Luke 10:25-42
(sermon note:
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 heart, and with all your soul, and 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 travelling 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. Then 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 the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’
Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’
This morning’s reading reminds me of the one about two neighbors, the Smiths and the Jones, who hadn’t been getting along. Apparently, Mr. Smith left his dog outside all day and the dog never stopped barking. After several days of nonstop barking and not being able to even hear himself think, Mr. Jones told his wife, “I’VE HAD IT!” and he stomped out of the house.
A few minutes later, Mr. Jones walked back into the house with a smug smile on his face. But Mrs. Jones said, “I can still hear the dog barking. What did you do?” to which her husband replied, “I put their dog in our backyard. Let’s see how they like it!”
Probably not the most effective way of dealing with a neighbor’s barking dog. But isn’t that the way it is with barking dogs. If you’re the owner of barking dog, then the barking doesn’t seem to bother you. It’s when you’re the nonowner that the barking drives you up the wall! I suppose the barking tends to be directed away from the house, so it appears less disruptive to the dog’s owner. Not to mention, a lot of grace is extended to your own dog. Which is all to say that Mr. Jones’ solution of bringing the dog into his yard, directing the incessant barking towards Mr. Smith’s house, and creating the illusion that the dog is Mr. Jones’ was quite a clever solution. It may not have gotten rid of the barking all together but it sure gave Mr. Smith a little perspective on the situation and highlighted the importance of good neighborliness.
Not unlike the parable in today’s reading. Jesus helped give that lawyer, and us, a little perspective on what it means to be a good neighbor. Perhaps more importantly on who our neighbor is. That whole term, “neighbor,” is a difficult term to understand. We tend to think of our neighbors as the people who are geographically near to us. Because they are geographically near to us, we share many life experiences: similar weather, similar governing powers, similar economic forces, similar views from our homes. And because we share many life experiences, we knowingly or unknowingly develop bonds with our neighbors. A neighbor isn’t a stranger because of those shared experiences. Of course, the shared experiences ultimately tell us nothing about our neighbors, their values, their hopes and dreams, their beliefs. They’re just as much strangers to us as those who are geographically distant to us. The weather and governing powers and economic forces may have drastically different effects on their overall life experiences. So those bonds we develop are illusions. Or are they? Shared experiences aren’t nothing. In fact, shared experiences are what make up relationships, along with shared values and hopes and dreams and beliefs. Shared experiences are real and have value. They lead to sharing more and wanting to share more.
Now then, what happens when there are no shared experiences? Is there any incentive to share at all? Jesus’ parable wisely answers these questions while answering the lawyer’s question as well. Are we called to share with those we have no shared experiences with? Who is our neighbor? Jesus taught us that everyone is a neighbor. Everyone deserves our sharing regardless of our commonality. It doesn’t matter if we’re geographically near or geographically far. It doesn’t matter if we have the same weather or the same governing powers or the same economic forces. It doesn’t matter if we have the same resources or lack of resources. We all deserve hospitality and love. Jesus taught us this over and over again. And Jesus shows us unconditional love and hospitality over and over again. Jesus is constantly finding ways to love the unloveable, the undeserving. If he can do it, then surely you and I can do it.
It’s an interesting reading to set us out on our journey through Lent this year. Not only does it expand our understanding of who our neighbor is, it also taught us how over-the-top we should share our love and hospitality. The Samaritan in the parable both tended to the unfortunate man’s injuries, brought him to a nearby inn for the night, and even paid for the lodging. So, too, we are called to serve everyone we meet, with utmost graciousness and generosity. If we see someone in need and we have the means to help them, then we are called, as followers of Christ, to address their need.
Jesus taught us that there are 2 great commandments: love God with all your heart, mind, and soul and love your neighbor as yourself. I’ve always been a little put off by that 2nd commandment because what happens if a person doesn’t love themselves very much? Does that entitle them to not love others very much either? Perhaps but I think Jesus assumed we all have a fairly strong love of ourselves, arguably the source of all our sin, so we have to keep this in mind when reflecting on Jesus’ 2nd commandment. Yes, we love ourselves and thus we should love others. Now then, how should we love others? The apostle, Paul, has useful wisdom on this. He writes in his letter to the Romans, “Each of us must please our neighbor for the good purpose of building up the neighbor.” (15:2) We ought to build our neighbors up, speak kindly of them, encourage them. Jesus no doubt took his from Leviticus that says, “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” (19:18) We ought not take vengeance or bear a grudge. Paul again writes in Romans, “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.” (13:10) We ought not wrong our neighbor in word or deed.
In many ways, Jesus’ teaching is a radical teaching. Who knew that everyone is deserving of love and hospitality, not just those who are geographically near to us? Who knew that everyone is deserving of more than enough love and hospitality? Well, Jesus did, of course, and much, much more about our heavenly Father. Let us heed his words and seek to share with all those around us this season. And let us give thanks for God enabling us to share. Thanks be to God!
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
