{"id":122132,"date":"2025-12-11T08:28:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T08:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/?p=122132"},"modified":"2025-12-11T09:14:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T09:14:11","slug":"awfs-2026-sermons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/awfs-2026-sermons\/","title":{"rendered":"AWFS 2026: Sermons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading is-style-green-eyebrow\">Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday 2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading is-style-no-line-eyebrow\" id=\"top\">Sermons<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#S1EN\">Those who share have more&nbsp;<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#S2EN\">The Samaritan in me<\/a>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"S1EN\">Those who share have more&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Micah 6:8&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I stand in the early summer sun on the Loosli family\u2019s strawberry field on Moron in the Jura and comb through the small bushes for the ripest and finest strawberries.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What\u2019s&nbsp;on my mind on this beautiful June morning is the motto of the upcoming fall women\u2019s weekend: \u201cThose who share have more.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The inspiration comes from the Just People course by Stop Poverty.&nbsp;The values we want to discuss are charity, sustainability,&nbsp;justice&nbsp;and mercy. Our key text will be Micah 6:8.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\"><em>\u201cHe has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?\u201d&nbsp;<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We take a deep breath. God has already laid down what is important in his commandments. There is nothing to add.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The task now is to combine the motto of the women\u2019s weekend, \u201cThose who share have more,\u201d with Micah 6:8.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This motto challenges us, not only because of what it claims, but because it is contradictory: a&nbsp;<em>part<\/em>&nbsp;is&nbsp;<em>less<\/em>&nbsp;of something, not more! Less is less, not more.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When something is paradoxical and&nbsp;seemingly nonsensical, it may point to a higher meaning.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What could that meaning be?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When I share or give away some of the strawberries that I have gathered with the sweat of my brow on the sunny Moron, I have fewer strawberries, not more.&nbsp;So&nbsp;the \u201cmore\u201d cannot refer to the strawberries, but what then? What is the added value?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Change of scene<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the world map as we know it. The&nbsp;colours&nbsp;represent&nbsp;the different continents:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" data-src=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Worldmapper_Basemap_label-1024x512.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-122090 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Worldmapper_Basemap_label-1024x512.png 1024w, https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Worldmapper_Basemap_label-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Worldmapper_Basemap_label-768x384.png 768w, https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Worldmapper_Basemap_label-1536x768.png 1536w, https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Worldmapper_Basemap_label.png 2000w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1024px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1024\/512;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a world map in which the natural contours are distorted. Europe, North&nbsp;America&nbsp;and parts of Asia are inflated because they consume more natural resources in relative terms.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" data-src=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Grid_EcologicalFootprint_2019-1920x960-1-1024x512.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-122062 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Grid_EcologicalFootprint_2019-1920x960-1-1024x512.png 1024w, https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Grid_EcologicalFootprint_2019-1920x960-1-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Grid_EcologicalFootprint_2019-1920x960-1-768x384.png 768w, https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Grid_EcologicalFootprint_2019-1920x960-1-1536x768.png 1536w, https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Grid_EcologicalFootprint_2019-1920x960-1.png 1920w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1024px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1024\/512;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>But the world\u2019s resources are finite.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What some consume for food production, per capita living space, mineral extraction, etc., others do not have. That is why they have shrunk.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this map, Africa,&nbsp;India&nbsp;and Pakistan are blown up. This is the map of child malnutrition. There are many more malnourished children in the&nbsp;exaggerated&nbsp;continents, while in Europe and America there are almost none. The unequal distribution of resources is a fact.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" data-src=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Children_Malnourishment_2002-1-1536x768-1-1024x512.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-122048 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Children_Malnourishment_2002-1-1536x768-1-1024x512.png 1024w, https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Children_Malnourishment_2002-1-1536x768-1-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Children_Malnourishment_2002-1-1536x768-1-768x384.png 768w, https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Children_Malnourishment_2002-1-1536x768-1.