We’ve all heard that story over and over haven’t we?
The lawyer asks Jesus a question, hoping to trick
him. It is a perfectly good question, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
It is the man’s motivation that blows an ill wind here. The scripture tells us
that he came to “test” Jesus. Was this some sort of a litmus test? Was he
hoping to embarrass Jesus? Yes and yes, but Jesus would not so easily fall into
that trap.
He turns the question around, “No, what do YOU
think you need to do?” The man easily and automatically recites the Shema from Deuteronomy 6:5 and the
second commandment from Leviticus 19:18. Now I don’t know what Jesus tone of
voice was at this point, but I think he must have sounded a little sarcastic: “Good boy, you answered your own question!”
At which the lawyer was embarrassed and sought to
justify his question. “But the question is…” He says, “Who is my neighbor.”
That’s the setup. Then comes the story. The man,
the robbers the priest, the Levite (who was not a priest but worked in the
temple) and finally the Samaritan…. Wait! The what? The Samaritan. I think we
sometimes miss the significance of that. This wasn’t another religious leader. He
is not a Jew in the strict sense. This person wasn’t even treated as well as a
gentile. He was a Samaritan.[1]
Samaritans were of mixed heritage. They
worshipped Yahweh, but only recognized the first 5 books of the Bible. They
worshipped on Mount Gerazim in Samaria rather than Jerusalem. They were the
least of the least. Adherent Jews preferred to walk around Samaritan territory
through Gentile territory, rather than risk contact with a Samaritan. They have
been attacked and conquered by the Jews, the Romans and the crusaders.
There are
still several hundred Samaritans living today. The Israelis consider them to be
Palestinians so they are confined by Israeli authorities to their compound on
Mount Gerizim, where they have lived since at least the 600 B.C. They are no
body’s people. No one wants them. They are truly the least of these.
YET… it is a SAMARITAN
who acts in our story. A Samaritan- frankly the man alongside the road must
have been unconscious, because no self-respecting Jew would want to be helped
by a Samaritan.
It wasn’t the priest, who may not have wanted to
become ritually unclean. It was not the Levite, who may have been afraid of
being attacked himself. On the other hand, maybe we give them too much credit. Maybe
they were just like us they had 101 excuses…
·
they
were busy…
·
he
was a stranger…
·
they
didn’t have time…
·
they
didn’t want to get sued…
·
they were busy texting and didn’t see him…
·
they didn’t want to get involved…
·
they
didn’t want to be seen with THAT kind of person…
·
it was
his own fault for traveling alone …
·
maybe
he spoke a different language, had an accent, or had a different skin color.
·
Or maybe they thought they had had done their
part and it was time for the younger folks to take over…
·
or
they’ve served on that committee and now it is someone else’s turn…
·
or they
didn’t think they had anything to offer him…
·
or
they were on fixed incomes…
·
or
they had never done it that way before…
·
or what will the neighbors think…
·
OR
MAYBE MOST HONESTLY, THEY JUST DIDN’T WANT TO. Just… like… us (God forgive us!)
v So along comes gay woman
who transgendered into a man, and who then stayed with his lesbian partner. Oh
wait... that’s the wrong story…
v So along came the Arab Muslim
wearing traditional clothing, speaking only his native language, who sits
smugly at the airport because they know you are uncomfortable… Oh, wait...
that’s the wrong story…
v So along came the blue
and green haired kid, with a dragon tattoo up the side of this face, his pants
pulled down showing off his underwear while he texts as he walks…… Oh, wait...
that’s the wrong story…
Or
is it? Who would surprise you the most? Who in our culture do you think would
be least likely to help someone?
v The single parent on
welfare who is perfectly content to sit on their butt……
v or the illegal immigrant…
v or the alcoholic…
v or the spouse abuser…
v or sex offender… … Get
the point? For the scribe to whom Jesus was speaking the absolute least likely
person in the entire world was the Samaritan. 2000 years later, we have our own
brand of Samaritans who, in our eyes, are just as unlikely to be the hero of
Jesus’ story. They are, in our mind, just as unlikely to stop and help anyone as
the Samaritan was in the scribe’s mind. And in our minds, we would be afraid
for them to help.
Let
me turn that around now… For many people in our culture today we are the
Samaritans. The image of the church and Christians in general is that we are
·
so absorbed with our own institutional survival,
·
so busy arguing about whether we like, love or pity homosexuals,
·
so paralyzed by declining membership,
·
so hypocritical that we… the church would be among the least
likely to help. To them, the church is the Samaritan. And they would rather die
alongside the road than be helped by the Christian church.
We
could tell the story this way… A man was
·
beat up and
·
robbed,
·
hungry,
·
in need,
·
poor,
·
imprisoned,
·
lonely,
·
mentally ill,
·
heartbroken,
·
homeless,
·
and helpless.
v The senator walked by on
the other side of the road,
v the chairman of the
county republicans or democrats (take your pick) walked by on the other side of
the road,
v the volunteer at a nonprofit
organization walked by on the other side of the road,
v the co-worker walked by
on the other side of the road,
v the woman from across the
street walked by on the other side of the road.
v You won’t believe this
but a Christian from a nearby congregation stopped to help.
(gasp!) Just like the Samaritan was the
last person anyone expected to help in Jesus story It shouldn’t be a
surprise, but no one in their right mind would expect the 21st
century American church to be the helper! No one in their right mind would
expect a hypocritical Christian to stop and help them.
