Sundays at All Hallows (Sunday, October 29, 2023)
A number of Christian traditions celebrate the last Sunday of October as Reformation Sunday, marking the occasion in 1517 when Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany.
In the England a forerunner of the Reformation was John Wycliffe in the 14th century.
Wycliffe recognized and put into words one of the two key principles of the Reformation—the unique place of the Bible in the belief and life of the Christian.
Wycliffe also championed the translation of the Bible into English. He and his followers would produce an English translation of the Latin Bible, the Vulgate.
Wycliffe’s writings would influence Jan Hus whose sermons would in turn influence Luther.
GATHERING IN GOD’S NAME
Worship the LORD in all his holy splendor. Let all the earth tremble before him. Psalm 96:9
Open our lips, O Lord,
and we shall declare your praise.
This is the day the Lord has made,
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Dyla and Larisa Peacock’s setting of Psalm 100, “Make a Joyful Noise.”
Make a joyful noise to the Lord all the earth
Gladly lift your voice to the Lord all the earth
Come into His presence with singing
For the Lord is good, His love endures forever
For the Lord is good, He is always faithful
Enter in His gates with thankful hearts all the earth
And in His courts with praise on your lips all the earth
Give your thanks to Him and bless His name
For the Lord is good, His love endures forever
For the Lord is good, He is always faithful
For the Lord is good, His love endures forever
For the Lord is good, He is always faithful
Know that the Lord, He is God
And it is He who has made us
We are His, His people
The precious sheep of His pasture
Know that the Lord, He is God
And it is He who has made us
We are His, His people
The precious sheep of His pasture
For the Lord is good, His love endures forever
For the Lord is good, He is always faithful
For the Lord is good, His love endures forever
For the Lord is good, He is always faithful
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us.
But if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just,
and will forgive ours sins
and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Silence
So let us draw near to God with sincerity and confidence, as we pray,
God of all mercy,
We humbly admit that we need your help.
We have wandered from your way.
We have sinned in thought, word, and deed,
And have failed to do what is right.
You alone can save us.
Have mercy on us,
Wipe out our sins and teach us to forgive others.
Bring forth in us the fruit of your Spirit
That we may live the new life to your glory.
This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.
God desires that none should perish,
but that all should turn to Christ, and live.
In response to his call, we acknowledge our sins.
God pardons those who humbly repent and truly believe
the gospel.
Therefore we have peace with God, through Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good.
His steadfast love endures forever.
Wycliffe’s writings would influence Jan Hus whose sermons would in turn influence Luther.
GATHERING IN GOD’S NAME
Worship the LORD in all his holy splendor. Let all the earth tremble before him. Psalm 96:9
Open our lips, O Lord,
and we shall declare your praise.
This is the day the Lord has made,
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Dyla and Larisa Peacock’s setting of Psalm 100, “Make a Joyful Noise.”
Make a joyful noise to the Lord all the earth
Gladly lift your voice to the Lord all the earth
Come into His presence with singing
For the Lord is good, His love endures forever
For the Lord is good, He is always faithful
Enter in His gates with thankful hearts all the earth
And in His courts with praise on your lips all the earth
Give your thanks to Him and bless His name
For the Lord is good, His love endures forever
For the Lord is good, He is always faithful
For the Lord is good, His love endures forever
For the Lord is good, He is always faithful
Know that the Lord, He is God
And it is He who has made us
We are His, His people
The precious sheep of His pasture
Know that the Lord, He is God
And it is He who has made us
We are His, His people
The precious sheep of His pasture
For the Lord is good, His love endures forever
For the Lord is good, He is always faithful
For the Lord is good, His love endures forever
For the Lord is good, He is always faithful
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us.
But if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just,
and will forgive ours sins
and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Silence
So let us draw near to God with sincerity and confidence, as we pray,
God of all mercy,
We humbly admit that we need your help.
We have wandered from your way.
We have sinned in thought, word, and deed,
And have failed to do what is right.
You alone can save us.
Have mercy on us,
Wipe out our sins and teach us to forgive others.
Bring forth in us the fruit of your Spirit
That we may live the new life to your glory.
This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.
God desires that none should perish,
but that all should turn to Christ, and live.
In response to his call, we acknowledge our sins.
God pardons those who humbly repent and truly believe
the gospel.
