Week III

(advent home)

Love for the Stranger

Reading
“God Makes a Way”
Or Read Exodus 14-15

Have you ever imagined how it would feel to be a stranger in a new land? My whole life I have grown up in a place where the majority of people speak my same language. But imagine moving to another country where you are unfamiliar and you do not know the language. Imagine if your king and priest also lived as a stranger with no place to lay their head? This is the kind of leader Jesus is. He came to the earth, a foreign land from his home in heaven. He came as a stranger so he could me with us. In many ways having a leader who is also a stranger to the land makes other outsiders feel less alone and out of place. One of the most comforting attributes of Jesus is that he understands human suffering and any pain we might feel. In the bible Jesus is called the cornerstone that was rejected. Other scriptures say a prophet is never welcome in their hometown. Christ was often not welcome in the places he occupied because he challenged people to love in radical ways. The people that no one else would touch because they were sick, Jesus touched. He even healed their diseases and most importantly, their sins. Do you know anyone that might feel like a stranger, who is feeling low or downcast? Say a prayer for them now then think of what you might do to care for them as Jesus does.

Advent Activities
Nature Exploration: Winter seasons are not months that we expect to see much color. Often the leaves are falling off trees and the flowers are going to bed until spring. However, springing up all around I will often see red berries. They are so red and magnificent that they often feel out of place during months such as December. In many ways when I encounter a stranger, I feel a similar phenomena. Typically we only stop and talk to the people we know but the moments when we encounter and talk with a stranger something significant happens. You could even be entertaining an angel. Meeting and encountering people that are unlike us and finding them worthy of our time and attention is exactly the kind of love Jesus showed us. This week bring some scissors and a large plastic bag on your nature walk and find some flowers or plants that you have never noticed before. Clip them and place them in your bag aand give them a home in your home. When you get home, fill a small glass with water and place your plant in the water.Throughout the week try to figure out what it is, what purpose it has in nature. You might be surprised, even a stick can possess growth we don’t often think about.

Home Discovery: Read the parable in Luke 10 about the “Good Samaritan, “ then go throughout your house and collect any characters and stuffed animals you can find. Place them all together. Once you have done this, go to a parent’s sock drawer and pick out a large sock. Put it on one hand and pretend that the sock is a  “stranger” in need of help. Using the characters you have, play out the story of the Good Samaritan.

Food to Share: Often when hikers embark on a big adventure they bring trail mix that includes protein, salt and a little bit of carb to sustain them on their travels. When I think about a sojourner traveling all day, I would imagine that they might need similar foods as would a hiker. Jesus understood deeply the physical hunger needs of people. When he was in a large crowd of both strangers and disciples who were following him, he realized that they were hungry. He gave them fish which offered protein among many other health benefits, as well as bread, a hardy carb to give them energy. God knows exactly what we need to sustain ourselves. This week, take some oatmeal and bake homemade granola that include protein, dried fruit and something salty. Once you are done, take what you made and offer it to a neighbor you might not know as well. Here is a recipe for granola.

Art Exploration: As a mother, I plan out my days in a pretty routine way. We have specific times when we eat, play and sleep. While routines are helpful sometimes breaking the mold allows us to see beyond our own little world. Making sure the patterns in our lives make room for “the other” is so important. The book of Hebrew chapter 13 says,  Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. The times I have neglected strangers have been those when my focus has solely been on myself and my family. This week I want to challenge you to break the mold, reach out to a stranger, see them as a part of your family. In today’s activity we are going to create something for the purpose of inviting someone beyond ourselves. Take a grapefruit and cut it in half. Scrape out all the insides and juice, and enjoy. Poke two holes directly across from each other at the top of each of the grapefruit haves. Tie a string to create a hanging mechanism on each hole. Pour some sunflower seeds into each of the grapefruit bird feeders than hang in a nearby tree for the birds. Think about how God cares for each and every creature in his creation, including the birds

Adventure Walk: The next time your parents have to go to the grocery store, go with them. When you get to the checkout line, notice the person who is scanning your groceries. Imagine what their home life is like, who their family is. Introduce yourself and thank them for what they are doing. 

Music
Mary’s Arms by Sandra McCrackin
Refugee Jesus by Liz VIce and Hannah Glaver
The Lord Will Make a Way by Aretha Franklin

Further Reading and Discussion
Leviticus 19:33-35
33 “‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. 34 The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”

Discussion Questions:

1. Why do you think God cares so much about how we treat strangers?

2. America has a long history of strangers  residing in our land and we have sadly a long history of not treating them well? What are some ways that we can advocate and care for the strangers living in our land?

Ruth 1: 14-18
14 At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.
15 “Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.”
16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

Discussion Questions:

1. Rather than returning to a land she knew, Ruth chose to go to a land that she was unfamiliar with. If you know the story of Ruth, how did God bless her decision to enter a foreign land as a stranger?

2. Did you know that Ruth was one of Jesus’ great great great great great ( a lot of greats) grandmother. She was in the line of Jesus. As sons and daughters of God, we come from a line of strangers. How does that inspire you to treat the people around you?

Psalms 107: 4-9

Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle.
5 They were hungry and thirsty,
 and their lives ebbed away.
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
to a city where they could settle.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
9 for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.

Discussion Questions:

1. Throughout the Bible, we see instances where God’s children are wandering. Have you ever thought about how nice it is to sleep in a bed? Tonight when you go to bed pray for those who are wandering, who do not have a place to sleep and ask God to provide them shelter.

2. Have you ever cried out to God in your need? Thank the Lord for the ways he has provided for your life.

Hosea 11:1-4

“When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 But the more they were called,
the more they went away from me.[a]
They sacrificed to the Baals
and they burned incense to images.
3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
 taking them by the arms;
but they did not realize
it was I who healed them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with ties of love.
To them I was like one who lifts
a little child to the cheek,
and I bent down to feed them.

Discussion Questions:

1. When God’s people were living in Egypt back in the book of Exodus, God called a man named Moses up to lead his people out of that land. Why did God bring his people out of Egypt?

2. What kinds of ways have your parents loved and cared for you even when you were unaware that the things they were doing were actions of love?