Prayer: Lord, show me your mercy that I may be merciful today. Amen
Reading: Luke 10:25-37 (Click to read text) Stop and GROW: After reading the text, discuss/ponder the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Book of Faith questions, which are part of Camp Mount Luther's GROW Time with campers. QUESTION 1: What scares, confuses, challenges, or doesn’t make sense to me in this text? QUESTION 2: What delights me in this text or is my favorite part of the story? QUESTION 3: What stories or memories does this text stir in me? QUESTION 4: What is God up to in this text? Reflection: The curriculum on Day 4 this summer at camp encourages us to love our family, friends and neighbors. The main text is the first 18 verses of Ruth in which Naomi is left in a foreign land with no husband and no sons, just her daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth. We know that story—Orpah stayed in Moab, but Ruth traveled back to Judah with her mother-in-law showing Naomi incredible love. Today we revisit the Parable of the Good Samaritan. We are to love God and we are to love our neighbor. So very often we are like the lawyer and want to test Jesus. Who is my neighbor? Are there any parameters to put around those who we are to love? Aren’t there some people I shouldn’t love? Neighbor—that could be everybody. Aren’t there some limits? In the midst of our questions, Jesus tells us this story again. Only he doesn’t answer any of our questions. He just shows us what acting neighborly looks like. In other words, He doesn’t define the other person but He defines us. Who is the neighbor to the one in need? The one who shows mercy. That’s how we are defined today—ones who show mercy. --Jim Bricker, Chaplain to Camp Mount Luther’s Summer Staff
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Authors
Anyone is welcome to contribute! If you'd like to write for us, please e-mail [email protected] Email
Get our daily devotions delivered to your e-mail box each day by signing up below:
Archives
May 2022
Subscribe |