Therefore we have peace with God, through Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good.
His steadfast love endures forever.
Grace and peace be with you
and also with you.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Tilly Lubis’ paraphrase of Psalm 148, “Hallelujah! Sing Praise to Your Creator.”
Hallelujah! Sing praise to your Creator,
sun, moon, and stars and angels above.
Praise the Lord, whose word established the heavens,
who upholds all the earth in power and love.
God reigns on high, let the heavens rejoice!
God reigns on high, let the heavens rejoice!
Praise the Lord, all mountains and oceans,
rolling thunder and wind and storm clouds on high.
Praise the Lord, your Maker, all living creatures,
all the beasts in the fields and birds in the sky.
Both young and old, come and join in the song!
Both young and old, come and join in the song!
Give to God all glory and honor.
From the depths to the heights let praises resound
to the Lord, the source of strength and salvation
for all people on whom God’s favor is found.
Praise God, you saints who are claimed as God’s own!
Praise God, you saints who are claimed as God’s own!
THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD
Heavenly Father,
give us wisdom and understanding.
As we listen to your Word,
may we know you better,
love you more,
and learn to please you in all we do;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
A reading from the Old Testament (Leviticus 19:1–2, 15–18)
The Lord also said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.
“Do not twist justice in legal matters by favouring the poor or being partial to the rich and powerful. Always judge people fairly.
“Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people.
“Do not stand idly by when your neighbour’s life is threatened. I am the Lord.
“Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin.
“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord.
Silence
Hear the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Michael Joncas’ choral arrangement of Timothy Dudley Smith’s hymn, “Not for Tongues of Heaven’s Angels.”
1. Not for tongues of heaven's angels,
not for wisdom to discern,
not for faith that masters mountains,
for this better gift we yearn.
May love be ours, O Lord;
may love be ours.
May love be ours, O Lord.
2. Love is humble; love is gentle;
love is tender, true and kind;
love is gracious, ever patient,
generous of heart and mind.
May love be ours, O Lord;
may love be ours.
May love be ours, O Lord.
3. Never jealous, never selfish,
love will not rejoice in wrong;
never boastful, nor resentful,
love believes and suffers long.
May love be ours, O Lord;
may love be ours.
May love be ours, O Lord.
4. Soon will fade the word of wisdom
faith and hope be one day past:
When we see our Savior clearly
love it is alone will last.
May love be ours, O Lord;
may love be ours.
May love be ours, O Lord.
A reading from the New Testament (1 Thessalonians 2:1–8)
You yourselves know, dear brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not a failure. You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare his Good News to you boldly, in spite of great opposition. So you can see we were not preaching with any deceit or impure motives or trickery.
For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts. Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you well know. And God is our witness that we were not pretending to be your friends just to get your money! As for human praise, we have never sought it from you or anyone else.
As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you, but instead we were like children among you. Or we were like a mother feeding and looking after her own children. We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.
Silence
Hear the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
A reading from the New Testament (Matthew 22:34–46)
But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus asked them a question: “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
They replied, “He is the son of David.”
Jesus responded, “Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah ‘my Lord’? For David said,
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit in the place of honour at my right hand
until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’*
Since David called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?”
No one could answer him. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Silence
Hear the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Michael Perry’s paraphrase of the Benedictus, “Blessed Be the God of Israel.”
1 Blessed be the God of Israel
who comes to set us free;
who visits and redeems us,
who grants us liberty.
The prophets spoke of mercy,
of rescue and release:
God shall fulfill the promise
to bring our people peace.
2 Now from the house of David
a child of grace is given;
a Savior who comes among us
to raise us up to heaven
Before him goes the herald,
forerunner in the way,
the prophet of salvation,
the harbinger of day.
3 On prisoners of darkness
the sun begins to rise,
the dawning of forgiveness
upon the sinner's eyes;
to guide the feet of pilgrims
along the paths of peace:
O bless our God and Savior,
with songs that never cease!
When I was a young boy in primary school, my grandfather bought a cottage and acreage in Suffolk, and my mother, my older brother and I moved with my grandparents to the village of Ilketshall St Andrew. Our closest neighbors were two elderly ladies who shared a cottage next door to Rosecott, which was the name of the cottage in which we lived. Their cottage was a double. They each occupied one side of the cottage. I don’t know how long they had lived there. One thing that I did learn was that they did not get along with each other. The woman who lived in the side of the cottage nearest to our cottage was easily triggered and got angry or upset over small things. The woman who lived in the side of the cottage farthest from ours, at first impression appeared to be a sweet old lady, more amiable than her neighbor who kept to herself. We quickly became aware that she had a mischievous side and would deliberately provoke her neighbor.
