I was recently talking with my sister-in-law in Georgia about her search for a new church.

She likes the high church liturgy, but she wants a church where she could do one or two things to help the ministries without feeling overwhelmed. So she went looking for a church where most of the membership was involved in some type of ministry, rather than a few people running almost everything.

Are you surprised to learn that it took her a long time to find one? And the one she found is making a real difference in their community. It is amazing to learn what a small church can do when everyone participates in just one ministry, but it takes creativity to find the right blend.

As Fredrick Buechner said, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

Our scripture for today is from Luke’s gospel which has been called the “Gospel of the Poor” and “The Gospel of Women” for his concern about the marginalized and oppressed.

Although there are more women in Luke’s gospel than in the other gospels, they are still the minority and their role is one of nurture rather than leadership or authority. In this gospel, the poor are called blessed and Jesus specifically helps disabled beggars and the hungry.

Luke is also known for comparing male & female characters. In today’s story the unnamed woman is compared to Simon the Pharisee – Who is the faithful one? All four gospels have a story of a woman anointing Jesus’ feet. In the other three, the anointing took place during Holy Week as foreshadowing his death and burial. However, Luke has moved it into his time of ministry, and may have been creating the case for Jesus as “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (7:35), in contrast to the Pharisees who rejected “God’s purposes” (7:30).

It also appears purposeful that Luke put this story of the “sinner” who is forgiven right before naming the women who accompanied Jesus in his travels. Western Christianity put these stories together and equated Mary Magdalene with the sinner, even though it says she was the one healed of seven demons. There is no reason for the claim that Mary Magdalene was the “sinner” or a “prostitute.” And in this story, the unnamed woman is the one praised for her faith, and Simon the Pharisee is the one whose errors are named.

In this scripture, both the woman and Jesus show creativity. For the woman, she uses what she has to have an encounter with Jesus, and we aren’t told that she was looking for anything more. There is no mention of her coming seeking healing or forgiveness. The only motive she exhibits is pure love.

And Jesus’ creativity helps us to learn that creativity is about seeing things differently, seeing a situation differently so we can figure out solutions, seeing people differently so we can be in right relationship with them, seeing ourselves differently so we can change our own inner judgments about others and ourselves.

The draws to mind the Serenity Prayer: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

This prayer encourages us to acknowledge our own powerlessness: “the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.” A skill most often undervalued in our society! Then, an encouragement for creativity in what we have agency over: “the courage to change the things I can,” which is only ourselves! And asking God for the wisdom we need to be continue the journey: “and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Because we are NOT alone – unless we choose to be! It seems that we are created with a hole within us that can only be filled by compassionately caring for others. And as the Bible tells us that we are created in the image of God, we can deduce that God also has the need to be compassionately caring for humanity.

What if we could use our own creativity to see the church differently? What purposes have we missed in our community because we assume that “church programs” look like “the way we’ve always done them”? Can we sit with out-of-the-box ideas long enough to see the value and possibility or how they might develop into viable ideas for transformation? This is the work of changemakers.

I brought up the idea of renovating our sanctuary a few times over the years, but people said it wasn’t possible. Even when we launched it, people said we wouldn’t raise the funds, but we did. At the Board meeting this past week, the question was asked, “What could we do within the community with our endowment funds if we didn’t need them to prop up our regular budget?” That is an opening for creativity. This is the kind of creativity that changemakers use.

Cole, a high school student, is working on the housing shortage in his community.

Cole can’t build affordable housing, but he’s working on a network that will pair older adults who have extra rooms in their homes with young people—college students—who can’t afford their own apartments. Along the way, those relationships might also be an answer to loneliness, which is another big problem.

Another high schooler, Moorea, is addressing young people’s addiction to technology. She’s not trying to convince them to put their phones down; she’s helping them find an easier way into face-to-face, personal interactions.

If we put our creative minds to work, how might we affect our community with compassionate justice?

May it be so. Amen.
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Today as we begin, I want to invite you to use your imaginations.

