The Unity of Love: Word and Table
Acts 6:1–7; Gospel: Luke 10:25–37
Grace, mercy and
peace be with you from God our Father and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. Amen.
Dear brothers and
sisters in Christ,
Today, on this
Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, our readings bring us face to face with a very
simple question — but one of the hardest questions to answer:
What does it
really mean to love our neighbour?
In the Gospel, we
hear once again the familiar story of the Good Samaritan. In Acts, we see the
early Church dealing with a very practical problem: some widows were being
overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
At first, these
may seem like two very different stories. One is about a wounded man lying
beside the road; the other is about a disagreement within the Church. But
underneath both stories is the same message:
God’s love
must become visible in the way we treat people.
1. “And who is my neighbour?”
An expert in the Law comes to
Jesus and asks:
“Teacher, what must I do to
inherit eternal life?”
Jesus takes him back to the
Scriptures:
“What is written in the Law? How
do you read it?”
The man knows the answer. He gives
exactly the right response:
“Love the Lord your God with all
your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind;
and your neighbour as yourself.”
Jesus says:
“You have answered correctly. Do
this and you will live.”
But then comes the second
question. And perhaps this is where the real problem begins:
“And who is my neighbour?”
It sounds like an innocent
question. But really, it is an attempt to put limits on love.
“Who am I actually required to
love?”
“Who belongs inside the circle —
and who is outside?”
“How far does my responsibility
go?”
Jesus does not answer with a
definition. Instead, He tells a story.
A man is travelling from Jerusalem
to Jericho when he is attacked by robbers. They take everything he has, beat
him and leave him almost dead beside the road.
Then a priest comes along.
And a Levite.
They see the man.
That detail matters: they see
him.
But even though they see him, they
pass by on the other side.
Perhaps they are afraid. Perhaps
they are concerned about ritual purity. Perhaps they are in a hurry. Perhaps
they simply do not want to get involved.
We do not know.
But we know what they did.
They saw the need and carried
on.
Then a Samaritan comes along.
And here Jesus makes the story
uncomfortable.
The Samaritans were not friends of
the Jews. They were despised, mistrusted and regarded by many Jews as religious
and cultural outsiders.
But the Samaritan sees the wounded
man.
And unlike the other two, he does
not walk past.
The Bible says that he is moved
with compassion.
He comes closer.
He treats the man’s wounds.
He puts him on his own animal.
He takes him to an inn.
He pays for his care.
And he even promises to come back.
The Samaritan does not simply feel
sorry for the man.
He does something about it.
Then Jesus asks:
“Which of these three was a
neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”
The expert in the Law cannot even
bring himself to say the word “Samaritan”.
He answers:
“The one who showed him mercy.”
And Jesus says:
“Go and do likewise.”
That is Jesus’ word to us today.
Go and do likewise.
2. A love that crosses the road
Christian love is not simply
a beautiful feeling.
It is not merely saying, “I
am sorry that you are going through this.”
Christian love draws near.
Love notices.
Love cares.
Love gets its hands dirty.
Love crosses the road.
And this is especially
important because it is easy to love people who are like us.
It is easy to love people who
think like we do.
Who speak like we do.
Who belong to our group.
Who attend our church.
Who agree with us.
But Jesus places the
Samaritan at the centre of the story.
It is as if He is saying:
Your neighbour is not
simply the person you choose to love. Your neighbour is the person God places
in front of you who is in need.
And that changes everything.
3. The same question appears
inside the Church
Now let us turn
to Acts chapter 6.
The Church in
Jerusalem is growing rapidly. It is a living, generous community, full of
faith.
But then a
problem arises.
The widows from
the Greek-speaking Jewish community are being overlooked in the daily
distribution of food.
There are
complaints.
There is
murmuring.
And we can
imagine how quickly this can happen.
“They are looking
after their own.”
“Our people are
being forgotten.”
“That is not
fair.”
Suddenly, this
beautiful Christian community is facing division.
And notice
something important:
The problem is
not merely administrative. It is spiritual.
When a vulnerable
person is forgotten, the problem is not simply one of organisation.
It is a problem
of love.
The apostles
recognise that they cannot do everything.
They need to
devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word.
But that does not
mean that feeding the widows is less important.
Quite the
opposite.
The Church needs
the Word.
And the Church
needs the table.
It needs
preaching.
And it needs
practical service.
It needs prayer.
And it needs to
care for those who are hungry.
So the apostles
say:
“Choose seven men
from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom, and we will
appoint them to this responsibility.”
What a beautiful
solution!
They do not
ignore the problem.
They do not say,
“This is only an administrative matter.”
They do not say,
“It is not worth making a fuss about.”
They face the
problem.
And they find a
way to care for people.
4. Word and Table
Here we find a wonderful connection between
Acts 6 and the Good Samaritan.
In the Gospel, the Samaritan sees a wounded
person and asks, through his actions:
“How can I help?”
