WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.540 It was on July the 7th in the year 2005, 00:00:07.660 --> 00:00:12.099 between 8.50 in the morning and 9.47, 00:00:13.179 --> 00:00:17.879 that Islamic terrorists set off four suicide bombers, 00:00:18.059 --> 00:00:20.859 detonated their bombs in central London. 00:00:20.859 --> 00:00:23.660 Three of them were on tube trains, 00:00:24.760 --> 00:00:27.940 and one of them was on a double-decker bus. 00:00:27.940 --> 00:00:30.179 That was the last of the bombs to go off. 00:00:31.280 --> 00:00:34.219 Just looking around, you're all old enough to remember that, 00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:37.100 although some of you might be too old to remember it, as a matter of fact. 00:00:37.920 --> 00:00:40.320 Here's the thing. 52 people were killed, 00:00:40.980 --> 00:00:43.920 and over 700 people were injured. 00:00:44.820 --> 00:00:49.460 One of the people who was killed was a young woman called Jenny Nicholson. 00:00:50.700 --> 00:00:54.740 Her mother was a colleague of mine in the Diocese of Bristol. 00:00:54.880 --> 00:00:55.659 She was a priest. 00:00:55.659 --> 00:00:59.199 And she attracted a lot of publicity, 00:00:59.199 --> 00:01:03.219 because the world was waiting to proclaim over her, 00:01:03.659 --> 00:01:07.859 you are bound to have lost your faith with that kind of thing going wrong in your life. 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:11.280 Julie never lost her faith, 00:01:12.280 --> 00:01:18.739 but she did feel that because she harbored feelings of resentment towards the Islamic terrorists, 00:01:18.739 --> 00:01:26.939 it would not be right for her to function as a priest until she had kind of aligned her soul 00:01:26.939 --> 00:01:30.959 with the terrible feelings of resentment that she had. 00:01:31.759 --> 00:01:41.140 The funeral was complicated by the fact that the heat on the tube train where Julie was killed 00:01:41.140 --> 00:01:44.439 went up to 2,600 degrees centigrade. 00:01:45.180 --> 00:01:51.140 This means there was absolutely nothing left of a body in those temperatures. 00:01:51.379 --> 00:01:54.379 So they had no body to bury, no, nothing. 00:01:55.739 --> 00:02:02.159 In the end, through clever forensics, they identified that she was one who'd been killed. 00:02:02.159 --> 00:02:07.060 And as I preached at the funeral service, 00:02:07.379 --> 00:02:10.159 I can remember thinking in the back of my mind, 00:02:10.620 --> 00:02:15.019 I wonder if Julie and her husband will ever get over this. 00:02:16.259 --> 00:02:18.620 Of course, the answer to that is in one way, no. 00:02:18.620 --> 00:02:22.819 Because when something like that happens to you, you are, 00:02:24.500 --> 00:02:27.219 you know, I would think impacted forever. 00:02:27.420 --> 00:02:32.480 It's just, can you align your soul so that you can live with the impact of what's happened? 00:02:34.500 --> 00:02:38.580 But I remember saying to Julie, actually just after the funeral, 00:02:38.860 --> 00:02:39.500 how's it going? 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:41.920 I just want to read to you what she said to me. 00:02:43.140 --> 00:02:44.300 She said this, 00:02:44.300 --> 00:02:52.620 What keeps me going is the myriad of small kindnesses and goodness shown by people I don't even know. 00:02:53.960 --> 00:02:55.380 Let me say that again. 00:02:56.420 --> 00:03:04.120 What keeps me going is the myriad of small kindnesses and goodness shown by people I don't even know. 00:03:05.840 --> 00:03:07.520 I need to be honest with you. 00:03:07.580 --> 00:03:12.560 Today's theme, I changed the title of it because I thought if we stuck with it as it was, 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:13.520 you might not come. 00:03:14.300 --> 00:03:19.020 It was, the theme is goodness and kindness. 00:03:19.140 --> 00:03:23.920 I thought basic instincts sounded, especially to those of you who film buffs, a bit more interesting. 00:03:24.120 --> 00:03:25.780 But I may be on my own in that. 00:03:26.900 --> 00:03:29.480 The theme was kindness and goodness. 00:03:30.180 --> 00:03:33.260 And my heart sank when I read that. 00:03:33.420 --> 00:03:37.520 You know, I'm like, this is motherhood and apple pie, isn't it? 00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:46.700 You know, who's going to sit in a church and say, you know, disagree with the idea that goodness and kindness are a bad idea? 00:03:48.500 --> 00:03:49.360 None of us. 00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:57.900 On the other hand, we all know that goodness and kindness is not always part of the way we respond. 00:03:58.760 --> 00:04:00.120 Who's going to disagree with that? 00:04:00.120 --> 00:04:09.140 But listen, we all know there are times when our ability to be good and kind is severely tested. 