Close your eyes and imagine yourself walking along Marietta Ave. If that does not seem possible in your physical condition, imagine your body without issues or pain. Just walking along the road – enjoying the scenery – the sky is bright blue with only a few soft, wispy clouds. There are no cars on the road, so you are free to look at the trees as they reach towards the sky and hold their leaves toward the sun. The only thing you hear are a few birds singing and a soft breeze blowing. Notice how your body feels in this moment. Are you relaxed? Are you content? Are you at peace?

And then you see something on the side of the road ahead of you. As you begin to look more closely, you realize it is a young child who has fallen and is hurt. But there are no other adults in sight. Notice how your body feels in this moment. Is there some anxiety? Is any part of you tightening? Do you want to help the child?

Now imagine the person is an African American man. Notice your body. Did the feeling in your body change?

Now imagine the person as an older woman. Notice how your body feels. What are you feeling now?

I was inviting you to a contemporary scene for our scripture today. In the scenario I created, you were in the role of the priest, Levite, or Samaritan. When you hear this scripture, where do you see yourself? Generally speaking, many of us want to be the Samaritan that helps, because we want to be “the Good One.” whoMost of us want to be the hero of our own stories!

But what if we are the one who crosses the road and passes by? Or what if we are the one who is injured and our perceived “enemy” stops to help us? Do we accept the help? Or are we really the lawyer, hedging our bets, to find a way around being compassionate to all? If we looked honestly at your life, who would you be?

I read a commentary on this scripture that named the traveler as Jewish, but that is not in the text.

By telling us he was traveling alone on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, it is saying that he was in a dangerous area – physically and maybe spiritually. So the early listeners would not have been surprised that he was beaten and robbed.

The story tells us that the priest and the Levite “saw” the injured person, and both crossed to the other side of the road. Many have speculated about why they crossed, but we don’t know. We don’t know if they felt they didn’t have time, as there were other more important matters to attend to. Or they didn’t want to become “unclean” by any blood present, although the story doesn’t speak of blood. Or they didn’t want to get caught up dealing with a dead body.

But the surprise in the parable is that a Samaritan stopped and helped. The perceived “enemy” is the “Good One.” This is a good time to remember that this is Luke’s gospel And he also had Jesus tell us in 6:27 “Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you;”

In our contemporary time, can you imagine an Israeli being helped by a Palestinian? What if a person with MAGA hat was helped by an LGBTQ person? Or the other way around in either of these scenarios?

This is the last thing the lawyer wanted to hear! The lawyer came to Jesus to test him and yet the lawyer is the one who is really tested, as are we. Who would we help? Who would we want to pass by?

This week, I started listening to the new podcast “The Permanent Questions with David Brooks” which is asking some of the big questions of life.

This first episode asked “What is the Good Life?” with Notre Dame philosophy professor Meghan Sullivan. In the episode, they spoke of Iris Murdoch, who realized one day that she had free will and the ability to change her mind about someone who really annoyed her. And they talked about French mystic Simone Weil (Vay) who believed that giving one’s full attention to another is the highest form of prayer and love.

And I think today’s scripture also answers this question. If we are looking for the “Good Life” or the “Virtuous Life” then the answer is quite simple, “Love the Lord your God with all of your being and your neighbor as yourself.” Be the one who shows mercy – Be the one who acts with compassion.

Not the one who follows the religious tradition to the “t.” Not the one who just wants to tell others how they should live, but “get your hands dirty” by being present to those around you. Notice the times others are hurt – physically, verbally, or emotionally. Notice the things people say that are hurtful or cruel and tell them you hear it that way, not it a snotty, loud, or demeaning way. But speak from your heart and give them the benefit of the doubt that they didn’t mean it to come off the way it did.

But don’t be complicit and ignore it or we are no different than the Levite and the priest leaving the problem for someone else.

Remember… Christ’s call on us is to be about “Compassionate Justice,” Which is exactly what the Samaritan did. “Go and do likewise!”

May it be so. Amen.
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There once was a man who was very devout in his faith.

He read the scriptures and studied the laws, so he knew them by heart. He practiced his faith in his personal and social life. He defended God to all he met, and he challenged anyone who opposed his understanding of God and how God works in the world. Until one day, when he lost his sight. This is the beginning of a character development and every good story – like life – has a problem or challenge with which to deal.

