OT: Amos 7:7-17 NT: Luke 10:25-37
I would like to tell you about a man named Roger Morris. Roger Morris was a contractor from the United States who was working in Afghanistan when the conflict broke out. The first night of the conflict, the city he was staying in came under heavy fire, and Roger soon found himself scrambling to flee the city. He had little warning, and as a result he was under intense fire from all directions. He was hit by shrapnel from an explosion and had seriously injured his leg, making it impossible for him to flee on foot. Very fearful for his life, he crawled into a ditch alongside the road. There he waited... and prayed.
A short while later, a US special forces platoon passed him. Roger shouted out for help, but it was quite obvious that these men had an important mission other than helping civilians. Moments later, the team vanished into the darkness. Roger’s hope left him almost as quickly as the soldiers did.
Minutes passed, minutes that felt like hours to Roger. Staring into the dark sky, he pleaded with God. Then, through the darkness, he could see the other American who was staying in the city. She was a young woman who was a mission worker with the Peace Corps. Their eyes met one another, but the mission worker only had a sad stare to return Roger. She was carrying a child in each arm while six other children followed diligently behind. She shouted something to Roger over the increasingly disturbing sounds of warfare. Roger couldn’t make it out, but assumed it was something like "I’m sorry¨ or "I have no choice." The missionary left, and sadness entered.
Roger was in severe pain and bleeding profusely. He knew it was only a matter of time before he would either die of his injuries or be found by enemy soldiers. It was a terribly long night. A fierce battle raged around him in gathering strength as his own strength faded.
When dawn came, the fighting began to subside. Roger was very weak. The early morning light began to reveal figures walking on the horizon. From the distance he could see one of the figures coming towards him. Roger’s hope sparked once again. But when the figure drew close enough for Roger to see him, it became quite obvious that he was a Muslim. At that moment, all hope left Roger and his will to live vanished. The last thing he could remember was the Muslim bending down towards him as he passed out.
When Roger came to, it took him a while to understand what was happening to him. He slowly remembered his situation and awoke to a start. He was terribly confused. He was covered in a large flowing robe, and his entire head was wrapped. His leg ached, but he could feel secure bandages protecting his badly injured leg. He was in the back of an old, beat-up Jeep. The Muslim that had approached him was in front driving. Seeing that Roger was awake, the Muslim began to speak. Roger knew the language well enough to make out about every third word. What Roger understood was "easy" and "drink." He handed Roger a drinking container and Roger drank the water quickly. Roger was not bound, nor was the Muslim holding a gun on him; they were just driving through the heavily guarded city. They passed many Al Quida soldiers, but thanks to the coverings Roger had on, not one of them took any notice of him. After driving through several small towns, they finally came to a house that was on the outskirts of the last city they had driven though. The Muslim pulled up as close to the house as he could. He turned and spoke to Roger. The words that Roger understood were "danger" and "friend." The Muslim helped Roger out of the back, and Roger limped into the house with his help. Inside, the Muslim greeted a very nervous looking man. The nervous man looked out all the windows and out both doors. He closed every shade and locked both doors. Then he sat by Roger and the Muslim. The nervous man began shouting angrily at the Muslim. The words Roger barely made out were "crazy" and "stubborn mule." The Muslim calmly spoke to the nervous man, showed him Roger’s face and his injured leg. Then the Muslim reached into his pack and pulled out a small bar of gold. He handed the bar to the nervous man, and the nervous man nodded in agreement. After this transaction, the Muslim patted Roger on the back and then darted out the door. Seconds later, Roger could hear the Jeep speed away. The nervous man took Roger to his mule and placed him on its back. The nervous man gave him a long speech, but the only thing Roger heard was "safe" and "border." They began their long journey over the steep hills next to the nervous man¡¦s house. Several hours seemed to pass as they traveled. By the second day of their travels, Roger realized that they were approaching a US Checkpoint. Roger heard the nervous man shout out in English "American... HELP!" Moments later, Roger was being rushed to an American base for medical attention. The tension finally washed free from his body, and he found himself weeping. (pause)
This parable is not a true story, but it begs some good questions. I hope hearing it this morning you asked yourself if this really happened. But it is not just about if it happened; the question becomes "could this happen?" and then it becomes "should this happen?"