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1024px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1024\/512;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Mani Matter, the Swiss songwriter, summed up this knowledge in his ingeniously apt way in a short poem or song.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\"><em>\u201cThose who are well off&nbsp;<br>Would be better off&nbsp;<br>Were those better off&nbsp;<br>Who are less well off&nbsp;<br>But that is not possible&nbsp;<br>Without those&nbsp;<br>Being less well off&nbsp;<br>Who are well off\u2026\u201d&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We in Switzerland are&nbsp;really very&nbsp;well off. Switzerland is one of the richest countries in the world. Most of us have very few deprivations. On the other side of the globe, people work hard and in precarious conditions to guarantee our material prosperity. Our prosperity comes at a price, but it is not necessarily us who pay for it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If goods were distributed more evenly around the world, everyone would be better off. But how can we bring ourselves to share what we have?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to happiness research and the United Nations World Happiness Report, it should be quite simple: Sharing makes us happy.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You increase your own happiness by increasing the happiness of others.&nbsp;So&nbsp;if we ensured that malnutrition in the Global South declined and that people had access to more resources, more food, more educational opportunities, etc., we would be happier.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this sense, you have more when you share.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Back to the strawberry field<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When I share the&nbsp;strawberries&nbsp;I\u2019ve&nbsp;picked myself and bring them to someone, I make that person happy.&nbsp;There\u2019s&nbsp;the moment of enjoyment for the recipient and the joy of receiving a gift. And because I get to&nbsp;witness&nbsp;that,&nbsp;I\u2019m&nbsp;happier myself. Then there is more.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Somehow, it still&nbsp;doesn\u2019t&nbsp;quite satisfy.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is certainly a lot of truth in it, but it is&nbsp;actually a&nbsp;virtuous insight in the sense of the ancient Greeks. But we are talking about a Mennonite women\u2019s weekend.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is Micah 6:8 once again:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\"><em>\u201cHe has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Micah, the following is important:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>to abide by the law (some translations speak of practising justice, doing what is right, not allowing injustice);\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>to be humane toward our fellow human beings (some translations speak of solidarity, of giving care);\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>to live in constant communion with God (some translations say \u201cwalking attentively with God, being understanding and mindful, living in reverence with God\u201d).\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>God will show mercy to those who live this way.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a text that focuses on practical, lived faith.&nbsp;Let\u2019s&nbsp;take a closer look:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Justice and righteousness<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The theme of justice runs like a thread through the Bible. When we think of justice, we may initially think that everyone gets what they deserve, that everyone should receive their just punishment for their wrongdoing.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But God\u2019s justice is not primarily about judgment. God\u2019s justice is the creation of life-affirming conditions, of balanced relationships between people, between God and created beings. Since we are fallible, God\u2019s justice has a lot to do with mercy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And this is a justice that does not only concern the&nbsp;individual, but&nbsp;has the whole of social coexistence in view: We think of the example of the&nbsp;jubilee&nbsp;year, when every&nbsp;seven times&nbsp;seven years all debts are forgiven (Leviticus&nbsp;25).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Being human, showing solidarity and giving affection<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Many of us know how it feels to experience hospitality from people who, by our standards, have nothing, yet want to share the little they can muster at that moment with their guests. This is deeply impressive, sometimes even embarrassing, because you cannot give anything back at that moment.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But&nbsp;perhaps you&nbsp;resolve to emulate this example. Through the example of the poorest, we learn to&nbsp;share&nbsp;and a domino effect is created.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Living in constant connection with God, walking attentively with God<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>This means that God leads the&nbsp;way&nbsp;and we follow him.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is not we who decide where to go and then God follows, but rather God sets out on the path that we are to walk attentively with God.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If we are not careful and allow ourselves to be distracted, we may miss a turn along the way and suddenly find ourselves in the undergrowth. \u201cLiving in constant communion with God\u201d means, ideally, taking God\u2019s hand like a small child and holding on to it as tightly as possible.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So&nbsp;that\u2019s&nbsp;what Micah was concerned with in 700 BC. Is that still what&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;about today, even in life with Jesus?