Whether you recognized it or not, I was thinking about Saul, who became Paul, after his eyes were literally opened by God. Because it is in the challenges and struggles of our lives that we receive an invitation to a deeper, more genuine faith. It is also true that every life encounters some challenges or problems through which we must find our way – whether we do it well or not, whether we learn that we need others or not, whether we take the help offered along the way or not.

Our scriptures for today were written by Paul in an effort to unite the Jewish and Greek Christian communities.

Do you know what unites a community? A common goal or a common enemy. Paul actually begins his argument in the verses right before today’s scripture.

“I’m not ashamed of the gospel: it is God’s own power for salvation to all who have faith in God, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. God’s righteousness is being revealed in the gospel, from faithfulness for faith, as it is written, the righteous person will live by faith.” – Romans 1:16-17

This is the heart of Paul’s letter to the Romans. God’s salvation is a common goal the people seek. And is given because of God’s righteousness. Our failure to be God’s people as fully as God hopes is our common problem, and this is outlined in our scripture.

Paul reminds us that although we could learn about God through creation, God is God and creation is not God. Creation is a “mirror dimly,” to borrow from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, through which we can learn about who God is.

“Ever since the creation of the world God’s eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been seen and understood through the things God has made.” – Romans 1:20

But we tend to worship creation rather than the creator. We tell lies and say they are truth. We commit injustices and say they are God’s will. This is where change has to happen!

This was true of the Jews and the Greeks! This is where we, too, have to change!

But the Good News is that in Christ there is a new creation emerging.

Romans 8 is a scripture of hope in the face of all that is wrong with the world. Paul was VERY aware that he was writing to people who were expected to name Caesar as Lord and the grantor of salvation. Paul was preaching that role belonged to Jesus Christ, Son of the only true God. To Paul the hope he offered was that Jesus Christ was the beginning of the new creation and therefore, God’s redemption of the world.

In this passage those who follow the Spirit, are the children of God – adopted by God – and as such we are to inherit eternal life through Christ.

For context, it is important to understand that adoption in the Roman world was done by fathers who adopted sons to have an heir for their inheritance. Remember, women could not do anything with an inheritance without a male legal guardian.

Although the adoption of God’s children has a divine reward, like the life of Christ, there will be hardship and suffering in the process, too. And so we live with faith and hope. We make mistakes, and we learn from them so we can do better. We live and love one another with all our faults and foibles.

And we give thanks for Jesus Christ for God’s grace and the inheritance of eternal life.

May it be so. Amen.
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Dementia can change much more than memory.

It can affect how a person communicates, understands their surroundings, responds to others, and experiences everyday life. For families and caregivers, those changes can be difficult to understand and even harder to navigate.

One of the most important lessons caregivers often learn is that the person experiencing dementia is not choosing these changes. A misplaced item, a repeated question, a change in behavior, or an unexpected reaction may be frustrating, but responding with patience and compassion can make a meaningful difference.

We can ask ourselves:

• Do we assume someone is being difficult when they may be confused or overwhelmed?
• How might we respond differently if we focused on what a person is experiencing rather than what we expect them to remember?
• Do we give people with dementia opportunities to laugh, connect, participate, and enjoy familiar activities?
• Are we patient when someone needs more time to communicate?
• How can we support caregivers without judging the choices they have to make?
• Do we recognize that caring for someone with dementia can be lonely, exhausting, and filled with difficult decisions?

For caregivers, there is rarely one perfect answer. Caring for someone at home may work for one family and become unsustainable for another. Choosing additional care or a residential setting is not a failure. Sometimes finding the right environment can provide opportunities for social connection, activities, and care that improve quality of life for everyone involved.

Support matters, too. A caregiver may already be carrying guilt, exhaustion, grief, and uncertainty. Comments that minimize their experience, question a diagnosis, or suggest that someone “doesn’t seem that bad” can add to that burden. Sometimes the most helpful thing we can offer is simply to listen, believe them, and ask what they need.

At Church of the Apostles, creating an inclusive community means remembering that people living with dementia are still people with stories, relationships, humor, preferences, and dignity. It also means recognizing and supporting the people who care for them.

A dementia diagnosis may change someone’s life, but it does not erase their worth or their place in our community.

How can we become a community where people living with dementia and those who care for them feel seen, respected, supported, and welcomed?