For The Love Of God Is Neighborly
"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to you, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer."
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"For The Love Of God Is Neighborly"
(Luke 10:26-37)
INTRODUCTION:
This is probably one of the most familiar parables and passages of scripture that there is next to the parable of the Prodigal Son and John 3:16. Everybody knows the story that's come to be known as the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Dick Van Dyke in his book Faith, Hope and Hilarity says that in explaining the story to a group of children, a certain Sunday School teacher asked them what they would do if they saw someone who had been beaten up and left on the side of the road? A little boy's hand shot up and he answered, "I'd call 911."
When asked, one of the little girls, in sort of a queasy voice said, "I'd probably be sick." (1)
It doesn't sound like they really understood the significance of the parable does it? But then, I'm not so sure that the Lawyer and the crowd for whom it was told understood the significance any better.
I. THE STORY:
A. Here was this bright young Lawyer, one of those whose vocation and
faith were intrinsically wrapped together. His life had been given to a sacred task, the study and preservation of keeping the Law of Moses. He and his compadres were upset by the teachings of this upstart, itinerant, backwater preacher from "the District of Galilee." They were afraid that the people would completely forget about the Law with all this talk about Grace and Love and Forgiveness. And so this Lawyer set out to test Jesus. To give him such a poser of a question that Jesus would trip himself up in front of the crowds and they could have done with him.
It's probably a good thing that this Lawyer wasn't a trial Lawyer because someone like Perry Mason or Ben Matlock would have tripped him up. The Lawyer asked Jesus his question and Jesus returned the volley with another question. It was a question that apparently exposed some raw nerve or fault in the Lawyer's life and set him back on his heels. Even though Jesus told him he had answered correctly by giving a sound bite of the whole Bible in a very Lawyerly and proper way, saying: "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 neighbor as yourself," The scripture says that afterward the Lawyer tried to justify himself.
In whose eyes was he trying to justify himself? I have a feeling it was in the eyes of his friends and colleagues. I've always had the impression that this Lawyer got caught up a little bit of braggadocio. I've always sort of pictured a group of young lawyers all sitting around talking about Jesus and what he was doing to the minds and faith of the people. One of them says he needs to be silenced. Others agree and finally, this lawyer pops off and says he knows just how to trip him up. He knows just the way to discredit him in front of his beloved disciples and the flea-bitten public. He brags on and on until finally they all challenge him to go on and do it. Maybe the guy knew it really wouldn't work but he had bragged himself into a corner. And that's how this group wound up questioning Jesus that day.9
Unfortunately, instead of tripping up Jesus, the Lawyer was tripped up. He fell on face so hard he almost broke his nose. In trying to best Jesus, the Lawyer had been bested. Jesus let the Lawyer demonstrate his legal learnedness in this wrestling ring of words about God's Word and all of a sudden, with a double reverse, the Lawyer found himself pinned to the mat in nothing flat.
B. And out comes the parable with an Oxymoron for a title. The parable of the Good Samaritan. A parable in which a heretic, a Samaritan, an abomination in the eyes of a good Jew, turns out to be the hero.
It seems a certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, a journey of only seventeen miles but one that really is a down hill journey. Jerusalem is 2300 feet above sea level and Jericho is 740 feet below sea level. The journey would have been made with a great deal of difficulty. It was a journey filled with all sorts of reasons not to go. The Jericho road was narrow, winding, often times winding about into blind alleys. It was known for it's warrens filled with bands of roving outlaws. And these were no Robin Hood type characters either. Nobody was safe. They stole from everybody and usually left everybody dead. Normal people very seldom traveled the Jericho road in groups of less than ten or twenty. The Priests and Levites were the only ones who could travel alone with some semblance of safety.
This guy must have had urgent business in Jericho or beyond to get him to travel on the road alone. He was an easy mark for the thieves. And they nailed him. They beat him, stole everything and left him for dead along the side of the road. Everybody in the crowd was familiar with the story. They all knew of someone or knew about someone to whom it had happened.
Well, along comes a Priest. Not a Catholic priest but a member of the Jewish clergy, none-the-less. A member of the caring profession. He was in a hurry to get to Jerusalem. He didn't like being on the road alone. He couldn't figure out why he'd been summoned to Jerusalem by the Sanhedrin. He was fretting over that. And all of a sudden, right there in front of him, lay the wounded man on the side of the road. He had to be thinking to himself, "Now what? Lord, I can't handle anything else." There was too much stress in his life already. There was already more on his plate than he could say grace over. So, pretending that he didn't see, he quickly scooted to the other side of the road, acting as if something off in the distance had caught his attention. Like there was really something out there besides rocks and wilderness. With a little twinge of guilt, he passed on by.
