Reading:  Matthew 1:18-2:23

Reflection:
The biblical text for Day 2 at camp this summer is Luke’s nativity account.  An alternate reading for that day is Matthew’s account, which begins with the announcement of Mary’s pregnancy and continues to include Jesus’ birth, the Wise men and Herod, the sojourn of the holy family in Egypt and their return to Nazareth.  It’s a lot to read and contemplate.

As I reread it I was struck by the different means God uses to communicate with the various people in the stories.  Angels make several appearances.  The Old Testament scriptures are quoted several times.  The Magi consult the stars.  And there are plain ordinary dreams. Then I wondered a bit about how I hear God communicating to me.  Often it is in sermons.  Scripture is important.  Many times it is in conversation with others.  And then there are hunches—goadings—recurring thoughts.  The trick for me is to follow-up.  Too often I just want to dismiss this stuff and move on.  It’s easier.   But then there is this thought—what if Joseph had done that?  He had several opportunities to just stick with the familiar and ignore God’s message.  But he didn’t. 

And so today--How does God work at getting through to you?  Do you pay attention?  --Jim Bricker, Camp Mount Luther Chaplain to the Summer Staff

Reading:  Psalm 99

Reflection:
Oh, sure, verses 6 and 7 speak of Moses, Aaron, and Samuel.  They cried to the Lord, and he answered them. Of course.  They were Moses, Aaron and Samuel!  What about me?  Where is my mountain?  And if I go there will that guarantee an answer?

Let’s hear a portion of Psalm 99 this way:
The Lord establishes relationships with those who call upon Him.
The priests and prophets of history heard his voice and followed His course for their lives.
His servants and disciples of this hour sense His presence and communicate His love and grace to those who reach out for Him.
The Lord does reign over this world!
He is the Lord and Master over all the earth.  --from Psalms/Now by Leslie Brandt (2003)

To those of history and those of this hour, the Lord communicates His love and grace.  My favorite mountains are the ones I see at Camp Mount Luther but we know there are many other kinds of mountains in our lives.  Whatever mountains we are at the bottom of, climbing up, standing atop or coming down from, God is present with us. That is Good News indeed!  --Ruth Gates, Camp Mount Luther "frequent" Family Camper

Read 2 Peter 1:16-21 and reflect on these words:

Here is my light.
Limited though it is,
  I hold it up against the night.
  Perhaps you will see it,
  and this little glow of mine
  will encourage you
  to show your own radiance:
  each candle sharing its flame with another,
  multiplying light in defiance of those
  who prefer to live hidden
  in deceit's darkness.
  Here is my light:
  a votive that flickers
  in the invisible breeze.
  If you add your smooth pillar candle
  and if another friend brings a star
  and perhaps if a child shares
  a Buzz Lightyear nightlight
  then together we might really be something!
  Our fellowship
  could be the ray of dawn
  that interrupts this deep night.
  And you with your candle and she with a star
  and the little ones with their nightlights
  and I with my votive
  will be content
  to live together in the dawn
  while we wait for the fullness of Day
  to arrive and chase away all of the shadows
  and lingering phantoms of night.
  Then in the presence of the beautiful Day
  we will see each other's faces
  truly for the first time
  without mystery or suspicion.
  Let the Day come! Let the Day come!
  Wait and watch with me for the brightest Day
  to burst upon us. Wait and watch with me.
  Come and create dawn with me,
  with our lights together
  against the night.

~ Rachel Hackenberg, United Church of Christ minister and former CML Summer Staff

For today's devotional, again we will use the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Book of Faith questions, which is part of Camp Mount Luther's GROW Time with campers.  First, read the passage and then discuss/ponder the four questions below.  Conclude by reading the reflection and closing presented.  

Reading:  Exodus 24: 12-18  

QUESTION 1: What scares, confuses, or challenges me in this text?  (or for younger kids, which part of the story doesn’t make sense to me?)

QUESTION 2: What delights me in this text? (or for younger kids, what is my favorite part of the story?)

QUESTION 3: What stories or memories does this text stir in me? (or for younger kids, what does this story remind me of?)

