Preacher's Post

10/30: Who Is My Neighbor?

Jesus answered, "There was once a man who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when robbers attacked him, stripped him, and beat him up, leaving him half dead. It so happened that a priest was going down that road; but when he saw the man, he walked on by on the other side. In the same way a Levite also came there, went over and looked at the man, and then walked on by on the other side. But a Samaritan who was traveling that way came upon the man, and when he saw him, his heart was filled with pity. He went over to him, poured oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them; then he put the man on his own animal and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Take care of him,' he told the innkeeper, 'and when I come back this way, I will pay you whatever else you spend on him.' " And Jesus concluded, "In your opinion, which one of these three acted like a neighbor toward the man attacked by the robbers?" The teacher of the Law answered, "The one who was kind to him." Jesus replied, "You go, then, and do the same."  (luke 10:29-37)

Compassion seems pretty important to Jesus.  Too bad some of his followers through the centuries have not been so compassionate.  We’ve been quick to judge and condemn the one who does not fit the norm of our cultural standards.  We push away whoever makes us feel uncomfortable.  We tend to value our interpretation of the law more than we do concern about expressing the love of Jesus.  In so many ways, it’s just easier to be the self-appointed moral police than it is to be the compassionate people of God, expressing the love of Jesus one person at a time. 

10/23: Why Forgive?

And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. Matthew 6:12

Mary Karr’s childhood was one nightmare after another, all of which she captured in her bestselling memoir Liar’s Club.  Her account is of a family that took dysfunction to an extraordinary level.  Philip Yancy cites her Texas uncle who remained married to his wife but did not speak to her for forty years after a fight over how much money she spent on sugar.  Not only did he not speak to her, but he literally sawed their house in half, boarded up the raw sides, and moved “his” half behind some scruffy pine trees on the same acre of land.  There the two, husband and wife, lived out their lives. 

Sounds crazy?  Not as crazy as we might first think.  We might not literally do something that outrageous, but in so many ways we do that figuratively as we get sideways with someone, then nurse the grudge, and ruminate on our resentment.  (Resentment means “to feel again.”)  Every significant relationship, and even tangential relationships provide a rich breeding ground for resentments as we will inevitably disappoint, let down, step on emotional toes, and deeply wound one another.  To be human is to feel hurt by another, which will leave the residual resentment which needs treatment or it will fester and kill our very souls.

The prescription is the one we know and detest.  Why forgive?  The short answer is our lives depend on it.

Haddon Robinson (pastor and author) and his wife Bonnie helped a young woman who turned around and sued them for fabricated reasons.  They had helped clean her house, and even invited her into their home for numerous dinners.  Then they were served papers informing them of her intention to sue them.  He said it felt like he’d bent down to “wash her feet, and she kicked me in the mouth.”  The suit was frivolous, but nevertheless, forced the Robinson’s to seek legal counsel and go through a very painful process before the suit was dismissed.  Haddon wrote…

Bonnie and I used to walk together and commit the situation to the Lord. In fact, every time we drive that way, Bonnie says to me, "Remember the walks we had?" I wish I could tell you I was pure and noble, but at that time, I would have been happy if this woman had gotten run over by a truck.  But love doesn't think like that. I found that as we prayed about it every day there came a time when I could no longer talk about it to the Lord. I'd say, Lord, you know what's on my heart, and you know the details. You do it. And then there came a time when I prayed, Lord, you know that I think she's done us wrong. But I may be wrong. If vengeance is necessary, you do it. And again and again I found myself thinking, I serve a God who has forgiven all of my sins, and they are many. And on the basis of that I can begin to forgive her.  I tell this story not because I'm an expert about how to show forgiveness, but I do know that when, in the power of the Spirit and the love of God, you work with it, you can take that truth about love off the page and see it work in your life.

Alfred Lord Tennyson said of Archbishop Cranmer: "To do him a hurt was to beget a kindness from him. His heart was made of such fine soil that if you planted in it the seeds of hate they blossomed love."  I want that to be true of us. And we're better at it than we think we are, because the Spirit of love lives in those who put their trust in Jesus Christ.

I am not by nature forgiving.  What I hope is happening over time, a smidgeon every day, is that I’m becoming a little bit more like Jesus, which means I might become more forgiving.  Maybe.  It’s easy to love friends, and even overlook the hurts that inevitably arise in any relationship.  The real test of my discipleship will be the BIG hurts I don’t want to, and maybe can’t forgive.  Am I willing to be willing?  That’s the question we’ll talk about on Sunday.

Now for what’s on my desk…

A note from our Youth Group~ It's time, it's time! It's time to pre-order your Christmas evergreens! October 16, 23 and 30, St. Andrew Youth Group will be in the fellowship hall to take evergreen orders (with payment). The Christmas evergreens will arrive the week of Nov 28th. You will be able to pick them up in the Fellowship Hall on Dec. 5th! The money raised will go towards Caravan 2012. Thank-you for supporting our youth!

Now you know what I know.

10/16: Forgiveness: The Unnatural Act

The Smother’s brothers made the line, “Mom always liked you best,” the go-to line in their stand up routine. The recent Time magazine cover sought to answer the question, “Why mom liked you best."  Sibling rivalry is as old as time.  As Jeffrey Kluger noted, “If there are eleven worms and twelve chicks in the nest, somebody is going hungry.”  So siblings fight for both physical and emotional survival.  But what if there is only one worm and twelve siblings, who is going to get it?  That favorite, and while this is often the eldest, the youngest one in the nest is often gifted when it comes to crafting a strategy that doesn’t rely on size or strength, but on charm and wit.