THE GOOD COVID SAMARITAN
Luke 10:30-37
In the sermon last week I shared Gal. 6:9-10, focusing on our need to do good to the family of believers. This week I was thinking about the beginning of vs. 10, "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people". My thoughts went to our current situation and I was making some observations.
The pandemic has produced the need for social distancing, which obviously greatly limits personal interaction. As I pondered that in correlation to this verse I wondered, 'which one should supersede the other?' Has the separation restrictions put us in a position to disregard the fulfillment of Gal. 6:10? When I see someone who could use my help do I want to help but choose not to because of COVID concerns? If someone asks me for help is COVID 19 an easy excuse to say 'no'?
Don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying we need to disregard the protocol and live with reckless abandon, putting God to the test. We need to be wise during the pandemic but what if it's not about putting God to the test, but rather God putting us to the test to see if we will help others despite COVID 19 concerns? Is the opportunity to do good being hindered by the need to social distance? Should we be cautionary or should we take the risk in order to help our fellow man?
1) Not me!
In Luke 10, Jesus was challenged by an expert in the law about what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus' response was like, 'you know the law; what does it say?' When the expert cited the two greatest commandments, love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind and love your neighbor as yourself, Jesus said he answered correctly. Verse 29 says that he wanted to justify himself so he asked Jesus, "and who is my neighbor?" Jesus proceeds to tell him the parable of the good Samaritan.
Luke 10:30-32, "In reply Jesus said: “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. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side."
The terrain from Jerusalem to Jericho was treacherous in places and it provided ample hideaways for thieves to lie in wait for passersby. The priest and the Levite (assistant to the priests) both saw the man but kept it moving; going to the opposite side to move as far away from this man as they could. Why didn't they stop to help? They knew this route was notorious for ambushes to take place so they didn't want to stop to help because it would put themselves at risk of being the next victim.
Plus, according to Lev. 21, a priest was not allowed to make himself unclean for anyone who died, except for a close relative. If he were to come in contact with a dead person he would be ceremonially unclean and therefore not be allowed to take part in the temple services.
"See, he's justified for not helping because he was following the law. Just like if we saw someone in need we would be following orders by staying six feet away." Not so fast. First, this person wasn't dead; he was injured. "Maybe the priest assumed he was dead." Perhaps, but it was obvious he wasn't going to investigate to find out. "Maybe he was thinking, 'if he dies while I'm helping him then I will be unclean'." Ok, but which would be more noble-to try to save someone's life or remain ceremonially clean?
In my sermon a couple weeks ago I mentioned when Jesus told the Pharisees to go and learn what God meant when he said he desired mercy over sacrifice. These two religious officials had an opportunity to show mercy to a wounded traveler and save a life but they determined that wasn't worth risking their religiosity over.
In Luke 6, Jesus was in the Synagogue and the Pharisees were watching to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. A man with a shriveled hand was there. Since Jesus knew what they were thinking, he had him stand up in front of everyone. Luke 6:9, "Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”
They didn't respond to Jesus' question. Then Jesus healed the man. Was Jesus dishonoring the Sabbath? No, he was honoring the commandment to love his neighbor; he was doing what was lawful on the Sabbath. Not that ceremonial cleanness is nothing and not that honoring the Sabbath is unimportant. But doing good and saving lives is always the priority.
When it comes to the pandemic, following the guidelines is important, but if we saw a stranger who needed help, would we pass him by like the priest and Levite, carrying our justifications with us, or would we choose to help our neighbor?
2) He took pity on him.
Luke 10:33-35, "But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He 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. The 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.’"
Jesus specifically chose the three people he used in this parable on purpose. A priest and a Levite would be seen as the most religious and a Samaritan would be viewed as the least religious. In the days of David and Solomon, the kingdom was united. But after Solomon's death, the nations split into two-Israel, the northern kingdom, and Judah, the southern kingdom.
They were often at war with each other. Samaria was the capital of Israel and Jerusalem was the capital of Judah. After the split, King Jeroboam changed the way Israel worshiped. They no longer went to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices and worship. Remember what the Samaritan woman at the well said to Jesus, 'you Jews say we must worship in Jerusalem'.
After Israel fell to the Assyrians, they began to intermarry with them. That's why Jews considered them half-breeds. But Jesus would use a Samaritan in some of his parables to illustrate true humility and repentance. In part this was probably meant to humble the Jews since they felt superior to the Samaritans.
But in our story we see what the Samaritan did. First, he took pity on him. That was missing from the first two. It's understood by scholars that the wounded man was a Jew because he was traveling from Jerusalem and because Jesus identifies him simply as, 'a man'; if he was a foreigner he would've identified his nationality.
So here was their fellow Jew and they felt no real pity. They may have felt sorry for him but it didn't translate into active compassion. Kindness is an action word. It starts with feeling bad about someone's situation but that feeling needs to evolve into helping with the situation if we can. The Samaritan not only felt pity for him, he took pity on him.
Martin Luther King Jr., “The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But, the Good Samaritan reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?"”
In this parable we see the difference between being self-focused and others-focused. The Samaritan was at risk too. He could've been assaulted like the man was. He would've been in a vulnerable position as he knelt down and tended to his wounds. A man could've snuck up and ambushed him before he knew what hit him.