QUESTION 4: What is God up to in this text? (or for younger kids, what is God or Jesus doing in this story?)

 
Reflection: 
You often hear it said that history repeats itself.  This Sunday, we will celebrate the Transfiguration of our Lord.  It is one of my favorite Biblical stories, I think mostly because it reminds of camp and the mountaintop experiences of our campers and staff. 

But until I read this passage from Exodus for this writing, I never saw Moses’ accent up the mountain as a similar story during a different time.  Yeah, I’ve heard these readings in church read together on Transfiguration Sunday before.  But this time when I read this Old Testament passage, it really struck me how similar the two stories really are.

It also struck me that Moses was up on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights.  Imagine being one of Moses’ followers.  Here you have this leader who says, “Wait here.  I’ll be back.”  And then he takes 40 days and 40 nights.  No wonder the natives got restless and build that golden calf.

In today’s age of instant communication, can you imagine waiting 40 days for your leader to come back?  During that time, Moses saw God and learned what God wanted him to know.  But, it was in God’s timing, not Moses and surely not the people who were waiting with Aaron and Hur. 

This story reminds me that we need to be patient and know that our timing does not often coincide with God’s timing.  It has been my experience that in God’s timing, things turn out even better than I expected.  Just ask Moses and the Israelites!  --Chad Hershberger, Camp Mount Luther Director     

Closing:  Pray for God’s timing in your life.  

Reading:  Matthew 17: 1-9

Reflection:
 My favorite Biblical mountaintop experience story is the Transfiguration.  Can you picture it?  Several “campers” (Peter, James, and John) hiked up a mountain with their leader (Jesus) to get away.  They needed to go to a place set apart to be transformed and rejuvenated in their work as disciples.  When they got to the mountain camp, they prayed, and while they were there they saw God.  Faith came alive to these campers, just like it does to campers at Mount Luther through skits, stories, songs, and study. 

Peter wanted to truly set up camp that day by putting up tents and having an overnight camping experience.  He and the other campers were sleepy.  But then, their priorities changed as God bellowed from the heavens and they heard His voice saying, “This is My beloved Son.  Fear Him!”  God transfigured Jesus there. 

His disciples undoubtedly were changed, too.  Peter, James, and John, as many know from their own experiences, felt close to Christ in an outdoor setting.  They truly knew that day that God was in their midst.  They had a mountaintop experience.  

As I hope you can see, there are some correlations between the experience of the transfiguration and the experiences our campers at Mount Luther.  When campers and staff come to camp, they live for a week in an intentional Christian community with fellow followers of Jesus.  They feel God’s presence in worship, at the pool, while doing crafts, and while eating meals.  Their lives are changed as they encounter Jesus Christ in this place.

What are the mountaintop experiences in your life?  Where have you seen God today?  --Chad Hershberger, Camp Mount Luther Director 

Reading:  Titus 3:3-7 

Reflection:
One of the additional readings for the camp’s curriculum for Day 2 this summer is Titus 3:3-7.  What a wonderful text as the campers continue their study of Christmas and Epiphany.  What a great word for us today!

Lutherans read scripture through the lens of Law and Gospel.  This text is both in a nutshell.  Here’s the law:  “foolish, disobedient, lead astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another.”  Wow!  Crushing condemnation.  Here’s the Gospel:  “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy.”  Wow! Wow!  Incomprehensible grace.

We are reborn.  We are renewed.  So says Paul to Titus and his church.  So says Paul to us today.  It was true in Titus’ day.  It is true this day.  Live your day bathed in the incomprehensible mercy and grace of God.  --Jim Bricker, Chaplain to the Summer Staff.

