MUB
FATHERS DAY 2006
LUKE 10;25-29
25On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27He answered: “‘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, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
28“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
IT IS A REAL HONOR TO HAVE THE UP KIDS WITH US TODAY. WHAT A GREAT VICTORY FOR CRF LAST NITE. WE REJOICE WITH THEM IN THEIR MINISTRY.
THIS IS FATHERS DAY, AND FOR ME, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF FIRSTS. ITSTHE FIRST FATHERS DAY FOR ME THAT I DON’T HAVE AN EARTHLY FATHER. THAT HAS MADE THIS A LITTLE TOUGH. THE OTHER IS, WITHIN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS, I AM GOING TO BE A GRANDFATHER FOR THE FIRST TIME. I AM PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT THAT. I HAVE SEEN THE BUMPER STICKERS THAT SAY, IF I KNEW THAT BEING A GRANDPARENT WAS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN, I WOULD HAVE DONE THAT FIRST. I WANT TO SEE IF THAT’S REALLY TRUE OR NOT.
TODAY, WE WANT TO TURN OUR ATTENTION TO A VERY FAMILIAR PARABLE OF JESUS, IT IS THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN. IN ORDER FOR US TO UNDERSTAND IT, WE NEED TO LAY SOME GROUND WORK.
ON ONE OCCASION, AN EXPERT IN THE LAW CAME TO JESUS, TO TEST HIM. THIS GUY IS NOT A LAWYER, BUT HE IS A VERY SMART PHARISEE. HE HAS STUDIED THE LAW OF MOSES, HE KNOWS HIS STUFF. HE HAS BEEN CHOSEN BY THEM TO GO TO JESUS AND TRY TO TRAP HIM. ASK THE QUESTION THAT JESUS CANT ANSWER.
THE QUESTION HE ASKS, TEACHER, WHAT MUST I DO TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE? LETS BREAK THIS DOWN. “WHAT MUST I DO”. HE HAS THE MUST PART DOWN RIGHT. IN THIS DAY AND AGE, MANY SAY THERE ARE NO ABSOLUTES, THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG, ITS HOW I FEEL. BUT JESUS SAID TO NICODEMUS, YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN. JESUS ROUTINELY HAS SAID, THERE ARE THINGS THAT ARE MUST.
WHAT MUST I, THE PERSONAL PRONOUN. HE IS TAKING PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE MATTER. EACH OF US MUST REALIZE, THAT ONLY WE CAN MAKE THAT DECISION. I CANNOT MAKE IT FOR YOU. YOUR HUSBAND/WIFE CANNOT MAKE IT FOR YOU. YOUR PARENTS CANNOT MAKE IT FOR YOU.
“WHAT MUST I DO” THERE ARE SOME WHO SAY, THERE IS NOTHING THAT YOU DO. THAT DOESN’T HOLD UP, IN EVERY INSTANCE JESUS REQUIRED ACTION ON THE PART OF THOSE HE MINISTERED TO. BELIEVING REQUIRES ACTION, REPENTANCE REQUIRES ACTION, CONFESSION OF FAITH REQUIRES ACTION, BEING BAPTIZED REQUIRES ACTION. EACH OF THESE WERE COMMANDED BY JESUS. THESE ACTIONS ARE NOT WORKS, THEY ARE ACTS OF OBEDIENT FAITH. WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE THRU FAITH, AND NOT OF WORKS THAT ANY MAN SHOULD BOAST.
JESUS RESPONSE TO THE LAWYER. WHAT IS WRITTEN IN THE LAW, HOW DO YOU READ IT? JESUS KNOWS THIS GUY, INSIDE OUT. HE KNOWS THAT HE IS AN EXPERT IN THE LAW. WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY? YOU HAVE STUDIED IT, YOU KNOW IT, YOU TELL ME. LET ME QUICKLY ADD, WE LIVE UNDER THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE, NOT LAW, SO HIS ANSWER IS NOT THE RIGHT ANSWER FOR US TODAY.
THE LAWYER SUMS THE LAW UP, LOVE GOD- HEART, SOUL, STRENGTH, AND MIND. THIS IS FIRST AND FOREMOST. THIS HAS NOT CHANGED. WE MUST FIRST LOVE GOD. WITH EVERY OUNCE OF OUR BEING WE LOVE HIM. I LOVE HIM EMOTIONALLY. I LOVE HIM SPIRITUALLY. I LOVE HIM WITH ALL MY PHYSICAL STRENGTH. I LOVE HIM MENTALLY. AND THEN HE ADDS ANOTHER PART OF THE LAW THAT IS OFTEN NOT ADDED. LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. IF WE COULD GET A HANDLE ON THIS, WE WOULD HAVE IT MADE. LOVE GOD. LOVE OTHERS. LOVE SELF.
