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Gospel: Luke 10: 25-37
There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said,
“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law?
How do you read it?”
He said in reply,
“You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your being,
with all your strength,
and with all your mind,
and your neighbor as yourself.”
He replied to him, “You have answered correctly;
do this and you will live.”
But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus,
“And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied,
“A man fell victim to robbers
as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.
A priest happened to be going down that road,
but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place,
and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him
was moved with compassion at the sight.
He approached the victim,
poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.
Then he lifted him up on his own animal,
took him to an inn, and cared for him.
The next day he took out two silver coins
and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction,
‘Take care of him.
If you spend more than what I have given you,
I shall repay you on my way back.’
Which of these three, in your opinion,
was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?”
He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.”
Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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The trouble with the parable of the Good Samaritan is the fact that we’re all familiar with it. We’ve heard it so many times that we might’ve already concluded – even before I begin preaching this sermon – what the ultimate point is: be kind; do good.
Yet when Jesus shared this parable, he intended to shock his audience, which begs the question:
Do we modern listeners really want to hear the message that Jesus intended? Are we willing to feel the shock and scandal that his immediate audience felt?
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Perhaps the best way to illuminate the meaning of this parable is to place it in a more modern context.
***
Twenty years ago, a Palestinian father watched as the body of his twelve-year-old son was lowered into the ground. Just days earlier, his child was accidentally shot by Israeli soldiers who were executing a raid inside their refugee camp.
Immediately after the doctor pronounced his son’s death, this grieving father had to make an unimaginable decision: what to do with his son’s organs. He understood the importance of such a decision because his own brother died from kidney failure.
So, he and his wife decided to donate their son’s vital organs to anyone in need – male or female, Palestinian or Jew. All six recipients were Israelis, including a twelve-year-old girl in northern Israel who had been waiting for a heart transplant for five years.
When they heard the news, the boy’s parents said, “Part of our son is still alive. We gave life to someone else. We proved that we want peace.”
They became, using Jesus’ imagery, “good Samaritans.”
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This is what created such shock and scandal when the Lord first spoke this parable. As sworn enemies, Jews and Samaritans shared a bitter history and mutual hatred.
Making the parable all the more insulting is the fact that the hero is neither a priest nor a Levite. Both of these religious figures proved themselves to be indifferent, leaving a man half-dead along the roadside.
But the Samaritan proved to be virtuous.
In fact, the Samaritan is so compassionate that he not only helps the half-dead man up; he pours oil and wine over his wounds and bandages them.
Then he carries the injured man to an inn, cares for him overnight, pays his bill, and leaves extra money with the owner so that the wounded man can stay until he’s healthy enough to go home.
And the good Samaritan does all of it anonymously.
This is the highest form of charity – performing a good deed without the need for recognition or praise.
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In order to plumb the depths of what it means to be a neighbor, Jesus invites us to see this parable through the eyes of the half-dead stranger.
Unlike the other characters in the parable, the injured man is not identified by his profession, social class, religion, or ethnicity; he could be anyone. To him, it doesn’t matter who helps him; what matters is that someone helps him.
In his hour of greatest need, the boundaries between Jews and Samaritans are erased. He’s simply a human in need of compassion; and only another human can save him.
This leads us to consider: Who would we allow to help us if, like the man dying on the roadside, we were in need? Would it matter who the person is or where they’re from? Or would our common bond of humanity be enough?
Once a person comes to our aid, they are no longer anonymous; they become part of our community, a neighbor.
Such a truth is reinforced by that innocent twelve-year-old girl in need of a heart transplant. In her hour of need, it didn’t matter who the heart came from – male or female, Palestinian or Jew. She simply wanted to live.
Because of the overwhelming generosity of the slain boy’s parents, she did. Their son – and by extension his parents – became her neighbor.
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What might this mean for us today?
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At our very core, human beings are good. We were created in the image and likeness of God, who is love. Thus, peace in this world, in our nation, in our homes and hearts is possible.
It begins and ends with a single question:
Will you be my neighbor?
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Image credits: (1) Mandy Hale (2) The Good Samaritan, WH Marcetson, thecripplegate.com (3) Love Thy Neighbor, George MacDonald