Reading:  Psalm 119:33-40

Reflection:
Palm 119 is a big long, love poem about God's law, or in other words, God's written instructions. Well, that sure is a good thing as life is full of uncertainties and I am all for instructions. God has given us a reliable guide for living; a rope to hold onto to pull us through the muck of life. So, with the Psalmist we ask the Lord to teach us God's decrees. We should not see God’s law as a dusty, rigid rulebook but rather we can hear God’s loving voice in it. In God's Word we find direction and we find God himself. His law helps us regain confidence.  "Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight."  Psalm 119:35

I will think about this as I walk the paths of Camp Mount Luther this summer during Family Camp. Come to Camp and walk some paths yourself!  May you find God; may you find delight.  --Ruth Gates, Camp Mount Luther "frequent" Family Camper

Occasionally, we will reprint prior devotions that now reflect on the coming lectionary texts.  This is a reprint from a devotion originally published on February 16, 2013.  


Read:  I Corinthians 3: 16-17

Reflection:
One of my all-time favorite musical artists is John Denver.  His songs were songs of peace and love and told about the beauty of the earth.  It was very tragic on the day that I woke up to the radio news telling me Denver has been killed in an airplane crash.  I think that had he lived, he would have continued to make joyful music, which everyday people could relate to. 

One of the songs that John wrote and sang was for his first wife, Annie.  He really loved his wife and wrote "Annie's Song" to tell people about his love.  They later divorced and I read that he was so upset during the divorce that he sawed all the legs off Annie's table, but that is another story!

I once heard "Annie's Song" being played on the radio and I listened carefully to the words.  I thought to myself that although this song was written for a human being, it could have been written for God.  We should let the love of God fill up our senses.  We should allow the Holy Spirit to take over our lives and control us. 

As you read the words to John Denver's ode to this wife, think about God.  Has the Holy Spirit filled your life?  

--Chad Hershberger Camp Mount Luther Director

Close:

Read and reflect on the words to Annie's Song, by John Denver.
Come let me love you, let me give my life to you,
Let me drown in your laughter, let me die in your arms
Let me lay down beside you, let me always be with you,
Come let me love you, come love me again. 

You fill up my senses, like a night in a forest
Like the mountains in springtime, like a walk in the rain,
Like a storm in a desert, like a sleepy blue ocean,
You fill up my senses, come fill me again.  

Reading:  Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18

Reflection:
The book of Leviticus gets a bad rap for its tedious outlining of God's law. It is the rare legalist who dives enthusiastically into these twenty-seven chapters of religious rules and codes.

But if you read Leviticus 19 for today, you may be surprised to find some familiar words. "Revere your mother and father. Keep my sabbaths. Do not turn to idols or make cast images for yourselves. You shall not steal. You shall not swear falsely in my name." Recognize these statements from the Ten Commandments? 

In this chapter and throughout Leviticus, God interprets and elaborates upon the basic commandments, so that the people understand how to incorporate those laws into their lives. "You shall not steal. Not only should you not take what belongs to someone else, but also you should not defraud others and you should not be slow to pay your employees." The Ten Commandments may be straightforward, but applying them to our lives is less so.

It's all well and good, for example, to say "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" but what exactly does that action look like in daily life? How do you love your next-door neighbor and how do you love a stranger? How do you love the parent or sibling with whom you've been feuding? How do you love the persons living in places where our country has dropped bombs? "Love" is simple enough to say, but like all of God's laws, so much more challenging to live.  -- Rachel Hackenberg, United Church of Christ minister and former CML Summer Staff

Closing Prayer: Teach us, O God -- and reteach us as often as needed -- how to live according to your laws, how to bring your commandments to life through our words and actions each day.  Amen.

Reading:   Matthew 5: 38-48

Reflection:
(Jesus said), "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." --Matthew 5:44

Jesus got a chance to live out these words when, nailed to a cross, he prayed for his persecutors (Luke 23:34). The example of Stephen, the first Christian martyr (Acts 7:60), shows that some followers also put Jesus' command into practice-a fact that surely impressed one persecutor named Saul. (excerpt from The New Student Bible NRSV)

Jesus lived what he taught. Stephen's obedience and example had an impact on Saul who became Paul and, well, the rest is history as they say. Today is our time to obey the command to pray for our enemies. Quite an out of the ordinary thing to do but who knows what out of the ordinary thing may come of it. Time will tell and then that will be history. But first, it has to happen. Let's start by praying.  --Ruth Gates, Camp Mount Luther "frequent" Family Camper

One of the alternative texts for Day 2 of this summer's "Living in God's Time" curriculum is the following.  Day 2 is the day campers will learn and reflect on the season of Christmas/Epiphany, as we study the seasons of the church year.  

