Prayer: Forgiving and fair God, we cast away our sins and turn to you for a new heart and new spirit. Thank you for the sweetness of life in you. Amen
Reading: Ezekiel 18: 1-4, 25-32 (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: There is a week in September when our one vine of Concord grapes has bunches of sweet, ripe, purple grapes. Ready to be picked. Not too soon when still sour; not too late after the birds have found them. Oh, what a week! Because it means Grape Pie. Maybe you have not heard of Grape Pie? I had not until moving to the Finger Lakes region of New York State. It looks like blueberry pie by color and form but tastes like grape jelly with a preserves sort of texture. And it is oh so good! Only one piece left from our one pie of the season from the one picking of grapes from our one vine. (sigh) Ezekiel 18 begins with a reference to a proverb of parents eating sour grapes and setting their children’s teeth on edge. Just the thought sets my teeth on edge. The saying blames the problems of the children on the actions of the parents. But God goes on to say all lives are his and each generation is responsible for its own actions. No sour grapes. Repent. Turn, then, and live. Enjoy the Grape Pie. --Ruth Gates
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