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In my search for a verse that sums up what matters in life with God as succinctly as Micah 6:8,&nbsp;and also&nbsp;addresses the question of sacrifice and sharing, I came across a verse in Hebrews. The Letter to the Hebrews is addressed to a congregation whose&nbsp;initial&nbsp;enthusiasm&nbsp;seems to be&nbsp;waning. Therefore, it needs to be reminded of what is important. In the concluding exhortations in chapter 13, we read (13:15):&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\"><em>\u201cThrough [Jesus], then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And then comes the verse that sums it up so beautifully (13:16):&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"padding-top:0;padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-bottom:0;padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\"><em>\u201cDo not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>God is pleased when we do good and share. This is how we want to understand the motto, \u201cThose who share have more.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The \u201cmore\u201d is the close connection to our Lord Jesus, the undivided attention, the grateful questioning, the listening to what and how we should and may share.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And when we&nbsp;pray and sing&nbsp;and listen, we feel that sharing is a need that comes from deep within us. It is the need to walk attentively with God and to share our strengths, our resources, our experiences of faith, everything that makes us who we are, with other people.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u2014Mathild Gyger is a member of Evangelical Mennonite Congregation&nbsp;Schanzli, Switzerland. Adapted from a sermon she delivered on 1 October 2023, featuring images from Judith Smucker of Winnipeg, Canada, who was a guest with the congregation earlier in the year.<\/em>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\"><em><a href=\"#top\">back to top<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"461\" data-src=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AWFS2026-Regensburg-1024x461.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-122076 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AWFS2026-Regensburg-1024x461.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AWFS2026-Regensburg-300x135.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AWFS2026-Regensburg-768x346.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AWFS2026-Regensburg-1536x691.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AWFS2026-Regensburg.jpg 2000w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1024px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1024\/461;\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>A potluck lunch after the service at the Mennonite church in Regensburg, Germany. Photo supplied<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"S2EN\">The Samaritan in me&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Luke 10: 25-37&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We all know the story of the Good Samaritan.&nbsp;The&nbsp;moral of the whole thing is quite simple. Jesus summarizes it aptly&nbsp;after the parable:&nbsp;\u201cThen go and do likewise\u201d&nbsp;(10:37).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, I can think of a story that could somehow fit in with the parable of the Good Samaritan.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last fall, Alfred&nbsp;from Ghana&nbsp;lived with my parents for&nbsp;five months&nbsp;during&nbsp;a semester abroad&nbsp;at the University of Basel as part of his theology studies. During his&nbsp;time in Switzerland, he came home twice&nbsp;very upset&nbsp;because he had&nbsp;witnessed&nbsp;people falling on the escalator at Basel station. What particularly bothered him was not the injuries sustained by the people&nbsp;who had fallen, but the fact that there were hardly any or no people&nbsp;next to him to help the victims.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It shows that civil courage is&nbsp;not quite&nbsp;so&nbsp;simple after all. Even if the situation, as in this case,&nbsp;doesn\u2019t&nbsp;actually&nbsp;pose&nbsp;any danger, it takes a lot of effort to decide to love. Many&nbsp;apparently fail&nbsp;to&nbsp;\u201cGo and do likewise!\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So&nbsp;perhaps it&nbsp;is worth&nbsp;taking a closer look at this Bible text.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this parable,&nbsp;almost everything&nbsp;is turned on its head. The hero&nbsp;of the story is not the priest, not the Levite and not the ordinary Jew.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No, the hero is the Samaritan, someone who, from the Jewish perspective at the time, lost his way and followed a misguided belief.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can almost hear the scholar\u2019s gnashing of teeth as he answers&nbsp;Jesus\u2019&nbsp;question after the story:&nbsp;\u201cWhich of the&nbsp;three acted as a fellow human being (or neighbour) to the man who&nbsp;was attacked?\u201d&nbsp;(10:36).&nbsp;He cannot bring himself to say:&nbsp;\u201cThe Samaritan!\u201d&nbsp;Instead, he says:&nbsp;\u201cThe one who helped him\u201d&nbsp;(10:37).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With whom in the role of hero would we feel challenged today if Jesus were to tell us the story personally? We also have groups of people who are&nbsp;more or&nbsp;less widely&nbsp;rejected in our society. Even if we&nbsp;don\u2019t&nbsp;want to, we too&nbsp;have our reservations and prejudices, which are often not easy to&nbsp;overcome.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus deliberately tells the story in such a way that it makes his&nbsp;listeners uncomfortable. I therefore invite you to take&nbsp;a brief moment&nbsp;and recast the role of the Samaritan&nbsp;with someone&nbsp;who would make you uncomfortable.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Try to keep this person or group of people in mind for the rest of the&nbsp;sermon.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the&nbsp;story of the Good Samaritan is told,&nbsp;compassion for&nbsp;humanity&nbsp;is usually highlighted.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However,&nbsp;Kenneth E. Bailey, an expert on Middle Eastern culture, showed me&nbsp;during my preparation how lack of courage to love&nbsp;plays a role in this story.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Starting with the priest, who was&nbsp;probably&nbsp;on&nbsp;his way home to Jericho after his two-week ministry in Jerusalem.