Be sure to arrive early and have the environment set up. You want to be ready to greet people at least five minutes before class begins.
Greet students as they arrive. For any new students be sure to have week 1 materials ready to give them. Give them a brief summary of the class thus far.
This week, if at all possible, have someone else in the class lead the prayer. It would again be helpful to ask students ahead of time rather than putting them on the spot. Ask someone to open in prayer. Once they have opened in prayer, conduct a brief review of the topics of the previous two weeks. Then move directly into:
As with the previous weeks, this is an introductory exercise designed to get students to think about the topic of the day. The questions do not need to be fully answered at this point, nor is any answer necessarily “wrong” yet. For now these are opinions and experiences only.
Teacher’s Note:
A note on the Questions: This week centers on our dependence upon creation. It is important that we understand this as not only a physical dependence, but an emotional/psychological dependence, as well. It is easy to demonstrate that we need to preserve various species in order to maintain food or that we must take care of the environment in order ensure humanity has adequate water and oxygen. Yet our dependence upon creation is greater than this. Conditions like Seasonal Affective Disorder show us how subtly important creation is to humanity’s wellbeing. Recent studies emphasize our need for its aesthetic qualities, as well. Simply put, man was not meant to live in a concrete box, and he does not fare well there.
The second warm-up question is meant to get at this non-physical part of our dependence. The “it” is not asking whether you need creation, but whether you need contact with it on a daily basis. Take time as you prepare for class to answer this for yourself. How do you feel after spending a week holed up in an office with no windows? How does being around the more “natural” aspects of creation, the parts not tampered with by man, make you feel? These are not the typical questions one thinks about when they think of being dependent on creation, yet they are an integral part of our dependence.
American culture surrounds us with the idea (and the ideal) that we are “independent beings.” This week posits that this is a false notion of who and what we are. We are dependent creatures. Direct the small groups to have a conversation around this notion and encourage them to challenge themselves on whether they really believe/act as though they are dependent creatures or whether their actions belie a conviction that they are actually independent beings. What is the difference? How might this impact how we live our lives?
Time Savers: This conversation can be easily summed up by the leader if time is at a premium.
Lead a brief lesson from the Small Catechism on its themes of dependence upon creation and of how God interacts with us by means of creation. Be sure to note how Luther directly connects our dependence on creation to our dependence upon God. Structure this mini-lecture in the way that feels most comfortable to you. One possible approach is provided below:
“It can be easy to feel all of this emphasis on the environment and creation is completely foreign to Lutheranism; however, as Dr. Arand alluded to in the video segment we just watched, this is something Luther talked about with regularity. In many ways, our dependence upon creation was something he took for granted.
But this dependence actually shows up quite a bit in our Lutheran foundational documents. Did anyone recognize the quote from the beginning of the intro video?”
Note: It would be good to either reread the quote or place it on the chalkboard/dry erase board: “I believe that God has made me and all creatures... He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life.”
Do not make this a right answer hunt. If no one recognizes it, quickly go ahead and let them know it comes from Luther’s explanation to the first article of the Apostles’ Creed in the Small Catechism.
There are a lot of places you can go with this last question. Eventually, direct the conversation to the Lord’s Prayer and Luther’s explanation of the fourth petition.
Thoughts from Dr. Arand
Daily bread is a way of speaking about those things, especially the basic necessities that we need to live. But by extension it includes all that makes life abundant. And so we pray for food, drink, clothing, and shelter. But we also pray for healthy soil, clean air, and water, the things we need for healthy bodies. And we pray for the beauty of the earth and the wildness of nature that nourish us emotionally and fill us with wonder, awe, gratitude, and praise.