The two women did not openly feud with each other, but they did things that would annoy each other like throwing soapy water into one another’s front garden. They did not speak to each other, but they would run outside their side of the cottage and make remarks about their neighbor in a very loud voice which their neighbor could not help but hear.
How long they had been interacting with each other in this way, I have no idea. Their cottage, like ours, was on the edge of the Great Common. There were no other cottages nearby. Except for an occasional visit from the son of the woman living in the side nearest our cottage, they rarely had visitors.
While we lived at Rosecott, my family did our best to get along with our two neighbors. We also did our best to get along with our neighbors wherever we lived.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Tilly Lubis’ paraphrase of Psalm 148, “Hallelujah! Sing Praise to Your Creator.”
Hallelujah! Sing praise to your Creator,
sun, moon, and stars and angels above.
Praise the Lord, whose word established the heavens,
who upholds all the earth in power and love.
God reigns on high, let the heavens rejoice!
God reigns on high, let the heavens rejoice!
Praise the Lord, all mountains and oceans,
rolling thunder and wind and storm clouds on high.
Praise the Lord, your Maker, all living creatures,
all the beasts in the fields and birds in the sky.
Both young and old, come and join in the song!
Both young and old, come and join in the song!
Give to God all glory and honor.
From the depths to the heights let praises resound
to the Lord, the source of strength and salvation
for all people on whom God’s favor is found.
Praise God, you saints who are claimed as God’s own!
Praise God, you saints who are claimed as God’s own!
THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD
Heavenly Father,
give us wisdom and understanding.
As we listen to your Word,
may we know you better,
love you more,
and learn to please you in all we do;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
A reading from the Old Testament (Leviticus 19:1–2, 15–18)
The Lord also said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.
“Do not twist justice in legal matters by favouring the poor or being partial to the rich and powerful. Always judge people fairly.
“Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people.
“Do not stand idly by when your neighbour’s life is threatened. I am the Lord.
“Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin.
“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord.
Silence
Hear the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Michael Joncas’ choral arrangement of Timothy Dudley Smith’s hymn, “Not for Tongues of Heaven’s Angels.”
1. Not for tongues of heaven's angels,
not for wisdom to discern,
not for faith that masters mountains,
for this better gift we yearn.
May love be ours, O Lord;
may love be ours.
May love be ours, O Lord.
2. Love is humble; love is gentle;
love is tender, true and kind;
love is gracious, ever patient,
generous of heart and mind.
May love be ours, O Lord;
may love be ours.
May love be ours, O Lord.
3. Never jealous, never selfish,
love will not rejoice in wrong;
never boastful, nor resentful,
love believes and suffers long.
May love be ours, O Lord;
may love be ours.
May love be ours, O Lord.
4. Soon will fade the word of wisdom
faith and hope be one day past:
When we see our Savior clearly
love it is alone will last.
May love be ours, O Lord;
may love be ours.
May love be ours, O Lord.
A reading from the New Testament (1 Thessalonians 2:1–8)
You yourselves know, dear brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not a failure. You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare his Good News to you boldly, in spite of great opposition. So you can see we were not preaching with any deceit or impure motives or trickery.
For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts. Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you well know. And God is our witness that we were not pretending to be your friends just to get your money! As for human praise, we have never sought it from you or anyone else.
As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you, but instead we were like children among you. Or we were like a mother feeding and looking after her own children. We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.
Silence
Hear the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
A reading from the New Testament (Matthew 22:34–46)
But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus asked them a question: “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
They replied, “He is the son of David.”
Jesus responded, “Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah ‘my Lord’? For David said,
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit in the place of honour at my right hand
until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’*
Since David called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?”
No one could answer him. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Silence
Hear the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Michael Perry’s paraphrase of the Benedictus, “Blessed Be the God of Israel.”
1 Blessed be the God of Israel
who comes to set us free;
who visits and redeems us,
who grants us liberty.
