It's Almost Here!!!

Delivered at Lindley Assisted Living Center, Athens, OH 23 on December 2007

Based On Matthew 1:18-25

Here we are, on the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Christmas Eve is tomorrow and we are all waiting wide-eyed for the celebration of the birth of the Christ Child.

We all know the story of the Nativity, with shepherds and angels and Mary and Joseph and the Baby Jesus. And we can all remember the many years of being in or watching a children’s re-enactment of that blessed event:

• how one little angel’s halo was always crooked . . .

• how dashing the shepherds looked in their bathrobes with towels on their heads. . .

• Mary and Joseph kneeling around a manger filled with straw and some little girl’s doll . . .

• Singing of all those old favorite Christmas carols that told the Christmas story.

Today’s scriptures tell the Nativity story from another point of view – from the standpoint of Joseph, the father. But Joseph was not the father of Jesus. We all remember the story of the Angel Gabriel visiting Mary and telling her she would bear the Son of God.

Imagine yourself in Joseph’s place; here he is betrothed to a lovely young maiden, probably making him the envy of Nazareth. And all of the sudden, she is pregnant! Now, he knows he is NOT the father. In those times, when a couple was betrothed, the girl moved into the house of her intended. So it wasn’t as if she was living somewhere else and could have been carrying on with someone behind his back. Joseph intended to quietly dissolve the arrangement and send Mary back to her home.

But God had other plans for him. He may not have been the biological father, but he was being charged with bringing up the Son of God. No pressure there!!!!

The Bible generally does not give us a very good picture of father. Look at Herod, who slaughtered all the newborn male children out of fear; or Herod Antipas, who promised his daughter Salome anything, including the head of John the Baptist on a silver platter.

Joseph could have become one of those fathers. He had every right to be upset, after all, Mary was carrying another man’s child. But he didn’t.

Joseph raised Jesus to fulfill his destiny on earth. He showed him the kind of love that Jesus and God show us. He risked common opinion to do what was right, no matter what the consequences. And he had NO idea of what was going to happen to his little boy. He was the best stepfather he could be. I have a friend who married late in life and had three stepchildren. He swears to this day that Joseph is the patron saint of all stepfathers.

Joseph represents the type of father on earth that God is in Heaven. Jesus teaches us that we are to look to God as our father, redefining the laws of the times. Joseph showed Jesus the kind of love that comes from God. He shows us the kind of love God has for all his people, particularly those who are the least. And he risks everything to make sure that his Son is safe. Joseph was not the earthly father of Jesus, but showed to us the sort of love that God wants us all to show.

May we, like Joseph, know and show the love of God to each other this Christmas and always.

Render Unto Caesar

Delivered at Procter Center, Anglican Academy for Morning Prayer, 8 December 2007

(based on Matthew 22:15-22)

This is one of the most famous stories about Jesus and, probably, the most misunderstood or misapplied. It has been used as a bludgeon for centuries to justify the separation of things of the Church from the affairs of government.

The Romans now controlled the land God had promised the Israelites and brought with them their pagan ways. Most Israelites saw this as a contamination of the Creation that God had given them. So why would one willingly give taxes to the Roman Empire? After all, withholding taxes was just about the only thing that the Jews could do to express their displeasure with the occupation.

We all know that the Pharisees asked Jesus that question, trying to trap him into either being counter to Jewish law, or a seditionist against the Roman occupation. They felt that no matter how he answered the question, they could ‘get’ him. Either he disobeyed the Jewish Law and said pay the taxes (which would be an affront the YHWH), or said withhold taxes which would be treason to Rome.

But Jesus was too smart for them – he was not the uneducated preacher they thought he was. When he pointed out that the name and likeness of Caesar, not YHWH, were on the coin, there was no way they could trap him. In fact, they had just trapped themselves. Tribute should be paid to Caesar, using Caesar’s money.

