‘Peace be with you’
As in many environments today, “peace” was a conventional salutation in the ancient world. In the Gospel of Luke, when the risen Jesus appears among the disciples in Jerusalem, he extends to them a greeting of peace.
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For discussion: 'Peace be with you'
1. When you meet friends or family, what form of greeting do you use? Have you ever met anyone who used “peace” as a greeting? Does your congregation use “passing the peace” or some type of peace greeting in worship? What is the meaning of this greeting of peace?
I was in prison
Photo © istock.com/c_for
Just before Jack McKay* was let out of prison, a local paper ran an article that portrayed him as an unhinged, unreformed sexual predator. The message was blunt: Beware, be afraid.
For discussion: I was in prison
1. What experiences have you had with prison visitation or helping someone with a painful past become settled in Canadian society? What level of acceptance would someone like Jack McKay, the pseudonymous former inmate in this story, find in your community? What social services would there be to help him? What would happen in your congregation if a former sexual offender began attending?
The 100 percent clean comedian
Matt Falk recalls one of his worst gigs from the beginning of his career as a comedian. He was hired to perform at a corporate event, and during his 30-minute set the audience barely chuckled.
Laughter is sacred space
Laughter has always been a huge part of my working career, working as a writer and actor in comedic theater.
For discussion: The 100 percent clean comedian and Laughter is sacred space
1. What kind of jokes make you laugh? Why do we value a sense of humour? When can laughter be disrespectful or inappropriate? What is the tipping point where there is too much laughter? How do you interpret Ecclesiastes 7:3: “Sorrow is better than laughter because a sad face is good for the heart”?
Other faiths speak out on end-of-life issues
Physician-assisted suicide has been in the news a lot recently.
Last spring, Canadians watched as Winnipegger Susan Griffiths took her final journey to Switzerland to end her life, rather than face a slow, painful death from multiple system atrophy.
Only God can determine the time and place of death
Sikander Hashmi
“Do not kill yourselves: for verily God is to you most merciful” (Qur’an 4:29).
It is commonly understood that when we were born, we had no choice but to become a citizen of this world. We didn’t get a chance to choose our parents or birthplace either. But if entering this world was not of our choosing, do we have the choice to decide when we leave it?
God gives life, nobody should try to take it away
Atish Maniar
Hinduism is based on nonviolence. Suicide—killing oneself—is an act of violence. Killing another person is also wrong. In Hindu scriptures, nowhere is it mentioned that one can assist someone who wishes to commit suicide. To do so would be to commit a violent act, which is against Hinduism. Life is created or given by God.
Obligated to ‘choose life’
Alan Green
To begin with, Judaism teaches that our lives belong to God. We are mere stewards of the body which the Creator has given us. As Jews, we also believe that we are commanded to preserve our lives. Deuteronomy 4:9 teaches that Jews should “carefully preserve yourselves.”
Applying ancient wisdom to the here and now
Fredrich Ulrich
Buddhism as an organized religion began some 2,600 years ago. The advanced technology we have today was unimaginable in those distant eras. We are thus faced with the problem of applying ancient wisdom to our actual lives as they are lived here and now.
For discussion: Other faiths speak out on end-of-life issues
1. John Longhurst refers to a recent poll indicating that 70 percent of Canadians support physician-assisted suicide and 68 percent believe that those who help a seriously ill person commit suicide should not face legal charges. How would you respond to these questions? Why do you think these numbers are so high? What concerns do you have about assisted suicide?
‘Right to life does not include the right to be killed’
Lawyers with the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), of which Mennonite Church Canada is a member, have joined lawyers from across the country in signing a declaration that condemns the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide.
A book of answers . . . or a book of God-with-us stories?
Carol Penner
Dan Epp-Tiessen
Dave Bergen
Don Penner
Marlene Bogard
Royden Loewen
A mayor in Texas made headlines this past December when he proclaimed 2014 as “the Year of the Bible.”
For discussion: A book of answers . . . or a book of God-with-us stories?
1. What biblical movies have you seen? Will you watch the upcoming releases mentioned by Aaron Epp? Do you think Hollywood movies are an effective way to learn stories from the Bible? How do these movies influence our understanding of the Bible?
Listen to the unjust judge
Anita Fast
When I first read this passage in Luke’s gospel, in preparation for preaching on it, I thought, “Oh, this is just too easy.” Unlike some stories which leave you scratching your head, this one seems all too straightforward. If even an unjust judge listens to a persistent widow, how much more will God—a just judge—listen to our cries?
For discussion: Listen to the unjust judge
1. In what situations have you prayed for justice or deliverance? Have you ever begun to doubt that you were praying hard enough, or even to doubt the existence of God? How do you keep your faith when there is so much injustice and suffering in the world? Do you find the story of the persistent widow encouraging? Do you find Anita Fast’s interpretation of Luke 18:1-8 convincing?
Bread, acceptance and covenant
Table fellowship is seen by some as a primal expression of hospitality, with the offer of food an opening of hand and heart to another. Table fellowship is seen by others as a primal expression of covenant, with the offer of food sealing an alliance of common purpose.
A multi-atonement communion service
The good news is that God came to us in Jesus Christ to reconcile us to himself and to invite us into his kingdom. The news of what God has done—and is doing—for us in Christ is so great that no single way, of explaining it is adequate.
For discussion: Bread, acceptance and covenant
1. Does your congregation view the Lord’s Supper as an open table for all, or as a more restricted covenantal meal? Has this view changed over time? Do you feel comfortable participating in communion at a church of another denomination?
For discussion: 'Sounding the Scriptures'
1. In what setting have you heard someone “sound the Scripture,” telling a Bible story without reading it? How is re-telling a story different from reading it or repeating it from memory? What makes an effective biblical children’s story?
‘Sounding the Scriptures’
Biblical storyteller John Epp
Biblical storyteller John Epp
Biblical storyteller John Epp
Interviewer Ross Muir
Managing editor Ross W. Muir was introduced to biblical storytelling when John Epp, a member of the Network of Biblical Storytellers Canada and Toronto United Mennonite Church, visited First Mennonite Church in Kitchener, Ont., last spring. Following that encounter, the two chatted in person and online over the summer and into the fall.
For discussion: Discipleship as Citizenship
1. Do your Christian values make you feel like a resident alien in Canada? How strong are your ties of loyalty to Canada? How strong is your allegiance to your local community or municipality? How do these ties of loyalty compare with your allegiance to your church community? 2. Do you find it helpful to think of your allegiance to Christ as heavenly citizenship?
Remembering and honouring ‘soldiers’ of Christ
In Philippians 2:25-30, the Apostle Paul advises the violently besieged Christian community in Philippi to grant special “honours” to a “fellow-soldier” who has “risked his life” in service of Christ.
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