The prophets spoke of mercy,
of rescue and release:
God shall fulfill the promise
to bring our people peace.
2 Now from the house of David
a child of grace is given;
a Savior who comes among us
to raise us up to heaven
Before him goes the herald,
forerunner in the way,
the prophet of salvation,
the harbinger of day.
3 On prisoners of darkness
the sun begins to rise,
the dawning of forgiveness
upon the sinner's eyes;
to guide the feet of pilgrims
along the paths of peace:
O bless our God and Savior,
with songs that never cease!
Love Your Neighbor as Yourself
When I was a young boy in primary school, my grandfather bought a cottage and acreage in Suffolk, and my mother, my older brother and I moved with my grandparents to the village of Ilketshall St Andrew. Our closest neighbors were two elderly ladies who shared a cottage next door to Rosecott, which was the name of the cottage in which we lived. Their cottage was a double. They each occupied one side of the cottage. I don’t know how long they had lived there. One thing that I did learn was that they did not get along with each other. The woman who lived in the side of the cottage nearest to our cottage was easily triggered and got angry or upset over small things. The woman who lived in the side of the cottage farthest from ours, at first impression appeared to be a sweet old lady, more amiable than her neighbor who kept to herself. We quickly became aware that she had a mischievous side and would deliberately provoke her neighbor.
The two women did not openly feud with each other, but they did things that would annoy each other like throwing soapy water into one another’s front garden. They did not speak to each other, but they would run outside their side of the cottage and make remarks about their neighbor in a very loud voice which their neighbor could not help but hear.
How long they had been interacting with each other in this way, I have no idea. Their cottage, like ours, was on the edge of the Great Common. There were no other cottages nearby. Except for an occasional visit from the son of the woman living in the side nearest our cottage, they rarely had visitors.
While we lived at Rosecott, my family did our best to get along with our two neighbors. We also did our best to get along with our neighbors wherever we lived.
My grandparents and my mother not only behaved in a pleasant, kind way toward their neighbors but they also lent a helping hand when one was needed. I did not realize it at the time but what I was learning from them was what it is like to be neighborly, to be disposed to be friendly and helpful to one’s neighbors. They did not talk a lot about neighborliness, but they clearly practiced it. My mother was surprised when she received the good neighbor award from the local radio station here in Kentucky. A neighbor who lived down the street from her had nominated her for the award because of her friendly and helpful attitude toward her neighbors even though she was only a summer resident of the neighborhood.
Neighborliness is one of the ways that we embody the second commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
In reply to the question of an expert in the religious law, Jesus told the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). In this parable it is a despised Samaritan who does not stand by idle when a neighbor’s life is threatened but cares for an injured man, a Judaean, whom robbers had stripped, beaten, and left for dead on the road to Jericho. The man’s fellow Judaeans, a priest of the Temple at Jerusalem and a Levite, a Temple assistant, had crossed to the other side of the road, fearful that they might touch a dead body and make themselves ritually unclean, and had gone on their way. At the conclusion of the story Jesus asked, the expert in the religious law which of the three was a neighbor to the injured man. The expert in the religious law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus then instructed him to go and do likewise.
This story has nuances that warrant our attention. The Samaritans were the descendants of the people of Israel who had lived in the northern kingdom of Samaria and which the Assyrians had conquered. While the Judeans, the descendants of the people of Israel living in the southern kingdom of Judaea and in the city of Jerusalem, considered them a mongrel race, they were closely related to the Judeans. Their main differences were religious. The Samaritans were not pagans. They also worshiped God. However, they did not believe that Jerusalem was the site that God and ordained for his Temple nor did they recognize the Books of the Prophets as a part of the Bible. They further believed that the religion of the Judeans had become corrupt while they were in captivity in Babylon. This had resulted in hard feelings between them and the Judeans. The Samaritan of the parable would have been familiar with the commands that God gave to Moses, and which are recorded in the Book of Leviticus. He is the Israelite in the story who is keeping God’s commandment to be merciful.