But I think this set of scripture has a much deeper meaning for Christians. I think it admonishes us to be good citizens of the world we live in. As Paul often told people in his letters, “God ordains the higher powers” and Christians are subject to its authority. Peter and Paul both stressed that Christians should be law-abiding citizens.

As Deacons, we need to be good citizens. . . and we need to set an example for others.

But how do we do that??

First of all, we must respect the institutions of our communities and country. But that DOES not mean we can’t disagree with what the government/institution is doing, but that we be law-abiding, tax-paying, contributing citizens. If you remember,

· Daniel spent some time with a lot of lions because he disagreed with King
Darius’ notion that everyone should pray to him. .
· Shadrack, Meshak and Abadnego ending up in a furnace for protesting against
King Nebuchadnezzar.
· All of the apostles spent time in prison because they proclaimed their faith
contrary to the policies and wishes of the local government.

Even I, in several non-violent actions, have protested the manner in which churches abuse their LGBT children and can proudly say that I have been arrested and jailed with some of the finest people in the religious community. Civil protest and civil disobedience is a biblical tradition, based on answering a HIGHER calling from God.

The Bible says that we are stewards of the world God created. For us to be good stewards, we need to know what is going on in the community and government and who is doing it. Deacons provide a valuable service, connected those within the church walls with what is going on in the secular world of politics.

How many of you know who your senators and representatives are?

Don’t you think you should know?

And don’t you think you should know what is going on in the legislative sessions?

What bills are in process?

What impact they will have?

Don’t be an ignorant voter, casting your precious vote based on sound bites provided by a less than neutral new source.

Read the Bible and books that will help you solidify your faith and beliefs. Know what you believe and why. Be able to defend your position using principles of God.

And most of all, honor that which should be honored.

The next time you take out a dollar bill or a coin, notice what inscription is on it.

IN GOD WE TRUST

Remember that

And

Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s

And

Unto God what is God’s!

Are We They?

(Delivered at The Church of the Good Shepherd, Athens, Ohio on 23 September 2007)

Amos 8:4-7, 8-12

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you, my Lord and my Redeemer.

We are taught in Deacons School that we are to always preach on the Gospel reading for a given Sunday, since one of those things exclusively reserved for Deacons is the proclaiming of the Gospel. And I DID indeed have a sermon prepared on today’s Gospel of Luke. However, the more I read the Old Testament reading of Amos, in fact the more I read all of Amos, the more I felt compelled to preach on that instead.

So, I won’t tell. . . if you don’t tell.

Amos has always been a prophetic man and generally he was a real pain to the Israelites. I have a mental picture of him standing on the rooftops railing away to the Israelites about the things they were doing - and forecasting their gloom and doom. It reminds me of a street preacher who used to stand on the corner of Broad and High in Columbus every day, standing on a soap box and proclaiming the world was going to end in the next couple of hours. He hasn’t been there for a while, and I sometimes wonder what happened to him. He was, most of all, very amusing.

It was interesting to watch people’s reactions to his sermonizing:

· some would literally cross the street to avoid him
· some would lower their heads as they walked by,
· and there were a few brave souls who would take him on.

I can tell you, that he could out shout anyone

. . . except maybe Amos.

In these passages Amos is, once again, admonishing the Israelites. Actually, Amos might be considered the first voice of a social conscience in the world; he preached social justice before we even knew what social justice was.

This time he is shaming the Israelites for the way they were treating the poor. I find these passages are especially relevant today since last Friday was Yom Kippur, the holiest of holy days in the Jewish tradition.

Yom Kippur is a ‘day of atonement’ on which you confess, before the Book of Life is closed, all those things you have done in the last year that are sinful or you consider to be failings. And, in the Jewish tradition, you then can start with a clean slate for the new year.

Sounds like a good idea to me.

On Yom Kippur, even the least observant Jew acknowledged the occasion and all markets and industry were closed. That means, of course, for the money changers and the merchants, this is a day when they are not making any money. . .

not a shekel!

