Loading...The Good Samaritan: A story only found in the Gospel of Luke but probably the best know of all of Jesus’ parables. It is now ingrained in our culture. The title “Good Samaritan” comes quickly to mind when someone has done a good deed or acts in a charitable way. We have Good Samaritan hospitals, Good Samaritan schools, Good Samaritan nursing homes.
All fifty states and many other countries have Good Samaritan laws, which are meant to protect people from being sued; people who give assistance to someone who is injured or in danger. These laws help reduce the number of bystanders who hesitate to get involved.
I know you have heard a plethora of sermons on the Good Samaritan. Some of these sermons focus on the characters of the story and ask the questions: Which one are you like? Or which one do you want to be like?
Other Good Samaritan sermons focus on the question that the Priest and the Levite who passed by on the other side of the road probably asked which was: “What will happen if I help?” And then the question is switched to what the Samaritan probably asked which was “What will happen if I don’t help?”
And still other sermons go to the question of “Who is my neighbor?”
We continue to ask “Who is my neighbor?” and we continue to get the answer; the marginalized person, the person of different-color, the person from a different culture, the old person, the young person, the person with the missing teeth, the person with the flashy car, the person we don’t like and the person we consider our enemy.
What I’ve noticed is that we seldom add our self to that list. Jesus’ commandment was to love our neighbor as our self.” He means that we are to love ourselves as well as everyone else?
Some people find that hard to do. They work hard to avoid being seen as self absorbed or self-centered. Some may find it difficult to talk about the idea of loving oneself. These people are known for always putting others first. They struggle with how and when to give grace to themselves, the same grace that they easily give to those around them. Some even feel that they are unlovable. We all need to understand that it is not only “ok” to love your self but that God expects us to love ourselves.
On the other hand, some people seem to believe that their self-worth can be measured only by how much more special they are than those around them. These self-absorbed people, pat themselves on the back, they demand and deny much of others, they seem to create unnecessary drama wherever they go. They are happy to give themselves grace, a get-out-of-jail-free card. These people need to find balance between loving themselves and loving others.
When we think of Jesus, we typically think of self-sacrifice, He voluntarily stepped into this sacrificial role, on our behalf. But we shouldn’t miss the fact that Jesus also modeled self-care and self-love. We clearly see how he cared for others how he preached, healed and taught.
We also have good examples of how he cared for himself by stepping away from the crowd and going off to be by Himself, to mourn, to pray, to be with his friends. He allowed others to serve Him meals, or anoint Him with oil. He let friends finance His ministry. He even went to parties. Jesus demonstrated a life with a balance between loving and caring for others and loving and caring for Himself.
Just thinking of the commandment to love others can open the floodgates of need and we often find ourselves drowning in the troubles of the world. We have needy neighbors all around us. It's hard to know what to do. How many can we help? How do we keep from being paralyzed by the sheer numbers that need us?
And now I’m suggesting that we have to add ourselves to the list of those we need to take care of.
With our busy schedules, we are constantly juggling relationships and responsibilities. When we don’t have a consistent and thoughtful way of doing life well, we will end up distracted and overwhelmed by life, and our spiritual and emotional needs are usually the first to be left out. We wind up scattered, hurried, reactive and exhausted. Unable to love anyone the way we want to. How can we not be exhausted by all of the need and avoid fatigue and burn out?
There is a passage in Matthew that says, “The scribe who is fit for the Kingdom goes into their treasure box and pulls out something old that becomes something new. “ (Matthew 13:52) We already have a tool in our treasure box, from the tradition of our church that goes back centuries that can help us void this fatigue and burn-out and at the same time help us find balance in all the things we have been called to do.
That tool is called “a Rule of Life”. “A Rule of Life”is a commitment to live your life in a particular way. With prayer and discernment you create your own rule based on your values and what you feel God is calling you to do. Your Rule of Life then serves as a tool to help in decision making and organizing your daily life.
The early examples of a Christian rule of life come from the monastic communities. The most well-known is the rule of St. Benedict which was created to help his community of monks reflect their faith in the habits and rhythms of their shared daily life. We don’t belong to a community that gives us a rule to follow. But many modern day Christians have returned to using this tool to counteract their busy and chaotic life styles.
A Rule of Life is an intentional, conscious plan to keep God at the center of everything we do. It is not a detailed to-do list that must be maintained. It is not a set of rigid rules to live by; rather, it is a gentle framework to guide and support us. It is meant to be simple, realistic, flexible and achievable.
Our Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry, (You may remember Bishop Curry, he was the one who gave that wonderful sermon at the royal wedding last year and made us all proud to be Episcopalians.) Bishop Curry has invited all of us to learn about and make a commitment to a rule of life that he calls “The Way of Love”. He explains that the “Way of Love” is a way of life following the practices of Jesus. It is a commitment to follow Jesus. He identifies seven practices within the Way of Love:
TURN: Pause, listen and choose to follow Jesus.
LEARN: Reflect on Scripture each day, especially on Jesus’ life and teachings.
PRAY: Dwell intentionally with God daily.
WORSHIP: Gather in community weekly to thank, praise, and dwell with God.
BLESS: Share faith and unselfishly give and serve.
GO: Cross boundaries, listen deeply and live like Jesus.
REST: Receive the gift of God’s grace, peace, and restoration.
We, at St James, will be accepting Bishop Curries” invitation to learn about the Way of Love. Later this Summer or early Fall we will be holding several sessions to explore these seven practices in depth. In the mean time you can learn about them yourself. There are videos, printed material and study guides on the Episcopal Church USA website.
I am looking forward to spending this time with you and encourage each of you to come to the sessions to learn how this rule of life, Bishop Curry’s “Way of Love” can change your life. Bishop Curry ends his invitation to us by saying, “By entering into reflection, discernment and commitment around the practices of Turn - Learn - Pray - Worship - Bless - Go - Rest, I pray we will grow as communities following the loving, liberating, life-giving way of Jesus. His way has the power to change each of our lives and to change this world. The Way of Love can help us love our neighbors as well as ourselves.