In Acts, the Church realises that some
widows are being forgotten and asks:
“How can we make sure that no one is
forgotten?”
In both stories, love stops being an idea
and becomes something practical.
That is why I have called this sermon:
The Unity of Love: Word and Table.
The Word of God gathers us together.
The Word of God teaches us who we are.
The Word of God announces the forgiveness
we have in Christ.
But that same Word sends us out — to the
table, to the road, to our neighbour’s home, to the places where people are
hurting.
We cannot say that we love God while
remaining indifferent to the suffering of our brother or sister.
Christian faith does not end when we leave
our seat in church.
It walks out through the door.
It enters our homes.
It goes to our workplaces.
It meets the stranger.
It visits the sick.
It comforts those who grieve.
It feeds the hungry.
It listens to the lonely.
It looks for those who have been left
behind.
The Word becomes love in action.
5. We are not all called to do
the same thing
There is another
important lesson in Acts 6.
The apostles
realise that they cannot do everything.
And this is
important for us too.
Sometimes we
think that, to be good Christians, we have to do everything.
But God has not
called all of us to the same task.
Some preach.
Some teach.
Some visit.
Some cook.
Some look after
the finances.
Some work with
children.
Some care for the
elderly.
Some sing.
Some pray quietly
in the background.
Some simply
notice a need and do something about it.
None of these
ministries is insignificant.
Serving tables
is also ministry.
And often, it is
through these simple acts of service that the love of Christ becomes visible.
The problem is
not that one ministry is more important than another.
The problem comes
when we stop serving.
The Church works
well when each person places his or her gifts at the service of the body of
Christ.
And when that
happens, something wonderful takes place.
Acts tells us:
“The word of God
continued to spread, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased
greatly.”
The Church grew.
Not only because
the apostles preached.
But also because the
widows were being cared for.
The Gospel was
proclaimed in words and demonstrated through actions.
6. Where is our neighbour?
Perhaps Jesus is asking us the same
question today.
Who is lying beside the road in our
lives?
Who do we see but avoid?
Who is being forgotten?
Who is lonely?
Who is hungry?
Who needs a visit?
Who simply needs someone to sit
beside them?
Who is part of our own congregation
and perhaps feels:
“Nobody notices that I am here.”
Maybe our neighbour is much closer
than we think.
Perhaps our neighbour is sitting
next to us.
Perhaps they live in the same
street.
Perhaps they are someone with whom
we disagree.
Perhaps they are someone who thinks
very differently from us.
They may even be someone we do not
particularly like.
And perhaps that is exactly where
Jesus is calling us.
Because Christian love does not
first ask:
“Does this person deserve it?”
Love asks:
“Does this person need me?”
7. The prayer for today
The Collect for this Sunday gives us
a beautiful prayer:
“Almighty and everlasting God,
increase in us faith, hope and charity; and that we may obtain what You have
promised, make us love what You command.”
That is a profound prayer.
Because we know what God commands.
We know that we are to love.
The problem is that we do not always
want to love.
So we pray:
“Lord, make us love what You
command.”
Give us hearts that see.
Hearts that care.
Hearts that do not cross over to the
other side of the road.
Give us eyes to notice those who are
being forgotten.
Give us courage to cross the barriers
that separate us.
Give us wisdom to organise our lives
and our community so that no one is left behind.
And above all, give us the love that
we have first received from Christ.
Because we do not love in order to
earn salvation.
We love because we were loved
first.
We do not care for others to prove
that we are good Christians.
We care because Christ has shown
us mercy.
We do not serve in order to earn
God’s favour.
We serve because, in Christ, we
have already received God’s grace.
Conclusion: “Go and do likewise”
Dear brothers and sisters,
The Good Samaritan shows us
a love that crosses the road.
Acts 6 shows us a love that
organises the community so that no one is forgotten.
And both point us to the
same Christ.
Christ is the One who did
not pass by when we were wounded by sin.
Christ came to us.
He drew near.
He took our wounds upon
Himself.
He carried our sin.
He paid the price we could
never pay.
And He brought us into the
safety of His grace.
We are, first of all,
people who have received Christ’s mercy.
And because we have received
mercy, we can now show mercy.
So when Jesus says to us:
“Go and do likewise,”
we do not hear only a
command.
We also hear an invitation.
An invitation to live out
the grace we have already received.
So perhaps, when we leave
church today, the question is not:
“Who is my neighbour?”
Perhaps Jesus is asking us
something much simpler:
“To whom can you be a
neighbour?”
May God give us eyes to see.
Hearts to care.
Hands to serve.
Wisdom to care for one
another.
And courage to cross the
road.
May the Word of God continue
to grow among us.
And may that Word become
visible in our lives — at our tables, in our service, in our compassion and in
our love.
For the Church is most
faithful to the Gospel when the Word is proclaimed and the table is served;
when Christ is proclaimed and the neighbour is loved.
Go and do likewise.
In the name of Jesus.
Amen.
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