Not too long after that a Levite came along. He was leery of being on
the road alone, too. But he was whistling and smiling to himself. He was actually strutting as he walked along. At that pace, he'd over take the Priest ahead of him, before he got to Jerusalem. And what put the bounce in his step? It was his turn to serve in the Temple. That honor didn't come around very often. It had been over two years since he'd last had the opportunity to serve. When he found out it his turn was coming up again, he scrupulously prepared himself. He wanted to make absolutely sure that he didn't defile himself and get disqualified like a friend of his did. He was proud of how successful he had been in remaining ritually clean in the eyes of the Law so he could do his duty and serve in the Temple.
And then he saw the wounded man lying in the ditch along the side of the road. It put him in a real quandary. He knew he should stop and help, there was a part of him urging him to stop. It was ingrained that he should stop and render assistance. A part of him wanted to do the humanitarian thing. But if he did and he got blood on his hands, he would be unclean and would miss his turn to serve in the Temple. He would have to wait another two years and he just couldn't bring himself to do that. He thoroughly enjoyed his time of service. He liked people noticing him serving in the Temple. So like the priest before him, he pretended to be interested in something out in the wilderness and walked on by.
The Lawyer and that part of the crowd listening could identify with both the Priest and the Levite. They'd been there. They understood the excuses. They nodded in agreement with each one of them. But they missed the point. However, reasonable the explanation might appear, it's still only an excuse, and not a justification.
Jesus saw the nods of ascent, the heads bobbing in agreement and that's when he turned up the heat. "But along came a Samaritan," he said. If this had been a mellow drama, the crowd would have booed and hissed at the mere mention of a Samaritan. There was nothing but disdain and hatred between these two sets of people. In the parable, this Samaritan, though, saw the wounded man and was moved with pity. He was filled with compassion, so he stopped and gave first aid. Not only that but he loaded the man on his own animal and carried him to the nearest inn, one which sits a day's ride, or about halfway between Jerusalem and Jericho. There, the Samaritan took care of him, got a room and gave the innkeeper the equivalent of 2 days wages to continue to care for the man and promised to pay him for anything else that came up in the expense of this stranger's care.
The Lawyer heard the story and gulped real big because even though he was full of himself, he wasn't totally blind and he could see what was coming. Wit a touch of a grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye, Jesus looked the lawyer straight in the eye and politely asked, "Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?"
The gulped again. The question gripped him. All of a sudden he realized that being GOOD, in the traditional, legalistic sense, was not the same thing as loving God or loving your neighbor; things the Lawyer had just said were necessary for salvation. Unfortunately, even though he got it, this Lawyer's prejudice ran so deep, that he couldn't even call the Samaritan what he was. He couldn't even name him and simply said, "The one who showed him mercy."
Jesus knew he had him. Jesus knew the parable had ripped at the heart of all those present and challenged their sensibilities and their prejudices. Jesus knew they were all squirming. But rather than gloating or rubbing it in or going in for the kill, Jesus turned to the Lawyer who had come to challenge him and to the crowd gathered to watch, and simply said, "Go and do likewise."
II. MISSED OPPORTUNITIES:
A. For some reason, probably because Jesus wishes we were more like the Samaritan than we really are and because we wish the same thing, we always associate ourselves with the Samaritan. In reality, on more occasions than not, we've all been more like the priest and the Levite than we'd like to admit. We get so wound up in our schedules, our agendas, our busy-ness, some of it very worthwhile and done wholeheartedly for God, that we miss the opportunities to serve God through serving our neighbors. In order to keep to our agendas, we scoot by on the other side.
We don't like to admit that we're like the Priest and the Levite. But we are. How many times have you thought of something that needed to be done for someone else? A visit to the nursing home or the hospital? A visit or a phone call to a shut-in? A card or a letter of thanks or just thanksgiving? Now ask yourself,
How many times did you follow through? See what I mean? I'm not trying to make us feel guilty but in all honesty we are more like the Priest and Levite than we are the Samaritan. More times than not, we just pass on by on the other side, never giving that person's need another thought.
