GO & DO LIKEWISE

A Sermon for The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
July 15, 2007
by Pastor Laura Gentry

Luke 10:25-37
Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus: “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this and you will live.”

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. He put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’

“Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” (NRSV)

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

When I was living in LA, I used to shop at a very crowded grocery store. As I was standing in line one day, I suddenly realized I’d forgotten something. Quickly, I scurried back to the produce section on the other side of the store to get the vegetable I so urgently needed. At the height of my velocity, I realized my high-heeled shoes had lost their traction on the shiny white floor. My speed was too great to save myself now! With arms vibrantly paddling the air, I skidded past four aisles and went airborne, then began helplessly careening towards the floor. Everything seemed to move in slow motion and all I could see was the floor rising up towards me. But then, out of nowhere, a hand emerged before my face, grabbed my hands, and snatched me up from certain doom. An elderly Armenian gentleman had seen me falling (I guess I was pretty hard to miss with my long arms and legs whirling out of control) and had abandoned his cart and actually run over to scoop me up. Even though it was in a relatively small way, a stranger had chosen to be my neighbor. He was what our culture might call a “Good Samaritan.”

Today’s Gospel lesson is perhaps the most well-known of Jesus’ parables. It has entered our popular culture as the sentimental story of the good guy. Anybody who does anything extraordinarily nice is written up in the papers as a “Good Samaritan,” though most people don’t even know it’s a biblical reference. But time has tamed this tale and because of our familiarity with it, we miss the profound impact of this parable. So this morning, we are going to take a new look at this old story to help recover some of it’s meaning and implication for our lives.

The story begins with a conversation between Jesus and a lawyer. Now it says that the lawyer is testing Jesus with his question—that’s because he wants to make himself look better than he is. He is trying to prove his own right to eternal life by setting limits to his duty. He knows what the scripture says it takes to be saved: “You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself.” He thinks he is accomplishing this quite well, but he wants to make sure he only has to love those people that are like him, that are his friends. So he questions the very concept of neighbor, asking, “And who is my neighbor?” It is a question of inclusivity. Jesus can see the trap the lawyer is laying for him, so he surprises him by launching into this famous parable.

In the story, an Israelite man is going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. This was a notoriously dangerous road, which dropped 3,600 feet in less than 20 miles. The road was not only steep, but rocky and twisty. For those of you who are off-road enthusiasts, this would have been an excellent four-wheel drive road. But since they didn’t have four-wheel drive vehicles in those days, it was a slow journey fraught with many perils, most notably the presence of bandits who often robbed people traveling alone. This was such a common problem, that historians say it was called “The Bloody Way” and most people traveled in groups for safety. But the man in the parable is going it alone—and with his valuables, no less. Jesus’ audience would have understood that this man is a fool. He is taking an even greater risk than trying to run to the produce section in heels! So the fact that he gets robbed and beaten is no surprise.

But what is surprising is what happens next. A priest passes by, one of the highest ranking religious leaders around. We assume this guy, of all people, will help the man. But according to the religious rules, if the priest were to touch this man who looks dead (or at least mostly dead), it would make him ritually unclean for seven days. For a priest, this would post a career hazard, since he would be unable to lead worship that week. Perhaps he’s already used up his vacation days, or he doesn’t have workman’s comp., but whatever his reasoning, he is not willing to assume this risk. The temple liturgy is more important to him than helping a man in crisis.

And then a Levite comes by, a Jewish lay minister. This is also someone we assume would have compassion on the man. But he knows that many bandits use decoys—people pretending to be hurt in order to trick others into being robbed. And of course, he also faces the problem of becoming ritually unclean. The Levite is too worried about himself to deal with the risks involved with helping this other man. So he chooses personal safety over benevolence.

Finally, a Samaritan passes the hurting man. Jesus’ listeners probably gritted their teeth at this point in the parable—assuming that the villain has arrived and will violently end the poor man. The animosity between Jews and Samaritans was legendary! The Samaritans were then regarded as only “Half-Jews,” as outsiders who had compromised their race and culture through mixed marriages and temple worship outside the control of Jerusalem. Without going into much detail of Jewish-Samaritan hostilities, it is sufficient to say that the Samaritan represents the one most unlikely to succeed. Yet, he alone helps the man!

When the stereotypical “bad guy” enters the scene, a reversal of expectation occurs. It is the least likely one who shows pity and assists the stricken man. And in doing so, Jesus uncovers the true hospitality expected of a good Israelite! The mark of hospitality was to help strangers as an obligation, for when the Israelites themselves were sojourners in a strange land, it was divine hospitality that delivered them. This reversal is deliciously ironic. It is the despised non-Jew who shows a mirror of the divine love for Israel in his compassion for the one in need. It is this “good” Samaritan who carries out the essential elements of scripture and not the religious people of the day.

Then, Jesus rephrases the lawyer’s original question, asking, “Who of the three was a neighbor?” By this time, the lawyer is probably sorry he ever posed the question, because now he must admit that the hated Samaritan is the only one who acted as a neighbor. So in this conversation, Jesus has issued a new definition of neighbor, which surprisingly includes all people—even the troubled, marginalized, disadvantaged, and despised. He makes is painfully clear that if we are to love our neighbor as ourselves, we must include all people, and it must be manifested not in mere words, but in actions.

This is truly an explosive story, because instead of reinforcing the status quo, Jesus calls us to radically reimagine love in new and empowering ways—to break down the barriers which separate people from one another and become agents of transformation and new possibilities. Jesus is being subversive in that he is calling us to make our moral decisions, not on the basis of religious or cultural traditions, but on compassion.

Then, Jesus commands the lawyer to “go and do likewise.” Now that Jesus has set a higher standard of love and a more inclusive definition of neighbor, he tells the man to go get to it.

And what about us? Are we also willing to go and do likewise? Can we really love our neighbor as ourselves the way the Samaritan did in this parable? Are we willing to cross cultural barriers and take risks in order to love as Jesus calls us to? But what if people don’t deserve or appreciate our love? Jesus calls us to love anyway.

Let me give you a modern example. I heard this true story from my mother-in-law about a doctor in Alaska. He was an individual that few people could tolerate because of his arrogance. One day, he came into the hospital for work and was suddenly struck down by a heard attack. Immediately, the nurse on duty noticed him passed out on the emergency room floor and without a moment’s hesitation, began performing CPR on the doctor. She summoned the other hospital staff, many of whom he had been very rude to in the past, and together they stabilized him. Within a few minutes, he regained consciousness, stood up, and literally shoved the nurse aside, shouting, “Why didn’t you let me die?” Then he went and did his rounds and never—to this day—thanked the nurse or staff people for saving his life! It was probably very tempting to let such an incorrigible man just die, but that nurse chose to see the doctor as her neighbor and help him in this crucial moment. This is the kind of thankless love and service Jesus urges us to offer to anyone in need.

Each time we hear a reference to a “Good Samaritan” may it serve as a reminder of Jesus’ counter-cultural call to love all people and to make this our top priority. May we see all people as neighbors and obediently serve them, for we have been ordered to “go and do likewise!”

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.