Luke 10:25-37 reads, “And behold a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” So he answered and said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your should, with all your strength, and with all your mind,” and “your neighbor as yourself.”
And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Then Jesus answered and said, “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.
But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, “Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.
“So which of these three do you think was the neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “God and do likewise.”
The last sermon in the three-part series on being a welcoming church is titled, “Open Doors.” The Scripture read this morning has so many things to draw from it but I want to focus on one thing that Jesus said in this conversation, “Go and do likewise.”
In this Scripture we see a lawyer, not unlike today, stand up and test or literally, try to trap Jesus in a matter concerning the law. He was looking to debunk Jesus Christ. The lawyer wanted people to watch him get Jesus in trouble with the law while at the same time looking like a good student of the law. It was pride that motivated the lawyer. Jesus knew that it wasn’t just pride in being a lawyer, but pride in being a religious law-abiding Jew.
What is surprising is the parable that Jesus uses. The crowd along with the lawyer probably expected to hear how a Jew should show love to anybody, even to a Samaritan, but in fact Jesus shows how even a Samaritan – who didn’t believe that Jerusalem was the holy capitol – could be nearer to heaven than a pious, holier-than-thou Jew.
Jesus doesn’t come out and say exactly whom one should help as a neighbor. Not being able to keep the commandment of love your neighbor as yourself doesn’t come from a lack of information or precise answers, like the lawyer asks. But rather failure to keep the commandment comes from a lack of love. It wasn’t new information the lawyer needed but a new heart.
Jesus answers the lawyer’s question by asking a counter question. I tell you if you want to frustrate people who want a quick answer ask them a question right back. Jesus was getting the lawyer to answer his own question and avoid the legal trap that he was trying to put Jesus in. Jesus asks the lawyer, “What does the law say? How do you read it?”
Now the lawyer has got to feel pretty foolish. Jesus asked him a question that would make the lawyer quote the easy answer – law, chapter, and verse. The lawyer responds, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and will all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.” Te lawyer could probably hear the audience in his head snickering at him.
Jesus gives him his doggy treat by telling him that he has answered correctly and if he would do this he would live. Now the lawyer feels he’s lost some face, some pride. He doesn’t want to be dismissed by Jesus just yet. He probably feels like he can get some pride back by asking Jesus another more pointed question. A question that calls for an exact answer. The lawyer might have been wanting to get Jesus on that detail. You know there’s the saying, “The Devil’s in the details.”
Not only was the lawyer still wanting to trap Jesus but maybe he was feeling a little guilt over being challenged to love his neighbor. So in order to remove the guilt that he’s feeling, Scripture says, “he wanted to justify himself,” he asks Jesus specifically who is his neighbor. This time Jesus doesn’t ask him a question or give him an easy answer, instead he gives him a story to think about. You and I know this story. The story of the Good Samaritan.
But instead of reading you Jesus’ story again I’ve updated it. Listen closely: But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Then Jesus answered him and said:
“There was this guy who was walking down Minnesota Avenue late at night. He was there downtown, near the loop by the churches when three or four guys “escorted” him to the alley behind one of the churches. Then they jumped him. They took his new pair of Jordans, his Tommy jeans, and his leather jacket. After stabbing him in the back and knocking him unconscious they put him in a dumpster and left him for dead.
Now it just happens that a pastor of one of the churches was locking up the church. As the pastor was heading down the alley to his car, he couldn’t help but think of his flight that night, on his way to Arizona – the golf courses, the sunshine, and especially the absence of snow. He almost ran into the man’s arm that was sticking out of the dumpster. It freaked out the pastor. There was this bloody arm – sticking out of the dumpster!
“What should I do?” he asked himself. He saw that the man looked dead. He started making a mental checklist, “First I’ve got to call the police and then I’ll stick around and fill out the reports. Of course I’ll have to call the prayer chain and then visit this man’s family.” But then I’ll miss my flight tonight. I’ve been planning this all year. It’s not like I’m out in the middle of nowhere. Somebody has to see this guy soon. Maybe if I say a prayer real quick someone will see this. So the pastor prayed and then left.
Not long after the pastor left it seemed like God answered prayer. One of the church members that was dropping off some baked goods for tomorrow’s bake sale saw the arm from a distance. It looked so real. But wasn’t it just Halloween? “Are those kids playing pranks again?” she asked herself. “There’s no way it can be real. I’ll just walk on the other side of the parking lot, just in case. Somebody might be trying to set me up in the alley.” She quickly dropped off the cookies and half-ran to her car.
