This is a story about helping those who are different from you, and accepting help from people who are different than you.
When most adults talk about the Good Samaritan, they focus on the two men who passed by without offering any help, they just made excuses. The adult talk about who those men were, and why they did not want to help the man.
But the real story is about helping strangers, and accepting help from strangers.
We teach children to be afraid of who and what they don’t know, and there is good reason for that. Adults want children to be safe.
However, most times strangers are good people who see that someone needs help and offers it. God was showing us that sometimes strangers are kinder to us than people we might know.
Luke 10 Later the Lord chose 72 other followers and sent them out two by two to every town and village where he was about to go. 2 He said to them:
A large crop is in the fields, but there are only a few workers. Ask the Lord in charge of the harvest to send out workers to bring it in. 3 Now go, but remember, I am sending you like lambs into a pack of wolves. 4 Don’t take along a moneybag or a traveling bag or sandals. And don’t waste time greeting people on the road. 5 As soon as you enter a home, say, “God bless this home with peace.” 6 If the people living there are peace-loving, your prayer for peace will bless them. But if they are not peace-loving, your prayer will return to you. 7 Stay with the same family, eating and drinking whatever they give you, because workers are worth what they earn. Don’t move around from house to house.
8 If the people of a town welcome you, eat whatever they offer. 9 Heal their sick and say, “God’s kingdom will soon be here!”
10 But if the people of a town refuse to welcome you, go out into the street and say, 11 “We are shaking the dust from our feet as a warning to you. And you can be sure that God’s kingdom will soon be here!”
16 My followers, whoever listens to you is listening to me. Anyone who says “No” to you is saying “No” to me. And anyone who says “No” to me is really saying “No” to the one who sent me.
17 When the 72 followers returned, they were excited and said, “Lord, even the demons obeyed when we spoke in your name!”
18 Jesus told them:
I saw Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19 I have given you the power to trample on snakes and scorpions and to defeat the power of your enemy Satan. Nothing can harm you. 20 But don’t be happy because evil spirits obey you. Be happy that your names are written in heaven!
How do we share the good news about Jesus? This is a question that people have been asking ever since Jesus told us to go into the world and make disciples of other people.
Some decided to force people. This was mean and never worked anyway.
What did work was those who talked a little about Jesus AND behaved like Jesus taught them to behave.
No one wants to be told they are horrible. Negative messages never work on others.
But, showing Jesus’ love does work. Taking care of other people, and telling everyone that God loves them, really does make a difference.
Luke 8 26 Jesus and his disciples sailed across Lake Galilee and came to shore near the town of Gerasa. 27 As Jesus was getting out of the boat, he was met by a man from this town. The man had demons in him. He had gone naked for a long time and no longer lived in a house, but in the graveyard.
28 The man saw Jesus and screamed. He knelt down in front of him and shouted, “Jesus, Son of God Most High, what do you want with me? I beg you not to torture me!” 29 He said this because Jesus had already told the evil spirit to go out of him.
The man had often been attacked by the demon. And even though he had been bound with chains and leg irons and kept under guard, he smashed whatever bound him. Then the demon would force him out into lonely places.
30 Jesus asked the man, “What is your name?”
He answered, “My name is Lots.” He said this because there were “lots” of demons in him. 31 They begged Jesus not to send them to the deep pit, where they would be punished.
32 A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. So the demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and Jesus let them go. 33 Then the demons left the man and went into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.
34 When the men taking care of the pigs saw this, they ran to spread the news in the town and on the farms. 35 The people went out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they also found the man. The demons had gone out of him, and he was sitting there at the feet of Jesus. He had clothes on and was in his right mind. But the people were terrified.
36 Then all who had seen the man healed told about it. 37 Everyone from around Gerasa begged Jesus to leave, because they were so frightened.
When Jesus got into the boat to start back, 38 the man who had been healed begged to go with him. But Jesus sent him off and said, 39 “Go back home and tell everyone how much God has done for you.” The man then went all over town, telling everything that Jesus had done for him.
Sometimes the Bible tells us a story and it is simple. We understand all the parts and can hear what God is trying to tell us through the story. But sometimes, like this story, it is very confusing.
This story is not about Jesus fixing everything. This story is about feeling lost and alone and in trouble without any help to solve your problems. This is the story of one person who felt out of control and named his problems “Legion”, meaning a whole lot of warriors.