Since most of the merchants were of the noble class, Amos is particularly hard on them

. . .and they are not too happy to have the straggly-bearded, bombastic old man once again slandering them.

They would just as soon he would fall in a hole somewhere and disappear forever. I imagine this is probably like the feeling many folks in Columbus had about that street preacher.

In the time of Amos’ prophesying, money and wealth were considered rewards from God for living a righteous life. This is not unlike the 'Prosperity ministry' a number of modern-day preachers are extolling today (and getting very rich themselves doing so!) "The more you have, the more God loves you" is their common mantra. "If you are doing well, it shows God’s approval. . . God wants you to have a big house and fancy car and pleasure yacht!"

But Amos seems determined to tear down that cultural norm.

Just as in the Parable of the Unjust Steward in the Gospel this morning, there are acceptable ways to accumulate wealth

. . . and there are other ways . .

What Amos is ranting about is the accumulation of wealth at the expense of:

the poor,
the homeless,
the hungry,
the ill,
the elderly ….

all of those who are without a voice, a protector, a way to provide for themselves.

I can imagine the merchants and nobles sitting around grousing because they could not open their shops, beating their breasts about the money they were losing, and plotting how to make up for it.

Aha, someone said,

"Let’s make the ephah small and the shekel great".

In other words, they were going to buy things with a light weight (the ephah was used as the weight when buying things and the shekel was used when selling things)and sell it with a heavy weight. In no time they would recover their losses from the holiday.

What a great idea!

Just like selling products more cheaply today…

products that are shoddy and easily fall apart,
and are made by someone on a poverty wage in a foreign country . . .

a practice that is also taking away the jobs of some of our neighbors
. . . causing them to need cheaper and cheaper products;
. . .an endless cycle demeaning honest work.

In addition, they were going to "buy the poor for silver" -- because the poor were so needy, they were going to be "righteous" and hire them for just enough money to keep them indebted. This brings to mind the old company houses that used to exist in coal mine towns or on large plantations during Reconstruction and even in Detroit in the early years of the auto industry.

It is what the World Bank is doing to many third world nations today, enabling them to only payback their interest and never any of the principle.

Were . . . and are . . . these people looking out for their neighbors . . .
or just lining their own pockets?

“And they bought the needy for the price of a pair of sandals”. . .

Think how distraught and desperate someone would have to be in order to be bought for such little money in order to have a pair of shoes to wear.

Even today the roads of the Holy Land are dusty and rocky and the weather is hot;
one must have sandals. In Biblical times, it was even more difficult to navigate those roads and paths, so sandals were an essential part of life.

How arrogant and cruel to indenture another human being for such a small thing as sandals.

Or today,

for food stamps . . .
or a used winter coat . . .
or a ramshackled tenement to live in.

But, isn’t that what we, as a society, are doing today when we hook people on welfare – giving them just enough to subsist but not enough to make a better life.

Even our soldiers risking their lives in the Middle East are only getting an average of $1500 a month in wages, forcing their wife and children to depend on their families for help just to exist.

Should Amos be railing at us about this situation?

I think he would be standing on the top of the Capitol Dome in Washington yelling his lungs out!!

Amos warns that if the Israelites don’t change their ways, there is going to be rumblings of the earth and upheavals like the flooding of the Nile. Maybe he meant

that the oppressed would rise up,
there would be much dissention and moving about in the streets,
and people would be protesting against unjust conditions.

Does any of that sound familiar?

Been watching TV lately?

God remembers the sins of the mighty against his lowly. And there will be retribution. Amos warns that all this ill-gotten gain is going to naught; it will be no more.

And they will be left monetarily poor and their souls will be bankrupt.

The righteous can always look to God for assurance, but those with no souls have no source of succor.

Individual sins and national sins will be atoned by God. And there will be retribution.