A few hours had gone by and the birds started chirping as early morning approached. A few pigeons cooed on the rooftop looking down on the dumpster. The chirping stopped when a rusted out Ford pickup creaked its way down the alley. A bit rough around the edges, the driver and the car made their way closer and closer to the dumpster. The driver was a large Native American man, getting an early start to Yankton. He knew the Wacipi down there was going to be a good time with his friends and family. He knew he needed to get their early to practice his drum solo. But he didn’t get very far. He stopped the car in its tracks. Was this real? Is there an arm sticking out of the dumpster? Did it just move?
Cautiously he got out and looked around. He went over to the dumpster and looked in. Expecting the worse. Underneath garbage bags and empty food containers he head the soft moan of somebody in terrible pain. After opening his car door, he lifted the garbage off the man and with one move lifted him into the back seat of his car. He was that he was badly bleeding from his back and mouth. He remembered the First-Aid kit underneath the seat. He got it, put gauze on the man’s wounds and cleaned up the dried blood on his face.
He knew he needed medical attention so he floored the truck to the hospital. After waiting in the emergency room for hours the doctors finally came out and told him that the man would pull through but probably had a couple months of rehab ahead of him. He thanked the doctor and called ahead to friends in Yankton telling them he wouldn’t be able to make it. After making sure the man would be all right he gave the receptionist his phone number and let her know that he would help in any way possible.
The receptionist got a funny look on her face and finally asked the big man, “Why are you doing this?” which he replied, “Tecumseh said, “When you meet a stranger in a strange land, greet him as a friend, for we are all one family, one tribe, one family, one world.”
So which of these three do you think was a neighbor to him who fell among the thieves? Jesus told a story that still speaks to us today. The question hangs in the air, “Who is our neighbor?” It is obvious that anyone we meet is our neighbor. Whether we choose to treat that person as a stranger, friend or enemy is within our hands. We have free will. We have the choice. Just like the pastor, parishioner and Native American we all will have moments of making the choice of, “Who is my neighbor?”
But this question is deeper than practicing random acts of kindness and giving flowers to the person down the street. The question of, “Who is my neighbor?” comes down to our eternal destiny. The lawyer asks, “What do we need to do to inherit eternal life?” Yes, we need to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives, but it doesn’t stop there. Scripture tells us that, “Faith without works is dead.”
Jesus is very clear here that mercy and compassion shown to those that come across our path are essential marks of faith. I would dare to say that if you do not example these things you do not have faith! Jesus knew that the lawyer knew the Sunday School answer. He also knew that it went beyond the question of, “Who exactly is my neighbor?” The lawyer responded that it was the person who showed mercy on the wounded traveler that will inherit eternal life; not the people who pretend to care – people who act religious but like the lawyer worry about catching the details and working the system rather than loving their neighbor with real compassion and love.
When our doors open at the other church, we will have a chance to know who our neighbors are. We will have a chance to show compassion on those who may not be physically wounded but emotionally and spiritually scarred and traumatized. We may encounter “neighbors” who left a church for one reason or the other. We may encounter neighbors who broke fellowship with us for one reason or the other. The question is, “Will we go and do likewise?” Will we show mercy and compassion just as we have been shown mercy and compassion by Jesus?
I encourage you right now to make the choice. Will you put your faith in action by opening your hearts, your minds and your doors to the newcomer, the stranger, and the wanderer? Jesus is very clear and direct. If we claim to have faith in Christ we will welcome, receive, and show compassion and mercy. We need to open our eyes to those around us. We need to open our hearts and minds to those we see every day that are our neighbors.
(Ask congregation to do this) “Could everyone take their hands and clench them tightly into fists.” “Keep clenching your fists, feel the tenseness and listen closely. Because of our faith in Christ we have to give our best to build a better church and community. THIS IS POSSIBLE! In order to do this, in order to open our hearts, minds and doors to each other we have to show outstretched friendly hands, without hatred, without bitterness – just as we show great determination, never wavering in defense of truth and justice. Now open your hands. Feel the tension leaving. We do this because we know that seeds are not sown with clenched fists. We cannot harvest with closed hands. TO SEW SEEDS AND HARVEST WE MUST OPEN OUR HANDS.
As we become and meet new neighbors in the other church let us open our doors. Not like an open house, but like an open family willing to follow Jesus and love others as He loves us. Amen.