I’m
sorry to say even our congregation is more concerned about
·
what is happening in here,
·
more concerned about “not stretching ourselves too thin,” and to
get right down to brass tacks, most of us are
·
more concerned about having a “convenient faith” than being
disciples and loving our neighbor.
In
his speech "I've Been to the Mountaintop," Martin Luther King, Jr.
put it this way. "The priest and the Levite ask, 'If I stop to help this
man, what will happen to me?' But then the Good Samaritan came by, and he
reversed the question: 'If I do not stop
to help this man, what will happen to him?'" or If I do not stop to help this man what
will happen to me? What kind of
“Christian am I?”
We
are in that position today.
·
Is there anyone who believes that there is no hunger in our
community? All the children and seniors are well nourished? NO??? What are we
doing about it? If we don’t stop to help what will happen to them?
·
Do you believe that all seniors in our community have enough money
for their medication? Do you believe that they have all the rides they need,
and all the visits they need and all the spiritual nourishment they need? Who
is helping them? If we don’t stop to help them what will happen to them?
·
Do you believe that every single-parent in our community has
everything they need to raise healthy and happy children? All the support they
need, all the encouragement they need. Who is helping them? If we don’t stop to
help them what will happen to those children?
·
Do you believe there is adequate access to health care? Excellent
public education for all? Good housing for all income levels? What are you
doing about it? If we don’t stop to help them what will happen to them?
v You think the church
doesn’t have any place in those situations. Let me tell you… You are wrong! You
are just as wrong as the Levite was in thinking that the Samaritan didn’t have
had any business touching the injured man. If we don’t stop to help them what
will happen to them?
v You think the church
doesn’t have any power in those circumstances. Let me tell you… You are wrong! You
are just as wrong as the Levite was in thinking that the Samaritan didn’t have
had any ability to help the injured man… this church is made up of powerful,
gifted, creative, compassionate, dedicated individuals who empowered by the Holy
Spirit, can do anything they put their mind to… if they will. If we don’t stop
to help them what will happen to them?
·
Do you think that coming to worship is enough? Everything else is
optional. (in fact look around, apparently coming to worship is even optional
now) Are you one who believes that if
you come to church a second hour per week you have gone way above and beyond
the call of duty? Do you believe that someone else will volunteer for all the
committee, will offer to pick up people who don’t drive, will sign up for VBS,
will offer to teach LIGHT? Let me tell you how wrong you are! If you don’t stop
making excuses how will it get done. If you don’t stop to serve what will
happen to those ministries?
·
Finally… Do you believe that everyone who could ever go to church
is already in a church? I hope you aren’t that naive. Who is helping them to
find a church? Do you know your new neighbors? When was the last time you
invited someone to church? If you don’t stop to help them what will happen to
them?
This
is the first of 4 sermons I am writing about my vision for us as I start my 7th
year. If you have been listening to me for the first 6 years you won’t be
surprised at anything I say. Yet I have to say it because we have not yet made
the discipleshift and become the church God wants us to be.
This
week I have to tell you if you want to make the disciple shift you have to stop
looking like everybody else and start loving like nobody else.
·
You have to stop looking like the priest and the Levite who pass
by on the other side of the road with a 1001 excuses why they can’t stop.
·
You have to stop looking like the Lions club who does good work,
but just is not the body of Christ.
·
You have to stop looking like the corner café where people
exchange a cup of coffee for the latest gossip, and start being the voice of truth
and love emerging from the contentiousness of our culture.
·
We have to stop talking about love and start doing it in ways that
no one else around here is doing it.
·
We have to really
§ help the hurting,
§ really feed the hungry,
§ really visit the sick and
imprisoned,
§ really teach the little
ones,
§ and really change the
world.
Yea, I know you thought
you survived that whole series on changing the world and we were on to
something else? Sorry, no, because I haven’t seen our church change let alone
the world. (In fact, I have seriously thought about pulling that series of
sermons out and preaching it all over again because I can’t tell for sure that
you were listening.)
·
We have to stop looking like every other self absorbed church in
the world,
·
we have to stop looking
like every other non-profit organization,
·
we have to stop looking like my grandma’s church and start loving
like no one else in the name of Jesus Christ - not for our benefit, but
o for the man alongside the
road,
o for the single parent
struggling with child care,
o for the older lady who
would love to have someone offer her a ride to church,
o for the little boy or
girl who thinks they don’t have even one friend,
o for the teenager who
thinks they don’t belong,
o for the hungry and the
o hurting, and the
o hopeless…
we have to stop acting
like everybody else and start loving like nobody else for the kingdom
of God. And for the salvation of our own souls. Because
someday…
someday we will each have to stand before God
and explain why, when we saw the
·
hungry, the
·
homeless, the
·
hurting, the
·
lonely, the
·
young, the
·
old, the
·
grieving, the
·
opportunity to serve our community or even the
·
opportunity to serve in our own church…
We will
have to explain to our creator why we walked by on the other side of the road.
For
God’s sake, for the kingdom’s sake, for your own sake you have to get off you
big fat excuses and serve…
·
make relationships with people you don’t normally talk to.
·
Reach out to people you don’t normally notice.
·
Find a way to meet a need you thought was someone else’s problem.
·
Embrace someone you normally pass by, and
·
invite someone who needs to know that God loves them.
Get off your excuses … and love like nobody else.
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