00:04:09.139 --> 00:04:22.500 Those of you who are in a marriage or in a long-term relationship will be only too aware that that can be, sadly, too often a kind of prominent aspect. 00:04:22.500 --> 00:04:24.300 That we're not always good and kind. 00:04:25.620 --> 00:04:27.079 You just test this out for a moment. 00:04:27.180 --> 00:04:30.899 I mean, suppose you're at a dinner party and it's a buffet. 00:04:31.579 --> 00:04:34.379 And there is the most delicious dessert. 00:04:36.060 --> 00:04:43.240 And you've all had, and the host says, there is some of this dessert left if you would like it. 00:04:43.860 --> 00:04:44.480 Do you? 00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:48.779 Rush to the thing before anybody else. 00:04:48.980 --> 00:04:50.879 Take it on your plate and devour it. 00:04:50.879 --> 00:04:57.920 Do you deploy more subtle tactics like saying, you saw the family dog lick it before? 00:04:59.040 --> 00:05:04.540 Or do you wait and see if anybody else takes it? 00:05:05.879 --> 00:05:12.839 Or you're walking down a high street in Clevedon and you find a £10 note line on the pavement. 00:05:13.259 --> 00:05:14.680 Do you A, pocket it. 00:05:15.459 --> 00:05:17.959 B, pretend you didn't see it. 00:05:17.959 --> 00:05:21.479 C, take it to a police station. 00:05:23.419 --> 00:05:25.959 Or D, decide that you will pick it up. 00:05:26.120 --> 00:05:32.419 But your justification for picking up and taking it is, you will give it to a good cause, which you might get round to. 00:05:34.199 --> 00:05:38.939 You see, just by dipping a thermometer into our everyday lives, 00:05:38.939 --> 00:05:44.800 that there are times when goodness and kindness are a challenge for us. 00:05:45.800 --> 00:05:46.199 Definitely. 00:05:46.199 --> 00:05:54.199 And yet, says Julie, in the midst of the worst conceivable trauma that any human being could imagine, 00:05:54.360 --> 00:05:56.079 certainly any parent could imagine. 00:05:57.019 --> 00:05:57.420 Okay. 00:05:58.319 --> 00:06:04.300 She says, what's bringing me through this is the myriad of small kindnesses and goodness, 00:06:05.300 --> 00:06:09.240 shown to me from people I don't even know. 00:06:09.240 --> 00:06:20.220 One of the big collision courses today between Christian belief and the way that modern Britain thinks, 00:06:20.439 --> 00:06:23.180 hinges around what we call anthropology. 00:06:23.400 --> 00:06:25.300 That is, what are we basically like? 00:06:26.040 --> 00:06:28.680 Are we basically good people? 00:06:28.680 --> 00:06:36.620 But we've been spoiled either by bad parenting strategies or our genes or all this stuff. 00:06:37.519 --> 00:06:39.660 In other words, are we the way we are? 00:06:39.819 --> 00:06:43.519 We were basically good, but we've been spoiled by all that stuff. 00:06:43.680 --> 00:06:46.960 Or are we basically not so good? 00:06:48.620 --> 00:06:52.699 Because our tendency is to be self-centered and selfish. 00:06:52.699 --> 00:07:00.159 And historic Christianity has taken the latter view, that we need to be healed. 00:07:00.439 --> 00:07:07.420 Remember in Isaiah, when Isaiah, speaking hundreds of years before it happened, 00:07:07.639 --> 00:07:10.560 speaks of the finished work of Jesus in these terms. 00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:13.939 He says, by his wounds you have been healed. 00:07:15.060 --> 00:07:20.180 Or you could go to Ezekiel chapter 18, where there's a bunch of people wandering around. 00:07:20.180 --> 00:07:24.060 At this point, the Jews are in exile in Babylon. 00:07:25.259 --> 00:07:29.519 And the Jews are going around saying, it's a rather cryptic phrase, to be honest. 00:07:29.639 --> 00:07:34.579 They say, the fathers have eaten sour grapes and set the children's teeth on itch. 00:07:35.300 --> 00:07:36.860 You're thinking, what does that mean? 00:07:37.500 --> 00:07:39.699 What it means is, this is not our fault. 00:07:39.780 --> 00:07:41.240 It's the fault of our forefathers. 00:07:41.579 --> 00:07:45.360 We're here in exile because of their behavior, not because of ours. 00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:49.639 And you would think that God might have some sympathy for that. 00:07:49.720 --> 00:07:55.379 But no, God says to them, this proverb shall surely never be used again in Israel. 00:07:55.620 --> 00:07:59.920 For the soul that sins will surely die. 00:08:01.259 --> 00:08:02.220 What are we like? 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:07.800 Well, I wish I had long enough to say some more about that. 00:08:07.800 --> 00:08:12.420 But nobody, I think we can say, kindness and goodness. 00:08:12.939 --> 00:08:14.439 Nobody is going to disagree. 00:08:14.960 --> 00:08:18.060 Well, maybe Hannibal Lecter or Stalin or somebody. 00:08:18.600 --> 00:08:27.620 But none of us would disagree that kindness and goodness, exercised through humans, would make a better society. 