"So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him." And the lawyer replied, "He who showed mercy on him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."
The story of the Good Samaritan is a problematic story to give a sermon on. I am sure you have all heard the story, have all heard the sermon (perhaps several sermons), and it seems like there is nothing new to learn, nothing new to be said. Therefore, you begin to hear it, and automatically start going into nap mode. /\ I implore you not to /\,
In my contemplation I discovered two things; that I should try to paint this parable in a modern light, and that I should try to pull the original point of the story into that light.
The entire focus of the parable goes back to the questions of the lawyer. Not so much what was asked, but what was intended. The lawyer asked "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" and what was implied was "What do I HAVE to do to get by?" Jesus responded to his question by posing another question, "What do you think?" The lawyer, quoting scripture that was well know to him and Jesus both, quoted "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind," and also "love your neighbor as yourself." And Jesus responded his answer with an answer, "Yep, you’ve got it, do that and you will live."
The lawyer had answered Jesus in an open-ended way, and Jesus had likewise upheld this description. The lawyer perhaps realized that they were a very long way from answering the question of "What do I HAVE to do to get by?" So he posed another question. "And who is my neighbor?" So Jesus decides to address this question of "What do I have to do to get by?" with a parable.
Jesus deals directly with his question of "getting by" with a resounding "It’s not about just getting by." In the parable of Roger I told this morning, the soldiers who passed him by were doing their "duty." They did exactly what they HAD to do. Who could hold that against them? The mission worker was doing her "duty." She did what she HAD to. They did what was required of them. Then we have the least likely of heroes. The Muslim who went far beyond what was required of him to show love to this man. If this image stirs some awkward feeling inside you that is a good thing. You are beginning to feel what Jesus was trying to say when he used the example of a Samaritan.
In Jesus’ time, everyone would have assumed that it would have been the priest or the Levite that would have showed the man mercy. Just as in our parable today, without hearing the story you would assume that the American soldier or the mission worker would have been the ones to stop and help him. But in the end in both parables help came from the least likely of sources. Today, the idea of a Muslim being kind and helpful to an American may be as unthinkable as the idea of a "good Samaritan" was back then. Yet Jesus used this idea of the unthinkable to answer,
"What do I have to do to get by?" The answer in this light is quite plain. It is not about just getting by. It is about love. You see the Lawyer had it right with his first statement though he himself did not yet know it. It is about love for God, and love for neighbor. The dilemma lies in what it means to love. The lawyer believed love meant following a set of laws, doing what was required of him. Jesus saw love as something more than that. He shows us what it means to /\really/\ love in this parable.
The difference is that the one who merely obeys rules is trying to save himself; one who loves is trying to serve God. The good Samaritan was not worried about his duty, he was loving his neighbor as himself. The Muslim was not just doing the bare minimum; he was going the extra mile to love the stranger in need. We should not be worried about the least we can do. We can and we should go beyond duty. We should love.
Well, that’s a great story Spencer, but what does it mean for me. The lesson Jesus taught is not new to us, however I think we are often like the lawyer who asks ¡§What do I have to do to get by." It is not just by coincidence that the parable of Roger and Jesus’ parable take place in the same country nearly 2000 years apart. The lessons he tried to teach there long ago are still the lessons we need to learn today.
So what does it mean for you? In every situation in life, you can ask "am I doing this out of duty or out of love?" When looking at this wonderful church, do you ask, "What is the bare minimum I can do to get by?" or do you ask, "How can I serve God?" After the parable, Jesus makes a strong demand of each and every one of us, "Go and do likewise!" Use your time, use your talents, use whatever gifts God has given you and give them back to the God, not out of duty but out of love; not out of requirement but out of service. If you have a vision or a dream for this church, by all means make it happen. If you have a complaint or see something this church is lacking, by all means try to change it. If you feel called to serve God in some capacity in this church, by all means embrace that call and take the plunge. For love of neighbor in this parable does not mean you have to go far away to find people in need. The person sitting next to you in that pew is a person in need. The visitor to this church is a person in need. This church in some sense is a person in need. What are you doing about it? Christ has called us all to, "Go, and do likewise." So GO! Serve... in love.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
