The Good Samaritan

Jesus tells a parable in Luke 10:25-37, which we know today as the parable of the good Samaritan. Of course this is not the title Jesus used. For Jesus' original audience there was no such thing as a good Samaritan. Anyone who was a Samaritan was the enemy. But that's the whole point. The one who does the right thing is the hated outsider rather than the religious insider. If you've never heard the story before click on the video below (please excuse the old fashioned language).



We all live with prejudice, with some we see as insiders and others we prefer to keep as outsiders. The law here is summed up in two commands - to love God and to love my neighbour. There is a sense in which the first is easier than the second because many of us see this as being less concrete, it is somehow something that goes on inside me when I read the Bible or pray. Yet we can't afford to think this way. We can't truly love God without loving others - including our enemies. To try and argue that we can is evidence that we have not really started to understand God's love for us. For the first century Jew the phrase 'good Samaritan' was an oxymoron - a contradiction in terms. Who are the 'good Samaritans' in my life? I don't mean the people who help out when I'm in a crisis. I mean the people I've never got a good or kind word for. What am I going to do about it?

Chocolate Digestives - Best Dunked

Polls show that the best biscuit for dunking in a cup of tea or coffee is a Chocolate Digestive. Apparently it is something to do with the fact that the chocolate starts to melt on top and the biscuit base begins to soften - which all goes to enhance that biscuit eating experience.

If I was looking for corporate sponsorship of church services as a means of raising funds I think I might well approach McVities to become the official sponsor of Baptism services; maybe alongside Nike. And the service strap line: 'Christians - best when dunked: Just do it!'

Last Sunday we had a baptism service which was great, following the command, expectation and example of Jesus.

To listen to the message 'Christians: best when dunked - Just do it' click here.

Jesus is Alive

Here is a song that we first sang on Easter Sunday, but I want to do it again this coming week - we didn't practice it on Tuesday so I need as many of you as possible to listen and remind yourselves of how it goes.

Seven Pounds

The 2008 film Seven Pounds, with Will Smith as the lead character Ben Thomas, is a film that opens up many themes that will be familiar to disciples of Jesus. And I want to talk about some of them here - but can't think of a way to do it without spoiling the film for anyone who hasn't seen it! So if you've not seen the film, I recommend it [unless you are one of those medical people who is unable to switch off critical analysis when watching a film - because if that is you then there are so many holes for you to fall through that you won't enjoy this at all]. Anyway - if you've not seen it, watch the trailer below, then go and rent the film on DVD, and then come back - because the text following the trailer below contains SPOILERS - i.e. it will give everything away. You have been warned.



The story in this film is not told chronologically, and to be honest it took me most of the film to actually work out what was going on - but don't let that put you off, it doesn't spoil the film - you know something is going on, you just can't quite work out what!

[Further warning - what follows gives the plot away - stop reading and go and watch the film and come back later!]

The story revolves around the central character Ben Thomas. Ben was responsible for a traffic accident in which seven people, including his wife, were killed (he was reading an email while driving). Unable to forgive himself for what he has done Ben sees the only solution for redemption as giving new life to seven other people - total strangers.

To do this he steals his brother's identity as an agent working for the IRS and searches out seven people in need of something that will totally transform their lives. For one person this is his house - allowing her to escape an abusive relationship, for the others it is some kind of medical transplant - kidneys, bone marrow, eyes, heart ... As the film unfolds it becomes clear that these people are going to be helped, but only following Ben's death - which will occur at the hands or tentacles of Ben's pet box jellyfish - the medically minded among you may have picked up a few flaws in the plan over the last few sentences - but let them go and enjoy!

This film opens up a number of themes for us. I'll mention a few, and leave you to comment...

1) Forgiveness - the issue for Ben was that he was unable to forgive himself for what he had done, and unable to forgive himself it would be impossible to believe that God could forgive. Are there things in our lives that we see as being beyond the forgiveness of God?

2) Redemption - In order to put things right Ben believes he has to do something. The wonder of Jesus' teaching (and the stumbling block for so many of us) is that there is nothing that we can do - except rely totally on Jesus' death for us.

3) Grace - Each of the people in the film were left wondering 'why me?' They were previously unknown to Ben, yet he chose them. God's love is a gift to us. His forgiveness - gift. Peace - gift. It is all a gift, it is all undeserved. That's grace. And as Ben writes to one of the people he helped, 'If you're wondering 'why me?' - just stop'. That's a question we will never be able to answer - other than to wonder at the love of God.

There is a lot more I could write, but I need to go and get some lunch!