The Gospel Comes with a House Key
Walking the Emmaus Road (1|2)
The Future of Hospitality
• Spring and Summer 2016, Durham, North Carolina
• Aimee
Pages 199-203
TOGETHER read the book (END READING AT: I could have helped, but I was too busy and too selfish to notice.) and discuss the content below.
INDIVIDUALLY take notes in your journal on what stands out (try to keep it brief).
Luke 10:25-37 The Parable of the Good Samaritan (NIV)
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Grace does not make the hard things go away; grace illuminates the hard thing with eternal meaning and purpose. Grace gives you company in your affliction, in Christ himself and in the family of God.
When our dreams of the future are ripped from us, we must grieve. Godly grief makes a clearing for the Lord’s healing balm of forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoration.
TOGETHER pray for one another.
INDIVIDUALLY answer the questions in your journal - process your notes and pray.
Jesus leads people to know the mystery concerning himself. On the Emmaus road, he brings them back to the Old Testament, showing how the moral law of God, which existed at creation and is still binding, is for our good and for God’s glory. Anything with “mystery” in it is a long conversation, delicious and slow and necessary, and it ought not be rushed.
What is your response to this statement?
Rosaria Butterfield tells the story how her neighbor Aimee wanted to talk to her about something. Rosaria responded by rejecting instead grace. Later she lamented; I could have helped, but I was too busy and too selfish.
Describe a time when, instead of walking with another person in their suffering, you gave a pat answer. How can you do this differently in the future?
EXTRA READING:
“All that is sweet, delightful, and amiable in the world, in the serenity of the air, the fineness of season, the joy of light, the melody of sounds, the beauty of colors the fragrancy of smells, the splendor of precious stones, is nothing else but Heaven breaking through the veil of this world.”
- William Law (1686 - 1761)