Dear Friends,

Before including the homily today, I was asked to share the schedule for ways to be involved this week:

1. Our usual Monday demonstrations on Broadway behind the Post Office–bring a sign and stand with friends and/or family asking for our leadership in Washington to serve all the people. 5:00 P.M. – 5:30 P.M.
2. Thursdays at the Blue Heron Coffee Shop–postcard writers meet from 10:00 A.M. – 12 noon to address issues to Congress people and others in Washington –any and all in leadership, both asking and thanking individuals as the case may be. I believe the group is over 7,000 postcards sent this year!
3. This coming Thursday, July 17, there will be a special gathering at Windom Park in Winona, Broadway and Huff Streets beginning at 6:00 P.M. – 7:30 P.M. to mark the death date of Congressman John Lewis–come out and make some — “good trouble.” Thank you for whatever you can do! Pastor Kathy

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My friends, if we were looking for one, possibly two words today to describe the chosen readings for this 15^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, they would be, love and compassion – love first, as a stance toward life and living, and flowing from that, compassion for ourselves, others, and all of created life, really!

   The 1^st reading from Deuteronomy has Moses telling the people that their God’s law is near – “it is already in [their] hearts” [and on their lips].  The challenge for them as they pursue, “right living,” is to more often than not, respond to what life brings, through and from their hearts.

   Paul’s letter to the Colossians expresses well his relationship with Jesus of Nazareth – Paul knows him, as “the Christ, or the Anointed One, the Messiah,” having never met him in the flesh.  Christ, for Paul, is the God who is “big enough” for all people, not just the Jews, and it is for that reason that he states here, “that Christ is first” in every way. 

  Paul would agree simply, I feel, with Moses, to keep God’s law [that of love] front and center, and if Moses could look into the future, he would probably agree with Paul, “to keep our eyes on Jesus, the Christ. 

   The gospel today, from Luke, contains a story we all know, that of the “Good Samaritan,” who was a “neighbor” to one who, “fell in with robbers.”  Right off, we have to question why this Samaritan is called, “good” – are not Samaritans capable of goodness?  And for that, we need some backstory.

   When the Jewish people were taken into exile by the Babylonians, not all the people were taken – those living around Samaria were not. While those captured were away a significant number of years – 50-70 is the estimate, the Samaritans were negligent in following all the Jewish laws and regulations.  After the return of the captured from exile, the Samaritans were looked down on as a result of their behavior, so the notion of a “good” Samaritan was not in the everyday understanding of the more law-abiding Jews.

   Our brother Jesus is wise then to switch the positions; law-abiding Jews versus Samaritan “slackers.”  He shows us a priest, and a Levite who apparently are too busy, or not interested in helping an injured “neighbor,” while someone that both the Levite and the priest would not consider, “good,” does the loving, neighborly thing, thus showing that he was indeed good. The reading tells us that this Samaritan was “filled with compassion.” 

   My friends, I believe what our brother Jesus is trying to tell us here is that when we face our world through our heads alone, following laws supposedly laid down to help us be our best, we run the risk of doing less – the letter of the law, rather than “more” – responding through our hearts, allowing ourselves at times, “to be bothered,” in our “busy lives.” 

   Additionally, living through our heads, without engaging our hearts, leaves us quite closed-in, quite un-engaged with our world and its people.  Unfortunately, stated laws are about black and white issues, do this, do that, when so many of life’s issues fall into a gray area – they don’t quite fit.  No doubt, the Jewish directive to not associate with Samaritans was felt to be a “good” one, so as to not get contaminated by them – but whether it was the most loving thing to do, is the question that Jesus poses for them and us today. 

   Examples abound in our Church and State of living through our heads – by our laws, without being engaged to our hearts – let’s look at a few:

• Most of us grew up thinking that our country, the United States of America was one of welcome – no more, it would seem.  It is one thing to control one’s borders — but this can be done compassionately, rather than in mean and racist ways.
• We face our world with our “heads” alone, devoid of compassion, when our first choice to resolve conflict in the world, is to go to war. This so-called “first choice” should be the one we rarely use, if we are responding through our hearts. 
• We have forgotten to go through our hearts when our members of Congress can seemingly, not listen to, or in other ways work toward compromise for the good of all. 
• When we live too much out of our heads, rules and regulations, we basically shut down growth.  This is what is going on with our Winona/Rochester bishop – his game plan for “right” living seems to be following rules and regulations, and not only that, but the ones he decides upon! If we won’t comply with his demands that we recant what we believe the Spirit is calling us to do, he won’t talk to us.  It is too much “head stuff” without engaging the heart that allows our Church prelates to say that our most inclusive God does not call women to be priests. 
• The Scriptures for today’s liturgy clearly show how our God has worked and continues to work through the Old and New Testaments, and people’s lives,
• to assist them in being good.  Pastor Danielle here at First Congregational announces to our city, on the side of the church, that, “God is still speaking!” 
• Earlier, I made mention that in most years past, since our inception as a country, we have been, “one of welcome.”  In present day, it would seem that those with skin color, other than “white” are not welcome.  When in the past a person was judged on the merit of their actions, their potential, today the assumption seems to be that “strangers are bad, evil” and must prove otherwise before admitted to our seemingly “greatest” country in the world. 

   My friends, more examples abound; and I have mentioned just some of them plaguing our Church and State.  The Scriptures today lift up the wrongness of the philosophy that “whole races” are inherently “bad.”  Individual actions, not whole groups, are what we must see as “not good,” if that is the case.  The present-day Israelite leader, Netanyahu, claims that every death in Gaza happened because they were aiming at Hamas, their enemy.  Everyone in Gaza is not part of Hamas and to kill indiscriminately, innocent women, men and children is simply wrong-headed and heartless.  We are all old enough to remember that all the deaths in Viet Nam were said to be “the enemy” – another heartless act by our country. 

   In the end my friends, we and the inhabitants of our city, country, and the world in fact, are spiritual beings here, having a human experience.  Moses tells us today in Deuteronomy that we come into existence, “hard-wired” to love, “God’s law [of love] was already in your hearts,” [and on your lips]. Unfortunately, our free will can get in the way of each of us being our best.  But if we can more often live our lives through our hearts, the compassion that our world so badly needs, now, may become more obvious.  

   Today, there seems to be little to be hopeful about, when day after day, more mean, unfeeling executive orders appear that are applauded by spineless sycophants and ignored by voiceless prelates.  When did we more need the courage and the words of a messiah? The truth is, my friends, where, and when we live, now, we do have the words of the Messiah, and we must be the hope we hope for, and speak the messianic words given us by God.  We do that when we demand the best from our State and Church officials – thank you all for your faith-filled work in the footsteps of our brother, Jesus.

Amen? Amen!