&nbsp;If he had approached the wounded man, of whom he did not know&nbsp;whether he was dead or still alive, he would have run the risk of becoming ritually defiled, which would have entailed a lengthy purification process during which he, his servants and his family would have&nbsp;had to live with unpleasant consequences. If he had defiled himself&nbsp;and later evaded the purification process, this would have meant that&nbsp;he was serving at the altar as unclean, which could have led to an&nbsp;accusation with even worse consequences.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the priest, therefore,&nbsp;certain dangers or inconveniences lurked in this situation. He obviously lacked the necessary&nbsp;courage&nbsp;and it was easier for him to walk&nbsp;past the situation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the story of Alfred at the train station in Basel,&nbsp;many of those who did not help&nbsp;probably also&nbsp;had reasons.&nbsp;\u201cIf&nbsp;I stop now, I\u2019ll be late for my&nbsp;meeting&nbsp;and the boss is already angry&nbsp;with me anyway.\u201d&nbsp;\u201cWhat if I&nbsp;can\u2019t&nbsp;help at all, I know so little about first aid. Everyone would see it, how embarrassing!\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After the priest comes the Levite,&nbsp;a&nbsp;priest\u2019s assistant&nbsp;in the temple.&nbsp;Kenneth&nbsp;Bailey believes that the Levite must have known that a&nbsp;priest had walked this route shortly before him. The Levite was subordinate to&nbsp;the priest. Should he have&nbsp;exposed&nbsp;the priest as someone who had not acted as he should have? That&nbsp;would also have taken a lot of courage.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Moreover, since the&nbsp;priest&nbsp;who had already passed by&nbsp;actually knew&nbsp;better about right and&nbsp;wrong, the Levite could go on&nbsp;almost without&nbsp;remorse.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Alfred\u2019s&nbsp;case, too, some may have asked themselves:&nbsp;\u201cWhy should I help?&nbsp;There are so many others. They could&nbsp;probably do&nbsp;it even better than&nbsp;me.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And now comes the Samaritan.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What he does is unimaginable:&nbsp;he has the courage to act in love.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the enemy of&nbsp;the Jews of the time, he cares for the injured man and takes him to a&nbsp;nearby inn,&nbsp;presumably in&nbsp;a&nbsp;Jewish town.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>People listening to this story at the time would&nbsp;probably have&nbsp;expected the&nbsp;Samaritan to leave the wounded man on the outskirts of town and run away.&nbsp;Even as the rescuer of this&nbsp;Jew,&nbsp;a Samaritan&nbsp;would not have been safe from&nbsp;possible revenge.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Furthermore, by bringing the injured&nbsp;man to the inn and providing money for his care,&nbsp;the&nbsp;Samaritan&nbsp;not only saved&nbsp;the Jew\u2019s life, but&nbsp;probably also&nbsp;his freedom.&nbsp;Considering&nbsp;the man&nbsp;had nothing left after the robbery, he could have been sold into slavery to pay his debts.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Samaritan\u2019s courage to act shows how love can change the lives of others.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Back to Jesus\u2019&nbsp;question:&nbsp;\u201cWhich of the three acted as a neighbour to&nbsp;the robbed man?\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus formulates the&nbsp;question differently.&nbsp;Apparently, the&nbsp;question should&nbsp;not be&nbsp;\u201cWho is my neighbour?\u201d,&nbsp;but&nbsp;\u201cTo whom shall I be neighbour?\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not:&nbsp;\u201cWho is this that I am supposed to love in order to gain my eternal life?\u201d&nbsp;Rather:&nbsp;\u201cWho can I reach out to? Who can I support? Who&nbsp;should be able to count on me?\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The focus is more on&nbsp;\u201ctogetherness\u201d&nbsp;than on&nbsp;\u201cI have to provide for my eternal life\u201d.&nbsp;And the answer to the question of the neighbour in the parable is almost revolutionary. It breaks down religious,&nbsp;linguistic&nbsp;and&nbsp;ethnic boundaries and throws the scholar out of his comfort zone. It&nbsp;shows God\u2019s vision of a new world.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus tells the scholar:&nbsp;\u201cThen go&nbsp;and do likewise\u201d&nbsp;(10:37).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By our very nature, we&nbsp;are not in a position to&nbsp;love both God&nbsp;and our fellow human beings in the way&nbsp;God&nbsp;demands. And yet I want&nbsp;to orient myself toward this divine vision of a&nbsp;new world in which we sacrificially help people in need:&nbsp;we provide first aid when people are injured;&nbsp;we give poor&nbsp;people some of what we have too much of;&nbsp;we stand up against&nbsp;racism;&nbsp;we reach out to marginalized people;&nbsp;we stand on&nbsp;the side of the oppressed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately, the world is not black and&nbsp;white.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do I have all the information I need to&nbsp;know who I should stand up for? Situations are often&nbsp;nuanced&nbsp;and you&nbsp;can\u2019t&nbsp;just&nbsp;say what the right thing to do is.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus&nbsp;doesn\u2019t&nbsp;expect us to always do everything right. And yet I&nbsp;don\u2019t&nbsp;want to stop at&nbsp;grace. The Samaritan from our story can and should be a role model&nbsp;for me.&nbsp;It should teach me humility, push me off my high horse, help me to&nbsp;see beyond boundaries and encourage me to find the courage to&nbsp;love all my fellow human beings, even if it seems&nbsp;impossible at first&nbsp;glance.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes it is easy to love. And sometimes it takes courage.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But if we manage to love honestly, then we can change the lives&nbsp;of our neighbours&nbsp;and become a fellow human being to them.