Summer Curriculum for Camp Mount Luther
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Guiding Principles for Staff 2016 Introduction to La Frontera Dear Staff: The following materials been developed for you in your work in outdoor ministries, especially to prepare for GROW Time for this summer. Use this as a reference book and treat it like one of your campers this summer. Please keep it with you at all times and know where it is! This can be an object lesson during training to remember CAMPERS FIRST!!!! As we orient you to available materials and resources, pay attention. Watch what we do, where we go, and listen to what is being said. It’s important, even if you’ve been part of Mount Luther a thousand times, to keep watch. We’re always improving our program and we’ve changed things for this summer once again. You never know when something is a bit different as each summer here is unique! To help with faith growth each summer, we use a themed curriculum. You should possess a basic understanding of the Biblical texts and the materials presented here so that you can adequately teach our campers. The materials in this packet are condensed and taken from various resources, including the LaFrontera Outdoor Ministries Curriculum, © 2005 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. By looking over this material, you undoubtedly will have questions. Please ask! Once you have a general understanding of our Bible passages, you can think of other activities, devotions, songs, and games which may relate to each day’s theme. We will review this material during our staff training, discussing how to apply it to your work this summer. At first glance, this year’s theme may seem a bit strange, maybe even confusing. It begins in Spanish and ends in English. The first part is likely unfamiliar in meaning, the second part is likely very familiar. Perhaps your reaction is to wonder why not just stick with the English and leave the Spanish for another day when we are more ready for it. If this was your reaction, in a real way, you were/are experiencing la frontera. The theme is more than an exercise in translation. It is about living in the “between-place” of borders, regions, margins, and territories; that is, la frontera. We may discover another rich idea that comes from people who have different experiences than we may have, who have a different view of the world than ours. This year’s theme also emphasizes that there is no place that Jesus will not go to meet us. There aren’t just a few places that Jesus can be found. God’s grace, through Jesus Christ, is available to all people, in every place. God knows exactly where you are and Jesus will reach you, no matter the cost, even if it means death on a cross. At its simplest, la frontera is a place. It can mean a “place of transition,” a “place of indecision,” a “place of struggle,” “on the edge of a place,” or a “place of uncertainty.” Most often, la frontera is translated to the word border in English, in the sense of “a definite line or wall that separates or distinguishes.” It also can be used in a psychological sense: “bordering on the ridiculous.” There are different types of borders: geographical, psychological, and cultural borders; ethical and moral limits; political and religious boundaries; and the boundaries of existence between God, humans, animals, vegetation, and minerals. It also can describe places that have no definite borders at all, like “region” and “frontier.” It might be fruitful for leaders to brainstorm more possibilities of meaning, which can open up new ideas for Bible studies, discussion groups, and the like. Let’s look at three meanings of la frontera found in the Bible: border, hem, region. 2 Border In contemporary usage, la frontera most often describes a border: a geographical and/or political line that separates two countries or states. Certainly, for Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, “the Border” has a powerful, specific meaning: the border between the United States and Mexico. This is a geographical/ political border, but it is much more. It is a physical barrier to be crossed (a wall of barbed wire) and an economic barrier (separating jobs from no jobs). In the Bible, the actual word border is not used very often. One reference to border, in Exodus, speaks of enlarging the borders (34:24) of Israel so that Israelite males can fulfill their religious obligations. More often, the borders are implied. For instance, when Jesus heard of John the Baptist’s arrest, he “made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun” (Matthew 4:13). Here, both the natural border created by the sea and the implied border marking out the territory of Zebulun describe la frontera. Hem An interesting use of the idea of la frontera in the Bible is “hem” or “fringe of a garment.” Two strikingly different contexts occur. In the first context, according to Jewish law, mantels (garments similar to a shawl) were to have fringes on all four corners to remind the wearer of the commandments of God (Numbers 15:38-39). Later in Matthew, Jesus criticizes the scribes and the Pharisees for their arrogance and hypocrisy in wearing long fringes to show off (Matthew 23:5). In the second context, an unknown woman with a longtime disease that causes her much bleeding humbly sneaks up behind Jesus to touch the fringe of his garment. She does this believing that it will make her well (Matthew 9:20). Also, crowds of people try to touch the fringe of Jesus’ garment in order to be healed (Matthew 14:34-36; Mark 6:56). Region This is the most common use of la frontera in the Bible. Stories throughout the Old and New Testaments use the word region to describe the places God’s people encounter. This can be seen in the theme Bible verse, Mark 10:1. Jesus arrives at “the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan.” Here, region encompasses both a more-or-less specific place (the region of Judea) and a limitless place (beyond the Jordan). The range of Jesus’ ministry is, in essence, boundless. Jesus didn’t go to predetermined locations, like the campaign-stops of a politician. Jesus went to a region, a place that includes any number of specific locations. And Jesus didn’t stop there. He even went “beyond the Jordan.” There is no limit to the places Jesus will go to bring his saving message. Day 1: Jesus Meets Us Where we meet Jesus is determined by Jesus’ love, not by humanly constructed boundaries. Jesus, first, meets us. There are no proper attitudes or feelings in the heart; there are no academic requirements; there are no minimal financial obligations. There is nothing I do or say that will bring him. Jesus first meets me, speaking a word of love. Jesus meets me where I am and promises to stay with me, wherever I am. “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Where do we meet Jesus? In church buildings? In our homes, schools, shopping centers? Among our friends and relatives, those whom we do not know, our enemies? The answer is, “Yes.” Perhaps a better question is, “Where am I?” It’s a better question because, finally, Jesus will find me there. Whether I am homeless on the street or living in luxury, Jesus meets me there. Whether I am confident in his love or in complete despair, Jesus meets me there. Jesus starts with where I am and leads me further into his love and into fellowship with others. Day 2: Jesus Meets Us in the Neighbor The focus for this day is that Jesus meets us in the neighbor. It isn’t simply “quaint theological talk.” It is how the Christian life is actually lived out. Luther said that by virtue of our baptism, we become “little Christs” to everyone we encounter. La frontera is the place where we meet the neighbor. In our serving, we live on the 3 border between God’s love and our neighbor’s need. Neighbors are not simply those who live closest to us or who look most like us. Neighbors are defined by their needs. They may, in fact, not share anything in common with us. Yet, our neighbors are known to us by their need for God’s love. No one is beyond our concern or aid, regardless of his or her background or situation. We still take the opportunity to serve that person. God’s love for us frees us from society’s boundaries to enter la frontera. Here, Jesus meets us and we, in turn, meet our neighbor. Day 3: Jesus Meets Us on the Cross Many Christians today have said that the cross has lost its meaning. The symbol of the cross is threatening and confusing. People are repulsed by, rather than attracted to, the cross. If this is true, then the cross has lost none of its power today. What has been lost in our society is the sense that hope and redemption come from something other than success or triumphant achievement. We think that redemption requires something bigger and better than who we are as humans. This is why the cross is a symbol of hope and grace. Jesus meets us where we are facing the power of death. Jesus goes before us, dying on the cross, rising by the power and grace of God, and sharing his new life. There are no preconditions for us to accept to share in this new life.