[Oe List ...] the parable of the good Samaritan
W. J.
synergi at yahoo.com
Fri Feb 12 19:56:21 CST 2010
This sermon is on target, but perhaps doesn't quite ring the bell that allows people to 'get it.' A better 'cultural translation' of 'Samaritan' that would speak to religious homophobes might be 'scum of the earth.'
Pedagogical questions: for you, who are some of those considered the 'scum of the earth'? Do you actually know any of these people? How do you personally view them and why? Do you believe these folks are 'less' than other people? How do you imagine they are judged by the Mystery who made them? What does it mean to you to judge--or not to judge--these people?
Marshall
To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.” (1 Corinthians 4:11-13)
P.S. 'Scum of the Earth' is a heavy metal band. Also an atypical 'church' in Denver. Check 'em out on the web.
Until recently, the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches ran the aptly named Samaritan College which offered clergy training on the 'Bible college' model. These LGBT folks understand that they are the modern version of 'Samaritans' for the religious establishment. After twenty years or so of intense debate, they still couldn't get membership in the National Council of Churches.
________________________________
From: Margaret Helen Aiseayew <aiseayew at netins.net>
To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe at wedgeblade.net>
Sent: Fri, February 12, 2010 8:53:19 AM
Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] Salmon:-Who is My Neighbor
Thanks, Bill for sharing this sermon. I have been
trying for a long time with my congregation, and I have not been able to get
them beyond "love the sinner, hate the sin." (Actually, getting to the
place where most of them--not all--are willing to contemplate marginally loving
the sinner, almost seems like victory some days.) They are adamant
that this is possible--even though I have tried to outline several
"proofs" as to why that might not be so. I will be interested to hear how
this plays in your congregation. Do you have some openly gay
members? I should think that would help. I have none and feel like
we need some badly. Please pass along my thanks for their grace and guts
if you do. Margaret
----- Original Message -----
>From: William Salmon
>To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
>Sent: Thursday, February 11, 2010 10:24
> AM
>Subject: [Oe List ...] Salmon:-Who is My
> Neighbor
>
>
>Friends
> and colleagues –
>
> This is a sermon delivered last Sunday by Barry Dundas, the Sr. Pastor at
> SalinaTrinityUnitedMethodistChurch. This is a
> masterpiece on the topic of homosexuality (our most painful topic in the UMC,
> and the most neglected) and it needs to be shared. What do you think?
>
>Bill
> Salmon
>
>Who
> is My Neighbor?
>A sermon preached > February 7, 2010
>By Rev. Barry Dundas
>At Trinity United
> Methodist
> Church
>Salina ,
> Kansas
>
>In 2007 I was elected as
> an alternate delegate to Jurisdictional Conference of the
> United
> Methodist
> Church . The Jurisdictional
> Conference has one primary function, to elect new Bishops. Of course we don’t
> know most of candidates, but the church has a process to help us with our
> work. We have the endorsed candidates fill out lots of paperwork answering
> “Bishopy” type questions. Then they meet with each
> delegation for interviews. Over two days we had interviews with nine
> candidates for three Bishop vacancies. It was a
> fascinating experience. The written work included a specific question about
> the inclusive nature of church. Of course all of the candidates supported
> inclusiveness. It is central to our theology that God loves all people. If
> you speak against inclusiveness then you are not
> going to be elected Bishop. What I found interesting is that most of the
> candidates mentioned things like gender, ethnicity or economic inclusiveness,
> but never mentioned homosexuality. Only one candidate that I remember
> addressed homosexuality in his paperwork. He wrote that he believed the issues
> around homosexuality are possibly the most painful issues in our church. A few
> sentences later he followed it up by saying, “However I support the current
> statements of the United
> Methodist
> Church .”
>
>This was a great
> opportunity to ask what I thought was an intelligent question. When you are
> interviewing Bishop candidates, the last thing you
> want to do is ask a dumb question. I thanked him for having the courage to
> acknowledge the pain surrounding the issue of homosexuality when many of his
> colleagues did not. I even went further by saying that I believed the church
> has often been the source of the pain to which he nodded in agreement. Then I
> asked him my big question, “How do reconcile acknowledging the tremendous pain
> around this issue and your statement that the church should not change
> anything, that we should just keep the status quo?” I have to admit that I was
> quite proud of myself. I wanted to yell out Bazinga!
> His response was very short, “We can’t change anything, we would lose too many members.” That was not the answer I
> expected, at least not from a Bishop candidate. I thought he at least would
> give me some kind of theological argument. That I could respect, even if I
> disagreed with him. At least show me that you have wrestled with the question,
> you might be my next Bishop.
>
>You see I believe he had
> at least one thing right, homosexuality may be most painful issue in the
> church today, and often the church has been the source of that pain. One of
> our church members has adult daughter who is gay. He shared with me that she
> refuses to go to a church. Even though she was raised in the church and still
> believes, she has received so much abuse from church that she cannot even walk
> in the doors. As she puts it, she has endured all the Christian love she can
> stomach. I asked many of my gay and lesbian friends where the church has
> missed the point on this issue. There answers were very consistent – judgment.
