Sermon Tone Analysis

Luke 10:25-37

Say, Neighbour, Your House is on Fire!

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

He said to him, “What is written in the Law?

How do you read it?”

And 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 answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?”

Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, 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, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.

He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine.

Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.

And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’

Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbour to the man who fell among the robbers?”

He said, “The one who showed him mercy.”

And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”[1]

The Scripture reading for this day will be read from the Cotton Patch Version of the Bible.

Listen to the account of the Good Samaritan as it is presented in the powerful language of the American South, circa 1963.

“One day a teacher of an adult Bible class got up and tested him with this question: ‘Doctor, what does one do to be saved?’

“Jesus replied, ‘What does the Bible say?

How do you interpret it?’

“The teacher answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your physical strength and with all your mind; and love your neighbour as yourself.’

“‘That is correct,’ answered Jesus.

‘Make a habit of this and you’ll be saved.’

“But the Sunday school teacher, trying to save face, asked, ‘But … er … but … just who /is/ my neighbour?’

“Then Jesus laid into him and said, ‘A man was going from Atlanta to Albany and some gangsters held him up.

When they had robbed him of his wallet and brand-new suit, they beat him up and drove off in his car, leaving him unconscious on the shoulder of the highway.’

“‘Now it just so happened that a white preacher was going down that same highway.

When he saw the fellow, he stepped on the gas and went scooting by.’a

“‘Shortly afterwards a white Gospel song leader came down the road, and when he saw what had happened, he too stepped on the gas.’b

“‘Then a black man travelling that way came upon the fellow, and what he saw moved him to tears.

He stopped and bound up his wounds as best he could, drew some water from his water-jug to wipe away the blood and then laid him on the back seat.c

He drove on to Albany and took him to the hospital and said to the nurse, “You all take good care of this white man I found on the highway.

Here’s the only two dollars I got, but you all keep account of what he owes, and if he can’t pay it, I’ll settle up with you when I make a pay-day.”’

“‘Now if you had been the man beat up by the gangsters, which of these three—the white preacher, the white song leader, or the black man—would you consider to have been your neighbour?’

“The teacher of the adult Bible class said, ‘Why, of course, the nig—I mean … er … the one who treated me kindly.’

“Jesus said, ‘Well, then /you/ get going and start living like that!’”[2]

 

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he title for this message was suggested by a sermon which I read some years past.

I regret that I am unable to cite the source, but I do recall the illustration with which the preacher initiated the message.

He spoke of being awakened in the middle of the night by the glow of flames which were shooting from the upper windows of a neighbour’s house.

He told how he rushed next door, urgently beat on the front door and yelled until he had the attention of all within the house so they could escape.

The pastor continued his account.

He compared his concern for the danger his neighbour faced to the concern many Christians exhibit for lost friends.

Seeing the flames and smoke, he was convinced that anyone in that burning house was in danger of death.

He speculated that according to the practise of the average Christian, he might have sauntered next door, casually rang the doorbell, and if anyone answered calmly said, “Say, neighbour, your house is on fire.”

According to our plan for the recognition of our FRANs, we have arrived at Neighbour Sunday.

Perhaps we should have designated this Good Neighbour Sunday, but then, I would hope that each of us who are Christian prove to be Good Neighbours.

Our actions do ultimately reveal what we believe concerning the call of Christ.

Paul admonishes those who profess the Faith in unmistakable terms.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

Live in harmony with one another.

Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.

Never be conceited.

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honourable in the sight of all.

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” [*Romans 12:14-19*].

These instructions are still to be learned by some among us; but that is the challenge of the Christian Faith, isn’t it?

The reason we who are believers have received these particular truths is because we are convinced of the veracity of *1 Corinthians 12:26*.

If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together.

Especially within the Body of Christ are we called to be Good Neighbours.

However, if we fail to reveal the presence of Christ to the world about us, we will have revealed that there really isn’t much to this business of spiritual transformation which we speak of as the result of being born from above.

If we are not Good Neighbours, we will fail in delivery of the message of life to those about us.

If we have no message for those about us, whatever we may be called, we are not Good Neighbours.

Who Is My Neighbour?

At the heart of the message planned for this day is the question, “Who is my neighbour?”

Since I am in the main addressing professing Christians, we realise that to discover who is our neighbour requires that we think far differently than we once thought.

As Christians, we must be cautious lest we transform thinking christianly into thinking denominationally, thinking racially, or thinking socially.

I read the “Cotton Patch Version” of the account of the Good Samaritan because it speaks quite forcefully to my own spirit and from my own experience.

I have paid a price because of my belief that the church must be open to all peoples who seek to worship the Lord Christ.

As many as He shall send to us, we are obligated to welcome, regardless of race, culture, nationality, economic standing, or even political persuasion.

I have felt the sting resulting from being the member of a minority race.

I confronted racist attitudes of professing Christians within the Asian community in Vancouver.

Too many whites were attending the services, I was told.

I was disfellowshipped from the church in which I was saved because God blessed my ministry by permitting me to see blacks saved.

The charge which resulted in my leaving one church in New Westminster was that too many people of the wrong colour were coming to faith.

When I first arrived here, some whispered in my ear that we didn’t want a native presence among the membership of this congregation.

“They wouldn’t be comfortable here,” I was admonished.

“Then, make them comfortable,” I responded.

Let us determine that anyone and each one will be welcomed as a fellow worshipper here.

In Burnaby, we lived at one point next door to a woman who constantly expressed hatred toward our family.

She was at least forthright in stating why she did not like us.

First, we were not Catholic.

To complicate this particular issue, I was a Baptist minister.

Second, we were not Canadian.

She was rabidly anti-American.

Today, I would suppose her political party to be the Liberal Party of Canada—they seem to be quite deliberate and inventive in finding ways to express their hatred of the United States.

In any case, Mrs. Weaver was quite outspoken in her disgust with Americans.

Finally, our family rented the house in which we lived.

I suppose that renting reduced us to the level of white trash in her eyes.

She clearly discriminated on an economic basis.

Three strikes and we were out.

I relate these incidents to state that I have experienced discrimination.

Within this particular denomination, I know of one former denominational leader who openly ridicules my faith, referring to me as the token “fundamentalist.”

A few of my fellow ministers feel comfortable deriding my doctrinal positions, though they have never quite had the courage to do so to my face.

Discrimination in all its varied expressions is not a white problem; it is a human problem.

“The issue of racial prejudice and snubbing and suspicion and mistreatment is not a social issue; it is a blood-of-Jesus issue.”[3]