Hospitality: Be Active
Notes
Transcript
*** The verse that changed my life
Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.
*** Image: Good Samaritan: The Good Samaritan lived out the truth of that verse
A Distance / Up Close
A Distance / Up Close
Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity.
*** Image: Good Samaritan. It’s impossible to show the hospitality the Good Samaritan showed from a distance
Doing / Talking
Doing / Talking
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you?
If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food,
and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?
So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
*** Modern day Good Samaritan. Having a “doing” kind of love for those around us
Excuses / Compassion
Excuses / Compassion
The priest and Levite had good excuses. For them, it would be inconvenient to help
The Samaritan’s motivation is clear in Jesus’s story: “When he saw him, he was moved with pity”
Forgotten / Remembered
Forgotten / Remembered
*** Image: Modern Good Samaritan on road.
The priest and Levite passed by, and likely didn’t think again about the poor man they’d seen on the road
The Samaritan made plans to follow-up
The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’
*** Image: Orthodox church image of Good Samaritan. The power of memory.
Who’s my neighbor?
Who’s my neighbor?
You’re a neighbor if you take specific action in specific circumstances to meet a specific need.
*** Image: Welcome in church: Your neighbor may need to feel welcomed, to connect, etc.
Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.