CALLED TO BE NEIGHBOR

(Preached on Sunday, July 11, 2004)

Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?                                -Luke 10:36

 

Let’s play a word association game.

I’ll say a word, and you give me a word that comes to mind.

“Blue” (sky or bird)

“Country” (music or club)

“Bush” (burning or president)

“Samaritan” (good)

 

This parable Jesus told is so familiar that “good” and “Samaritan” have been effectively married in our minds.  The good Samaritan has been enshrined in the names of hospitals and care centers; there are “Good Samaritan Laws” to protect from liability suits.

In fact, this is one of the most challenging passages to preach on from the Bible, partly because there is so much to say, and partly because it has all been said.

 

I find, when I have that sort of reaction to a scripture passage, that is exactly the time when I need to spend some more time with that passage, explore my assumptions about what it says, and challenge myself, pushing my boundaries of expectation, to see what am I overlooking, what is perhaps too obvious. 

That is often the thing that brings a new learning to me that really challenges the way I am living.

 

So, let’s look at this passage again. 

It is very familiar to us.

Our first reaction undoubtedly is to think about being a good Samaritan in terms of the hot dishes our neighbors brought us when we had that broken leg, or the helpful police officer who pulled us over because the gas cap on the passenger side of the car hadn’t been closed.

And yes, those are nice, neighborly, friendly acts. 

But honestly, that is probably not what Jesus had in mind when he told this story.

 

So, we push ourselves a little bit, and we come up with the notion of Random Acts of Kindness. 

Stories like the small town banker who witnessed the owner of the flower shop across on Main Street one Friday afternoon, plugging coins into every parking meter.

Wondering what she is doing he asks and discovers that she just can’t stand seeing people get a parking ticket on Friday afternoon.  It’s just such a bad way to start a weekend.  She’s just trying to be a good neighbor and show a little kindness.  He chuckles and heads back inside with the comment, “Well aren’t you the Good Samaritan.”

And yes, she is going out of her way to show mercy and caring, which is part of the truth of this story Jesus told.  But honestly, there must be something more to this story that led to its being remembered by the community of Luke and being passed on among the early Christians.

 

Let’s look a little deeper at the passage.

The story is told by Jesus as part of an exchange with a lawyer.

Luke says that he stood up to “test” Jesus, so this was not a friendly exchange; he was trying to trap Jesus or looking for dirt on him. 

He wants to know what Jesus thinks is the central teaching of religion: “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life. (How can I assure that I have a close relationship with God and am living in God’s favor?)”

But Jesus, as usual, won’t be trapped.

He turns the man’s question back to him with a question.

“What does it say in the Law?”

The Lawyer has no option at that point but to answer in a straightforward manner and he gives the correct answer.  “Love God, heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.”

“Good answer,” Jesus says.  “Do this, and you will live.  (Do this, and you will know that you are pleasing God.)” 

Probably Jesus made to move on at that point, but the Lawyer wasn’t through. 

Lawyer’s always have one more question, don’t they.

And he thinks he has Jesus with this one, you can almost see the glint in his eye: “And who is my neighbor?” 

You just know he is ready for a long discussion, there are so many possibilities and exceptions and caveats that must be considered: the person next door? Someone from my town? Those who are righteous Jews?  Any Jew, whether good or bad? The possibilities are endless.

 

But Jesus doesn’t play that game.

Instead, he tells a story where the hero is a surprising person, not one the Jews listening would expect. 

He demonstrates through this parable his understanding of the kind of neighbor-love required by the Law.

It is an inclusive love that tramples down the borders of prejudice and hate.  Who or what the other person is, does not in any way define the boundaries of loving.  Their race, gender, marital status, skin color, education, political party, religious affiliation, age, are all irrelevant.

It is a roll-up-its-sleeve love that gets personally involved.

And it is a costly love that demands an investment, a sacrifice, from the Samaritan.  The man had to stop in that dangerous area; it could have been a set-up to mug him; he had to take his time to help; he took the man and used his resources to help him; with no hint of any concern of repayment on his part.

 

Jesus doesn’t just stop there but ends the story with another question to the Lawyer.  “Who do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell among robbers?”  The lawyer knew the answer — in fact there was no other possible answer, and the Jewish lawyer hated giving it.

He couldn’t even bring himself to say “Samaritan”, so he just said, “The one who showed mercy on him.”

Then Jesus goes back to his earlier directive, “Go, and do likewise.”

 

Now that is what jumped out at me as I kept rereading this passage this time. 

Twice Jesus says to the Lawyer, “do this.”

The problem really is not knowing what to do, it is doing what we know. 

The Lawyer knew what was right to do. 

He knew what it meant to love God. 

He even knew who his neighbor was.  We know all this, but the real clincher is we have trouble putting it into practice.

 

So we ask the questions not because we don’t know the answers but precisely because we do know the answers, and we don’t really like the answers. 

They are answers that require each of us to change our lives, to be converted, to be turned upside down, inside out, to change.

They are answers that call us to be serious about this business of loving God with our whole lives. 

A business that is costly. 

To do so requires us to “put our money where our mouth is.”  It requires us to “put up or shut up.” 

So we keep asking questions.

Questions help keep the answers at a distance from us.

We want to have nice religious discussions, to explore all the issues and angles, all the questions about faith and life and God, and we think that will be enough.

 

The problem is Jesus. 

He just won’t wander with us into the vagaries of abstract religious ideas. 

He tells us that we already know the answers; he tells us simply, “go, do.”

Jesus did just that with his life. 

He lived out the truth of this story as he embodied God’s love. 

Jesus continually demonstrated a love that crossed borders of prejudice and hate, with a roll-up-its-sleeves love that never hesitated to get involved personally. 

And there is no denying the costliness of his love — it cost him everything, even his life.

 

Jesus understood that religion was not as complicated as we sometimes make it. 

It is a matter of loving God and our neighbor.

We all know and understand that.

The question then becomes what are we doing about it?

What are we doing to love God and our neighbor? 

In what specific, practical, hands-on ways have we been a neighbor to the one in need?

 

Now I could take more time and suggest such practical ideas; I could talk about projects our Outreach Committee needs help with; I could remind you of the special offerings we have or the other agencies around town that need help as they seek to help the poor and hungry and homeless, the sick and those in prison.

I even thought about reminding you that the call to love our neighbor also has a political side, for unless you are Bill Gates, most of us cannot help many people with their needs and quality of life individually, like we can through our governments policies — providing those safety nets for the poor, health care for all citizens, quality education, etc.

I even thought about sharing a commitment I made this week to do more than just complain about things our government is doing and to become actively involved in working to bring about change in the governments actions.

But I decided not to do any of that because I know that you already know all those things. 

You know what you could be doing in very practical ways to show mercy and love for your neighbors.

You know what the needs are all around you.

You know that God loves you and wants you to share that love by rolling-up-your-sleeves and getting personally involved with people around you who are hurting and in need of support, love, care, mercy.