The main point of Chapter 5 is that Jesus is calling us to take risks. According to Jesus, to love our neighbor is a way of loving God. Jesus calls us to love all people just as he did including people who may be societal outcasts.
2. Explain in a paragraph, two interesting points that were raised in the chapter.
I think one point that was really interesting in the book was that the Holy Spirit weaves together the past, the present, and future. I think this shows us that God has been with us throughout history and is with us today. The Gospel of Luke illustrates the power of the Holy Spirit throughout its chapters. (See table page 90)
Another interesting point was that God did not choose the powerful elite to bring his message. Instead he chooses a very young and poor woman to bring Jesus into the world. Jesus too was a member of a lower social class, a common carpenter. God?s choice of messengers correlates with Jesus? teachings of acceptance of all people into the kingdom of God, not just those people who are rich and powerful on earth.
3. Chose a picture that you think illustrates some of the important points of this chapter.
I chose this picture of Mary because she was simple woman who God called to do great things.
4. This chapter brings to mind the following question: Is it wrong to be rich and powerful in this world? It seems as though Jesus rejects the rich and powerful.
I think that it is okay to be rich and powerful so long as you use your money and power to help others. For example, Bill Gates and his wife have given a lot of money away through their foundation to help prevent people from dying in less developed countries. I also think that it is important that you have earned that money in an ethical way. For example, Enron gave a lot of money away to Texas charities. However we later found out that they earned most of that money illegally.