In the end, Jesus let “Legion” leave the man, and the man was able to sit with Jesus and learn from him without all the troubles and anger that he used to have. The man wanted to stay with Jesus but Jesus told him he was needed with his community, that he needed to tell his neighbours and friends that Jesus was able to help him feel like he could handle his life again.
John 16 12 I have much more to say to you, but right now it would be more than you could understand. 13 The Spirit shows what is true and will come and guide you into the full truth. The Spirit doesn’t speak on his own. He will tell you only what he has heard from me, and he will let you know what is going to happen. 14 The Spirit will bring glory to me by taking my message and telling it to you. 15 Everything the Father has is mine. This is why I have said that the Spirit takes my message and tells it to you.
John can often be a very difficult Gospel to understand, that is why we do not talk about it a lot. But all of John can be summed up by saying God loves us, and all of us who choose to do as Jesus asked us to do – to take care of others and help the poor, the hungry, those who need us – are loved by God.
Everyone is loved by God, but those who do things to help others understand God’s love better than those who only want things for themselves.
Acts 2 On the day of Pentecost all the Lord’s followers were together in one place. 2 Suddenly there was a noise from heaven like the sound of a mighty wind! It filled the house where they were meeting. 3 Then they saw what looked like fiery tongues moving in all directions, and a tongue came and settled on each person there. 4 The Holy Spirit took control of everyone, and they began speaking whatever languages the Spirit let them speak.
5 Many religious Jews from every country in the world were living in Jerusalem. 6 And when they heard this noise, a crowd gathered. But they were surprised, because they were hearing everything in their own languages. 7 They were excited and amazed, and said:
Don’t all these who are speaking come from Galilee? 8 Then why do we hear them speaking our very own languages? 9 Some of us are from Parthia, Media, and Elam. Others are from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, parts of Libya near Cyrene, Rome, 11 Crete, and Arabia. Some of us were born Jews, and others of us have chosen to be Jews. Yet we all hear them using our own languages to tell the wonderful things God has done.
12 Everyone was excited and confused. Some of them even kept asking each other, “What does all this mean?”
13 Others made fun of the Lord’s followers and said, “They are drunk.”
14 Peter stood with the eleven apostles and spoke in a loud and clear voice to the crowd:
Friends and everyone else living in Jerusalem, listen carefully to what I have to say! 15 You are wrong to think that these people are drunk. After all, it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 But this is what God told the prophet Joel to say,
17 “When the last days come, I will give my Spirit to everyone. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will have dreams. 18 In those days I will give my Spirit to my servants, both men and women, and they will prophesy.
19 “I will work miracles in the sky above and wonders on the earth below. There will be blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
20 The sun will turn dark, and the moon will be as red as blood before the great and wonderful day of the Lord appears. 21 Then the Lord will save everyone who asks for his help.”
As Christians we believe that God shows us love in three different forms. First as a parent (God the father) who loves us, takes care of us, and tells us when we need to change our behaviour. Then as a brother (God the son, Jesus) who laughs with us, cries with us, and tries to show us how to behave so we can change the world.
Then we have emotion (God the spirit). This is the hardest one to understand, but the one that is easiest to feel. It is all God touching us, but the Holy Spirit fills us with energy and helps drive our need to make sure everyone knows God’s love.
Back in Jesus’ day, the people described the feeling of that energy as fire shooting out of the tops of their heads.
Today on this day of Pentecost, we celebrate the Holy Spirit coming to us and giving us a new reason to tell others about God’s love and God’s request that we help other people.
Luke 24 44 Jesus said to them, “While I was still with you, I told you that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Books of the Prophets, and in the Psalms had to happen.”
45 Then he helped them understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them:
The Scriptures say that the Messiah must suffer, then three days later he will rise from death. 47 They also say that all people of every nation must be told in my name to turn to God, in order to be forgiven. So beginning in Jerusalem, 48 you must tell everything that has happened. 49 I will send you the one my Father has promised, but you must stay in the city until you are given power from heaven.
50 Jesus led his disciples out to Bethany, where he raised his hands and blessed them. 51 As he was doing this, he left and was taken up to heaven. 52 After his disciples had worshiped him, they returned to Jerusalem and were very happy. 53 They spent their time in the temple, praising God.
The Barefoot Evangelist 