. We lift these things to you through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Use the same process as described for Wednesday s Final 15. Tonight s text is Mark 15: 33-39. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Did you hear anything new or different? Do you have any new ideas about the text? What are some of the chains that bind us and keep us from fully loving God and each other? How will you approach your future differently knowing that you are bound in servitude to God and other people? Where did you see Jesus exemplified today? What experience or encounter touched you most today? XII RISE UP TOGETHER
SATURDAY BREAK CHAINS THINK ABOUT IT For Martin Luther, freedom is at the heart of the good news of Jesus Christ. Those who are oppressed are not the only ones in need of being set free. We all need to be set free from our bondage to sin and the law. Martin Luther says that faith in Christ frees us from the bondage of sin. When we are in bondage to sin we have no will of our own, we are literally a slave to sin. But we know by faith that Jesus broke the chain of slavery to sin by taking on all of the world s sin, including our own. When sin is our master, we are unable to resist it. But, because of what Christ has done for us, and our faith in Christ, we, as Christians, are absolutely free from the bondage of sin. There is nothing we can do to earn our salvation. On the other hand, out of gratitude for what Christ has done for us and in us, Christians are bound in servitude to God and other people. We get to serve others freely and joyfully. PRAY (Pray extemporaneously and/or use the words below.) Most merciful God, we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Tonight we ask you to enable us to see the reality of racism and free us to challenge and uproot it from our society, our world and ourselves. Amen. 2015 ELCA YOUTH GATHERING. XIII
FINAL 15 SUNDAY PRAY (Lead the group in prayer, using these or similar words.) God of hope, we thank you that not even death can separate us from your love. We pray for all people in Detroit, in our own community and around the world who feel separated from you. Give us the courage to share our own stories of hope in your promises. And not only that, open our eyes every day for ways you are inviting us to bear burdens, break chains, and build bridges so all people can live as you intended. Use the same process as described for Wednesday s Final 15. Tonight s text is Mark 6:30-44. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS What phrases, words or images were you drawn to? How will you use what you learned this week to bring a witness of hope back to your community? Like the disciples, have you, or has your congregation, ever seen a need you thought was so great that nothing could be done? How might you respond differently after reading this story? What are you taking home with you from your experience at the Gathering? How will your experience in Detroit impact the way you live at home? XIV RISE UP TOGETHER
SUNDAY BRING HOPE THINK ABOUT IT We just finished a week immersed in the Gospel of Mark. While we didn t read it from cover to cover, that is something we encourage you to do on your own. Mark is the shortest of the four Gospels and was probably the first one written. Unless your congregation is using a different set of readings, the Gospel readings prescribed for each Sunday this church year will be from Mark. Today s Gospel reading is about the feeding of the 5,000. Aside from the resurrection, the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 is the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels. Moved by the power of God s love, Jesus had compassion on the crowds. Jesus asked the disciples to find enough food to feed everyone. They found only two fish and five loaves. Notice that Jesus didn t actually do any of the feeding. Jesus simply took what the disciples had, two fish and five loaves, blessed it, and gave it back to the disciples, telling them to go and feed. We can see this story as God entrusting his disciples, and us, to be the body of Christ, the hands and feet through which God s work is done in the world. God does not work alone, but rather through people like you and me. So we offer to Jesus what we have and trust that Jesus will use it to serve the needs of others. PRAY (Pray extemporaneously and/or use the words below.) Holy God, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the experience we ve just had in Detroit with other Lutheran youth. In a world filled with many sufferings and sad occasions, we are fortunate to be blessed by the Detroiters whose stories will be in our hearts forever. Grant us the grace to remain united with you in our commitment to bear burdens, break chains, build bridges and rise up together to strive for justice and peace in all the earth. Amen. 2015 ELCA YOUTH GATHERING. XV
FINAL 15 EXTRA GOING HOME WITH MARK We have just finished a week immersed in the Gospel of Mark. While we didn t read it from cover to cover, that is something we encourage you to do on your own. Mark is the shortest of the four Gospels, and is probably the first one written. The writers of Luke and Matthew most likely reference what Mark writes about Jesus and expand on it. Mark s style is simple and concise, yet it is a powerful account of Jesus ministry. Mark emphasizes more what Jesus did than what he said, moving quickly from one episode in Jesus life and ministry to another. You will notice that he often uses the adverb immediately. The book as a whole is characterized as The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (1:1). Included in the beginning is the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Many think that Mark s Gospel was written within the context of the Roman Empire. If that is true, then his language makes a claim that contradicts claims of the empire that the birthday of Augustus Caesar was the good news for the empire. Similarly, just as Jesus is called Son of God in Mark s opening line, coins in the Roman world were sometimes inscribed with the emperor s name followed by the designation son of God. So, Mark begins his Gospel with an astounding claim: Jesus is the good news, not the emperor. Jesus is the Son of God, not the emperor. In effect, Jesus is Lord, not the emperor. In Mark s Gospel we hear him proclaim that the new era of peace, good news and justice does not begin with Augustus Caesar. It begins with Jesus! Jesus is the servant of Isaiah who brings good news to Jerusalem and ultimately to the whole world. Mark tells the story of the Lord who rules through self-sacrificial service in contrast to the ruling strong-arm power of the Roman Caesar. XVI RISE UP TOGETHER
FINAL 15 EXTRA Mark calls us to trust this gospel (Mark 1:15) the good news of the kindom* of God rather than the proclamations of the empire, whether Roman or otherwise. The story of Jesus is the story of a different kind of kindom. As you return to your home, your school and your congregation, we pray that you will proclaim Jesus as good news in and through your life. *Some people prefer to use the gender neutral word kindom in place of the more patriarchal word kingdom. 2015 ELCA YOUTH GATHERING. XVII
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