Good Samaritan

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

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ 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. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 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. The next day he took out two denarii,^* gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.” Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’

In this story, Jesus suggests that to show one’s love for God (UP), one must show love to a stranger in need.(OUT).  I read this with a different set of eyes today.  And I noticed that Jesus’s story of the Good Samaritan has two aspects to it: 

One, Jesus contrasts priests and Levites (law-abiding, religious, faithful worshiper types---read pew sitting church goers)  with a Samaritan (read Arab Palestinian, non-Jew, aka the enemy). The former pass by on their way to temple (church/worship.)  The latter comes alongside the victim. 

Two, the Samaritan takes action—triage, ambulance, hospitalization, medical bill payment.  To follow the command to love the neighbor means to show mercy to a stranger in need.  And to show mercy is not a one-off toss of a buck in a hat.  It means to accompany, to go the extra mile, to risk and sacrifice on behalf of the other. 

 

So, here’s what I heard that applies to the dinner church movement and our desire to live on mission together.  Our UP life (love of God/worship) is practiced wholly in our OUT relationships.  Worship is not enough, especially if it prevents us from attending to the needs of our neighbors.  Dinner Church, oikos, and huddle are ways that we are called to be a church (extended family in God’s mission together.)   BUT, if we are called to love God and love our neighbors, we need to practice diakonia (service).  For some of you, this is the part of becoming church you are most interested in. Church taking action to love others with grace, hospitality, relief from suffering...   

 

This morning, I called the Good Samaritan Shelter in Ephrata (homeless shelter for women and children).  I asked them if we could come and do dinner church there on a Sunday night.  I’m hoping to go there on December 20th.  We would bring food and share the meal with the residents.  Worship would be Christmas carols and Christmas lessons (like Christmas eve worship) during the meal.  The staff is going to discuss.  But initial response was super positive.  Also, the woman I spoke to knew all about Revolution! 

 

God placed this story in front of me today. I’ve been thinking about Dinner Church and Diakonia for some time.  I’ve been interested in finding a place to offer dinner church that will also serve.  Good Samaritan Shelter might be a place.  Are you interested? 

 

How do you react/respond to this reflection?