Prayer: Loving God, we humbly come to you as your children, grateful for your numerous blessings and endless grace. We pray that we continue to live and walk humbly in community with you and one another as we learn to lead and share your love through our service this summer, and our whole lives. Amen.
Reading: Colossians 3:12-17 (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: This reflection was originally written for the 2021 Summer Staff as a short training study of humility and service! I wanted to share it here because it applies to us all as we live and service in community with the Body of Christ. When Paul wrote Colossians, he wanted those who heard it to know that believers have everything they need in Christ. The theme that is stressed time and time again is connection with Christ and connections within the body of Christ (the church - US!). In this community we have been called to this summer, everything we need will be found in connections with Christ. This specific excerpt offers instructions on how to live for God day by day. It tells us to “clothe ourselves” in things like humility, patience, and love. Humility and patience are not always easy things to embody, but Paul reminds us when we set Christ-like love as the foundation, all of these things will be bound together in perfect unity. Then to let the peace of Christ rule our hearts. There will not always be peace in community (maybe we will need the Peace Table), but Paul is encouraging us to find ways to work and live together despite all of our differences. We can do this by recognizing, valuing, and using our individual differences as gifts or super powers! Call on others in the community to share their strengths when you humbly recognize your own shortcomings. --Anne Harshbarger
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