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To sum it up in the words of a song by&nbsp;Unspoken:&nbsp;\u201cIf we\u2019re&nbsp;gonna&nbsp;be known for something let it be love.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Amen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u2014Hanna&nbsp;Sagesser&nbsp;is&nbsp;a&nbsp;member&nbsp;at Evangelische Mennonitengemeinde&nbsp;Sch\u00e4nzli, Muttenz,&nbsp;Switzerland.&nbsp;<\/em><em>This sermon&nbsp;is&nbsp;adapted&nbsp;from what&nbsp;she&nbsp;preached to international guests&nbsp;alongside the congregation&nbsp;on&nbsp;1&nbsp;June 2025.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\"><em><a href=\"#top\">back to top<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"577\" data-src=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/20250530_090755-1024x577.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-122104 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/20250530_090755-1024x577.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/20250530_090755-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/20250530_090755-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/20250530_090755-1536x865.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/20250530_090755-2048x1153.jpg 2048w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1024px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1024\/577;\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>Members of the General Council gather to pray for Roman Rakhuba,<br>General Council delegate from Ukraine, before his departure. Photo: Irma Sulistyorini<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-text-align-left wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/resources\/anabaptist-world-fellowship-sunday-2026\/\">Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday 2026<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"taxonomy-post_tag has-link-color wp-elements-4795dccc25dd561b10d5c166c095ced0 wp-block-post-terms has-text-color has-gray-color has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/tag\/awfs\/\" rel=\"tag\">AWFS<\/a><span class=\"wp-block-post-terms__separator\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/tag\/living-out-unity\/\" rel=\"tag\">living out unity<\/a><span class=\"wp-block-post-terms__separator\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/tag\/solidarity\/\" rel=\"tag\">solidarity<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday 2026 Sermons Those who share have more&nbsp; Micah 6:8&nbsp; I stand in the early summer sun on the Loosli family\u2019s strawberry field on Moron in the Jura and comb through the small bushes for the ripest and finest strawberries.&nbsp;&nbsp; What\u2019s&nbsp;on my mind on this beautiful June morning is the motto of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":122118,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1182],"tags":[431,1579,1211],"network":[],"eventcategory":[1505],"class_list":["post-122132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-worship-resources","tag-awfs","tag-living-out-unity","tag-solidarity","eventcategory-anabaptist-world-fellowship-sunday-nl"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>AWFS 2026: Sermons - Mennonite World Conference<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/awfs-2026-sermons\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AWFS 2026: Sermons - Mennonite World Conference\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday 2026 Sermons Those who share have more&nbsp; Micah 6:8&nbsp; I stand in the early summer sun on the Loosli family\u2019s strawberry field on Moron in the Jura and comb through the small bushes for the ripest and finest strawberries.&nbsp;&nbsp; What\u2019s&nbsp;on my mind on this beautiful June morning is the motto of [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/awfs-2026-sermons\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mennonite World Conference\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MennoniteWorldConference\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-11T08:28:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-11T09:14:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/20250529DaleGehmanDG8_0144-HesstonElmiraTlalk-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Stephanie Setiawan\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/awfs-2026-sermons\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/awfs-2026-sermons\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Stephanie Setiawan\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/00b62ed8ea1527254a44f3ace3aee79d\"},\"headline\":\"AWFS 2026: Sermons\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-11T08:28:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-11T09:14:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/awfs-2026-sermons\/\"},\"wordCount\":3207,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/awfs-2026-sermons\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/20250529DaleGehmanDG8_0144-HesstonElmiraTlalk-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"AWFS\",\"living out unity\",\"solidarity\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Worship resources\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/awfs-2026-sermons\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/awfs-2026-sermons\/\",\"name\":\"AWFS 2026: Sermons - Mennonite World Conference\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/awfs-2026-sermons\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/awfs-2026-sermons\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/20250529DaleGehmanDG8_0144-HesstonElmiraTlalk-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-11T08:28:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-11T09:14:11+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/awfs-2026-sermons\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/awfs-2026-sermons\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/en\/stories\/awfs-2026-sermons\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/20250529DaleGehmanDG8_0144-HesstonElmiraTlalk-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mwc-cmm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/20250529DaleGehmanDG8_0144-HesstonElmiraTlalk-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1700,\"caption\":\"Ken &amp; 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