And there shall be great mourning among those who forsake righteousness for their own greed. The famine will be a famine of the soul; many times they had the opportunity to listen to the prophets calling them short, but now they are past the time of grace. Theirs will be a life of sorrow and the Kingdom of God will be taken from them.

In verse 12, Amos foretold: “They shall wander from sea to sea, from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the world of the Lord, but they shall not find it.

I want you to take a minute and consider what is going on in the Middle East right now. . . who are the greedy?

Who is trampling down the poor and needy?

Who is profiting while the majority of the people are going without water and electricity and health care?

Who is sitting in Saudi palaces or coastal mansions and sprawling ranches while their brothers and sisters are living amidst violence, disease, misery, and chaos of their making?

Have we become those to Amos’ prophecy? are we they?

Do we sit here, fat, dumb and happy, because our economy is growing due to the wealth generated by big business as it wages war? Because our earthly stock is going up?

Mark 16:9 says “lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal”.

Do we do nothing because we think we are only one person and can do nothing to affect world problems?

Do we shrug and say “it is out of our hands”?

A renown 19th century clergy, Reverend Everett Hale, said it so well:

I am only one,
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.

The Parable of the Great Feast

(delivered on 2 September 2007 at Lindley Inn Assisted Living Center, Athens, OH 2 Sep 2007)

The Gospel According to Luke (14, 1, 7-14)

In this Gospel reading, we again find Jesus teaching through a parable – but this time we get two for the price of one. But they both deal with the issue of hospitality.

Jesus is invited to Sabbath dinner at the home of a Pharisee; there are lots of important people there and they are all watching Jesus to see what he will do. These Pharisees were gathering information that will later be used in Jesus’ trial in Jerusalem.

At these feasts, the tables were usually arranged in three levels so that the most important people were at the elevated tables where they could see and be seen. When Jesus noticed that the invited guests were jockeying for the ‘best’ seats, he used a parable to speak of the quality of humility.

The people trying to get the best seats felt they deserved it because of their position/reputation. Or those people who wanted to be seen as important even if they weren’t . . . sort of guilt by association. This was the time before place cards, so there was a free-for-all as people arrived – each one trying to get the most visible and honored seat.

Jesus’ warning to them was to consider the embarrassment if the host had intended those seats for others and asked them to move.

Can you imagine how you would feel if you were seated where everyone could see you and then had to move to a lesser table?

Your ego would be deflated and you would certainly lose face in the eyes of the other guests.

But those who chose to sit in a lesser seat would not have to move -- or may even be invited by the host to sit at the higher table.

This parable speaks to the humility of God’s children. In ancient times, those seated at the lower tables were considered servants to the upper tables. So, those who chose to sit at the lower tables recognized that although they may have gifts and talents that warranted their sitting in a special place, they were humble enough to realize that these gifts and talents brought them no special treatment. They knew that service, especially service to God, was far more important than prestige.

In the second lesson, Jesus gives a warning to the host that he should not invite only his friends or people who would be obligated to return the favor, but ask those who did not have the means to invite him back in return. As is the custom today, when someone invites you to dinner, you have to reciprocate with an invitation. This is a social obligation which most people do not violate. So it becomes a tit-for-tat. If you want to be seen with prestigious people, invite them to a feast and then they will have to invite you.

But by including those who were poor, crippled, lame and blind, the host would be fulfilling Jesus’ reminder that ‘what you do for the least of these, you do to me’. There would be no expected return from the invitation.

From these parables, we are reminded that we should give back to God with those talents He has given us and we should care for those less fortunate than ourselves.

This is the way to Heaven.

Is That Door Really ‘Narrow’?

delivered on 26 August 2007 at Church of the Good Shepherd, Athens, OH

The Gospel According to Luke (13:20-33)

The readings for today suggest that not everyone is going to be saved or go to Heaven. In Isaiah, people are told that even though they thought they had their immortality guaranteed, God was going to have His will. Making deals with the Devil was not going to save them; God would rise up and to smite down those who denied him.

