2,000 years after Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan, the phrase "Good Samaritan" has come to mean something very different than the first telling. Whereas we hear "a person who goes out of their way to do a good deed," Jesus's original listeners heard "my enemy shocking me by meeting my need." Which means that the parable's primarily call is not primarily to "do good deeds" but rather to recognize that the person we are most inclined to suspect and despise is a person we not only need to love... they are also the person we need.

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RIC Sunday - On Recognizing and Needing Our Good Samaritans

What do you do with your fear? 
Far too often religion has taught that fear is evidence of inadequate faith and emotions need to be controlled. Honesty about our fear can lead to shame, which is an even bigger barrier to trust. But Jesus does not want us to fall into shame, but rather into the peace of experiencing his assurance and power. And sometimes we need to see him calm the storm before we can feel that peace.
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When We Are In The Storm

This sermon is a bit experimental. Instead of just talking about the story of Jesus sending his disciples to witness, it uses the model of the narrative to engage the congregation in crafting its own witness. Because we are the current generation of disciples. And we (too) are sent.
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We (Too) Are Sent

What can a story about royal intrigue, prophecy, and political violence mean for our everyday lives of faith? When we strip away the salacious details and attend to the underlying motives, it reveals what lies at the heart of all sin, ours included: a turning in on ourselves. Centering on ourselves turns us away from truth, wisdom, righteousness, and love. But Jesus came to turn us back out.
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A Lesson for Turning

Rest is a universal human need. Apparently it is also nearly universal that we struggle to actually get the rest we need. It is one of the ironies of adulting that getting adequate rest can feel like one more expectation we are failing to meet, complicating our exhaustion with shame and frustration. It seems that we need more than just rest. We need healing.

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On Rest and Why It's So Hard

Sermon Question: What makes it hard for you to pay attention to spiritual teachings?

When people come to Jesus looking for more miraculous meals, he instead tells them that he is the bread of life that they are looking for. We could read this as a shaming response: telling them that they are looking for the wrong thing. We could read this as a compassionate response: telling them that he knows how to give them something of lasting value. The most important thing to decide is what he is telling us.

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Hunger, Shame, and Wholeness

"Faithfulness" in general culture is often associated with righteousness and certainty... a faith the stands strong in all circumstances. But this version of faithfulness can easily shift into a self-righteousness that centers on the faithful person themselves, rather than on God. When the followers of Jesus are faced with hard teachings, it is not those who feel certain and self-righteous who remain faithful. It is those who confess "Lord, to whom can we go?"

But as for me… Lord, to whom can we go?

When legalistic religious leaders critique Jesus' disciples for not keeping with tradition, Jesus calls them out for preferencing human traditions over God's law. It's easy to see from the outside, but how do we know whether our own traditions are blinding or misguiding us? Jesus offers us a discernment tool. It's all about love. 

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Tradition: Beneficial, Benign, or Bane?

In many contexts, the story of Jesus behaving in an unwelcoming way and having to be challenged to change his tune might be disconcerting. But in the context of baptism it is an encouraging reminder that the life of faith is not about getting everything right. It is about being  willing to learn, to face our errors and change, and to find the life that comes from following a Savior who is not only Divine but also human. 

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Faith is a Living, Growing Thing

The Christian call to self-denial is often interpreted as a call to make material sacrifices. But the context of Jesus's teaching in Mark 8 suggests that he is actually talking about denying our egos, which trick us into believing we have nothing left to learn. It is an incredibly difficult act of self-denial to set aside the comfort of our own certainty and actually learn to follow Jesus, but it is that road that leads to resurrection and new life.

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When we don't know what we don't know.

When Mark crafted his gospel he deliberately pointed us to the story of Jesus' second passion prediction and his disciples' reaction. It's not the most exciting story in the narrative, but it summarizes the contrast between the patterns of our world and the way of Jesus. Where the world tells us to react to fear by scrambling for control, Jesus calls us to the way of the cross: the way of service in which we discover that we are welcoming God.

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The Key to the Way of Jesus

Welcome to the sermon feed for Abiding Peace Lutheran Church: Journey of Faith. We would love to have you with us for worship, but if you can't join us on Sunday mornings, we hope these messages bring the challenge and grace of the gospel to your life.

RIC Sunday - On Recognizing and Needing Our Good Samaritans

Abiding Peace Lutheran Church

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