- Village Fair and 5K on August 16th (please register for race day or hybrid by July 16th to guarantee a race t-shirt)
- INC Picnic on July 27th at 1pm
- Neighbors Hot Dog and S’mores Roast on July 20th 11-2.
- August 17th, we will be joining INC at SAUMC for a Tropical Worship with a Steel Drum Band (there will be no services at CCNOT that day)
- Next Bible Study with Seth is on July 24th at 7pm (in person and via Zoom)
Watch the recording HERE. Recording posts after services are complete each Sunday (usually by noon).
To love and follow God (Universe, Spirit. Grace) is the most intimate part of a person. It is written on our hearts and in our minds. We only have to carry it out. We only have to seek Good, see the Good, and go and do likewise.
It is already within each human person to choose, to carry it out, to love with heart and soul, to go and do likewise.
Our gospel passage for this week is from Luke 10: 25-37. This is one of the ones where Jesus is being “tested” by the scholars who are hoping to catch Jesus in a mistake of words.
The first question asked is: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Of course, we are gifted eternal life, we don’t have to DO anything—although as we walk the path of Jesus and faith, we find ourselves called to act for goodness and mercy in this world).
Interestingly, this is how Jesus responds: “What is written in the law? How do you read it?”
The scholar answers:
"You shall love the Lord your God,
with all your heart,
with all your being
With all your strength,
and with all your mind;
And your neighbor as yourself."
Jesus says: Correct. Go do it.
Then, the (I imagine slightly embarrassed) scholar asks in another attempt to “catch” Jesus: “But who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replies with the familiar story of the man who fell victim to robbers. Leaving Jerusalem on a dangerous road, he was beaten, stripped, and left for dead. A priest walks by and ignores him. A levite walks by and ignores him. It is the Samaritan traveler who was moved to compassion to care for the man. It is the most unexpected of the three who steps in to offer compassion and mercy. Life is often like this; it surprises us with the unexpected.
After the story, Jesus asks, “Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robber’s victim?”
The scholar says, “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus replies, “Go and do likewise.”
Jesus says emulate the Good. Goodness is mercy and compassion. Go and do likewise.
We know this. It’s often hard to act on, but we know this.
It’s also important to remember that the Samaritans are not Jewish people. Samaritans, in fact, were considered enemies of the Jewish people. Jesus is bringing people together. Jesus is creating a bigger community. Jesus is building a bigger table. A table in which all people belong. Even the perceived “enemy”.
Notice a a few things in the passage here.
Notice in the first part Jesus says: How do YOU read it? He is asking the scholar to not just study the scripture, to not just know the law, but to understand it and turn it into wisdom and action. That’s correct, now go do this.
In the second part, Jesus tells the story and then asks the scholar: “Which of these three, in YOUR opinion, was neighbor to the robber’s victim?”
Again, Jesus is asking the scholar to not just know the law, but to understand it, and perhaps to awaken what is already written in your mouth and on your heart, you only have to carry it out.
The passage also doesn’t ask, who is YOUR neighbor. It asks, who are YOU a neighbor to? In a sense, it is asking what does it mean to BE a neighbor. What does it mean to ACT as a neighbor.
Loving with all your heart, strength, being, and mind is hard. The teaching itself is easy: Love. Love everyone. But how? Life doesn’t throw at us easy scenarios and simple life lessons, they are complex and often hard and painful. But we can learn from those who came before. We can listen to the stories, cultivate wisdom (not just knowing), and go and do likewise.
We can emulate those on the path who walk, like Jesus, with compassion, mercy, and kindness. Those that do not just know the law and the words, but act with the wisdom of the words.
When we read the stories and passages, we are often confronted with more questions than answers. We find that the more we think we know, the less we know. We find that the more we discover and uncover…the more questions we have. The more the Mystery of it all continues to unravel before us.
That unraveling is an opening. That unraveling is stunning. That unraveling is a gift. But it brings with it: More questions. More scenarios. More work. As long as we are here, walking a path of Love, we have work to do. We are called to be the hands of love in this world. We are called to walk the path of Love in the world. It is never-ending and mysterious work.
We are the ones who can change the world, one small, rippling act of love at a time. We are a part of that unraveling Mystery, unfolding and rippling into this world with small loves and mercies that become big Loves and Mercies.
The passage doesn’t ask, who is MY neighbor. It asks, who am I a neighbor to?
To ask who are MY neighbors is a much smaller circle of possibility. It is also who is beholden to me. It is a circle turning inward. To ask who I am neighbor to…widens the circle. It is a circle turning outward. It sets us up to actively seek out neighbors. To actively seek out those who need us.
It asks us to look for places where we can offer kindness, compassion, and love. It asks us to look for places where we can feed the hungry and water the thirsty (physically and metaphorically), not with pity, but with grace. It asks us to seek where we can offer mercy and justice. It asks us to seek where we can soothe the meek and the poor, not with pity, but with grace. It asks us to be of service in this world to, not just our neighbors, but to all neighbors.
It asks us to see everyone as a potential neighbor worthy of our kindness and love. And, most definitely, worthy of the Love of Grace.
Jesus is creating a bigger community. Jesus is building a bigger table. A table in which all people belong. Even the perceived “enemy”. This passage is about community building.
Go and do likewise. How big is our neighborhood? How big is our circle of ministry? Are we building, like Jesus, a bigger table? Are we welcoming and loving to all people?
To find the pearl of great value is incredibly precious, but are we ready to sell everything to follow? Yes, this is where it gets hard.
But remember, we are already gifted the love of Grace. Remember, Go and Do Likewise is an invitation. An invitation to sell everything for the pearl that is most, most precious.
An invitation to have faith in our ability to be a part of healing this world.
An invitation to have true faith that we are surrounded by a loving Universe (God, Spirit).
It is an invitation to rise and fall and rise and fall, yet again and again, and know that we will be lifted up each and every time and beyond.
Go. Do likewise. Be the one who shows mercy to the strange and the stranger.
Holy One, we give thanks to you for the gift of your eternal Love. We ask for your grace to give us the courage we need to not just find the great pearl, but to sell everything to take the pearl home into our hearts and lives. Help us to be sources of Hope and Mercy in your created world. Be with us as we struggle and fall. Be with us as we succeed in making ripples and building up our small corner on this web of life. Be with us. Amen
Community Church of North Orange & Tully 