This is not a new story – how many time did the Israelites get too big for their own good and end up on the wrong side of God?

Let’s see:

• I remember that they wandered around for forty years because they couldn’t take directions. . .

• and I seem to remember an exile in Egypt. . .

• and one in the land north of Samaria.

Seems like they never quite learned the lesson; when things got tough, they turned away from God to something that seemed to offer more security.

In Hebrews, we are reminded that through Jesus, God has become loving God, rather than the threatening and vengeful God of the Old Testament. Through Jesus we are welcomed into the heavenly Jerusalem. This Heavenly Jerusalem is best depicted in Revelation 21 as a place where God lives with his people, where he ‘wipes away every tear’ from our eyes, there is no death, no pain or suffering, no sorrow or crying. This new city of Jerusalem is a vision that defies our imagination. This jeweled city is without a temple because God is everywhere; the Holy Spirit is always with us, and we are with other believers. And this new Jerusalem will be all that is standing when the world crumbles. Anything built on the foundation of the teachings of Jesus and God’s love will remain while all else falls. All we have to do is follow Jesus to get in; nothing else can save us.

So, according to the readings so far, we are all sitting pretty. . .

We are Christians who love Jesus and try to follow his teachings. That means we are going to be saved and live in the New Jerusalem.

Right?

Well, Not exactly!

In the Gospel, we find Jesus traveling toward the worldly Jerusalem – the place where he will suffer and be crucified. . a far cry from the picture of the New Jerusalem in Hebrews and Revelation.

Although he knew where he was headed and what was going to happen, he continued on the road, preaching whenever a group of people gathered. Here was a man walking to his own death, but assuring throngs of others that God’s love was immeasurable and eternal if they would only follow Him.

I think, had that been me, I would have been inclined to run as fast as I could in the other way. And I think most other people would have too.

But not Jesus! He trudged on down that dusty road!

As Jesus was teaching, someone wanted to know who would be saved. If you remember the Parable of the Good Samaritan, the lawyer wanted to know how to be saved. Although we have learned that salvation is for everyone, our own human foibles cause us to question our own worthiness. So this was a question that Jesus got on a regular basis. Last time, in the Good Samaritan, Jesus asked who was our neighbor. This time he gets a little more specific about who will and won’t be saved.

We can all picture that narrow door, just wide enough for some to pass through but not for others. Jesus says the door to salvation is like that. But the ‘narrow’ is not whether you are fat or skinny; the ‘narrow’ is the focus of your belief and your desire to know and follow Jesus.

We all know some very prominent ‘Christians’ who wear their faith on their sleeve like a badge of honor – who say, ‘Look at me, I am the perfect Christian’. But in their private or non-public lives they live for their own selves and gathering of riches and fame. They may be outwardly ‘godly’ but are inwardly morally corrupt.

Do you think they are going to be in Heaven?

What did Jesus say about them in the Scriptures?

We can only be saved by the grace of God through his son, Jesus. Even the most lowly can enter the door if they have a true desire to follow Jesus; no amount of wealth or influence can buy our way into God’s love. Only through acknowledging our sinfulness and accepting God’s forgiveness can we enter that door. Listening to the words of Jesus or admiring his teachings are not enough

Let’s talk a minute about the ‘narrow’ door.

The narrowness of the door refers to the commitment in our own lives to turn away from sin and walk ‘the straight and narrow’. We all slip from this path from time to time, but all is not lost. Repenting and receiving God’s forgiveness gets us back through that narrow door. As many times as we sin, are we forgiven more than that.

Jesus says that there are many who expect to be in Heaven, who will not make it and there will be some you would not expect to be there.

The reference in the Gospel of east and west, north and south suggests that no one will be excluded who believes in God.

A common interpretation of this piece of scripture by renowned theologians suggests that even those who do not know Jesus, or have acknowledged him as a great rabbi but rejected him as the Messiah will still be saved. The people of the New Jerusalem will be the true people of Israel – those who are the people of God.