NOW THE TRUTH IS, WE STRUGGLE WITH EACH PART OF THIS. SOME STRUGGLE WITH LOVING GOD. IF GOD IS THE FATHER, AND HE IS, BUT MY EARTHLY FATHER WAS NOT A KIND AND LOVING PERSON, THEN IT BECOMES REAL HARD TO LOVE FATHER GOD. FOR OTHERS, THEY GIVE LIP SERVICE TO LOVING GOD. THEY SAY IT, BUT THEY DON’T ACT ON IT. WE SAY, I LOVE YOU GOD, AND HE SAYS, DID YOU DO WHAT I TOLD YOU TO DO?
SOME STRUGGLE WITH LOVING THEMSELVES. PROPERLY. THIS IS NOT EGOTISTICAL, SELF CENTERED, ME ME ME, LOVE. THIS IS LOVE THAT SAYS, GOD CREATED ME, AND HE LOVES ME, AND I ACCEPT IT.
FINALLY SOME STRUGGLE WITH LOVING OTHERS. I FIND IT VERY EASY TO LOVE PEOPLE WHO ARE LIKE ME. WE SHARE INTERESTS, WE HAVE THINGS IN COMMON. BUT WHAT ABOUT THOSE WHO I DO NOT HAVE THINGS IN COMMON WITH? THEY ARE VERY UNLIKE ME. I STRUGGLE WITH THEM SOMETIMES. I PREFER TO LOVE THEM FROM A DISTANCE. EVIDENTLY THIS MAN STRUGGLED WITH THE SAME THING.
JESUS SAYS TO HIM. DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE. THAT COULD HAVE BEEN THE END OF THE DISCUSSION. OVER AND DONE. BUT THE MAN HAS THIS HOLE IN HIS HEART. HE IS TESTING JESUS, BUT HE ALSO IS SINCERE. THERE IS ONE PART OF HIS LIFE THAT HE FAILS IN, AND HE KNOWS IT. “WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?” IS IT THE GUY WHO LIVES NEXT DOOR TO ME? IF I LIVE IN AGATED COMMUNITY, OF 500K HOMES, AND THE GUY NEXT DOOR MEETS MY SOCIAL STATUS, HE IS MY NEIGHBOR. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE HOMELESS GUY I PASS ON MY WAY TO WORK EACH DAY, IS HE MY NEIGHBOR?
IN ANSWER TO HIS QUESTION JESUS TEACHES USING A PARABLE. THIS IS A GREAT STORY TO ACT OUT, AND IF I CAN GET SOME HELP WE WILL TRY THAT. I WILL READ IT, AND YOU WILL ACT IT OUT AS I READ. HERE WE GO.
“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
YOU KNOW THE STORY, WHICH OF THE THREE WAS A NEIGHBOR? THE PRIEST WALKS UP, SEES THE GUY, LYING THERE , HE DOESN’T WANT TO GET INVOLVED. SO HE PASSES BY ON THE OTHER SIDE. A LEVITE, ANOTHER RELIGIOUS MAN, WALKS UP, HE DOESN’T WANT TO DIRTY HIS HANDS WITH THIS MESS, THIS GUY IS BLEEDING AND HE MIGHT HAVE AIDS, HE TOO CROSSES BY ON THE OTHER SIDE. NOW REALIZE THAT WHEN JESUS NAMES THESE TWO GUYS, THESE WERE THE KIND OF PEOPLE THAT THE MAN WOULD HAVE HUNG OUT WITH. THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN PART OF HIS CIRCLE. HE IS ONE OF THEM.
THIRD GUY WALKS UP. HE IS A SAMARITAN. WHOA. I DON’T HANG WITH THOSE GUYS. THEY ARE NOT LIKE ME. NOT ONLY ARE THEY NOT LIKE ME, THEY DON’T LIKE ME, AND I DON’T LIKE THEM. BUT THE GUY WHO IS LEAST LIKE ME, THE GUY WHO I WOULDN’T CROSS THE STREET FOR, THIS GUY ENDS UP BEING THE HERO.
COME ON JESUS, WHY DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE IT SO HARD. I DON’T LIKE MY COMFORT ZONE SHAKEN. AND NOW YOU TELL ME, I HAVE TO LOVE THIS GUY, AND I AM TO FOLLOW HIS EXAMPLE.