Reading:  1 John 1:1-8

Reflection:  This alternate text for day two of the summer curriculum continues with Epiphany images, specifically the image of light and dark.

Darkness in this text is described as being in fellowship with neither God nor the Christian community.  Walking in the light brings us into fellowship with God and the community.  And in that fellowship “the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Then there is this statement that might be familiar to us.  “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”  It is familiar to me because as a Lutheran pastor I read that line in the Brief Order for Confession and Forgiveness in the Lutheran Book of Worship many Sunday mornings.  It is a striking statement that confronts us all and forces us to walk in the light of truth and reality, no matter how much we would like to stay in the darkness and not admit our short comings.  The world we live in wants to stay in the darkness.  Seldom do we hear confession from our world.  Like, “that is my fault.”  “I take full responsibility for that.”   “I’m sorry.” We hear neither personal nor corporate confession.  It’s always somebody else’s fault. 

John’s community wanted to pass on to us what it knew to be the truth.  Perhaps we, too, could at least in a small way pass on the truth to our world by publicly acknowledging our own mess-ups. If we walk in the light, perhaps others will, too.  --Jim Bricker, Camp Mount Luther Summer Chaplain to the Staff

Closing Prayer:   Most merciful God, we confess that we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves.  Amen.

For today's devotional, again we will use the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Book of Faith questions, which is part of Camp Mount Luther's GROW Time with campers.  First, read the passage and then discuss/ponder the four questions below.  Conclude by reading the reflection and closing presented.  

Reading:  Psalm 119: 1-8

QUESTION 1: What scares, confuses, or challenges me in this text?  (or for younger kids, which part of the story doesn’t make sense to me?)

QUESTION 2: What delights me in this text? (or for younger kids, what is my favorite part of the story?)

QUESTION 3: What stories or memories does this text stir in me? (or for younger kids, what does this story remind me of?)

QUESTION 4: What is God up to in this text? (or for younger kids, what is God or Jesus doing in this story?)

 
Reflection:

“Welcome to Psalm 119.  I’ll be your tour guide.”  These are the words I wanted to speak as I sat down to write this devotional writing.  Psalm 119 is very long, if you read it in its entirely.  We read eight verses today, but we’ll read more in the near future.

Did you know that Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible?  Did you know that all but four of the verses in this Psalm refer in some way to the Bible?  In this passage, we read about the Word, law, commandments, statues, judgments, and more.  These first eight verses do just that. 

All our lessons for this Sunday remind us that as people of God, we need to live life according to God’s ways.  We need to show people, in our actions, words, and deeds, that our God is love. 

Take the time this week to read this Psalm in its entirely.  Meditate on how it points us to God’s Word and how we should live according to God’s way.  Then, think about your life and how you might need to change it to show God’s love to others, even more than you do now!  --Chad Hershberger, Camp Mount Luther Director      

Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9
 
Reflection: 

For today's devotional, again we will use the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Book of Faith questions, which is part of Camp Mount Luther's GROW Time with campers.  First, read the passage and then discuss/ponder the four questions below.  Conclude by reading the reflection and closing presented.  

Reading:  Deuteronomy  30: 15-20

QUESTION 1: What scares, confuses, or challenges me in this text?  (or for younger kids, which part of the story doesn’t make sense to me?)

QUESTION 2: What delights me in this text? (or for younger kids, what is my favorite part of the story?)

QUESTION 3: What stories or memories does this text stir in me? (or for younger kids, what does this story remind me of?)

QUESTION 4: What is God up to in this text? (or for younger kids, what is God or Jesus doing in this story?)

 
Reflection:

When I first read this passage, I had no idea what I would write about reflecting on this writing of Moses.  I consulted a few commentaries to maybe get some ideas, but I was stymied!

And, as is often the case, I was driving and had a revelation.  Because I had been also reading Christmas scripture texts due to our summer curriculum this year, I was thinking about Jesus.  Jesus, son of God, came down to earth, born to earthly parents.  I, too, have earthly parents.  But I also have a heavenly father, who claims me as God's own. 