One of the most often quoted Scriptures is the last of this reading: ‘the last will be first and the first will be last’.

There are going to be surprises in God’s kingdom. People who are despised on earth will be greatly honored;

• might we find that smelly, homeless man
OR
• the person with a mental illness that makes us so uncomfortable that
we cross the street to avoid them?

Some individuals highly-respected on earth will be left standing outside the door. Those with wealth, influence and materials means may find themselves outside looking in;

• how about the pastor of a large megachurch who embezzled funds because
he felt he deserved it?

Only a person’s commitment to Christ gets you through the door. And only God knows what is really in our hearts.

So, the narrow door does not bar those who are too fat to fit through, but those who are not focusing their lives on following Jesus. By narrowing our eyes to Jesus, we are given the wideness of God’s mercy as we are reminded in the old hymn, There’s A Wideness in God’s Mercy:

There's a wideness in God's mercy
like the wideness of the sea;
there's a kindness in his justice,
which is more than liberty.
There is welcome for the sinner,
and more graces for the good;
there is mercy with the Savior;
there is healing in his blood.

How strong is your commitment to following Jesus?

Will you be standing outside the gate wailing or inside eating in the kingdom of God?

Each one of us needs to search our hearts and figure out where we will be standing. We never know when the time will come. . . it may be today or tomorrow.


Let us pray:

Dear Lord, please give us the strength to admit our faults and the forgiveness of thy loving mercy to enter into thy holy kingdom.

Amen

What Kind of Samaritan Are You?

This was my first sermon at The Church of the Good Shepherd. Bill Carroll was on vacation and we couldn't get a supply priest so I officiated at a Rite II Morning Prayer.

The Gospel According to Luke (10:25-37)

Before I start, let me do a little introduction of the role of the Deacon in preaching.

For those of you who were here least Sunday, Rev David McCoy did a good job of embarrassing me, and setting some expectations that I hope I can meet. At the Anglican Academy, we preach as part of the diaconal training, but only to other diaconal students. I really would like your feedback on my sermons. This diocese has established a thing called a ‘deacon sermon’ which we are to preach. It differs from the priest’s sermon – we are supposed to make you feel a little (or lot) uncomfortable and challenge you to take action to make a difference in the world.

So, here we go!

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

Today’s Gospel of the Parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the best known of all Jesus’ parables. There probably isn’t anyone who ever attended Sunday School who can’t repeat this parable.

On the surface, this parable seems to address Jesus’ teachings that we are our brother’s keeper; we are to take care of others whenever they need help.

But there is much more in this little story than appears at first glance.

Let’s look at each of the characters:

The lawyer asks Jesus how he could have eternal life. Being a lawyer, he wanted a concrete list of "do's" that would guarantee he gets to Heaven. Jesus asks what the Jewish law says. Being a lawyer and a learned man, he recites the law:

• love the Lord with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength and all your mind;

• love your neighbor as yourself.

This fundamental law can be recited by most Christians and exists in similar form in almost all religions. It is the primary requirement for our relationship with God.

But, is being able to recite the law enough to get to Heaven?

The thieves saw an easy mark in the man on the road. They beat him, stripped him of his belongings and left him for dead. Maybe they were loving their neighbor as themselves, but I don’t think that is exactly what the law meant. Do you?

Along came a priest, someone who should be have been a living example of the law. Did he help the poor man? NO!! - he crossed the road so he would not have to see him. Whether he didn’t want to get his hands dirty or perceived he had something more important to do, he crossed to the other side of the road so he wouldn’t have to "see" him.

Enter the Levite – a member of one of the original tribes of Israel – the tribe who was responsible for religious functions. Now, wouldn’t you think that he would come to the aid of the man? After all, a Levite’s primary purpose in the community was to judge actions against the Jewish law and remind people of their obligations to God.

