Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto

Love, Purpose & Organizing

Krystal Caves, Organizer with Peninsula Interfaith Action
July 15, 2007
Palo Alto, CA

This is a beautiful story about love. This story really challenges us to love each other in spite of our differences.

Scripture: Gospel According to Luke 10:25-37 The Parable of the Good Samaritan

This is one of the most beautiful stories that I’ve ever read because it teaches us about love, values and one of our purposes in life. This story is about a man who’s probably of Jewish descent. I say that because he’s traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho and most of the people living in Jerusalem were Jewish. It’s highly likely that this man was on his way to Jericho to bathe in the Jordan River, which was not uncommon during this era. On his way to Jericho, unexpectedly this man has everything taken away from him. His money was taken, his clothes were taken and he was beat. I’m sure there are many of us in this room who can relate to this story in one way or another. We all have experienced loss and we know that loss takes place in different forms. Maybe you’ve lost a parent or a son or daughter. Maybe you’ve lost a job … many of us were around during the dot.com bust. Some of us have experienced divorce and or separation from our spouse or partner. We all know what it’s like to loose everything or to at least feel like you’ve lost everything. And we all know what it’s like to be alone. I can imagine this man laying on the side of the road all alone. All alone. Many thoughts probably raced through his head as they do ours when we’re experiencing loss, pain and loneliness … what did I do to deserve this, will I die here like this, I brought this pain on myself, no one cares about me …

But no wait, finally help is on the way. A priest. Certainly this priest who is a Jewish man, a religious man, a man of God will stop and help me. But no, rather than helping this man who’s in despair the priest chooses to walk as far away from his brother as possible.

The second man who comes by is a Levite. Levites are from the Tribe of Levite and are Jewish as well. They were chosen by God to serve in the temple. Surely this man will stop and help his brother who’s been taken advantage of and left for dead. But instead, the Levite chooses to walk on the other side of the road and ignore the cries of his brother … his neighbor.

I’m sure by this point the man who’d been beaten was convinced that he would die on the road. If a priest and a Levite who were both of the same Jewish descent as he was wouldn’t help him then no one would. The next person who shows up is a Samaritan. It’s important that we understand the relationship between Samaritans and Jews before continuing. Traditionally Jews and Samaritans were hostile to one another. In Jewish eyes Samaritans were half-breeds, ethnic traitors, bad guys. The Samaritans inter-married with other ethnicities and they did not hold the same faith traditions or beliefs as the Jews. The Samaritans and Jews were enemies. This is where the story gets interesting. This man from Samaria sees a Jew on the side of the road in a bad condition. Instead of taking advantage of the man and finishing him off by killing him, he recognizes him as a neighbor and loves on him. The Samaritan doesn’t just throw the man some money and call it a day. No, he cleaned his wounds, bandaged him up and then put him on his donkey and went to an inn where he continued to take care of the man. The Samaritan did not leave the man until the next day, and even then he made sure that allowed the man to stay in the inn as long as he needed to.

Who’s the neighbor? The Samaritan in this story lets us know that our neighbors are not only those who look like and act like us. Not only those of the same class, status or skin color. No. We are all neighbors to each other. Just be a neighbor whenever you are needed, and realize that neighbors can come from surprising places.

This story reminds me of some of the Unitarian Universalist principles:

• The inherent worth and dignity of every person — The man who was beaten was a man of worth as we all are. Just because others didn’t recognize him as such doesn’t mean that he wasn’t.
• Justice, equity and compassion in human relations — Compassion was shown to the man who’d been taken advantage of.
• The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all — The only way we will ever achieve a world community with peace, liberty and justice for all is by acknowledging every person as our neighbor and by loving every person as ourselves.

This Samarian teaches us about love. He teaches us that our neighbor is anyone we come in contact with. What would have happened to the man who’d been beaten had the Samaritan never stopped. He may have died and he may not have died. Maybe someone else would have stopped and helped him. I believe that the Samaritan stopped because of his love for people, because of his values and because by stopping he was fulfilling part of his purpose in life. Part of his reason for living was to help give life to someone else who was dying. Who are you giving life to? We all have opportunities to do that throughout the course of our time here on earth. We have chances to love others and walk in our reason for being here.

One way that I’m fulfilling my purpose and loving others is through organizing. Through organizing we’re given the chance to love each other with the gift of healing. We heal our congregations and communities by restoring people. This not only refers to our neighbors but it includes ourselves as well. We heal ourselves and our neighbors with the gifts of listening and sharing. We take time to listen to others and then we share ourselves with them. We take time to hear their silent cries and learn why they’re crying. By listening to people we empower them and give them their voice back.

Through relationships we build by organizing we bring people together to create change. While cleaning and bandaging up his neighbor the Samaritan was developing a relationship. He took time to hear his heart. By listening and caring for this man change was being made. Two people who were at one time enemies, were beginning to form a bond of friendship. Now the Jewish man no loner thinks bad of all Samaritans. Maybe the next time he sees a Samaritan he’ll treat him with brotherly love as he was treated. This is what organizing is all about. About loving each other enough to listen to one another so that we can come together and make change for the better.

I encourage and challenge you on this week to fulfill your purpose and reason for existence by loving your neighbor as yourself. What’s love got to do with it? Everything! We are on this earth to love one another and remember we are all neighbors one to another.

Thank you.

 

Reflecton: Flaming Chalice and Interfaith Action by Reverend John Beverly Butcher