“On one occasion an expert of the Law stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ ‘What is written in the Law?’ he replied. ‘How do you read it?’ He 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 and love your neighbor as yourself…’ Jesus replied, ‘Do this and you will live.’” Luke 10: 25-27
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| The AMS Ministry serves at the Los Angeles Food Bank for the Day of MERCY! |
In a well known interaction, an “expert of the Law” asks Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responds by referencing two Scriptures – Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 – inferring that to receive eternal life, the Law of the Lord demanded (1) total devotion and commitment to God and (2) love for our neighbor. To illustrate the Scriptures, Jesus tells the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Then, Jesus asks the “expert of the Law,” who was “the neighbor” to the man who fell into the hands of robbers? The “expert of the Law” responds, “The one who had MERCY on him.” Then, Jesus commands him to “go and do likewise,” thus guiding him on the path “to inherit eternal life.”
What moves me about this passage is that the “expert of the Law” was supposedly righteous, because he knew and taught the Law of the Lord. The Samaritan, on the other hand, was considered little better than a pagan and despised by the Jews. Jesus uses this irony to drive home the point that knowing the Word of God was not the same as obeying the Word of God. In other words, one can be religious and not inherit eternal life! In the parable, the two religious men – the Levite and the priest – avoided the battered man, “the neighbor,” who was left beaten, stripped and rendered helpless on the side of the road. In contrast, the Samaritan stopped what he was doing and where he was going to care for his neighbor, who was in dire need. The two religious men who chose to ignore him – by going to the extent of crossing on the other side of the road – avoided not only observing their neighbor’s pain and suffering, but also the guilty feelings for not ministering to his needs. It was out of compassion for his neighbor, that the Samaritan showed his love and obedience to God.
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| The Bordieris, McKeans and Untalans during the Shepherds Retreat at Big Bear Lake! |
On Saturday June 20, 2009, Denise and I were privileged to receive news about the Day of MERCY from various congregations in the SoldOut Movement around the world! I was particularly moved by the efforts of our brothers and sisters in Santiago, Chile, as they raised funds to meet two needs within their city of seven million. This new MERCY Fund will be used to pay for emergency operations for those lacking the finances for medical care, as well as helping high school students prepare for college – since only 15% of the Chilean youth go on to earn a university degree. Also moving to me was the efforts of the disciples in Syracuse, New York. They performed skits and read to youth at a local community center, as well as refurbishing a computer lab, which included upgrading computer software. In Portland and in Eugene, Oregon, they handed out clothes, sleeping bags and food to the homeless. Similarly in Chicago, they made and distributed sandwiches for homeless single moms and their children. In New York, Phoenix and DC, they also dispersed food to the poor and homeless.
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| Julia Nofrada rejoices after her baptism! |
Here in metropolitan Los Angeles, the Day of MERCY was a time of great excitement for all the disciples of the City of Angels Church! Each region identified different local needs and therefore served the poor and needy in their communities through varying projects. In the North, the disciples ministered in a home for battered women, and served as waiters and waitresses in a shelter, feeding over 450 in a chemical recovery program. The AMS Region boxed and distributed food to the homeless of Hollywood. The Latin Ministry spent the day picking up trash in an East LA park. The East cared for an elderly widow by cleaning up her house and yard, as well as preparing “care packages” for orphans – who had recently come to California from Russia. In the Orange County Region, the disciples came together to paint and refurbish a home for a low income, elderly Vietnam veteran – who recently underwent major surgery. In the San Diego Region, the disciples assisted several low-income “neighbors” by helping them with their laundry. And finally, for us in the West, the campus and singles fed over 200 at a food kitchen, and the marrieds interacted with the residents of the adjoining homeless shelter, while handing-out sandwiches to them.
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| The Phoenix disciples refresh the poor with food and water! |
The following morning at Sunday Worship, there was a collective, euphoric joy in our fellowship! The disciples sensed God our Father’s approval as we ministered to the “orphans, [the needy] and the widows in their distress.” (James 1:27) The buzz of the fellowship was alive with stories of disciples reaching out with the gospel to so many hopeless souls – whose burdens, trials and even the consequences of their own sins welled up in pain and depression – often medicated with drugs and alcohol. Shocking and sobering to many disciples and me was the reality that those we served – though in different circumstances – could have been us. One such individual living at the homeless shelter, where Denise and I served, was a dynamic UCLA coed. Prayerfully, since the sisters are continuing to reach out to her, she will be with us at church soon!
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| The New York City disciples are excited to serve the poor and needy! |
The Day of MERCY was our first global benevolent effort for MERCYworldwide! Therefore, this is only the beginning. As we multiply disciples, as we multiply church plantings, and as we multiply the number of nations through a unified discipling movement, then God will “do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, ACCORDING TO HIS POWER THAT IS AT WORK WITHIN US, to Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever! Amen!”
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| Nick Bordieri | ||
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