So, did he? NO!! – he crossed to the other side of the road so he would not have to deal with him. (Like being out of sight was out of mind – and therefore he had no responsibility).

The innkeeper saw the injured man, not as his neighbor, but as a source of revenue. Had the man appeared at this door without the Samaritan, he would have been turned away. The innkeeper had better things to do than care for a battered, bloody man who obviously had no money or means of payment. And this poor mangled man hanging around the inn would give his inn a bad name! This kind of trouble he did not need.

Then a Samaritan came along. Samaritans were the lowliest of all people to the Jews – they evolved from the intermarriage of the Jews with idol worshippers when they were exiled in the north. They were a reminder the Jews would prefer not to remember. They were so hated by the Jews that most would not even say their name.

(Did you notice that the lawyer could not bring himself to say ‘the Samaritan’ when asked by Jesus who was a neighbor)?

Samaritans were considered unclean and were to be avoided at all cost. Think about the story of Jesus and the woman at the well; remember the kind of grief he took from the disciples because he took water from her? We may not call them Samaritans today, but there are plenty of people who are outcast and marginalized that most people would cross the road to avoid. (Think about the homeless, mentally ill, non-Christians).

But are they not our neighbors?

The Samaritan, not caring that the man under any other circumstances would recoil from his touch, bandaged his wounds. Then he put him on his animal and took him to a nearby inn. . . a place where the Samaritan would probably not have been welcome, or would have had to enter through the back door (doesn't that sound familiar?) He tended the man until he had to leave; he gave the innkeeper money to see to his needs. He trusted that the innkeeper would do the right thing while he was gone; he promised to pay any additional expenses when he returned.

He was his brother’s keeper!

Where do we see ourselves in this parable?

Are we the priest or the Levite – so assured in our holiness . . . or too absorbed in our own lives?

Are we the lawyer – wanting a cookie cutter guide to Heaven, not willing to give up our own prejudices?

Or are we the Samaritan – someone who goes out on a limb, inconveniencing ourselves so that someone who has greater needs is ministered to?

Do we consider that all people are our neighbors?

Not just those who live in Athens or Columbus as I do. . . or Athens county and surrounds?

Or those who are Episcopalian . . . or Christian?

Jesus told us "the greatest of these is love" and showed us that love by his death on the cross . . . for his neighbors . . for all mankind.

There is no secret answer (even though the lawyer really wanted one). To the Samaritan, the man on the road was worth being cared for and loved.

Just as Jesus let us know by his death that all of us are worthy of dying for.

Amen.

We Are Part of the Seventy

Mini-sermon delivered at Lindley Assisted Living Center - Athens, OH on 8 July 2007

Based on Luke 10:1-12, 16-20.

Our Gospel today can be considered part of the ‘Great Commission'.

Now we all know about the twelve disciples and Jesus’ instructions for them to go out and preach the gospel. But those twelve men were not going to be able to do it all. So Jesus appointed seventy other men to go out and preach the good news of Jesus’ resurrection and our salvation.

He told those seventy to leave their homes with nothing. . . no purse, no bags and no shoes. Can you imagine walking all over Israel and Judea and the Middle East with no shoes on??

Jesus instructed them to enter a village and greet whomever they met, giving them the peace. If the people responded back, they were to stay there and preach the Gospel. If the village was not friendly, shake the dirt off their feet, leave the village with a curse warning them they would suffer more than Sodom and Gomorrah.

And we all know what happened to Sodom.

So this group of seventy men went forth and preached the good news. When they returned to Jesus, they were so proud of the things that they had accomplished. But Jesus admonished them not to take personal glory in their work, but to remember that they did it for Jesus and for God.

Just as Jesus sent out the seventy, so we are part of those seventy --- it is our job to preach the Gospel and teach the good news. To those we love, and those we know, and those we will meet in the future.

We are a part of those seventy.

Amen.