"Someone who is merciful is willing to be kind to and forgive people who are in their power," according to the Cambridge Dictionary. The injured man of the parable is certainly in the power of the Samaritan. Like the two Judeans who proceeded him, he could have easily crossed to the other side of the road and gone on his way, leaving the injured man to his fate. After all, the man is a Judean and Judeans hate Samaritans. However, he does not hold that against the injured man. When we forgive someone, we do not hold against them what they may have done. He is not letting the unpleasant things which happened between the Samaritans and Judeans influence his actions. He does not see the injured man as an enemy but a neighbor in distress. He feels compelled to help the injured man. He shows kindness to the injured man, treating his wounds, putting him on his donkey, taking him to a hostelry, and paying for his care. This is how Jesus is telling us to think and act not just when we come across someone in trouble or need, but in our everyday transactions with the people around us no matter who they are. We are to treat them with kindness and forgiveness.
Loving our neighbor as ourselves has always been a challenge for Christians. As human beings we are apt to be suspicious and distrustful of anyone outside our social bubble. This is attributable to the negativity bias that psychologists tell us is hardwired into our brains, the proclivity to think the worst of other people and to expect the worst from them. It is also attributable to the affinity bias, “the tendency to favor people who share the same interests, backgrounds, and experiences with us.” Due to this bias we tend to feel more comfortable around people who resemble ourselves. We also tend to unconsciously reject people who do not speak, act, or look like we do. These are just two biases that people have in common, and which affect their judgment. Each of us has our own particular set of biases and fears.
The polarization of our society in the last two decades has not helped. People are clustering together into competitive groups over a variety of political and social issues, are taking hardline positions, are making no allowance for differences of opinion or cooperation, are demonizing those on the other side of an issue and are going to great lengths to distancing themselves from them. The ranks of online and offline influencers who spend their time seeking to exploit people’s biases and stoke people’s fears for their own ends have grown.
Loving others, however, is an integral part of following Jesus. Jesus treated people with kindness and forgiveness. I do not see how we can regard as ourselves as a disciple of Jesus unless we do likewise. It is testimony to our faith in Jesus. I do not see how we can say that we believe in Jesus if we ignore what he taught and did.
In identify what has come to be known as the two greatest commandments as the basis of “the entire law and all the demands of the prophets,” Jesus is giving particular weight to these two commandments. With the Parable of the Good Samaritan, he makes it clear that loving our neighbor as ourselves is not confined to loving people in our social bubble or to people like us. It includes people of whom we may have a negative opinion or with whom we feel no affinity.
Where does today’s reading from Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians fit in? The last verse of the reading provides the clue. “We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.” Among the ways that we love others is that we tell them about Jesus, and we share our lives with them. We take a genuine interest in them. We make time for them. We provide them with emotional support. We are there when they need someone by their side, or they need help. If they have a different language and customs from our own, we take the time to learn their language and customs.
Because loving others is such important part of being a disciple of Jesus, a good practice is to do a self-assessment of the ways that we may be keeping ourselves from being more loving toward other. After considering what may be holding us back, identify what we need to change and the steps we need to take to change it. Pray for God’s grace to help us take those steps and then, trusting God to provide us with that grace, take the first step. And the next.
Walking with Jesus as his disciple is a lifelong endeavor. While we may not see him, Jesus is there with us, walking at our side. He was promised to be with his followers until the end of the age, and Jesus keeps his promises.
Silence
Neighborliness is one of the ways that we embody the second commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
In reply to the question of an expert in the religious law, Jesus told the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). In this parable it is a despised Samaritan who does not stand by idle when a neighbor’s life is threatened but cares for an injured man, a Judaean, whom robbers had stripped, beaten, and left for dead on the road to Jericho. The man’s fellow Judaeans, a priest of the Temple at Jerusalem and a Levite, a Temple assistant, had crossed to the other side of the road, fearful that they might touch a dead body and make themselves ritually unclean, and had gone on their way. At the conclusion of the story Jesus asked, the expert in the religious law which of the three was a neighbor to the injured man. The expert in the religious law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus then instructed him to go and do likewise.
This story has nuances that warrant our attention. The Samaritans were the descendants of the people of Israel who had lived in the northern kingdom of Samaria and which the Assyrians had conquered. While the Judeans, the descendants of the people of Israel living in the southern kingdom of Judaea and in the city of Jerusalem, considered them a mongrel race, they were closely related to the Judeans. Their main differences were religious. The Samaritans were not pagans. They also worshiped God. However, they did not believe that Jerusalem was the site that God and ordained for his Temple nor did they recognize the Books of the Prophets as a part of the Bible. They further believed that the religion of the Judeans had become corrupt while they were in captivity in Babylon. This had resulted in hard feelings between them and the Judeans. The Samaritan of the parable would have been familiar with the commands that God gave to Moses, and which are recorded in the Book of Leviticus. He is the Israelite in the story who is keeping God’s commandment to be merciful.
