A Picture of Jesus . . . by Dustin Wright

When Kari asked me to guest blog this week for by the way, I was frankly a bit apprehensive. I hadn’t done this in a while, and since I’m spending my summer training new counselors up in New Hampshire at Camp Calumet Lutheran, I also knew I wouldn’t have all that much free time to get this post done. Luckily though, after borrowing from some experiences up at Calumet this summer, writing about this week’s gospel seemed pretty straightforward. It’s the story of the Good Samaritan, from the New Living Translation:  Luke 10:25-37  

Think about what the nature of a relationship between two neighbors looks like… I don’t mean the “keeping up with the Joneses” sort of relationship, or the type where you kill your neighbor’s rosebush for growing a few inches into your yard… I’m talking more about the healthy relationship of two neighbors living in community. In a healthy relationship between neighbors, one party isn’t always helping the other… it’s a relationship that’s mutually beneficial. I borrowed some milk from an older couple next door a few months ago for instance, but I’ve also helped to haul some old furniture out of their basement once or twice too.

Through the Good Samaritan parable above, Jesus suggests to the “religious expert” that all persons are created in God’s image, and thus should be treated lovingly as neighbors. Jesus on the other hand suggests that while not everyone will love us back as neighbors, some folks will act as a picture of Him, even if they're not always the people we’d expect. The song  "Picture of Jesus" by Ben Harper, illustrates this concept quite well.

Finally, given the profound effect Camp Calumet is having on me this summer, it’s impossible not to mention how this “picture of Jesus” concept is alive and stronger than ever on the shores of Lake Ossipee. Having been up there for a well over a month now, I’ve been amazed how a new generation of staff members are striving to emulate Jesus’ love and caring for others, treating all campers, guests and fellow staff members as neighbors. It’s particularly interesting that while some staff members are doing that on purpose, others are doing the same thing unintentionally, just by living, working and having in fun in the strong Christian community that is Calumet. Check out this  video post  from Calumet’s new blog to meet some of those amazing staff members.

God’s peace,
Dustin Wright

Thanks, Dustin, for your thought-provoking words and links!  It can be intriguing to notice all the ways that God shapes us to be neighbors for one another... and how we keep finding Jesus showing up in the world around us.  All are welcome to join in the conversation Dustin has started here.  Feel free to leave your comments below. We will be skyping Thursday July 8th at 7PM EST.  On Skype we are "bythewaycommunity".  If you're new to skyping, just download the program at  skype.com, set up your identity.