SCRIPTURE
Luke 10: 25-37
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall 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 your neighbour as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’
But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.” Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’
SERMON
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
The parable of the Good Samaritan is a story that all of us are familiar with. I will confess that I knew a moment of true anxiety as I prayed about how to proclaim the good news in this story in a way that would breathe new life into a group of ELCA pastors.
But, as I was meditating on this scripture, I began to see it with new eyes. We all know the story. A lawyer stands up to test Jesus. He asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus catechizes him regarding the requirements of The Law. In response the lawyer states, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.” In response Jesus tells the man that if he does these things he will live.
Now, one would like to think that this would be the end of the story, but we know that it is not because in response to Jesus’ commentary on his recitation of The Law, the lawyer has the nerve to ask, “And just who is my neighbor?...”
Here, I can imagine Jesus grinning, winking, and then saying, “Let me tell you a story…”
Now, I don’t know about you, but I believe it took some real boldness for the lawyer to ask Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”
But, I also truly believe that it is a question that people are asking in our churches on a weekly basis. Are the Somalis are neighbors? The Hmong? The Mexicans? Are the poor our neighbors? The homeless? The drug addicted? Are gays and lesbians our neighbors? Lord, who is my neighbor?
See, how we answer this question, can affect how we choose to do ministry within the communities that we serve. If we’re honest, as pastors we ask this question in the midnight hour as we toss and turn on our beds trying to figure out an effective outreach strategy that will introduce our neighbors to Jesus, whilst also filling our pews and our collection plates.
Yesterday, we were presented with a graph that detailed the radical decline of attendance in mainline American Christian Churches since 1990. I’m sure that we all wish that we could boast that we know nothing about that graph and that our churches are all busting at the seams, but alas, for most of us this simply is not true.
Across the prairies, out into the suburbs, and inside of our cities, good and faithful church folks are struggling to find ways to make the good news story understandable and relevant to a new generation of human beings making a life in the United States of America.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that there are a lot of “Vic Tims” laying on the side of the road of life broken, bruised, bloody, and left for dead. They have been victimized by a ruthless gang of thugs named “Bankruptcy, Job Loss, Divorce, Addiction, Wayward Children, Home Foreclosure, Disease, Mental Illness, Racism, Classism, Sexism, Nihilism--to name just a few.
This gang of hoodlums has beaten down our neighbors and left them for dead on the side of the road! And as blood bought believers in Jesus Christ, we must confess that The Church has not always been a good neighbor to people in need.
Like the priest and the Levite, our sin-fullness sometimes causes us to see some Vic Tim’s as neighbors and others as road kill. Again, we are back to this fundamental question, “Exactly who is my neighbor?”
See, how we answer this question, has everything to do with how we choose to prioritize our time, talent, and treasure within our churches. Who we deem valuable, redeemable, and savable will determine who gets served and who does not.
After all, we have 24 hours a day, a limited number of volunteers, and budgets that are already over stretched. Who will we invest in and why?
Well, this is a hard question, right? After all, we don’t want to identify with the priest and the Levite, do we? We don’t want to admit that, like them, we feel that we have good reasons to pass up our neighbor as they lay dying on the side of the road.
See, the priest and the Levite had legitimate reasons for not helping Vic Tim. They didn’t know who he was. They didn’t know if the robbers would come back. They didn’t know if he was dead or alive. They couldn’t risk becoming ritually unclean by touching him if he was dead. They were busy. They were important. And they were rushing to cover the 16 miles to Jericho before night fall!
Now all of these are good, common sense reasons for crossing the street, looking away, whispering a prayer, but failing to stop, right? But, our Jesus doesn’t praise the priest and the Levite for observing common sense. He praises the “Good Samaritan” for choosing to be neighborly to a person in need despite the possible consequences and the cost to himself.
See, being a Good Samaritan requires the best of who we are and the best of what we have. Scripture teaches us that the Samaritan saw Vic Tim and was moved with pity—or compassion. His feelings caused him to utilize his own resources in time, talent, and treasure to offer succor and aid to the broken, helpless, and defenseless man.
Like the people in our own communities, this Vic Tim just needed some good news! He needed someone to see him, extend compassion, and love him well.
I think that it is worth noting here that the person who did these things was a Samaritan, an outsider, a man some would have called a dog, others would have called unclean. It was this man who showed forth the true love of God, who offered authentic ministry of person and presence, and who made a real difference in the life of someone in need.
Martin Luther once said whilst preaching from this passage, “we are all neighbors among one another, both he who does another a kindness, as well as he who is in need of a kindness.”
This statement reminds me that as The Church reaches out to Vic Tims along the road, helping and healing them in the Name of Jesus, those Vic Tims will ultimately take on the new name Vic Tor. As they hear and believe the good news that God loves the world so much that God gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life, they will be transformed—just as we have!
But, as The Church of Jesus Christ, we must be strong and very courageous as we touch the untouchable, love the unlovable, and reach out to those who are very, very different than we imagine ourselves to be.
My dear friends, look around this room. There is someone missing! There are many someone’s missing! Like many denominations in the United States, the members of the ELCA are worshipping in churches that are largely segregated by race and by class.
As pastors and as Christians we affirm that God’s good news message revealed to us in Jesus Christ is for everyone! Man, woman, boy, girl, rich, poor, red, yellow, black, white, English-speaking, non-English speaking, recent immigrants or not so recent immigrants—all of God’s children need to know that God loves, God gave, and God saves!
Let me admit to you that this type of evangelism strategy takes prayer, courage and vision. After all, in the early days of our relationship with Vic Tim, he will not have the wherewithal to give of his time, talent, and treasure. He will lay upon his bed of affliction as he struggles just to get well.
But, Spirit invites us to look at loving people as an investment strategy.
I have often wondered what became of Vic Tim once he was fully recovered. I can only imagine how he must have been changed as a result of his experience. I bet he was stronger, more loving, more committed, more engaged with his life than ever before!
Once he was no longer Vic Tim, but Vic Tor, I wonder what he had to offer his community of faith, city, and world by way of a renewed commitment to love God with all his heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love his neighbor as himself.
I don’t know about you, but I can say uncategorically that I am a different person having experienced the love, care, and compassion of Jesus when I was bruised, broken, bleeding, and left for dead on the side of the road. When Jesus bandaged me up, put me on his donkey, and took me into the shelter of his love—I was fundamentally transformed!
Jesus gave Himself totally away—without counting the cost-- in order to win us back to God. As we follow his example, we are called and challenged to do God’s Work with our hands as we recklessly and selflessly give ourselves away in love and service to our neighbors.
Who was neighbor to the man named Vic Tim? The one who had mercy upon him…
Go! And do likewise…
In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.
THE INVITATION
If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, "Come to Jesus."
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html
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