00:08:28.939 --> 00:08:30.019 Come back to that. 00:08:30.019 --> 00:08:33.519 The Bible holds up two realities for us. 00:08:33.639 --> 00:08:36.819 Firstly, God is goodness personified. 00:08:37.379 --> 00:08:38.799 And God is kind. 00:08:38.960 --> 00:08:40.360 He is grace personified. 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:43.639 And when I say personified, what I mean is, 00:08:43.980 --> 00:08:46.840 He is literally personified in the person of Jesus. 00:08:47.960 --> 00:08:51.279 God personifies Himself in Jesus. 00:08:51.659 --> 00:08:57.159 If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus as the Bible reveals Him to us. 00:08:57.159 --> 00:09:03.379 If, as a disciple, making no assumptions, but if you're a disciple, 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:07.000 healthily you will want to live as Jesus lived. 00:09:07.079 --> 00:09:12.659 And somewhere in all of that, goodness and kindness will play a big part. 00:09:14.100 --> 00:09:16.879 And so we come to our reading today. 00:09:18.799 --> 00:09:24.379 I would imagine there's some of you sitting there who have been around churches for any length of time 00:09:24.379 --> 00:09:26.720 who could almost recite that parable by rote. 00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:31.139 It is one of the best known ones as beloved by, you know, you've got, I've done, 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:34.820 I don't know how many church weekends, hundreds of church weekends. 00:09:35.139 --> 00:09:36.820 And, you know, they send the kids away. 00:09:36.899 --> 00:09:40.180 And then at the end, the kids will come back and explain their pro. 00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:44.379 Nearly all kids go for the Good Samaritan and reenact it. 00:09:44.440 --> 00:09:48.940 You know, it might be mods and rockers or something even more contemporary than that. 00:09:48.940 --> 00:09:54.080 Now, it has a grip on us as a story. 00:09:54.700 --> 00:09:59.920 But I need to say to you, although it's probably one of the best known stories in the New Testament, 00:10:00.120 --> 00:10:04.320 parables in the New Testament, it is probably one of the most misunderstood. 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:16.760 You remember the scenario here is a young lawyer comes to Jesus and says, 00:10:17.520 --> 00:10:20.800 what must I do to inherit eternal life? 00:10:20.799 --> 00:10:28.120 And Jesus quotes directly to him from the Shemach in the Jewish law in Deuteronomy chapter 6. 00:10:28.479 --> 00:10:29.519 You can read it there. 00:10:29.639 --> 00:10:34.339 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 00:10:34.620 --> 00:10:37.359 And then Jesus adds, it's not in the original. 00:10:37.360 --> 00:10:43.960 Jesus says, and love your neighbor as you love yourself. 00:10:46.060 --> 00:10:51.639 Interestingly, the church has taken a different view of what that means throughout the centuries. 00:10:51.899 --> 00:10:57.919 For years and years and years, the church thought that Jesus was being ironic and saying, 00:10:58.320 --> 00:11:02.620 if you loved other people as much as you love yourself, the world would be a different place. 00:11:02.620 --> 00:11:06.600 But 20th century psychology, of course, has put a different twist on that. 00:11:08.220 --> 00:11:13.139 And so it's interpreted now that you really need to love yourself to behave like this. 00:11:13.200 --> 00:11:16.659 And of course, there's some truth in both of those strands. 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:22.919 But interestingly, I mean, what a great question. 00:11:23.159 --> 00:11:28.159 You know, I've been in ministry for 40 years. 00:11:28.620 --> 00:11:32.100 I wish it was so simple that people would wander up to me and say, 00:11:32.340 --> 00:11:34.279 what must I do to inherit eternal life? 00:11:34.340 --> 00:11:35.800 And honestly, nobody ever has. 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:39.039 But this guy does. 00:11:39.220 --> 00:11:42.820 Jesus gives him the classic Jewish answer from the law, 00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:44.840 and then just puts that little twist. 00:11:44.940 --> 00:11:47.440 I'd love your neighbor as you love yourself. 00:11:50.460 --> 00:11:54.820 And then the lawyer, and this could be another sermon in itself. 00:11:55.000 --> 00:11:59.360 The lawyer says, he wishing to justify himself. 00:11:59.360 --> 00:12:06.039 Let me tell you, I bet I'm standing in front of a room full of experts, 00:12:06.680 --> 00:12:09.919 of people who are very good at justifying themselves. 00:12:11.960 --> 00:12:13.180 That's another sermon. 00:12:14.320 --> 00:12:18.060 But then he says, so who is my neighbor? 