“Caring Together” Sermon Transcript for May 10, 2009 Second in Series “And who is my neighbor?” Luke 10:29
Prayer of Preparation O Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable unto you, our Redeemer, Refuge, and Strength. Amen. The Message Last week Pastor Bob, in unveiling our new logo at Grace Church, communicated with us how important it is as Christians to be rooted and grounded in God’s love. Quoting the Letter to the Ephesians, Bob shared how, through God’s Spirit, we receive power through faith in Christ and how, by God’s grace, we come to know the breadth and depth and height and width of Christ’s love (see Ephesians 3:14-19). The image of the tree reminds us that, as God’s people, we are to be connected, indeed, grounded, in God’s mercy and compassion. To be sure, the image of the tree is a wonderful image, awakening us to the realities of God’s ways in the world: that we are indeed part of God’s creation. The image instills the importance of being rooted in life: that we are to be part of something much larger than ourselves in terms of our tradition and heritage, reminding us of the life-shaping role of community: that we are part of the Franklin/Johnson County community but also that we are members of the unique community of Grace United Methodist Church. The image of the tree helps us to consider that, in an age when more and more of us are being uprooted, due to forces beyond our control, and when more and more of our patterns of well-being are being challenged – there are roots of stability and strength in God’s grace and truth. In addition, the image of the tree calls us to reflect on Jesus’ own teachings, as when he illustrates the point in the Sermon on the Mount that only a good tree can bear good fruit (Matthew 6:15-20), or as when he states to his disciples in the Upper Room that apart from him (i.e., Jesus/the vine) they (i.e., disciples/the branches) cannot live and bear fruit (John 15:1-6). Throughout the Scriptures, there is a deep connection between living in the Spirit and by the Spirit and bearing the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:25-26). Only a tree firmly rooted in the soil of God’s love and justice can bring forth the fruit of God’s righteousness (James 3:18). Therefore, it is only by staying connected to Christ, that is, it is only by being established in God’s purposes that we bring forth the Spirit’s fruit. Images and Actions Matter I think that’s a good place to begin as we move “deeper” into this series of sermons: as we understand the connections between “image” and “action” (as Bob shared last week), and as we comprehend the connection between God’s call and our mission (as we share today), we will look at how our life together as a church is to unfold and grow. Indeed, when we look at our new logo we will see how the “tagline” of caring together-growing together expresses what Grace Church is all about. Certainly, we could find and use many others words to describe this congregation, and we could probably spend hours exploring what they all mean – e.g., Grace Church is strong missions, or Grace Church reaches out, or Grace Church celebrates in worship, or Grace Church serves others. The list is endless. But when people ask, “What is Grace Church all about? the words “caring” and “growing” come to mind – not simply “caring” and then “growing” but “caring and growing together”! Caring together, growing together! In Christ! That’s the key: we don’t carry out this mission in The branches of this community invite and welcome others. The roots provide and give strength. The leaves speak life. And at the heart of the church there is the caring in Christ’s name for others; there is the growing in the Spirit together! That’s the mission! Because if we are not caring as a church, we are probably not growing as a church; and if are not growing in our lives with Christ as a church, we are probably not making a difference for Christ in the world as a church. Or, as someone put it the other day: It is very difficult to make a difference unless you are different. And in biblical terms that means that something needs to happen inside us. Some kind of change needs to take place in our hearts. Some kind of transformation needs to occur. Only then will we see the difference. Only then we will we see the good fruit of caring come forth; only then we will see growth truly happen. At the heart of the church is caring together and growing together in Christ! And yet, there is another way we may want to approach our mission; there’s another way we may want to ask the question: as Professor Heitzenrater from Duke University shared with us last Saturday, when speaking about John Wesley and the early Methodists, what would Franklin miss if Grace Church wasn’t here? What kind of vacuum would there be? What difference would it make? What would be missing? Or, stated more personally, how would your life be different if Grace Church wasn’t here? What would be missing in your life? The Good Samaritan Now hold those thoughts and keep them in mind as we reflect on what would have happened to the man along side the road who had been beaten You know the story, don’t you? As Jesus tells us, there was a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho; he is beaten half to death by robbers. A priest and a Levite, members of the clergy, see him but pass by and keep on walking. But a Samaritan stops, and binds up the man, and cares for him, takes him to an inn, where he instructs the innkeeper to care for him as well. The Samaritan does all he can to help. It is the Samaritan who acts as a neighbor. In fact, as Jesus makes clear, without the care and compassion of the Samaritan, the man who had been beaten would surely have died. In other words, the Samaritan’s actions make a difference. The Samaritan saves the man’s life. And that’s what is so surprising in this story: the person we least expect to help ends us helping to save the man’s life.Further Reflection Now, over the years, I am sure you have heard or read this parable. As one researcher found, the Parable of the Good Samaritan remains quite popular in American culture. If asked, most people could tell the story. In fact, among those who attend religious services every week, the percentage of those who could share the main point of this story is quite large – 70%. Even among persons who do not attend church the percentage is fairly significant who could share the story – 50%./1/ But the name Good Samaritan is familiar. In Vincennes, for example, we had a Good Samaritan Hospital. Many