Minister: Rev. Olon M. Lindemood

Luke 10: 25 -37

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

25 Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus.* ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ 26 He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ 27 He answered, ‘You shall 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 your neighbour as yourself.’ 28 And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’

29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ 30 Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii,* gave them to the inn keeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.” 36 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ 37 He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’

Jesus simply says:  “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.” And at the end of the story Jesus says, “go and do likewise!”

So here we are today, January (7) Sunday the 8^th.  We turn to Jesus at the beginning of a new era.  Jesus What do we have to do to inherit eternal life?  It is our question too!

“Love the lord your God With all your heart, soul, strength and mind and your neighbor as yourself.”

Well… There you go! 

But friends, if only we could measure those things… here we are today, in the reality of the changes of our lives. 

Individually, some are confronted with no jobs;

some, no families;

some, no security;

some, no purpose;

some, no hope.

Collectively, we are the body of Christ, the family of God, the people of Sunrise Church:

In the past several years,

we have lost vision,

we have lost pastors,

we have lost music leaders,

we have lost spiritual friends,

we have lost a building,

we have lost our space and time to worship.

 Lord, we have lost… and now we turn to you and ask… “What must we do to inherit Eternal life?”

We know the answer: “love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind. And our neighbor as ourselves.”

And oh … thanks for the story… we feel like the man who feel among robbers and who is left by the side of the road…

We look up … oh Good… it is a priest!  Oh Good … it is the Pastor …  Oh Good… it is that paid staff member is paid to be good… (and we watch and our hearts sink as that one … goes by on the other side of the road…)  Oh no… oh no… oh no…

We look up again… Oh Good.  It is my mentor in the faith … Oh Good… it is family of God people … Oh good…it is the Levite that is born to help … Oh good!

(and we watch and our hearts sink as that one … goes by on the other side of the road…) oh no. oh no. oh no.

We look up… oh no… not that person.  Oh no… please not the one I don’t like.  Oh no… my mind is made up that some people are no good and can’t ever help.  Oh no…  (and we watch and our hearts feel lifted, and our body is mended) Oh God, Oh God, Oh God!

Jesus says, “Go and do likewise!”

Go and do likewise…

Wow … here  we are … feeling tired weary and worn and Jesus reminds us to get up and go and do likewise…

Go and take care of the wounded … lift the broken hearted and … and make it possible for Christ’s love to rule and reign!

The Samaritan stepped up and used all resources to get the wounded man back to a safe place.

That is our calling … that is our position… to use all our resources to Love God with heart, soul, strength and mind and our neighbors as our selves!”  Grounded in the generosity that makes it possible for our lives to be faithful to Christ!

Grounded in generosity as we make Sunrise Church a safe place for us to be in Jesus presence. 

It could have ended that day for many reasons… for families for wounded lives … But there are moments when it is time to keep living …   for a year there has been healing … they are gathering to remember that the Lord pulls us out of ditches … the Lord offers provision for the wounded … the Lord overcomes the violence of human days… and new conviction can be born.

Friends, today, we, grounded in generosity join the echo of Sunrise People from the very beginning.  And we say, Yes… we can make provision for the lost , the broken, the afraid, the lonely … For it is Christ Jesus that we turn and offer our heart, soul, strength and mind…

We work together for the sake of Christ to make room for the people who do not fit inside the walls … for those who have not found a way to trust God.  And we know that the more.

Let it be so …

Let it be so …