Wow!  That put this passage from Deuteronomy in perspective for me.  Because I am God's son, too, I must obey just as I obey my earthly parents.  I should do as the writer of Deuteronomy reminds me:  love the Lord, obey God, and hold fast to God.  That means life to me and length of my days.

It seems like a simple equation.  But as with anything in this life, it can be hard at times.  My prayer this day is that we all can hold fast and be faithful.  God sure is!  --Chad Hershberger, Camp Mount Luther Director    

Reading :  Matthew 5:21-37

Reflection:
Maybe I should have quickly looked up the passages before offering to write the devotion for today.  I turned to the texts and the headings were Murder, Adultery, Divorce and Oaths.  What am I supposed to do with all that?  So I looked for a different translations...hoping I could find a kinder, gentler approach to the tough stuff. 

The New Revised Standard Version titles the sections Concerning Murder, Concerning Adultery, Concerning... These titles were a bit easier to take.  It is as if it was more of an intellectual exercise to ponder these weighty subjects. Then I came upon the New King James Version which simply use the headings: Murder Begins in the Heart, Adultery in the Heart, etc.  Ahhh, yes, that is what Jesus is trying to get to. That is all Jesus is ever trying to get to:  the heart. That is where it all starts.  Be right with your neighbor in your heart when it comes to matters of anger, forgiveness, desire, commitment.  Let your yes be yes and your no be no…from the heart. What was I afraid of? Instead, I think I will sing:

Into my heart, into my heart,
 Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.
Come in today. Come in to stay.
Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.

--Ruth Gates, Camp Mount Luther "frequent" Family Camper

Discussion:

1. What is your favorite part of the Christmas story?
2. How do you think Mary and Joseph felt when Jesus was born? Do you think they expected guests that night?
3. What do you think the shepherds thought when they saw the angels in the sky?
   

Reading:  Luke 2:1-20

Reflection:
This summer at camp, we will be exploring Biblical themes through the curriculum, “Living in God’s Time.”  It will take a look at the seasons of the church year and how the stories we look at during those periods are relevant to our lives today.

On Tuesdays this summer, we will study Christmas and our scripture text is the one you read today.  This is one story that I never tire of hearing.  I love Christmas and enjoy hearing the story of Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the angels, and the newborn king.

It’s going to be fun this summer to be able to celebrate Christmas at a time other than December.  I always find that when we’ve celebrated Christmas in July at camp, I hear things in the nativity story that I don’t hear or think about in December.  Commemorating the Christmas season in the summer brings whole new meaning to that age old story.

As we look on Fridays this month at scripture texts of the Christmas season, maybe you, too, will look at the birth of Christ in a new way.  And perhaps that new way will give greater meaning to the season when we celebrate it next December.  –Chad Hershberger, Camp Mount Luther Director  

Closing:  Get out your crèche or nativity scene or make a new one.  Whether you use materials from around your home or a kit, a nativity scene made by your family can become a decoration that you look forward to getting out year after year. Suggestions for materials: toilet paper tubes, clothespins, clay, old spools, small boxes—be creative!  After you make your nativity scene or set up one you have, say a prayer thanking God for the gift of God’s Son.

Reading:  Psalm 112

Reflection:
I’m reading a book by Lee Cockerell called, “Creating Magic.”  Cockerell was the former executive vice president of operations for the Walt Disney World Resort.  I picked up his book the last time I was at Disney World, as I’m always interested in reading others’ perspectives on leadership, which this book is about.

After reading just the first few pages, I began taking notes because the book contains many practical lessons that I want to incorporate into our summer camp program, particularly how we train our staff.  As I turn each page, I get even more excited about adopting these lessons in both hospitality and leadership. 

One of the things Cockerell writes at length about is how people need to be treated with respect.  So far, I feel like the thesis of his book is that if you treat others with respect, everything else will fall into place.  He writes that at Disney, they remind their employees to remember the acronym for RAVE:  Respect, appreciate, and value everyone.

