Print this page July 11,2010 A sermon by Pastor Mary Harris-Koth Good Samaritan Missions is a part your identity here at St Pauls UCC. Last week's sermon was the first in a series of identity sermons. I will take my topics from the list composed by the Identity Task force. Your identity says this is who we are, who I am and this is what we hope to become. Life is about choices and one needs data to make choices. So today I present data on the topic of missions. Your dollars for missions gives life to the Good Samaritan Story. Your method is to select by council vote and annual meeting what mission offerings will be collected. Each person has the choice to give or not give according to their means and the dictates of their heart. You have selected a good representative list for missions. You give to the support of this church, and to care for the needs of this church. You give to support your extended family the mission work of the UCC. Your give to support your neighborhood and you give to Global works that are ecumenical. I will today weave a mission quilt of six possible models of Mission. Threads of both the Good Samaritan story and my experience with the homeless will be used to illustrate each model. I will present the focus and purpose of each model with support of biblical texts. The six possible models to do mission are: Model 1. Rescue the perishing, Conversion Mission, 2. We've a story to tell to the nations/ Blue's Brothers Model/ God's Mission, 3. Justice and Charity kiss model/ systems analysis/ 4. Kenosis (Self-Emptying) of incarnation, I want to be like Jesus 5. Liberation Mission/ Mission in the Concrete Realities of Life, 6.Mission in the fullness of Life/ Come Holy Spirit Come. O course, there are the hybrids and you may use a combination of models depending on circumstances. Be aware, God is present in each of these models. There is no right or wrong, rather where do you find yourself and is there a model you would like to explore. 1.Rescue the Perishing, do conversion mission: The purpose and primary focus of this mission is to convert the person to your truth. It focuses on the biblical text of the great commission given by Jesus at the moment of his ascension. "Go….make disciples…baptize…teach…" (Matthew 28: 19-20) The missionary says; "I must first share the message of salvation." There is a homeless shelter in Chicago that does good work but it is not the model I was called to emulate. They offer meals and shelter but before one eats there is a church service that one must attend with an invitation for the sinner to accept Christ as their personal Savior. I wonder if a minister from this model might approach the half dead man on the side of the road take him to the mission where he would receive a sermon, and an opportunity to receive Christ and then medical attention. 2. Blue's Brothers Mission/ Mission from God: The purpose of this model is that the church prepares persons to be ambassador of God outside the church. God is a missionary God, people therefore are missionary. The missionary says: "I must represent God to this person" ( or at least an angel) The biblical text might be "As the father has sent me so send I you." John 20:21 or Jesus' prayer of John 17:20-21, "…that the world might believe that You (God) sent me." The man on the side of the road would be approached by the missionary and receive attention with words to this affect: "I come to you as God's ambassador and as I bandage your wound please read this track. I want you to know that God loves you and therefore I love you too." The missionary might move to the point of asking the man would you like to be baptized, I could do it now for I have with me the holy water to do the task." One volunteer suburban woman was able to help one homeless woman wearing a yellow dress out of her homeless situation. "If I can help one soul along the way, dear Lord my living has not been in vein." 3. Kenosis (Self emptying) of incarnation: The purpose of this model is to model Jesus and to see Jesus in the other. The Christ in me greets the Christ in you. This person would see Christ as the wounded man on the ground and like Simon of Cyrene he/she would care for the person seeing in the person's eyes the suffering Christ figure. This missionary would not ask if a person is documented or not because all people are children of God and if that person is lying on the side of the road in need you are the Christ figure to offer help. The biblical text for this helping person is Phil2:5-8 "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, .who emptied himself," This was a model of the nuns of the forth century serving in their prototype hospital caring for lepers. It is recorded that when a priest asked the nun why do you touch the lepers? She responded "When I wash the feet of a leper I am washing the feet of Christ." I have a friend that makes trips to offer hope to persons in refugee camps around the world. If you hear her speak she tells her story like one would tell a story of making a pilgrimage to Mecca or the Holy Lands. She always points out that she goes to encounter the suffering Christ that she might be healed. 4. Charity and Justice kiss mission/ care is given both to the broken individual and to the broken system: The missionary asks after providing care to the individual what can I do to see that this does not happen again? The biblical text might be the call for Shalom as found in Psalms 85:9-10, "Surly salvation is nigh them that fear God that glory may dwell in the land. Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and shalom kiss each other." The wounded man would be shown mercy and taken to a place to receive help as was done by the Good Samaritan and then the rescuer would go immediately to get to the heart of the problem for truth and righteousness. One possible action might be to increase the safety of the road with additional police patrol. My work with the homeless daily presented the question the people are here partly because the infrastructure is broken. A person needs rehabilitation but they do not have access, there are no beds. The person needs job training but where and how to get there. The person can not get to the interview. A homeless man named Billy Joe Robinson formed a club named the "Empty Spoon". It was a support group and a self help group. The club gave you tokens to get to a job interview and when you landed the job you returned tokens to the club as well as sharing your good news story. 5. Mission in the Concrete Realities of Life: a liberation model: The purpose of this model is to define, validate, and articulate just political, economic and social systems by word and actions. This person would approach the man to offer help to him that he might be restored to his own community. The Samaritan helper would return the Jewish man to his own community. The biblical text would be Luke 4:16-21 where Jesus reads from Isaiah, "God has anointed me to let the oppressed go free." The theme of his service to the man would be one of liberation. He would take him to his people and name the common ground that is found in all religions to help one's neighbor. He would name their common ground as people of faith. 6. Mission in the Fullness of Life/partners with the Holy Spirit to Renew the face of the earth: The purpose of this model is found in the prayer;"Come Holy Spirit, Renew the whole of creation" or in the words we say every Sunday, Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. The biblical text: Revelations 21:1-5. "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,…See I am making all things new." The person representing this model would see in the man on the side of the road the need for a new heaven and a new earth. The man would receive immediate help but this incident would move the helper to do a wholistic mission. I offer my story as an example. I was ordained this month in 1992 as Health Minister to Interfaith Council for the homeless. There was a man who slept on the bench in front of a church at night. He was beaten and developed pneumonia before he was finally hospitalized. After a short stay in the hospital he was released back to the street. Our medical system is based on the presupposition that one has a home in which to recuperate. Without a place to recuperate the man returned to the streets only to suffer a relapse and a return to the hospital. I was compelled to create a place where homeless persons might recuperate. To make a long story short after much research, collaboration, meetings, place searching, and writing of grants and begging for monies Interfaith House opened. It exists today as a respite center for homeless persons to recuperate following hospitalization. It is funded by all faiths, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish and others. St Pauls UCC what model do you emulate? What model do you wish to emulate and support with your mission dollars. Where your passion is there in is your mission. Bonnie brought grandparents raising children to meet at the church. It is her passion, her calling and her mission. Where does God call you to mission? Which story captured your imagination and hope? Which biblical text spoke to you? I challenge you individually and collectively to name your mission identity. The UCC has identity labels for its churches with certificates and training to receive your identity label. Global Mission Church is one possible label. Your web site could say "Global Mission Church". You are a 5on5 church but think of your futures possibilities: "Green Church", Peace and Justice Church and other identity labels which tell people who you have agreed to be. Be ware to choose not to choose is to choose. Here is a list of some of the mission work that happens at St Pauls UCC. Let's see, you sponsor the Parole Empowerment Partners with your representatives of the McCune's. You gather food monthly, presents for Christmas, kits for Church World Service, dresses to Africa, a community pancake breakfast, and a community tea. What am I leaving out? You provide space for the day care, Westside Chorale, grandparents raising children and multiple AA meetings. You also provide space for Weddings. You give monies to Our Church's Wider Mission, Heifer Fund, One Great hour of Sharing, Pastor's discretionary Fund, Strengthen the Church, School Supplies for Rio Rancho Elementary School, Neighbors in Need, Crop Walk, South Albuquerque Cooperative Mission, Christmas Fund, and last week you gave to the Good Samaritan Fund. You give monies on an individual choice. Each person can give or not give according to the dictates of their heart. Missions are not a part of your budget but your mission team determines which missions agree with the mission of the church. Mission envelopes are given at the time of the general offering. You support the missions of the UCC whose mission work is often mission in the fullness of life model or the mission in concrete realities of life model. Did you not send the dresses to Africa to meet the concrete realities of life? The Heifer Fund, pastor's discretionary fund, the school supplies, health kits, Crop Walk, are for Concrete needs. The UCC does Justice and Peace work in an interfaith, co-operative, and collaborative model. I have talked with some within the UCC who do missions with the invitation that the Christ within me may meet the Christ within you. It is not the UCC method to require a sermon before one receives food or to ever manipulate or coerce a person to join the church. It is not the UCC method to assume that a person is without God in their life and in need of my instruction to know God. The man who slept on the church bench was a God follower and a homeless priest. I did not take God to the homeless. God was already with the homeless.