Good Samaritan – katyandtheword

Narrative Lectionary Lent 1, Year 3 Luke

Under Construction

Food for thought: Build Knowledge and Community, not information: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFNixEuOv3L/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Lost Neighbors? God brings Strangers/Enemies/Immigrants

(Lost in shoulds, God gives us calling (To sit at the feet of Jesus is to be disciple/be called to be a rabbi)

March 9th
Lent 1
Good Samaritan/Mary and Martha
Luke 10:25-42
Psalm 15

Lost Neighbors? God brings Strangers/Enemies/Immigrants

Call to Worship (based on Psalm 15)

Come let us dwell with God
Come let us sit in God’s honesty
Let us find our deepness here
Come we want to honor imago dei in one another
May we be near each other and God
Come, let us dwell in God together

Call to Worship
Come let us find our neighbors
The big, small, near and the far
Who is our neighbor?
Come let us find our neighbor with God
Come let us build a community with God
Come let us dwell with God and neighbor today

Prayer of Confession: God we confess, sometimes we do not want to admit that those who need help are close enough to be our neighbors. However, you remind us that anyone who is helper is a neighbor. Teach us to build neighborhoods of love we pray. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon: Let us dwell in the Good News of God, God is here to forgive us so we can live in community with one another, so we know the truth: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

Prayer of Confession: God we confess that I do not always see imago dei, your image in the eyes of those human beings around us. Sometimes we find people too annoying, different or mean to find any image of God in them. And yet you remind us, there is no one who is not made in your image. Teach us, how to see humanity in your image we pray. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon: Hear the Good News, God loves us and calls us by name, so we know the truth, in Jesus Christ we are forgiven. Amen.

Prayer of Confession: God we confess we are always comparing ourselves, we are in tumult over surviving the world, like Martha. However let our anxiety not take away from the good in the world. Teach us to understand both our Mary and Martha parts we pray. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon: Jesus loves us exactly as we are, so let us dwell in the grace of Christ knowing the truth: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven. Amen

Prayer of Dedication/Day: God, may we go into the world knowing that you are inspiring us to heal, bless and find neighbors through all the gifts that we are given. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen

Children’s Story: Stone Soup Recipe: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/stone-soup/ Book https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/stone-soup-by-marcia-brown/274361/?resultid=5c371ce3-18d1-497f-b31b-a89536ac617e#edition=3803531&idiq=3865219

Lent 1 Topical Prayer

Topical Prayer: Holy God, we confess that it is much easier to see your holiness in other places—beautiful countrysides, exciting trips to lands that we deem exotic, pristine and well kept buildings. It is harder to see God in the neighborhood. We know it’s flaws too well—we are too familiar with it. Who is my neighbor God? Anyone who is close enough to annoy us. Because if they are close enough to annoy us, then we are are close enough to love and help them. You are the God who is in the details, in the dusty and complicated relationships of those closest to us. In the vast outreaching arm for those far away that we feel compassion for. Truly, you are the God that creates neighbors, even between the competing religions the Samaritans and the Hebrew Jews, the Muslims and the Christians, the black churches and the white churches. Help us to be in true conversation and relationships with one another. Because that is the only way we are getting through this. Teach us to be neighbors we pray. Amen.

For the Complete List of Narrative Lectionary Lent Resources can be found here including a way to receive a doc copy

What if the Good Samaritan was really conflicted…????

You know what, “helping” people isn’t always as clear cut as it seems. There seems to be no real way to be a “hero” in bad situations so often you are making the best decisions that you can (you know those times when there is no “right” thing to do or say, you just try to make better instead of worse decisions). Some of those choices are fun like “Should we have children?” for (most) people there isn’t a “right” answer, its just that one solution seems to be “better” than the other…

Then there are the situations where you are helping people. In helping people, its important that you are

a. actually helping (in my family we say it isn’t really helping if a person doesn’t want help–think about that in terms of life, family, addiction, etc.)

b. Setting clear and consistent boundaries (ie making sure you take on a good level of responsibility and that the other person is clear on where their responsibilities lie)

c. You can be sane after the help is given, because sanity is a really, really good thing.

This leads me to the good Samaritan story. What if the person who was left half-dead on the street had some situation where it wasn’t clear that helping him was the best thing to do…maybe it gets the helper into trouble, maybe there had been a story of someone helping a half-dead person earlier that week and getting beat up for it. What if the Good Samaritan knew he would be reviled for helping this Jew. (I think this is something like Jean Val Jean helping Javert, or maybe a Gay person-who is known to be gay-helping Rush Limbah or somesuch evangelical who categorically hated homosexuality)…

So much for being a hero, heh?

But it makes me wonder about Jesus’ call to care for our neighbors, when are we really helping them? How much are we called to sacrifice? What situations are “too much” and when are we neglecting our Godly duty to help others by crossing the street and getting on with the business of our own lives, which already loom so heavy…….