Who is my neighbor? This week Pastor Stephanie helps us explore the Story of the Good Samaritan to better understand God’s definition of a neighbor. Sometimes in life we get too focused on our own path to recognize our neighbor’s need passing them by. Sometimes we don’t stop to help because we don’t know what to do. Sometimes we think that the person in need doesn’t deserve our help because they are an outsider not our neighbor. At other times our lives are going so well we forget that we should also identify with the man who was robbed in need of rescue. When we recognize that Jesus is the Samaritan in the story, we both recognize our call to stop, change our focus, & help those in need (even if they would be considered more of an outsider than a neighbor by the world’s definition), and our own need for God’s help. Mr Rogers was right: It IS a beautiful day for a Neighbor!

Social Media can be a wonderful tool for connecting with family, friends, and the world around us. It can also be a home to misinformation, hatred, and otherwise nasty comments. Sometimes engaging others online feels like being a lamb amongst wolves. At other times we get trapped in the algorithm that surrounds us with posts that match our beliefs. We are mistaken when we think we can change someone else’s viewpoint by posting our own that we believe to be the only viewpoint thanks to the curating of our newsfeed by the algorithm. In the Gospel text this week, followers of Jesus are sent out into the world “like lambs into the midst of wolves.” Jesus knows that they won’t always be welcomed and when that happens advises them to go into the street and say, “Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.” Sometimes in life we need to recognize when we are not welcome and rather than try and force our way into the lives of others we need to shake off our feet and walk away. We trust that the Kingdom of God has come near and that God is working even when our attempts fail. When the followers return they are excited about the power of God that was at work through them. Jesus tells them, “Do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” When we live into the joy of our salvation, by sharing love, grace & compassion, we are far better witnesses to the love of God than when we focus on the other person’s salvation. Even if we need to shake off the dust & give up on a person who rejects us, God, or God’s message, the Good News is that God never gives up!

What do you do? What do you make? How do you use your gifts & passions? Is it a ‘Higher Calling’? We might be too quick to dismiss our career, vocation, or work as unworthy of being a Higher Calling, thinking it is a title reserved for religious professionals. In the Gospel reading for today, Jesus’ disciples learn that following Jesus has a high cost. Jesus’ harsh, hyperbolic words might seem to reinforce the idea that being a disciple is only for those willing to accept a Higher Calling. Pastor Chad argues that Jesus was reinforcing the cost of not using your skills, gifts, & passions to serve your community as Jesus calls us each to do. The cost is a broken community where our neighbors go hungry, unloved, alone, or even homeless. And we miss out on the opportunity to experience the joy & fulfillment that comes from generosity & sharing. Whether you are a mechanic, a farmer, or a caregiver you too have a Higher Calling: as a Disciple of Jesus!

What are you afraid of? In today’s message Pastor Stephanie shares a scary story from the Gospel of Luke about a man who was possessed by demons and cast out of his community to wander the cemetery. His community used the God’s Law as a weapon to exclude him from their community. God’s Law isn’t intended to be policed by the faithful but is rather a guide to being a community living the abundant life God intends for us all! When Jesus extends God’s grace to the man casting out the demons, it removes the barrier that was separating him from the life God intended. Those that witnessed this healing miracle were upset that Jesus dared share God’s love with a man who they ‘knew’ was being punished for not following their understanding of God’s Law. Paul’s letter to the Galatians reminds us that faith in Christ has freed us from the fear of the Law so that we might follow God’s plan to live as an intentional community sharing God’s love. Moving from the boundaries of a black & white understanding of Law to the freedom of Faith embracing God’s presence in the gray areas between our human imposed divisions moves us from fear to grace. Special thanks to Emma and Alex, students on the Sr High Service Learning Trip to Colorado for reading the preaching texts for this week.

This week we celebrate Holy Trinity Sunday. The Trinity, Father—Son—Holy Spirit, being one God is difficult to describe without diminishing the power of each ‘Person’ within the Trinity or dividing the power of the One True God. Perhaps it is best left as a mystery of our faith. While we can’t comprehend God’s complete being, we do have God’s gift of Wisdom. Walking through the mysteries, uncertainties and darkness of this life is easier knowing the light of God shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it. We are blessed with the knowledge that God is at work amidst all of the chaos of life, even when we have lost all control God is at work and remains at our side. The wisdom we gain through the Holy Spirit can help us find things in which to delight, so that we can embrace life the way God always intended!

Pentecost is the church holiday that remembers the Spirit of God descending on the followers of Jesus after he had ascended to Heaven. The Spirit empowered the disciples to share the good news of God’s Kingdom in the native languages of the diverse crowd gathered in Jerusalem. It’s worth celebrating, certainly, but is the Spirit of God still active in our world today? If God is still active why wasn’t the shooter stopped before he entered the school or why were those in places of authority in the Southern Baptist Conference allowed to continue their abuse? Thinking that a miracle is the only solution is a flaw in our understanding of the work of the Spirit. The Spirit empowers us to be the mechanism of God’s action within our community. When we recognize this transformation we can experience the true joy, regardless of circumstances, that comes from a deep connection with God and our neighbors.

Throughout the year we have been hearing from members of the Bethlehem Community as an opportunity to hear how God's Story has resonated with our neighbor and hopefully finding some resonance between our story and theirs. In our final Story of Resonance we hear, appropriately, from a Physics Teacher who knows a thing or two about resonance. Charles Miller can explain and demonstrate resonance in the world of physics but what does it have to do with faith? A lot! Charles uses the example of kayaking on the river. In the turbulent times of life you must have confidence in the promise that God surrounds us with the people and skills needed to make it through. It’s a matter of releasing control and paddling in resonance with the current God has provided. At the same time we are the people God has placed in our neighbors’ life to help set the current. When we are in tune with God’s current in our lives and the lives of our neighbors we find our resonance as the energy (vibrations) from God’s Story and Our Neighbor’s Story increase the energy (impact) of Our Story!

Sometimes in life the words we intend to bring comfort to our loved ones fall flat, or worse, cause more harm than good. This week’s Gospel is filled with what have become Christian buzzwords and depending on where you are at in life may seem to be hollow. So how can we find hope in these words almost seem like God is silent? The Good News is that God is at work even in the silence! In the silence of Holy Saturday, when the Hope of the World was seemingly dead & buried and as the disciples fearfully sat in the silence of grief, God was still at work preparing to bring Hope Overflowing on Easter morning. So, even when the only words we hear are empty, we trust in God’s promise to be with us always, even in the silence!

WARNING: The reading from Acts in worship today is DANGEROUS! It is dangerous to those who insist on keeping their faith practices and understanding the same at all costs. God challenges Peter's understanding of being a disciple by showing him that God's love and salvation is meant for everyone even those that Peter saw as unclean. We too are challenged by God's Call to share the Kingdom with not only those like us but also those on the "other side of the fence" that we too often dismiss as unworthy of compassion. So, after hearing today's message, be prepared to do something dangerous and cross over the barriers that are keeping you from sharing God's love with all the world as God intended!

Voices are distinct. When we recognize a voice we can recall the speaker with great detail. Some voices instill a sense of calm and comfort. This week Jesus says the “sheep” of his flock recognize his voice and are comforted. He also reminds us that there is nothing that can snatch his sheep away from his care. As we continue in this Easter Season we find Jesus, the Good Shepherd, knowing our voice and promising to guide us through even the darkest valleys of our life together, with those promises we discover our Hope Overflowing!