churches and organizations are named “Good Samaritan.” In our own church, we have a “Good Samaritan Fund” to assist with persons who need help. I think you get the idea. We associate acts of caring and compassion with the Good Samaritan. The whole thrust of the story makes an impact: it is about caring and helping others. The shocker, though, is that it is the person we least expect to help who ends up helping and caring. Do you follow? That happens in life, doesn’t it? I know it happens in the ministry. The persons we least expect end up surprising us beyond measure! On the other hand, the persons we think will help don’t! The rest of the show is their trial in which, one person after another (all the people they have offended over the preceding nine years) come back and testify against them for being insensitive and uncaring creeps. And if you remember correctly, Jerry then gives his final monologue in prison. Watching the show now I can’t help but wonder if the real message here is how our inability to care and respond to persons in need hasn’t imprisoned us as a society – at least that’s how I read it. We seem to have lost the capacity to notice, much less to care, for others in need. Others may say we have reached a kind of “compassion fatigue.” It’s open to interpretation. But I don’t think the final episode of Seinfeld is far-fetched. Watching the evening news several months ago I watched in disbelief a story where a surveillance camera had caught on tape several young men beating an elderly man to death in broad daylight, as people walked by as if nothing was happening. Unfortunately, this was not the only time something like this had taken place. You begin to wonder if Darwin was right: only the fittest survive in this world. Where are the Good Samaritans? You expect some people to help, but when no one helps… Jesus, of course, ends his story by telling the lawyer and the crowd to “Go and do likewise.” Go and do what the Samaritan did. Go and be the kind of neighbor God wants and intends. That’s the lesson Jesus wants us to learn. Easy, right?Surprise, Surprise, Surprise! Not so fast! This is a parable, and, because it is a parable, there is a surprise to it. And the surprise has to do with the law “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Therefore, the question by the lawyer “And who is my neighbor?” is an entirely appropriate question. And it’s an appropriate question because, in Jesus’ day, a “neighbor” was defined as a fellow country man, a fellow Jew, to whom you were to show honor and obligation, to whom you were to love and care for, to whom you showed compassion. By definition, that’s who a neighbor was. A Samaritan, on the other hand, by definition, is not a neighbor. The Samaritan is somebody you would have no dealings with. The Samaritan is somebody you would not be obligated to. In fact, the Samaritan was the enemy. And so, the question “And who is my neighbor?” is entirely appropriate. But notice what Jesus does. Jesus levels the playing field. Jesus says, “If you follow me, you can no longer divide the world between Samaritans and neighbors. If you follow me, there are only neighbors, to whom you have an obligation to care for.” That’s what Jesus does! He levels the playing field./2/ In one parable, Jesus throws the whole equation about inheriting eternal life into question. It’s not just about loving the Lord with all our heart mind, soul, and strength, and loving our neighbors as ourselves. It’s about loving and caring for those we would otherwise not consider our neighbors. Now, I don’t know about you, but that’s unsettling. And it’s unsettling because the question may not be so much “Who is my neighbor? as “Do you know any Samaritans?” Who are the persons you don’t have dealings with? If a Samaritan is someone we don’t think we have an obligation for, then there is probably a Samaritan living closer to us than we might think – in our neighborhood, down the street, or next door. Or, if a Samaritan is someone of whom we would say “I wouldn’t be caught dead with,” then we could say probably there are some Samaritans in our own families (on our spouse’s side, of course, right?!). Or, if Samaritans are those who are different than we are, then they are all over. Or, if they are persons who think differently than I think – whether politically or theologically – then they are everywhere, even in this sanctuary. The Samaritan is that person you will have no dealings with; the one you would find it difficult to care for – our neighbors. During the 1960’s, Paul Goodman wrote a book entitled Growing Up Absurd. It made him famous. It was a book that was sympathetic to the youth rebellion. Several years after that book was published he wrote an article in which he said, “I have learned to my disgust that a major reason why young people don’t trust people over thirty is because they don’t understand them, and they are too conceited to try.” It is so easy to stereotype, isn’t it? What Goodman is really saying is, “If young people would see it my way, then they would see the true light!” Do you see how we build barriers? First, we have opinions. Then we share those opinions with others. They, in turn, agree with us; our opinions suddenly become “facts.” Soon more people agree with us, and because they agree with us, we have no dealings with those who disagree with us, and because we will have no dealings with those who disagree with us we begin to erect barriers, and, suddenly, because of those barriers, we no According to this parable, if you are a Christian, there are no longer any more Samaritans. In one lateral move, Jesus gets rid of an entire class of people. In fact, he says, “We all are neighbors.” It’s no longer “us and them.” We all are now one family, as brothers and sisters, as mothers and fathers, as black and white, as rich and poor, as Jew and Gentile, as slave and free, and male and female, established and rooted together in God’s kingdom-love – together! We all are now one community, caring and growing together, side by side, from generation to generation, helping one another, welcoming the stranger, binding up the broken in spirit, sharing the good news, grounding ourselves in God’s Word, loving one another in the Spirit – together! It’s what the church is all about. It’s the mission Jesus set into motion: caring and growing together, flourishing with compassion, and seeing and understanding how good God truly is, how deep and wide and high and long God’s love truly is… Amen.
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