There’s something to be said for distance.
People, after all, are exhausting.
Just ask us!
I attended a workshop
on domestic violence. Domestic Violence
is violent
or aggressive behavior within the home, typically involving the violent abuse
of a spouse or partner. In a situation like this a lot of people are
in pain---more importantly, people could lose their lives. They definitely lose
their dignity. A
member from the Domestic Violence Support Center who led the workshop shared
the story of a woman who was left without clothing during the day so she
wouldn’t leave the house. She couldn’t
emphasize enough how critical it is for an abused spouse to have people to talk
to, but that since it usually takes a victim of domestic violence at least
seven attempts to leave their abuser—most of their friends drop away. They simply don’t have the patience to see
their friend through the process of leaving their abuser.
How many of us have had a friend or two who wore us
out, or neighbors, or family? That
island is getting better looking all of the time.
And yet Jesus teaches
us that it’s not about “me.” It’s about God—and the OTHER person.
Luke relays this story in his gospel:
The
Parable of the Good Samaritan
On one
occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus.
“Teacher,” he asked,
“what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
(A paraphrase of this would be “What must I do to be spiritual?”)
“What is written in the Law?” he
replied. “How do you read it?”
He answered, “‘Love the Lord your
God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and
with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus
replied. “Do this and you will live.”
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And
who is my neighbor?”
In reply Jesus said: “A man was
going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They
stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A
priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he
passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to
the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a
Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took
pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine.
Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of
him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look
after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra
expense you may have.’
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man
who fell into the hands of robbers?”
The expert in the law replied, “The
one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do
likewise.”
In other words, it is very tempting for the religious
community to tell ourselves that it is okay to overlook the needs of others
because we are paying attention to the needs of God. Jesus confronts our indifference to the needs
of our neighbors by honoring the Samaritan in his story and not the priest or
the Levite. Scandalous! Spirituality, according to Jesus, is a heart
open to both God and neighbor.
And who is our neighbor?
The answer is: “Anyone in need.”
In our lesson text Mark relays a
little story about how Jesus and the disciples spend their day. They listen to the desperation of a father
who has a very sick child. They remain
with a very large crowd, allowing people access to them—including a woman who
had been very ill for twelve years. They
visited the house of the frightened father and continued to assist his
household in caring for the child.
When we read scripture many hundreds
of years later, the way we remember that scripture was written to us and for us
is to replace Jesus with our name, and the name of our church.
If we were to replace Jesus’ name
with Central Christian Church we’d hear:
“And when Jarius saw Central Christian Church (the congregation) he
fell at their feet and pleaded for help for his daughter. When the woman heard abot the church, she
thought “If I just connect with Central Christian Church, my life would be
improved physically and socially. When
Central Christian Church saw the commotion in the family of Jarius, the weeping
and wailing, they went in and took the people by the hand.”
The spiritual ones, we see, are
those who can bring a compassionate heart to a hurting world. What does it mean to possess a compassionate
heart? It means we hear need:
Those persons caught in a cycle of abuse
Or neglect, or depression, or
addiction.
Those persons experiencing loneliness,
Poverty, war, displacement, divorce,
Bankruptcy, bullying, decline,
death.
Those persons longing for
A job, a child, a partner to share
their life with,
Forgiveness, the courage to change
their life,
The courage to face their
death.
Jesus shows us how God IS with
us: really personal. God touches us. Jesus teaches us who we really are: personal.
Made in God’s image the church touches people.
To be human is to be
messy------------there is no surprise there.
To be SPIRITUAL is to be aware of what is around us as well as in
us. Now, there is the surprise!!!
Prayer: Loving God, give us the courage to be
spiritual, to embrace your loving heart within us. You are counting on us to be your difference
in the world. Amen.
(This sermon was preached by Reverend Dana Keener on June 28, 2015 at Billings Central Christian Church.)
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