From Ditch to Table: Finding Unity Through Grace

Sometimes that means doing stuff in church that we don't perhaps want to do because that's what we should be doing. So I hope this year we're gonna make time for God. So when he calls, perhaps not literally on our mobile, but when he calls, that we will answer and we will know him and we will see him and we will love him. And we will say, God, I'm ready. Let's go. [00:02:17] (24 seconds)  #AnswerGodsCall

And that brings us to our bible readings today. Today, heard two New Testament readings rather than that usual old and New Testament pairing. But, I did it because I believe that these two stories are in some way connected even though it may not look like it at first. Because, both ask a question of us that we must wrestle with as a new congregation. What does unity look like? What does unity look like? And, who is my neighbor? [00:26:41] (33 seconds)  #WhoIsMyNeighbor

Yet, it was these outsiders who chose to travel through danger. It was these outsiders who relied on hospitality from strangers and unfamiliar places to find their way. It was these outsiders who brought gifts. Gifts that may well have enabled Mary and Joseph to take Jesus and flee to find refuge. It was these outsiders who were profoundly different from Mary and Joseph. And yet, and yet at the manger found unity. Because Jesus transcended every difference that separated them and brought them together. [00:28:13] (52 seconds)  #UnityInDifference

He binds the wounds. He pours oil and wine over the wounds. He lifts the man up and onto his own animal. He carries him to an inn and he pays the full cost. And then, he promises to return. Like Jesus would go on to do on the third day. The injured man does nothing. He does nothing except be rescued. And, this is the gospel message. [00:30:10] (36 seconds)  #RescuedNotEarned

``Because Jesus is the true Samaritan. He comes to bind our brokenness. He binds our wounds. He carries what we cannot carry. He pays our debt that we cannot pay. And, he promises to return. And so, this is why we come to his table today. Because communion is not a reward for the faithful. It's the food for the rescue. At this table, we do not need to prove our worth. Nor do we come to settle old scores. We do not arrive at his table strong or successful or united or complete. We come as those who have been found in the ditch. [00:30:47] (43 seconds)  #TableOfRescue

We come because Christ has already done what we could not do. We come because we ask ourselves. We ask ourselves, are we happy as a congregation? Here, is broken not because we united but to make us one. Here, the cup is shared not because we agree but because Christ has given himself for all. At this table, we discover again that our unity does not begin with us, it begins with Christ. [00:31:35] (40 seconds)  #UnityBeginsWithChrist

Because we have love, being loved, we love. Because we have been rescued, we notice others. Because grace have been poured out on us, grace begins to overflow from each of us. The Good Samaritan and the Magi teach us that love is not about proximity or similarity. It's not about agreeing or being the same. Differences are not obstacles to divide us. They're opportunities to unite us. [00:32:45] (34 seconds)  #GraceUnitesUs

It would have been easier for those wise men, those Magi to stay home, but they didn't. It would have been easy for the Samaritan to walk on by, but he didn't. For us for us, unity means asking a different question. How can I help others feel welcome? How can I bring happiness to someone else? Rather than defaulting to thinking and saying, why are things not being the way that I know, that I want? Because to do so only causes people to turn away and feel unwelcome and unloved. [00:34:12] (48 seconds)  #ChooseWelcome