00:12:18.500 --> 00:12:21.000 And Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan. 00:12:21.000 --> 00:12:27.720 But in so many people's minds, the Good Samaritan is told in answer to the question, 00:12:28.059 --> 00:12:30.340 what must I do to inherit eternal life? 00:12:31.919 --> 00:12:32.440 No. 00:12:33.159 --> 00:12:36.799 It's in response to the question, who is my neighbor? 00:12:36.799 --> 00:12:44.199 And so I want to say to you this morning, five things. 00:12:44.279 --> 00:12:48.519 I want you to think about these things, because you will not, unless you get this, 00:12:48.899 --> 00:12:53.899 you will unlikely get any consistency in your life around being good and kind. 00:12:53.899 --> 00:13:02.059 The first thing about this story is the very obvious point, which I've just alluded to, 00:13:02.159 --> 00:13:06.419 and that is, just being good and kind will not save you in itself. 00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:15.299 The Bible's very, very clear on this, though apparently lots of people who go to Church of England churches 00:13:15.299 --> 00:13:16.659 are not so clear. 00:13:17.659 --> 00:13:23.319 There is this confused idea that you can describe somebody's behavior as Christian, 00:13:23.899 --> 00:13:27.159 irrespective of whether they know Jesus Christ or not. 00:13:28.600 --> 00:13:34.159 In other words, too often we reduce Christianity to just a set of ethical principles, 00:13:34.559 --> 00:13:38.600 which in modern Britain are now regarded as wildly out of date, as a matter of fact. 00:13:40.439 --> 00:13:42.919 But was Jesus summing up the law? 00:13:44.419 --> 00:13:45.159 Yes, he was. 00:13:45.919 --> 00:13:50.220 Or was he saying something that is basically intrinsic to the gospel? 00:13:50.360 --> 00:13:51.220 No, he wasn't. 00:13:51.919 --> 00:13:52.799 Why is that? 00:13:52.799 --> 00:13:59.039 Because, as St. Paul makes clear, we are saved for works, not by works. 00:13:59.819 --> 00:14:05.819 In Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 and 9, 8 to 10, there's something really exciting. 00:14:07.079 --> 00:14:14.279 Paul says, trust God, and there are good works that God has prepared in advance for you. 00:14:14.279 --> 00:14:21.740 And, you know, I don't think, I mean, unless, I mean, you might be deeply spiritual, 00:14:21.839 --> 00:14:26.039 and God writes his kind of game plan for the day on your bedroom wall every morning. 00:14:26.139 --> 00:14:27.159 It doesn't happen to me. 00:14:28.039 --> 00:14:30.139 You know, I have to work it out day by day. 00:14:31.139 --> 00:14:35.839 Do you pray for opportunities to show the love of God to others? 00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:43.840 Because I can promise you, if you pray that prayer, it will be a prayer that God will clearly answer. 00:14:45.340 --> 00:14:49.259 Some of those good works, God will make very clear to you. 00:14:50.399 --> 00:14:54.040 Though, again, you know, I can only speak for myself here. 00:14:54.039 --> 00:14:56.360 You know, Paul wrote these words. 00:14:56.439 --> 00:14:59.620 He said, the good that I want to do, I find myself avoiding. 00:15:00.439 --> 00:15:03.620 And the evil I want to avoid, I find myself doing. 00:15:04.819 --> 00:15:08.219 I can be quite good at kind of putting, you know, I think of something. 00:15:08.339 --> 00:15:12.719 I think, be really kind to give this person a call today or to drop them a note. 00:15:12.720 --> 00:15:15.560 And then I don't get around to it. 00:15:16.960 --> 00:15:20.700 I wonder if I'm the only person in church, looking at me, probably I am, 00:15:20.700 --> 00:15:28.940 but am I the only person in church who can be so inconsistent with my attempts to do what's fairly obvious to me 00:15:28.940 --> 00:15:30.759 in terms of goodness and kindness? 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:35.519 But if some acts of goodness and kindness are clear to us, 00:15:35.540 --> 00:15:41.740 it's equally true that some need, you know, we need to create the opportunity for them. 00:15:41.740 --> 00:15:49.299 You know, what do you do if you see somebody who's got a visual impairment trying to cross the road? 00:15:50.379 --> 00:15:54.379 Do you think to yourself, well, maybe they've done that, you know, before, they'll probably be okay. 00:15:54.500 --> 00:15:56.019 Or do you go and give them a hand? 00:15:57.180 --> 00:16:02.740 What do you do when you see an elderly person struggling with a heavy bag full of shopping? 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:05.919 Here's the point about this story. 00:16:05.919 --> 00:16:14.839 Good works in themselves will not serve you, but they are a proof that you trust God in Jesus Christ. 