‘Who is my Neighbour’ – report (16 May)
Motivation:
Tonight’s service was to focus on the question of ‘who is my neighbor’, and reflect on how we actively love our neighbors, of all sorts.
Environment:
A simple arrangement tonight with a few candles and significant use of overhead projection.
Service:
Opening reading: Luke 10:25-37
25On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27He answered: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[c]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[d]“
28“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30In reply 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. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins[e] 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.’
36“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Prayer.
Activity 1 – Sometimes our neighbours are our neighbours
We began with looking at our own circles of ‘neighbours’, from the very close to the distant. To do so, we all completed a circle of relationships, as below:
As people completed this by putting the people that they know in the appropriate place, we asked to reflect and pray for these people – For their needs, known and unknown, and for their needs which we may be able to help with.
Prayer
Activity 2 – The broader community.
We then moved on to think about our neighbours beyond those people that we already know. On the floor of the church were pages from today’s newspaper. Participants mingled around the pages of the newspaper, reading and marking out any pictures, paragraphs or stories of ‘Samaritan moments’ – As we identified them, we prayed quietly for them and our possible role in that.
Prayer
Activity 3 – The world
We simply used this video as our closing prayer.
