EHS Practices – Week 7 – Day 1

THEME: Growing Up

BREATH PRAYER: Jesus, grant me a deeper love for You and for others

SETTLING IN:

• In a journal, note the day, time, and place you’re sitting.
• Open with a few moments of silence. Rest, and breathe deeply.
• Complete the following sentence in your journal: Today, I feel ________________.
• Read these words slowly (aloud or silently):

“If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”
1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Pray this week’s breath prayer and pause for a few moments of silence.

PRACTICE:
NARRATIVE ENTRY

Narrative Entry is a practice by which we place ourselves in a passage from the Bible as if we are living it. Allowing the Holy Spirit to work through our imagination, we aim to see, hear, smell, touch, and even taste what is happening in the Bible narrative.

• Before you read the story for the first time, try to gain an understanding of the social climate of the day. Jesus used conflict between Jews and Samaritans as a powerful element in the story. If you have time, spend a few minutes learning about the rift between the Jews and the Samaritans. For a quick primer on the conflict between the two, check out this blog post, this one, or this one.
• Now read Luke 10:25-37 slowly, setting the scene in your mind.
• Then read Luke 10:25-37 again, viewing the story from the perspective of the expert in the law. Imagine Jesus is telling you this story in response to a question you just asked. What do you see, feel, hear, and know?
• Read through it two more times slowly, and imagine you are the man who had been beaten by robbers. What do you see, feel, hear, and know?
• In your journal, write down what you observed during your reading. Did anything surprise you? Was there something you hadn’t previously noticed that jumped out? What do you think the Lord might be saying through this?

Digging Deeper: Ask God to bring to mind those people that are your neighbors. Whether He brings to mind specific people or an entire people group, make a note in your journal. Then, ask Him how He would have you love those people today.

Summary: Write in your journal a brief summary (five sentences or less) of your practice.

Closing: Acknowledge that, as you walk today, you will come into contact with people who are in need of love. Ask the Lord to give you an awareness of such people and to show you ways to love them. Jesus, grant me a deeper love for you and for others.