00:16:15.079 --> 00:16:16.959 Second thing I want you to think about is this. 00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:21.179 We tend to be selective about the people we will help. 00:16:22.199 --> 00:16:24.519 This story is all about that. 00:16:24.519 --> 00:16:35.379 What this story is implying is that the one person who offered help on paper was the least person likely to give help 00:16:35.379 --> 00:16:39.399 because there were ethnic issues between the two groups of people. 00:16:39.899 --> 00:16:43.539 Jews and Samaritans wouldn't normally even speak to each other. 00:16:45.519 --> 00:16:48.379 And you say to yourself, you know, how could the priest get it so wrong? 00:16:48.679 --> 00:16:50.220 How could the Levite get it so wrong? 00:16:50.220 --> 00:16:55.840 These are religious people, you know, and the Samaritan gets it right. 00:16:57.360 --> 00:17:06.339 Very challenging for us, isn't it, that God calls us to even be good and to be kind 00:17:06.339 --> 00:17:10.640 to the people who we do not naturally like. 00:17:11.940 --> 00:17:13.700 You say, well, I like everybody. 00:17:13.860 --> 00:17:14.440 No, you don't. 00:17:14.440 --> 00:17:23.160 There's even some neuroscience that suggests that part of our brains are wired in such a way 00:17:23.160 --> 00:17:28.680 that part of our identity is formed by not identifying ourselves with others. 00:17:31.140 --> 00:17:35.320 And what this story, this parable tells us, it never happened, of course, 00:17:35.380 --> 00:17:40.480 but what this parable teaches us is we've got to overcome that. 00:17:40.480 --> 00:17:48.980 And when we see people who are not like us, the call on us to show those works prepared for us in advance 00:17:48.980 --> 00:17:53.539 is still there as strongly, maybe even more strongly. 00:17:54.680 --> 00:17:59.039 In answer to the question, who is my neighbor, Jesus basically says, 00:17:59.319 --> 00:18:02.819 anyone in need within my sphere of influence. 00:18:03.700 --> 00:18:09.259 You can't say I'm not going to help him because he's a different ethnic divide. 00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:11.960 Another ethnic group. 00:18:13.880 --> 00:18:14.299 No. 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:18.220 If somebody is in need and they're within my sphere of influence, 00:18:19.120 --> 00:18:21.680 God says it's my job to do something about it. 00:18:21.880 --> 00:18:23.839 The third thing I want to think about is this. 00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:30.680 We need to deploy our imagination in the way we apply goodness and kindness to others. 00:18:31.700 --> 00:18:39.039 One of the things I love about this story is that not only did the Samaritan stop, 00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:44.259 he took him to an inn, he got him some care, got him bandaged and all that stuff, 00:18:44.619 --> 00:18:50.299 and then he left some money so that the man could be cared for until he was well enough to move on. 00:18:51.159 --> 00:18:55.779 I know this is a kind of part of my personality, 00:18:56.019 --> 00:19:00.259 but sometimes I think my attempts at goodness and kindness are very wooden. 00:19:00.259 --> 00:19:06.339 You know, they're lacking in imagination, and I pray that God would give me the imagination, 00:19:07.019 --> 00:19:12.859 not just to deal with the situation in front of me, but to think a little further than that. 00:19:15.220 --> 00:19:18.940 Fourth thing you need to think about is that if you want to change the world, 00:19:19.000 --> 00:19:23.160 if you want to make a difference in this world, you need to be prepared to sacrifice. 00:19:23.160 --> 00:19:30.700 The good Samaritan gave of his time and he gave of his money in order that this person might be cared for. 00:19:32.600 --> 00:19:38.720 And the bare minimum commitment to any of us who do acts of goodness and kindness is time, 00:19:39.000 --> 00:19:41.880 and maybe, maybe it will involve money. 00:19:41.880 --> 00:19:52.940 Today, you know, there's a lot of critical stuff written about a group of people who are referred to as millennials. 00:19:54.440 --> 00:19:57.560 They would be the age of some of our children, many of us. 00:19:58.180 --> 00:20:02.720 And generally, the rough definition is people who were born after 1984. 00:20:04.420 --> 00:20:07.620 And, you know, they've been called the Snowfake generation, 00:20:07.620 --> 00:20:11.100 they've been called the Entitled Generation. 00:20:11.880 --> 00:20:15.240 But I do want to speak up a little bit for this generation, 00:20:15.400 --> 00:20:22.340 because I think that they do have a concern to grow into a world where they will make their difference. 00:20:23.280 --> 00:20:27.100 There is something quite altruistic about that generation, 00:20:27.540 --> 00:20:32.260 which, as far as I can recall, wasn't quite as clear from my own generation. 00:20:33.620 --> 00:20:36.000 And, of course, we know that phrases like, 00:20:36.340 --> 00:20:41.160 change the world and make a difference are very easy to kind of flow from our tongues. 