It may be because this book has really gotten ahold of me, but when I read this Psalm, I was reminded about the same lessons.  As we appreciate and value everyone, we should also do the same to God.  And, if we do that, everything else will fall into place.  And, we will be remembered for what we did, too.

Cockerell left a legacy at Disney because of the way he managed.  As he recounts, he didn’t always do it the “Disney way.”  In fact, what he learned over the years that he put into practice in his career came from hard lessons when we wasn’t an effective leader.  

What legacy are you leaving for those who know you?  Are you respecting God and others and appreciating and valuing one another?  If not, how can you change now to make your legacy one that people will RAVE about?  --Chad Hershberger, Camp Mount Luther Director 

Reading:  1 Corinthians 2:1-12

Reflection:
Sometimes, I’m just overwhelmed.  Something happens or is said that just sticks around, hangs on me, and even haunts me.  It can be like a tune I just can’t get out of my head.  Can you relate to similar experiences?

If you are like me, those times are first experienced.  They happen and I feel them.  Somehow, my senses are alerted, I’m joyed, excited, delighted. Then, after floating around in the feelings for a while, I realize that I am also perplexed and begin to think about the experience.  What just happened?  What does this mean? For me?  For those in my life?  Where did it come from?  Why is it hanging around?

I’ve learned to name those occurrences—gifts from God.  So St. Paul’s words today are helpful.  We are given the Holy Spirit “…so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God.”  It is just so easy to breeze through a day, enjoying it and struggling with it, without giving God credit for the gifts we experience in it.  And it is just as easy to experience those gifts and move on without giving it much thought to the significance of the gifts. 

Enjoy your day.  Delight in the gifts given to you.  This evening, think about the gifts God gives you.  Give thanks.  --Jim Bricker, Camp Mount Luther Summer Chaplain to the Staff 

Reading:  Isaiah 48:1-12
 
Reflection: 
Why bother with prayer, if it seems that God doesn't answer? Why bother with kindness and justice, if God has allowed the whole world to fall to its own worst devices? We hesitate to ask such questions aloud, for fear of revealing our doubts, for fear of confessing that we measure faith by its achievements and rewards. If our faith is strong, shouldn't we feel strong and continuously thankful and tranquil through life's storms?
 
But the practice of faith, as God reminds us in Isaiah 48, is not intended for personal gain or spiritual contentment. The purpose of faith is to clothe the naked, to feed the hungry, to shelter the homeless, to reconcile ourselves to one another, to impact justice in the world. The purpose of faith is to bear God's tangible love to the world.
 
Then and there, as we live and work and aid one another in love, we will find the abundance of God's presence and the satisfaction of our own spiritual longing. --Rachel Hackenberg, United Church of Christ Minister and former Camp Mount Luther Staff Member

Prayer: Be gentle and forgiving of me in my restlessness, O God. Invite me to take my faith beyond myself, to live boldly with love each day.

Reading:  Matthew 5:13-20

Reflection:
How does the world experience Jesus?  How do your colleagues, friends, classmates see Jesus?  For that matter, how do YOU experience Jesus? 

We often ask at camp, where have you seen God today?  Sometimes we hear that God is made known in sunsets, flowers, trees, deer—nature.  Many times we hear the God is seen in the things that others do.  It is especially remarkable when we hear of things that campers did that made God known.  It is the adult’s job to make God known to campers, right?  Oh, it doesn’t always work that way, as it is the campers who often are better at seeing God in everyday life.  

Jesus, the light of the world, shines on us.  Jesus makes us “the light of the world”  and then commands us, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”  Now there’s a challenge.  Do our lives reflect Jesus?  Do our lives point to Jesus?  Is God glorified by our lives?  Do those around us see Jesus in us?  --Jim Bricker, Camp Mount Luther Summer Chaplain to the Staff

Closing Prayer:
Shine, Jesus, Shine.  As we gaze on your kingly brightness, so our faces display your likeness, ever changing from glory to glory, mirrored here, may our lives tell your story.  Shine on me, shine on me.  Send forth your Word, Lord, and let there be light!  Amen.