Jul 19th: Who is Rescuing Who?, with Rev. Sharon Edwards.
This Sunday we are exploring what it means to give and receive care in real life. No perfect people, just honest stories about loneliness, purpose, and the quiet ways we rescue each other.
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Who is Rescuing Who? with Rev. Sharon Edwards. Series: More Than You Think: Discovering the Parables of Jesus A Spacious Christianity, First Presbyterian Church of Bend, Oregon. Scripture: Luke 10.25–37.
Ever feel torn between wanting to help others and barely holding it together yourself? Or wonder why it can be so hard to let someone help you?
This Sunday we are exploring what it means to give and receive care in real life. No perfect people, just honest stories about loneliness, purpose, and the quiet ways we rescue each other.
Transcript:
Sharon Edwards: I have a confession. I am in love. I actually did not expect it, although I did kind of go looking for it. I’ve had a lot of changes over the past couple of years, and I’m still fairly new to Bend. And even though I know I am not alone, at times I feel lonely. I was longing for someone to hike with, someone who would welcome me home. His profile came up on Instagram right before the holidays. He needed somewhere to land during the season. He also did not want to be alone, so to my home he came. He’s smart and handsome and quite the athlete, and he stayed and stayed. At first, I thought I would just foster him, and then I adopted him, thanks to a local organization called Street Dog Hero, I have a new family member. His given name was Bennett, but that is my son’s name, so I changed it to Benny. Although when he gets in a bit of trouble, I end up calling him Bennett. Anyway, he has 60 pounds of fun, affection, and love. You do know what they say about rescue animals who get adopted, don’t you? Who is rescuing who? Jesus always had people asking him questions, and he liked to answer those questions with stories, also known as parables. A parable is not a straightforward story that tells us exactly what we are to do. Parable means something thrown alongside. a parable invites us to step into it and see where we find ourselves, our lives, even our world, and to listen to what God may be telling us in this moment. So today’s parable is so well known, we may be tempted to decide what it is all about. But let’s have some fun and see what may emerge from this ancient, famous parable in Luke chapter 10. So what happens is a lawyer asks Jesus what he must do to have eternal life. Now, for the Jews, eternal life did not mean to refer to the life after death, rather to the present moment. How do I live? How do I live now with fullness and purpose? Jesus asks him what the law says, and the lawyer knows. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus says, “You are right. Do this, and you will live. But the lawyer wasn’t finished, and pressed Jesus, “Who is my neighbor? And Jesus said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too came a Levite. When he came to the place and saw him, he passed by on the other side, but a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was, and when he saw him, he had compassion for him. The Samaritan went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denari and gave them to the innkeeper. Look after him, he said, and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have. Jesus asked the lawyer, “Who the neighbor was? And the lawyer answered, “The one who showed mercy. So let’s do. Brief rundown of the characters: First, the priest and Levite. The original hearers would know that they needed to stay pure for the temple, but there is so much said in the Allahs and the Hebrew Testament about the necessity of helping the stranger, the alien, the poor, and the sick-they are not off the hook. They erred on the side of caution rather than compassion. So much for loving the neighbor. And then there is the Samaritan, true enemies of the Jews, there was a deep-seated religious hostility toward the Samaritans for hundreds of years. They are a people group who trace their ancestry back to Jacob, and who uphold the Torah. So the original hearers, and I suppose ourselves as well, could deduct. If a lousy Samaritan can be a good neighbor, I suppose I can be one too. And yet, the original hearers could simply not comprehend being a Samaritan, and therefore being the neighbor that Jesus is describing. And perhaps it’s rather difficult for us as well. Stephen Fine, professor of Jewish history at Yeshiva University, a premier Jewish research university in New York City, writes about the Samaritans today. They are the only people to hold both Palestinian and Israeli identity cards. Samaritans are not Jews or Arabs, he writes, “they are both and neither, all at the same time. He continues, “The story of the Good Samaritan is not just about helping a stranger, but also helping and being helped by someone who looks like an enemy. Who is rescuing who? What if Jesus was inviting his listeners to consider being as compassionate as a Samaritan, but also consider they are the ones in the ditch who need help, putting themselves in the place of the victim, where to their own horror and then relief, when the one who saves them is the one they hate, or the ones they have been taught to hate. This parable can be about stopping to help those who we are taught to mistrust or stay away from. But it can also be about putting ourselves in the skin of the despairing and broken. A place where we can indeed find ourselves at various points in our own journey, can we not? And then, to swallow our pride, open and receive from someone who we don’t know, or don’t really like, or who maybe even detest. This may be more difficult than finding the grace and strength to stop and give comfort to the other. Realizing our own vulnerability and need, and gracefully receive. Who is rescuing who? I have a friend that offers free classes to people who are not getting the help they need to succeed in our society. They are considered less than in many circles, with little value to society. She teaches them with grace and humor. They tell her she treats them with respect. Now, some would call her a good Samaritan. She is lifting them out of the ditch and offering them new life. But in listening to her experience, it is also they who are rescuing her. So many people retire, she says, and lose a sense of purpose for their life. They are saving me from the time where I could just play golf, or fade away. They give me purpose. I believe God has given me this mission, and I am now a part of their community. Who rescues who? When we are the Samaritan, perhaps we are getting rescued from self-centeredness, or a hardening of the heart, or a lack of purpose. When we are the one in the ditch, perhaps we are getting rescued from an addiction, or a belief we are not worthy of help, or isolation. Who rescues who? Ultimately, it is God who works in and through this human need of giving and receiving, a necessity rhythm, a necessary rhythm, like breathing in and breathing out. This different take on this parable also reminds me of the book we are using in our caregivers connection group at the church, we are exploring not caregiving but care sharing, a perspective in a book by the same name written by Marty Richards. In care sharing, both the cared for and the carer are on equal footing. There is a reprosity, sharing and serving each other. Both are invited to learn from each other, seeing that both are still whole in spite of challenges. The dignity of both are preserved, and both are invited to see the sacred in each other. Who helps who? Who rescues who? One of my favorite spiritual practices is to look for the face of God. Sometimes it is pretty easy, and sometimes it is really hard, but it keeps me present, open-hearted, and learning. I don’t do it perfectly, but I keep trying. So, friends, that is my invitation to you-to see the face of God in the vulnerable and offer compassion, and possibly assistance that brings them life. And friends, see the face of God in those who are caring for you at this time in your life. Just as the Spirit has breathed new life into this tired old story. May the Spirit breathe new life into you.
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