Readings for Pentecost 6

Is. 66:10-14

Gal. 6:1-10, 14-18

Luke 10:1-20

Passage for meditation: Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.  Galatians 6:2 

Devotion:  Two friends were taking a week long hiking trip on a section of the Appalachian Trail in Virginia.  They had their packs loaded, their boots laced tight and they were on their way.  As they were hiking they saw Burkes Garden, a huge mountain cove.  They passed through rhododendron thickets.  They saw all sorts of wildlife that they missed living in the city.  They were enjoying their hike and the scenery, at least for the first three days.

That’s when it happened.  While looking at the expanse of nature around them, one friend didn’t notice a large rock that was right in front of him.  He went down, twisting his ankle and collapsing under the weight of his pack.

After tying a splint around the sprained ankle the two tried to carry on.  But the weight of the pack proved too much for the injured hiker and he sat down angry and frustrated. He couldn’t help but beat himself up for not paying closer attention to the trail ahead of him.  He couldn’t help but feel guilty over ruining the week long hike that he and his friend had planned so much for.

His friend saw the look of frustration on his face.  He looked at him with an outstretched hand and said, “come on, I’ll help you.”  The injured hikers face lifted a bit as he accepted his friends hand and rose to his feet.  So with one arm around the shoulder of his friend, the two hikers slowly made their way off trail to a nearby road and found transportation to the nearest hospital.

Later, the injured hiker said to his friend, “Thanks- I wouldn’t have made it without you.”  He said, “I’m only doing what any friend would do.”  “No”, said the other, “you’re doing what Christ has done for us. Thanks.”  “You’re welcome”, he said smiling, “now get better. We’ve got some more hiking to do.”