Virtual Methodist

We're celebrating "Home Mission" Sunday a week late in Belfast South Methodist, but as part of it we are exploring what loving our neighbour means for us seeking to love our neighbourhood on the Lisburn Road... As part of that we are trying to hear what Jesus said in a story based on another road 2000 years ago. I originally wrote the following dialogue, which we will be using this morning, for the "Connexions on a Journey Event" at the 2004 Methodist Church in Ireland Conference in Dublin, as a partner piece to the " Companions on a Journey " poem I have recently reposted. I went back to find this dialogue and discovered that it got a whole 2 hits the first time I posted it... It's probably due a reblog... Voice 1:  A lesson on the road… Voice 2:  A dangerous road… Voice 1:  A difficult lesson… Voice 2:  One which we haven’t learned 2000 years later… Voice 1:  What must we do to inherit eternal life… Voice 2:  That’s easy “Love the L...

This Sunday those who follow the lectionary will travel down that well worn road from Jerusalem to Jericho in the company of the so-called " Good Samaritan ". What follows is a short excerpt from a longer show entitled "I Witness" which I wrote a number of years ago for New Irish Arts . It looks at this all too familiar story through the eyes of Simon, the Samaritan who had suffered from leprosy before Jesus healed him and nine others, and Jacob, a Pharisee. Simon: Jesus healed me of leprosy… But he didn’t heal me easily of my prejudices… I was still suspicious of Jews… Just as Jews are of us… Jacob: I have nothing against Samaritans… as individuals… But they are heretics… sadly misguided… Simon: Even his disciples didn’t like us much… Apparently on one occasion, some of my countrymen weren’t very hospitable to them on the way to Jerusalem , and they were all for calling down fire from heaven to wipe the offending village off the map… I never heard they so keen t...

Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half-dead.... a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' Luke 10:30, 33-35 (ANIV) Its a good job that the Samaritan didn't have to cope with privatised health provision or 2 silver coins wouldn't have been enough. According to the Sunday Times last weekend, German driver Resul Mor was flagged down by a man who asked him to take his desperately ill wife to hospital in Hamburg. On arrival hospital staff asked Herr Mor...

Preaching on the Parable of the Good Samaritan (again) and I dug out this dialogue I wrote for the Connexions on a Journey Event at the 2004 Methodist Church in Ireland Conference in Dublin. It was actually a partner piece to the " Companions on a Journey " poem I posted earlier. Voice 1: A lesson on the road… Voice 2: A dangerous road… Voice 1: A difficult lesson… Voice 2: One which we haven’t learned 2000 years later… Voice 1: What must we do to inherit eternal life… Voice 2: That’s easy “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind;” and, “Love your neighbour as yourself.” Voice 1: Correct! Eternal life to the smart alec on my right! Voice 2: But who is my neighbour? Voice 1: That’s typical of the breakdown in a sense of community in the world today… Imagine not knowing your own neighbour… Voice 2: No seriously… Who do I have to love? Voice 1: Who do you have to love? Th...

Last week a member of my congregation, who we shall call Jay for want of imagination, was walking in Stormont Estate as is her habit, but she slipped and fell down a bank, and immediately felt a crack in her lower leg. She lay stunned for a moment or two, then gingerly go herself to a sitting position… She couldn’t get up. So she looked around for some help, and thankfully there was another lady walking the same path. Surely she had seen her slip and fall. But this other lady made no move to help her. “Help!” Jay cried, but the other lady kept on walking. “Please help me!” she shouted from the bottom of the bank, but no more than twenty feet away, the other lady passed by. Someone today said that they probably had their “ipod” or some other such device stuck in their ears and couldn’t hear Jay calling. If that were the case wouldn’t it be even more ironic if they had their ipods in and were listening to some deafening “praise music”? But that is just speculation. What actually happened...