00:20:41.160 --> 00:20:42.519 But the bottom line is, 00:20:44.279 --> 00:20:47.759 and this may be what millennials need to think about a bit more, 00:20:47.840 --> 00:20:51.980 if you want to change the world or make a difference, 00:20:52.580 --> 00:20:54.980 you can't do it at a discount. 00:20:56.259 --> 00:20:57.560 It's going to cost you. 00:20:57.640 --> 00:21:00.080 You're going to have to sacrifice something. 00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:04.720 And the reason why Jesus is such an inspiration to me, 00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:11.439 in terms of this motherhood and apple pie theme called goodness and kindness, 00:21:12.500 --> 00:21:14.159 is that as far as I can see, 00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:16.779 he paid the ultimate sacrifice, 00:21:17.460 --> 00:21:21.939 in that he gave his life on a cross in Calvary, 00:21:21.940 --> 00:21:29.779 that people like you and I can have that part of our personality and behavior that we don't like, 00:21:29.840 --> 00:21:30.759 that we can be forgiven. 00:21:32.320 --> 00:21:34.759 And if we're really attentive to that, 00:21:35.460 --> 00:21:40.240 we can be healed of the desire to do the things that bring us down. 00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:45.319 So, listen, the Samaritan shows us, 00:21:45.460 --> 00:21:50.460 not only that this is kind of transcultural, trans-ethnic, trans-gear, whatever, 00:21:51.200 --> 00:21:54.160 he shows us that if you want to make a difference, 00:21:54.279 --> 00:21:56.660 then you need to be prepared to make a sacrifice. 00:21:56.920 --> 00:21:58.640 And the last thing is obvious. 00:21:58.960 --> 00:22:00.359 We need to go do likewise. 00:22:00.359 --> 00:22:04.079 I mean, this is the kind of message, 00:22:04.219 --> 00:22:06.579 you could sit through it, form your own opinion of it, 00:22:06.599 --> 00:22:07.719 and go home and do nothing. 00:22:08.579 --> 00:22:11.199 But I really want to issue you with a challenge. 00:22:12.559 --> 00:22:16.519 Catherine Ryan Hyde, in her book, Pay It Forward, 00:22:16.719 --> 00:22:21.459 which any of you read Simon Gwilibode's daily notes, 00:22:21.659 --> 00:22:23.699 will have read on May the 28th. 00:22:24.899 --> 00:22:26.819 She wrote a book called Pay It Forward, 00:22:26.919 --> 00:22:29.259 and it tells the story of a 12-year-old boy 00:22:29.259 --> 00:22:31.279 whose name was Trevor McKinney. 00:22:32.500 --> 00:22:37.640 And at school, his social studies teacher gave them a project. 00:22:38.019 --> 00:22:38.559 And she said, 00:22:38.660 --> 00:22:40.779 this project, I want you to tell me 00:22:40.779 --> 00:22:42.700 how you're going to change the world. 00:22:45.779 --> 00:22:47.660 And so class members went home. 00:22:47.660 --> 00:22:50.980 And so this guy, Trevor, came back, 00:22:51.920 --> 00:22:56.079 and he had a plan, and it was a feasible plan. 00:22:56.079 --> 00:23:00.859 His plan was to do a good deed for three people. 00:23:02.259 --> 00:23:04.119 And then at the moment that they said, 00:23:04.460 --> 00:23:06.119 thank you for the good deed that he had done, 00:23:06.359 --> 00:23:07.319 he would say to them, 00:23:07.579 --> 00:23:12.220 I would like you to go and do good deeds to three other people. 00:23:13.339 --> 00:23:17.819 So the thing has a kind of multiplier effect and impact. 00:23:17.819 --> 00:23:21.259 Let me tell you how Simon Gwilibode, 00:23:21.460 --> 00:23:23.220 I never pronounce his name right, 00:23:23.480 --> 00:23:26.480 but how this man, he says, 00:23:26.579 --> 00:23:29.559 he invasions a revolution of goodness and kindness 00:23:29.559 --> 00:23:31.819 spreading beyond his town in California. 00:23:33.240 --> 00:23:34.720 A film was made of the book, 00:23:34.939 --> 00:23:37.500 and the practice of doing random acts of kindness 00:23:37.500 --> 00:23:40.899 brought joy and hope to people across the world. 00:23:40.900 --> 00:23:47.820 Simon Gwilibode's summary headline is, 00:23:48.320 --> 00:23:51.400 Good Deeds Spread Good Seeds. 00:23:53.180 --> 00:23:55.920 So I wonder which ones of you, 00:23:56.000 --> 00:23:58.120 don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to put your hand up, 00:23:58.300 --> 00:24:01.620 but which of the people gathered in church this morning 00:24:01.620 --> 00:24:03.140 are going to take this challenge up? 00:24:05.540 --> 00:24:09.500 Are there people here who could bake a cake? 00:24:09.500 --> 00:24:12.799 I mean, you wouldn't want a cake, I'd bake, trust me, 00:24:12.880 --> 00:24:16.339 but other people in here could write a note, 00:24:16.420 --> 00:24:17.960 make a call, give some money away, 00:24:18.059 --> 00:24:21.220 mow a lawn, help an elderly or disabled person across the road, 00:24:21.319 --> 00:24:24.079 clean a car, babysit for a single parent, 00:24:24.920 --> 00:24:26.099 give them a bit of independence. 