It is easy to get caught up in fear and forget all that we have already been blessed with. As a congregation, we look at the budget and compare the expected giving with the actual giving, the expected needs with the actual needs, and year after year find ourselves praying that end-of-year giving will be enough to get us through. How often do we stop in the midst of that fear and thank God for the daily bread he has already provided? There we are each Sunday worshiping in a space the Lord has provided for us. We have the seats we are sitting in, the heat in the winter, the roof over our heads. We have a pastor proclaiming the word, and we have bread and wine for the Sacrament. Most of us worship in spaces with running water and electricity; many of us have pews stacked with Bibles. Stop and look around the room you are in. How many ways can you see that God has already provided, already given you your “daily bread”?
Thoughts from Dr. Arand:
As an individual, I might pray that God open my eyes and ears (for that matter, all my senses) to see how God lavishes his care upon creation and rejoices in it. I pray that God would show me how he provides for my physical, psychological, and spiritual needs through creation and our contemplation of creation. As a congregation, we might pray that God would bless the fields and harvest, keep the earth flourishing for the well-being of all, look after all his creatures that none go extinct, and even heal the pets that serve as companions for members of the congregation.
End by reading what Luther had to say on the subject:
“Let us outline very briefly how comprehensively this petition covers all kinds of earthly matters. Out of it a person might make a long prayer, enumerating with many words all the things it includes. For example, we might ask God to give us food and drink, clothing, house and farm, and a healthy body. In addition, we might ask God to cause the grain and fruits of the field to grow and thrive abundantly. Then we might ask God to help us manage our household well by giving and preserving for us an upright spouse, children, and servants, causing our work, craft, or occupation, whatever it may be, to prosper and succeed, and granting us faithful neighbors, and good friends, etc. In addition, we may ask God both to endow with wisdom, strength, and prosperity the emperor, kings, and all estates, especially the princes of our land, all councilors, magistrates, and officials, so that they might govern well and be victorious over the Turks and all our enemies, and to grant their subjects and the general populace to live together in obedience, peace, and concord. Moreover, we might ask that he would protect us from all kinds of harm to our body and to the things that sustain us–from storms, hail, fire, and flood; from poison, pestilence, and cattle plague; from war and bloodshed, famine, savage bests, wicked people, etc. It is good to impress upon the common people that all these things come from God and that we must pray for them.
But especially is this petition directed against our chief enemy, the devil, whose whole purpose and desire it is to take away or interfere with all we have received from God. He is not satisfied to obstruct and overthrow the spiritual order, by deceiving souls with his lies and bringing them under his power, but he also prevents and impedes the establishment of any kind of government or honorable and peaceful relations on earth. This is why he causes so much contention, murder, sedition, and war, why he sends storms and hail to destroy crops and cattle, why he poisons the air, etc. In short, it pains him that anyone should receive even a mouthful of bread from God and eat it in peace. If it were in his power and our prayer to God did not restrain him, surely we would not have a straw in the field, a penny in the house or even an hour of life–especially those of us who have the Word of God and would like to be Christians.”
(Kolb Wengert translation of Large Catechism, The Lord’s Prayer, 76-81)
Take a moment to do a brief overview of today’s class. For further reading, direct the students towards pages 13-16 in the short version of Together with All Creatures to read this week and tell them if they are interested in going a little more in-depth, they may enjoy reading pages 56-73 in the large version of Together with All Creatures.
Encourage the students to use the devotional helps located on the back of their worksheet.
NOTE: Make sure to tell students that you will be outside for next week’s class rain or shine, hot or cold, and to dress appropriately. You may want to meet in the classroom and head out together or to designate an official outside meeting place.
Teacher’s Note:
In changing the venue for next week’s class you will want to pay particular attention to the particular needs of your students and any challenges you need to account for. Is there anyone with a disability in your class that may inhibit them from easily participating in the outside class? If so, take some time to plan ahead and then touch base with the person privately to both let them know you are aware of the problem and are taking steps to properly prepare, as well as to ask if them if there is anything else you can do.
Have a student close in prayer, ending with the entire class praying the Lord’s Prayer.
Stay around to answer any questions.