In doing so, what we fail to realize is the number of opportunities for ministry which we miss when we walk on by on the other side. We also miss the opportunity for a deeper relationship with God when we walk on by on the other side. Those missed moments can never be regained.
B. There was a young woman who gave Leo Buscaglia a poem about putting
off and not doing, especially for caring about people we really love. Maybe you've read it or heard it. It's entitled, "Things You Didn't Do."
"Remember the day I borrowed your brand new car and I dented it?
I thought you'd kill me, but you didn't.
And remember the time I dragged you to the beach, and you said it would rain and it did?
I thought you'd say, 'I told you so.' but you didn't.
Do you remember the time I flirted with all the guys to make you jealous, and you were?
I thought you'd leave me, but you didn't.
Do you remember the time I spilled strawberry pie all over your car rug?
I thought you'd hit me but you didn't.
And remember the time I forgot to tell you the dance was formal and you showed up in jeans?
I thought you'd drop me, but you didn't.
Yes, there were a lot of things you didn't do.
But you put up with me, and you loved me, and you protected me.
There were a lot of things I wanted to make up to you when you came back from Viet Nam.
But you didn't." (2)
The point of that powerful poem is very clear. Don't wait. Do it now. If you have a word of love that needs to be expressed, then say it now. If you have a relationship which needs to be mended, don't let the sun go down without setting it right. If you have something that needs to be done for the Lord, then seize the moment and do it now. Don't go by on the other side again. Don't let that opportunity for faith or service be missed. Don't miss that moment of faith and grace. Faith isn't about feeling, faith is about being good and doing good, whenever and wherever.
CONCLUSION:
Even though we identify with the Good Samaritan and are more like the Priest and Levite, the one I believe that we're really like is the wounded man. And the Good News is that the Good Samaritan is none other than Christ himself. Jesus' whole existence and purpose for coming into the world, centered in his bringing this kind of selfless love into the world and into our lives.
We have been wounded by our own sinfulness. Through our disobedience to God, we have broken the image of God in which we were created. And though we still function, on one level we are wounded and cast aside along the road of life, like so much garbage. Jesus, our Good Samaritan, picks us up, heals our wounds and provides for all our needs. As wonderful as that is, He does even more.
A story is told about a group of soldiers who were released from a prison camp at the end of World War two. Because transportation was limited and the weather threatened to cut off the port, the remaining soldiers who were to board the last boat, were told they could bring only one important piece of luggage.
Two particular men had been with each other throughout the war. They had watched out for each other. When one of them was selected to go but the other was to be forced to stay behind and wait for a later boat, the first man turned over his dufflebag and dumped all of his belongings out. Then he told his friend to step into the bag. And he carefully lifted the bag onto his back and carried his "most important item of luggage" onto the ship.(3)
That's the same sort of love which Christ calls us to exhibit toward each other and toward our neighbors. He calls us to exhibit this sort of love because he, exhibited this sort of love and more. He was love incarnate. Love so perfect that he not only healed us but he died for us. He not only emptied out his dufflebag, he emptied himself out for us.
Jesus, as the Good Samaritan, shows us all how to fulfill the first commandment so entirely that we can attain the eternal life we so desperately seek. Two went by on the other side and never knew the opportunity for service which they were missing. They never knew the depth of Christ like love which comes from serving. Unfortunately, neither would the Lawyer and his friends, for they were still more interested in trapping Jesus is some legal entanglement of the law than they were in living the intent of the law through "loving God and loving their neighbor."
It turns out that the events leading up to the parable actually mirror the parable. For although the lawyer and his friends didn't tiptoe quietly past, they missed their moment. They missed the ministry of the real Good Samaritan by refusing to call him by name: Savior, Messiah, Lord, Son of God. Any of those would have done, but they refused.
Our challenge is NOT to refuse. We're called to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourself. The love of God IS neighborly. Don't pass on by. Don't miss your moments for ministry and for a deeper relationship with God. The one thing this crazy, mixed up, angry world needs is the calming, centering experience and example of love. We need to be guerillas of grace, practicing random acts of kindness and senseless acts of grace. Follow the example of the parable and reach out to your neighbor. Let Christ enter into your life. Let him heal your wounds, let his forgiveness touch your heart and empower you to "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 neighbor as yourself."
This is the heart and soul of our faith. In Jesus own words, "Go and do likewise."
This is the Word of the Lord for this day.
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