00:24:27.859 --> 00:24:30.720 I mean, that's my unimaginative list 00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:32.720 of the kind of things that we could commit to. 00:24:34.440 --> 00:24:35.440 And the thing is, 00:24:35.799 --> 00:24:37.740 what the story of the Good Samaritan says 00:24:37.740 --> 00:24:40.940 is that a lot of you spend a huge amount of time 00:24:40.940 --> 00:24:42.200 supporting your family. 00:24:43.559 --> 00:24:44.440 Jesus said, you know, 00:24:44.500 --> 00:24:46.079 there's not much credit to you, is it, 00:24:46.339 --> 00:24:48.220 if you only love the people who love you. 00:24:50.559 --> 00:24:52.259 So part of the challenge of this is 00:24:52.259 --> 00:24:53.640 we've got to think beyond that 00:24:53.640 --> 00:24:56.500 when we think about goodness and kindness. 00:24:58.880 --> 00:25:01.620 Galatians 6 tells us to do good to everyone, 00:25:01.619 --> 00:25:04.159 but to start in the church. 00:25:05.299 --> 00:25:07.339 Friends, if we don't do this in the church, 00:25:07.579 --> 00:25:09.759 then the church becomes less of a community 00:25:09.759 --> 00:25:13.079 and just a kind of people group 00:25:13.079 --> 00:25:14.879 that meets together once a week 00:25:14.879 --> 00:25:18.399 and people bounce off each other like billiard balls. 00:25:20.519 --> 00:25:23.599 So, five things there for you to think about. 00:25:24.259 --> 00:25:26.119 One, good works won't save you. 00:25:26.199 --> 00:25:29.500 Two, don't be selective about the people you will help. 00:25:29.500 --> 00:25:31.500 Three, deploy your imagination 00:25:32.039 --> 00:25:34.059 in your efforts to be good and kind. 00:25:34.680 --> 00:25:36.759 Four, if you want to change the world, 00:25:36.920 --> 00:25:37.900 it's going to cost you. 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:39.640 You need to be prepared to sacrifice. 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:42.500 And five, we need to go and do likewise. 00:25:43.259 --> 00:25:46.240 Listen, Bible, it's interesting, isn't it, 00:25:46.240 --> 00:25:48.500 how we spend times in our PCCs 00:25:49.059 --> 00:25:50.880 and, you know, church groups 00:25:50.880 --> 00:25:52.980 talking about how we get people to come. 00:25:53.680 --> 00:25:55.019 Have you noticed in the New Testament, 00:25:55.460 --> 00:25:57.740 Jesus talks a lot more about sending people, 00:25:57.740 --> 00:26:00.799 telling people to go out there in the world 00:26:00.799 --> 00:26:02.960 and walk or talk. 00:26:04.180 --> 00:26:06.319 I don't know a pastor who doesn't want more people 00:26:06.319 --> 00:26:08.180 in his church or her church, 00:26:08.220 --> 00:26:09.720 let me be honest about that, 00:26:09.779 --> 00:26:11.019 but what I do know is 00:26:11.019 --> 00:26:13.700 we need to reverse the flow on this. 00:26:14.079 --> 00:26:15.799 And instead of just being focused 00:26:15.799 --> 00:26:16.980 on getting people to come, 00:26:17.339 --> 00:26:18.099 we need to go. 00:26:20.319 --> 00:26:22.640 So, five things to think about 00:26:22.640 --> 00:26:24.059 as disciples of Jesus 00:26:24.059 --> 00:26:27.619 and three good deeds to do. 00:26:29.839 --> 00:26:31.319 Finally, and very briefly, 00:26:31.519 --> 00:26:34.700 when I was a curate in Slough, 00:26:35.779 --> 00:26:38.779 we had all kinds of people in dire need. 00:26:39.019 --> 00:26:42.119 And my secretary 00:26:42.119 --> 00:26:45.079 was married to a man 00:26:45.079 --> 00:26:48.960 who basically lay in bed all day long. 00:26:50.379 --> 00:26:51.859 He did get a job eventually, 00:26:51.859 --> 00:26:53.619 but eventually got sacked from that. 00:26:54.699 --> 00:26:56.699 And their debt was just rising 00:26:56.699 --> 00:26:59.319 and rising and rising and rising. 00:27:01.439 --> 00:27:02.319 And you can imagine, 00:27:03.139 --> 00:27:05.299 you know, I've never had to do it, 00:27:05.339 --> 00:27:05.779 thank God, 00:27:05.879 --> 00:27:07.219 but living with debt 00:27:07.219 --> 00:27:09.439 would be an amazing burden for me. 00:27:10.379 --> 00:27:12.699 And I think it would be for most people too. 00:27:12.919 --> 00:27:13.699 And so, you know, 00:27:13.759 --> 00:27:14.959 they almost kind of stopped 00:27:14.959 --> 00:27:16.339 looking at the mountain of debt 00:27:16.339 --> 00:27:17.079 they're creating. 00:27:17.079 --> 00:27:20.000 Stupid bank and credit card companies 00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:21.720 were happy to keep signing off 00:27:21.720 --> 00:27:22.579 on their spending. 00:27:22.879 --> 00:27:23.960 Not that they were profligate, 00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:25.319 it was just basic stuff. 