But he was more concerned about the wounded man than he was about his own risk. Maybe that's how we should look at it. If we help a stranger, whether it be a flat tire on the roadside or helping an elderly woman with her groceries, we are putting ourselves at risk for contracting COVID. It would be easier to pass them by and avoid the risk but is that what we should do? The Samaritan was brave in allowing himself to be vulnerable for the sake of helping someone in need.
Let's look at what he did for him. He bandaged his wounds. Obviously he had first-aid supplies. As a traveler, it made sense for him to. We see his willingness to sacrifice his supplies to help him. "But what if he needed these items later?" That was a risk he was willing to take. He was more focused on the real present need than the possible future need. Do we ever deny someone something they need because we might need it down the road?
We see the Samaritan went above and beyond-he didn't just bandage his wounds, he put him on his donkey and took him to an inn. And then he went even further. Notice that after he brought him there, verse 35 says, the next day he gave two silver coins to the innkeeper. That means the Samaritan stayed with him the whole night and took care of him!
He could've easily just dropped him off and paid his tab for the night. But he didn't. Why? Because he still needed help. 'So, let someone else take over, he's done enough'. But that wasn't his attitude. He put aside his plans to care for this man. The Samaritan was going somewhere before he saw the wounded man. He may have been on his way to an important meeting. But he decided this was more important. He was willing to be divinely interrupted to do God's work.
There may come a time when we'll be put to the test when God disrupts our agenda to help someone. The Samaritan sacrificed his safety, his time, his money, his resources, as well as his pride in helping a Jew. Would we go this far to help someone? What about during the pandemic? I believe this Samaritan would be willing to.
3) Which of these were a neighbor?
Luke 10:36-37, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
So, Jesus now puts the expert in the law to the test. The man had asked, 'who is my neighbor'? The priest and the Levite had encountered a neighbor in need but showed him no mercy. The one who wasn't technically a neighbor was the one who did show mercy. As the Jew would not consider a Samaritan to be a neighbor, Jesus wanted this man to realize that the Samaritan was willing to consider his enemy to be a neighbor because he was a human being in need.
Jesus wanted this expert in the law to realize that no matter how religious he thought he was, he had neglected the golden rule. He was an expert in the law but Jesus wanted to broaden his understanding of who his neighbor was so he could be an expert in the royal law.
James 2:8-9, "If you really keep the royal law found in scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers."
In James, the reason for the favoritism had to do with financial status. However, when it comes to who his neighbor was, this expert in the law would've shown favoritism to his fellow Jew and neglected his other neighbor, the Samaritan. So when the expert asked, 'who is my neighbor' the answer is-everyone.
The expert in the law already knew the two greatest commandments, but after hearing Jesus' illustration, it would put these commands into perspective. Think about the components mentioned in the greatest commandment-heart, soul, strength and mind. If we love God with all our heart then there will be no room in our heart for favoritism, prejudice, division, segregation, etc.
Loving the Lord with all our mind means we don't allow our mind to talk us out of doing God's will. We don't rationalize our way out of doing what we know God wants us to do. To love God with all our strength is to not become weary in doing good.
It's doing what we know we need to even though we don't feel like it. It's pressing on; it's persevering through adversity. To love God with all our soul is to love him with our very being. We submit to God in all our ways. Our lives are given as a sacrifice to him. And if this is how we love God, then we will love our neighbor as ourselves.
The last thing Jesus told this expert in the law was to go and do likewise. Go and do what this Samaritan did; go and be a true neighbor. Nicole's post: "Dear Teachers, Bus drivers, janitors, cafeteria staff, office staff, support staff, From healthcare workers:
We were terrified. We were not ready. We didn’t know what was to come. We did not want to change our ways. We couldn’t imagine what each day would look like. We were stressed, exhausted, overwhelmed, and anxious. But fast forward 5 months. We are ok. We have adapted. We are stronger together. We are essential. We feel our worth. We make a difference and others know it. We are proud to go to work.
I know many of you return to work soon and it is scary but it will be okay. Be flexible, be strong, be creative, and be proud! You are so needed and remember that now more than ever these kids need your love and support. We’ve got this (teachers and nurses) and this too shall pass! Just thought you could use a little encouragement from some people who have felt what you feel. Love, Your Healthcare Friends!"
1st Cor. 10:24, "Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others."
Paul isn't saying don't take care of yourselves, he's saying we need to be concerned about what's good for others too. It's okay to focus on what's good for us but not if it causes us to neglect what's good for others. We need to get outside of ourselves and care about how the other person is doing. As the saying goes, we're all in this together. We need to ask for help when we need it and we need to be proactive in looking to help others.
There is much contending against us to live this out. The pandemic has gotten us stressed and depressed. We're angry, confused and scared. And what these issues can do is cause us to lose focus on the needs of others. "I've got my own problems to deal with. I don't have the time or the energy to be concerned about what you're dealing with."
Couple that with having to stay six feet apart and the fear of contracting the virus and you have the perfect combination to remove ourselves from being the helping hand people desperately need right now. That's not good; that's not what being a Good Samaritan is all about. Whether the need is physical, emotional or spiritual, we need to be that Good COVID Samaritan-despite the pandemic; perhaps because of it.
