Tuesday Tidings June 16 2026

Dearest Members of Bethlehem,

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

The passage above comes straight from scripture, quoted exactly from the NRSVue edition. If you had to guess, from where in the Bible does that passage come?

It certainly does appear in the New Testament; you might have pointed to Matthew 22:39, or perhaps Mark 12:31. Both would be correct.

However, for the sake of this brief devotion, I would like to note that this glorious bit of wisdom also appears in Leviticus 19:18. Yep, that’s right all the way back in Leviticus.

Recently, as I was preparing one of our mid-week Bible studies, I was ascertaining what unfolded - according to the biblical witness - following the resurrection of Jesus. Well, as you likely know, there are important moments in which Jesus, “opened the scriptures to us.”

Of course, Jesus passing along this biblical teaching was key; it afforded the followers of Jesus a foundational understanding that would fuel their witness to the world.

We have been the beneficiaries of this faithful witness, but please allow me to gently remind you that the “scriptures” that Jesus so beautifully “opened” those early followers were not the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Nope, the texts that the risen Lord had been speaking to, and the biblical narrative utilized by the early apostles, was in fact the Hebrew Scriptures (what some might call the Old Testament).

Is this important? Absolutely! It’s essential that we too pay attention to that portion of our Bibles.  We love to hear about the miracles of Jesus, it’s a joy to ponder Paul traipsing through the Mediterranean, but we can’t confine ourselves to that corner of the Word.

So, just for fun, perhaps this summer you could open your Bibles and turn to the pages that are a little closer to the front cover. There’s critically important material there, that will help each of us come to a much deeper appreciation of what is coming together in the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus our Messiah. Enjoy the adventure!             

Question for reflection: Would you be willing to pick a psalm that speaks to you and learn it “by heart” this summer?

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Dan

God of peace and light, draw us into that great and glorious day when we know more unity than division, more abundance than scarcity, and more hope than despair . In Christ’s name we pray, amen.