00:27:26.720 --> 00:27:27.619 To the point, 00:27:27.779 --> 00:27:28.519 and it, you know, 00:27:28.579 --> 00:27:30.240 in the general economy of things, 00:27:30.699 --> 00:27:31.119 you know, 00:27:31.980 --> 00:27:33.139 it doesn't sound that much, 00:27:33.199 --> 00:27:35.220 I'm going back 30 odd years now. 00:27:35.919 --> 00:27:38.579 They owned 4,500 pounds 00:27:38.579 --> 00:27:40.299 on credit cards. 00:27:42.339 --> 00:27:43.539 Alan got rehired 00:27:43.539 --> 00:27:44.879 by the company that, 00:27:47.359 --> 00:27:49.460 but he didn't earn enough money 00:27:49.460 --> 00:27:51.460 for them to start making real inroads 00:27:51.460 --> 00:27:52.899 into the debt that they owed. 00:27:53.039 --> 00:27:54.240 And then I discovered 00:27:54.240 --> 00:27:58.740 that one lovely single woman 00:27:58.740 --> 00:28:00.299 in our little congregation 00:28:00.299 --> 00:28:04.359 had given the whole of her life savings 00:28:04.359 --> 00:28:06.000 to this family 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:07.680 to wipe out the debt. 00:28:09.279 --> 00:28:10.700 My first thought was, 00:28:11.700 --> 00:28:12.460 you idiot. 00:28:13.539 --> 00:28:14.500 You know, 00:28:15.059 --> 00:28:15.819 have we put a, 00:28:15.819 --> 00:28:16.740 have we put a, 00:28:16.740 --> 00:28:19.859 a stopper in the bottom of the bath 00:28:19.859 --> 00:28:20.099 or, 00:28:20.960 --> 00:28:21.200 you know, 00:28:21.240 --> 00:28:22.639 you just throw him 00:28:22.639 --> 00:28:23.960 bad money 00:28:23.960 --> 00:28:25.700 after bad money. 00:28:27.039 --> 00:28:28.399 That's what she said to me. 00:28:29.839 --> 00:28:30.379 She said, 00:28:30.460 --> 00:28:30.680 Mike, 00:28:30.740 --> 00:28:32.079 when God judges me, 00:28:33.700 --> 00:28:35.259 I would rather accuse, 00:28:35.639 --> 00:28:37.299 be accused of being stupid 00:28:37.299 --> 00:28:40.079 than I would be accused 00:28:40.079 --> 00:28:40.899 of being mean. 00:28:40.900 --> 00:28:44.380 I've done this. 00:28:44.740 --> 00:28:46.200 I'm happy to have done this. 00:28:47.460 --> 00:28:48.480 So let it go. 00:28:50.360 --> 00:28:51.600 I read a book once 00:28:51.600 --> 00:28:52.380 by a man called 00:28:52.380 --> 00:28:54.019 Gonville French Beater. 00:28:54.180 --> 00:28:55.019 What a name, eh? 00:28:56.300 --> 00:28:58.240 He was a rather lacy priest 00:28:58.240 --> 00:28:59.920 from the city of London. 00:29:02.920 --> 00:29:04.460 I never met him once 00:29:04.460 --> 00:29:05.680 and I could tell 00:29:05.680 --> 00:29:07.579 at 11 o'clock in the morning 00:29:07.579 --> 00:29:08.980 that gin and tonic 00:29:08.980 --> 00:29:09.720 was his tipple. 00:29:12.180 --> 00:29:13.039 But in this book, 00:29:13.240 --> 00:29:14.160 he wrote something 00:29:14.160 --> 00:29:15.100 deeply shocking. 00:29:16.299 --> 00:29:17.579 I'm going to close with this 00:29:17.579 --> 00:29:18.600 because it shocked me 00:29:18.600 --> 00:29:19.360 when I read it. 00:29:20.840 --> 00:29:21.960 This is what he said. 00:29:24.299 --> 00:29:25.039 He said, 00:29:25.039 --> 00:29:28.420 I wish that Christians 00:29:28.420 --> 00:29:30.859 would wear a bedpan 00:29:30.859 --> 00:29:32.180 around their necks 00:29:32.180 --> 00:29:34.259 rather than a cross. 00:29:36.139 --> 00:29:36.720 He said, 00:29:36.799 --> 00:29:37.899 because a bedpan 00:29:37.899 --> 00:29:40.240 would remind them 00:29:40.240 --> 00:29:41.740 that love demands 00:29:41.740 --> 00:29:43.379 menial and undramatic 00:29:43.379 --> 00:29:44.779 acts of service 00:29:44.779 --> 00:29:47.659 rather than a symbol, 00:29:47.799 --> 00:29:48.279 the cross, 00:29:48.359 --> 00:29:50.000 which we sentimentalized 00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:51.639 and use as a piece 00:29:51.639 --> 00:29:52.200 of jewelry. 00:29:52.200 --> 00:29:56.460 If you're wearing 00:29:56.460 --> 00:29:57.440 a cross around your neck 00:29:57.440 --> 00:29:57.600 now, 00:29:57.680 --> 00:29:58.460 don't feel bad. 00:30:00.460 --> 00:30:02.039 But remember that quote 00:30:02.039 --> 00:30:04.460 that actually love 00:30:04.460 --> 00:30:05.920 demands menial 00:30:05.920 --> 00:30:07.920 and undramatic acts 00:30:07.920 --> 00:30:08.960 of love, 00:30:09.620 --> 00:30:10.100 of goodness, 00:30:10.299 --> 00:30:10.539 sorry, 00:30:10.680 --> 00:30:11.440 and kindness. 00:30:13.380 --> 00:30:13.920 And friends, 00:30:14.019 --> 00:30:15.019 we can do this. 00:30:15.779 --> 00:30:17.960 We really can do this 00:30:17.960 --> 00:30:20.460 and start to make 00:30:20.460 --> 00:30:21.500 small inroads 00:30:21.500 --> 00:30:22.619 to make this world 00:30:22.619 --> 00:30:24.839 a bigger and better place 00:30:24.839 --> 00:30:26.460 for all human beings 00:30:26.460 --> 00:30:27.339 to flourish in. 00:30:27.339 --> 00:30:27.400 Thank you. 00:30:27.400 --> 00:30:27.440 Thank you. 00:30:27.440 --> 00:30:27.480 Thank you.