"Someone who is merciful is willing to be kind to and forgive people who are in their power," according to the Cambridge Dictionary. The injured man of the parable is certainly in the power of the Samaritan. Like the two Judeans who proceeded him, he could have easily crossed to the other side of the road and gone on his way, leaving the injured man to his fate. After all, the man is a Judean and Judeans hate Samaritans. However, he does not hold that against the injured man. When we forgive someone, we do not hold against them what they may have done. He is not letting the unpleasant things which happened between the Samaritans and Judeans influence his actions. He does not see the injured man as an enemy but a neighbor in distress. He feels compelled to help the injured man. He shows kindness to the injured man, treating his wounds, putting him on his donkey, taking him to a hostelry, and paying for his care. This is how Jesus is telling us to think and act not just when we come across someone in trouble or need, but in our everyday transactions with the people around us no matter who they are. We are to treat them with kindness and forgiveness.
Loving our neighbor as ourselves has always been a challenge for Christians. As human beings we are apt to be suspicious and distrustful of anyone outside our social bubble. This is attributable to the negativity bias that psychologists tell us is hardwired into our brains, the proclivity to think the worst of other people and to expect the worst from them. It is also attributable to the affinity bias, “the tendency to favor people who share the same interests, backgrounds, and experiences with us.” Due to this bias we tend to feel more comfortable around people who resemble ourselves. We also tend to unconsciously reject people who do not speak, act, or look like we do. These are just two biases that people have in common, and which affect their judgment. Each of us has our own particular set of biases and fears.
The polarization of our society in the last two decades has not helped. People are clustering together into competitive groups over a variety of political and social issues, are taking hardline positions, are making no allowance for differences of opinion or cooperation, are demonizing those on the other side of an issue and are going to great lengths to distancing themselves from them. The ranks of online and offline influencers who spend their time seeking to exploit people’s biases and stoke people’s fears for their own ends have grown.
Loving others, however, is an integral part of following Jesus. Jesus treated people with kindness and forgiveness. I do not see how we can regard as ourselves as a disciple of Jesus unless we do likewise. It is testimony to our faith in Jesus. I do not see how we can say that we believe in Jesus if we ignore what he taught and did.
In identify what has come to be known as the two greatest commandments as the basis of “the entire law and all the demands of the prophets,” Jesus is giving particular weight to these two commandments. With the Parable of the Good Samaritan, he makes it clear that loving our neighbor as ourselves is not confined to loving people in our social bubble or to people like us. It includes people of whom we may have a negative opinion or with whom we feel no affinity.
Where does today’s reading from Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians fit in? The last verse of the reading provides the clue. “We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.” Among the ways that we love others is that we tell them about Jesus, and we share our lives with them. We take a genuine interest in them. We make time for them. We provide them with emotional support. We are there when they need someone by their side, or they need help. If they have a different language and customs from our own, we take the time to learn their language and customs.
Because loving others is such important part of being a disciple of Jesus, a good practice is to do a self-assessment of the ways that we may be keeping ourselves from being more loving toward other. After considering what may be holding us back, identify what we need to change and the steps we need to take to change it. Pray for God’s grace to help us take those steps and then, trusting God to provide us with that grace, take the first step. And the next.
Walking with Jesus as his disciple is a lifelong endeavor. While we may not see him, Jesus is there with us, walking at our side. He was promised to be with his followers until the end of the age, and Jesus keeps his promises.
Silence
Open this link in a new tab to hear Michael Perry’s “I Believe in God the Father.”
I believe in God the Father
who created heaven and earth,
holding all things in his power,
bringing light and life to birth.
I believe in God the Savior,
Son of Man and Lord most high,
crucified to be redeemer,
raised to life that death may die.
I believe in God the Spirit,
wind of heaven and flame of fire,
pledge of all that we inherit,
sent to comfort and inspire.
Honor, glory, might and merit
be to God, and God alone!
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
One-in-Three and Three-in-One.
THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER
Let us pray for all people and for the Church throughout the world.