> They tell me the church preaches against judgment and claims that Christians
> should not judge, but when they come to a church, that is the message they
> hear. They are told over and over, you are not worthy to be here, you are not
> acceptable to God. I think we need to be honest; the church has done more
> damage than good on this issue. Why is that? Maybe we have forgotten something
> that is central to our faith.
>
>Two weeks ago we handed
> out Bibles to our third graders. It was a great day. As members of their
> church family, you were asked to circle your favorite verses and place your
> initials beside them. It took me awhile to choose my favorite verse because
> there are too many. Finally I choose the passage in Matthew where Jesus is
> asked, what is the greatest commandment? He replies, “Love the Lord your God
> with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all
> your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is
> like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments
> hang all the law and the prophets.” I tell you, if I could just do these two,
> I would be happy. It is about loving God with everything in your being,
> centering yourself on God and God’s purposes, but also loving your neighbor.
> The two cannot be separated, they are too connected. If we love God, than we
> must love our neighbors.
>
>That is my favorite
> passage, but I also love what Luke does with this commandment. Unlike Matthew
> or Mark, Jesus does not give the commandment. A lawyer comes and asks him the
> question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” In other words, what is
> central to life with God? Jesus asks what is written and it is the lawyer who
> responds with the commandment. Jesus just confirms that he got it right and
> then the lawyer makes his mistake. Wanting to justify himself he asks, “Who is
> my neighbor?” What he is really asking is who is not included, who do I not
> have to love? Jesus answers by telling the Good Samaritan story, one of the
> most powerful yet scandalous parables in the
> Bible.
>
>The story is about a man
> who is beaten and robbed on a dangerous road between
> Jericho and
> Jerusalem . The first two passersby
> are religious leaders. Not only do they ignore him, they distance themselves
> from the man. Like the Bishop candidate, they acknowledge his pain but are too
> afraid to do anything about it. The Samaritan however not only stops, but acts
> to bring healing to the wounded individual. To understand this parable we must
> first acknowledge that to a first century Jew, Good Samaritan would be an
> oxymoron. They saw absolutely nothing good in any Samaritans and the feeling
> from the Samaritans was mutual. Their history went back nearly 500 years to
> the time of the Babylonian exile. When the Jews were taken to
> Babylon , not everyone was taken,
> only the Jewish leadership and the people with power. Many were left behind on
> the land. And who were these people who were left behind? They were the
> nobodies of society, the unimportant and the powerless. Some who lived in area
> of Samaria continued to live there
> and intermarry with people outside the Jewish faith. When the Jews returned
> from exile, they decided that these Samaritans no longer counted. They were
> half bloods, a mixed race that had diluted the pure faith. Even though they
> still worshipped the same God and practiced Torah, these people were
> unacceptable to the “real Jews.” After 500 years, you can see how this
> animosity would have grown.
>
>For Jesus to make a
> Samaritan the hero was scandalous, but it also made his point. When he asked
> the lawyer who was the neighbor, the lawyer only had one possible answer, “The
> one who showed mercy.” Jesus tells him to go and do likewise. The answer to
> his question, “Who is my neighbor?” is very clear. Everyone is your neighbor.
> Not just those who look like you or act like you. Nobody is outside of God’s
> love. If you want to love God then you must love all of God’s
> people.
>
>It is very clear to me
> that our homosexual brothers and sisters are the Samaritans of our time and
> place. For a long time they have been told that they are nobodies, people who
> don’t count, who are unacceptable in God’s church. They have heard the message
> loud and clear, “You are not our neighbors!” How does
> this happen in God’s church? How have we forgotten our greatest
> commandment?
>
>Brian McLaren tells a
> powerful story of the church he served. His church had an e-mail listserv that
> was used to discuss issues of faith. For many weeks they had a lively
> discussion on the issue of homosexuality. A man in his congregation who
> struggled with his own sexual orientation confided in Brian. He wanted to post
> a message explaining what it feels like to hear messages like “hate the sin,
> love the sinner.” However he could not break his anonymity, it would be too
> risky and too painful. To preserve his identity he asked Brian to post his
> message with the pseudonym pain. He sent Brian the message to post, but when
> he copied the message he also copied the return path at the bottom. It
> included both his real name and his return e-mail address. Brian had no idea
> until someone called and told him. Mortified he the
> called man and rushed to his house. He found the man weeping with his family.
> Brian said that he died inside at that moment. They talked and prayed. Brian
> apologized to his friend and miraculously he forgave Brian. Brian concludes
> his story by saying, “Still, the fact remains that a homosexual man whom I had
> hurt so deeply was far more merciful to me than most churches are to
> homosexuals.”
>
>We can no longer just
> acknowledge the pain. We have been walking on the other side of the road far
> too long. We have not lived our greatest commandment, to love God and to love
> our neighbors. At the end of the story Jesus tells the man, “Go and do
> likewise.” Love your neighbor – all your neighbors, just as God loves them. It
> is time to stop living out of our fear and to start living through God’s
> love.
>
>
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