18 Pentecost/Year C - October 9, 2022

Alternative lectionary: BE Campaign: BE KIND – week 2

1 Kings 17:8-16; Psalm 103:1-13; Colossians 3:12-17; Matthew 20:29-34

(As a reminder): For the month of October, we are following an alternative lectionary, a special series of readings that was put together, by clergy and lay leaders in the Episcopal Church and Methodist Church, as part of a national movement called the BE Campaign…It’s based on the profound teaching of the prophet Micah, who, in a time not unlike our own in 700 BCE, asked the question: “What does the Lord require of us, but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God?”

Our diocesan Bishop, Mark Lattime, invited us to participate in this offering…as a way to help make our communities a bit more like the Kingdom of God…in a time of so much division, uncertainty and anxiety in our world…

This week’s focus is on KINDNESS…to LOVE KINDNESS…to BE KIND…

And just as last week’s theme, to BE JUST, was a BIG and BROAD term to define and act upon, leaving room for a thousand different ways, small and large, to go about being JUST in our broken and anxious world...this week’s theme to BE KIND, also invites us to discern what it means, as a follower of Jesus, to BE KIND, in a time such as this…

To BE KIND…sounds so easy…we talk to our children about it often…be kind to your friends, to your classmates; be kind to animals…We hear reminders all the time to be kind to one another, be kind to the waiter or waitress who is taking your order, be kind to your co-workers, be kind to your caregivers, be kind to the road construction crew, be kind to the airline staff…

This list could go on and on because there are so many small opportunities all around us, every day, to BE KIND to one another…

Yet, as simple as those two words sound:

When we are weary, worried, fearful, anxious and feeling overwhelmed by all the changes and unknowns in our own lives, in our communities, and around the world…to BE Kind, or merciful to ourselves or those around us…is not always our default reaction to something we did not expect or plan for…

So, what can we do? Is there any hope for KINDNESS to be the first thing that comes to mind when faced with difficult circumstances?

I believe so…and I believe there is One we can turn to, again and again, to show us the way…

I believe that Jesus, is that One, who can help us strive to be merciful, to BE Kind to one another…

I believe that a regular practice of setting aside time to get to know who Jesus is, through the reading of scriptures and in our times of prayer, can help us as we strive to BE KIND to one another…in a world that often feels unkind, and in a world, that sometimes defaults to being concerned more about one’s own needs, instead of the needs and concerns in the lives of people all around us…

In today’s gospel, we get a glimpse of what KINDNESS looks like through the teaching of Jesus, and through the lens of God’s love and mercy for all people…

As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. There were two blind men sitting by the roadside. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd sternly ordered them to be quiet, but they shouted even more loudly, “Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!” Jesus stood still and called them, saying, “What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.”

Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they regained their sight and followed him.

I wonder where you see signs of kindness in this story today.

I see signs of kindness in the way Jesus noticed the two blind men, acknowledged them, asked them what they needed from him, listened to them, and Jesus responded with compassion that healed them in a such a way…that moved them to want to follow Jesus.

I imagine people passed by the two blind men every day…turned the other way…ignored them, tried to silence them, didn’t want to listen to them, perhaps made all kinds of assumptions about them…about their worthiness…Yet…they were the ones who sensed and knew that Jesus was near them…and they called out to him for help…knowing by experience, that many of the others had passed them by, all the time…never stopping to consider what they needed.

It seemed as though something as simple, as being mindful that these two blind men, were children of God… they had lives marked by sorrows, worries, and hopes and dreams just like everyone else who passed them by.

I wonder how this understanding of what kindness looks like might help us next time we are in a situation that asks us to respond with compassion and kindness?

In those times – when the waiter or waitress comes back to the table with the wrong order… When our co-worker seems to be distracted and not doing their share of work…When the caregiver keeps getting frustrated when the care receiver doesn’t want to cooperate…When you think the road construction crew is making you wait too long to get to where you are supposed to be going…

When your flight is cancelled…and the airline staff can’t accommodate the changes you want…And in this time of the election season – when you and your neighbor seem to disagree on everything…

Could we take a moment to pause and take a deep breath, before responding in our time of frustration…to acknowledge that each one of these people are most likely experiencing the same sorrows, worries, weariness, hopes and dreams that impact all of our lives…

Can we, as a community of God’s people who gather here in the church, and as God’s people out in our communities, strive to BE Kind as Jesus has taught us…by noticing others, acknowledging others, asking others what they need, take the time to listen to each other, respond with compassion, desire healing for all God’s people…

To BE KIND – in some circumstances can feel like a big ask, a big deal, not something we think we are capable of…

But, I think the pearl of the week, highlighted in your bulletin today, helps us to frame it in such a way that we can say “Yes” to BE KIND…more often than we think we can…

Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day. Sally Koch, CSJ

Small opportunities to BE KIND to one another…surround us every day…We can begin anew every day…right where we are…

So then, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Be tolerant with one another and forgive one another whenever any of you has a complaint against someone else. Forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you. And to all these qualities add love, which binds all things together in perfect unity. The peace that Jesus gives is to guide you in the decisions you make; for it is to this peace that God has called you together in the one body. And be thankful. Colossians 3:12-15 (GNT)

Closing prayer/hymn: Thank you, Lord

(Voices Found Hymnal: 160)

RECORDING OF Thank You Lord. By Diane Andrews

1 Thank you, Lord, for this fine day,

thank you, Lord, for this fine day,

right where we are.

Alleluia, praise the Lord!

Right where we are.

2 Thank you, Lord, for loving us,

thank you, Lord, for loving us,

right where we are.

Refrain

3 Thank you, Lord, for giving us peace,

thank you, Lord, for giving us peace,

right where we are.

Refrain

4 Thank you, Lord, for setting us free,

thank you, Lord, for setting us free,

right where we are.

Refrain

Rev Julie Platson, St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church, Sitka, AK