Father, we pray for your holy catholic Church;
that we all may be one in Christ.
Grant that every member of the Church may truly and humbly serve you;
that your Name may be glorified by everyone.
We pray for our pastor, for all pastors, and for all who serve in your Church;
that they may be faithful ministers of your word and sacraments.
We pray for all who govern and exercise authority in the nations of the world;
that there may be peace and justice among all.
Give us strength to do your will in all that we undertake;
that we may be blessed in all our works.
Have compassion on those who suffer or are in grief or trouble;
that they may he delivered from their distress.
We praise you for all your saints who have entered into joy;
may we also share in your heavenly kingdom.
Let us pray for our own needs and those of others.
Silence
Faithful God,
you have promised to hear the prayers
of all who ask in Jesus’ name.
In your mercy, accept, our prayers.
give us what we have asked in faith ,
according to your will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty God,
you teach us in your word
that love is the fulfilment of the law:
grant that we may love you with all our heart
and our neighbour as ourselves;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us join together n the prayer which Jesus gave us.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
THE SENDING OUT OF GOD’S PEOPLE
Open this link in a new tab to hear Tony Alonso’s “God Sends Us Forth.”
1 God sends us forth to love and serve,
make known God’s name and live God’s word,
mirror God’s love and reflect God’s grace
till all have seen the Savior’s face.
2 Nourished by Christ with word and bread;
burning with love and Spirit led,
sent to embrace the world in need,
to make God known in word and deed.
3 Called to the ones the world ignores—
hungry and thirsty, weak and poor—
let us be Christ who heals all pain
and comforts those with guilt or shame.
4 So, with the cross to lead the way,
let us go forth in peace today
till ev’ry end of earth has known
the saving love of God alone.
Eternal God and Father,
by whose power we are created
and by whose love we are redeemed:
guide and strengthen us by your Spirit,
that we may give ourselves to your service,
and live this day and every day
in love to one another and to you;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.
We pray for our pastor, for all pastors, and for all who serve in your Church;
that they may be faithful ministers of your word and sacraments.
We pray for all who govern and exercise authority in the nations of the world;
that there may be peace and justice among all.
Give us strength to do your will in all that we undertake;
that we may be blessed in all our works.
Have compassion on those who suffer or are in grief or trouble;
that they may he delivered from their distress.
We praise you for all your saints who have entered into joy;
may we also share in your heavenly kingdom.
Let us pray for our own needs and those of others.
Silence
Faithful God,
you have promised to hear the prayers
of all who ask in Jesus’ name.
In your mercy, accept, our prayers.
give us what we have asked in faith ,
according to your will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty God,
you teach us in your word
that love is the fulfilment of the law:
grant that we may love you with all our heart
and our neighbour as ourselves;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us join together n the prayer which Jesus gave us.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
THE SENDING OUT OF GOD’S PEOPLE
Open this link in a new tab to hear Tony Alonso’s “God Sends Us Forth.”
1 God sends us forth to love and serve,
make known God’s name and live God’s word,
mirror God’s love and reflect God’s grace
till all have seen the Savior’s face.
2 Nourished by Christ with word and bread;
burning with love and Spirit led,
sent to embrace the world in need,
to make God known in word and deed.
3 Called to the ones the world ignores—
hungry and thirsty, weak and poor—
let us be Christ who heals all pain
and comforts those with guilt or shame.
4 So, with the cross to lead the way,
let us go forth in peace today
till ev’ry end of earth has known
the saving love of God alone.
Eternal God and Father,
by whose power we are created
and by whose love we are redeemed:
guide and strengthen us by your Spirit,
that we may give ourselves to your service,
and live this day and every day
in love to one another and to you;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Roger Noble’s arrangement of “May the Lord, Mighty God.”
May the Lord, mighty God, bless and keep you forever,
grant you peace, perfect peace, courage in every endeavor.
Lift your eyes and see God's face, source of grace forever.
May the Lord, mighty God, bless and keep you forever.
May the Lord, mighty God, bless and keep you forever.
Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ. Amen.
May the Lord, mighty God, bless and keep you forever,
grant you peace, perfect peace, courage in every endeavor.
Lift your eyes and see God's face, source of grace forever.
May the Lord, mighty God, bless and keep you forever.
May the Lord, mighty God, bless and keep you forever.
Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ. Amen.
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