Me, Do What?
Luke 10:25-37
VIDEO INTRODUCTION… Liberty Mutual Commercial 2009 (0:00-1:00) [youtube.com/watch?v=frpp6DjCaJU]
NARRATIVE: Loving Story Part 1
He was driving home one Monday evening on a busy city street. Like everyone else in the world at that time, it was the mad rush to get home from work. Traffic was crazy… no it was insane. Some people were even driving in traffic while texting which makes the drive that much more difficult and so very dangerous. He managed a store and did well for himself and provided well for his wife and kids. He was about to take off his tie after a hard day of dealing with customers and complaints when his cell phone rang. Carefully he hit the speaker phone and answered. It was his mother. He often talked to his mother on his way home from work. They talked about her day. They talked about what had happened on the weekend. He asked her about church. She asked about his. They talked about the kids.
As they were talking, traffic slowed to a crawl. All he saw were break lights… I guess dinner will be cold again, he thought to himself. Everyone was moving to the left and so did he. His mother sensed the change in his mood. He told her about the even slower moving traffic. As they spoke, he passed the problem car. This car had stopped in the right lane of the busiest street at the busiest time. As his car passed, he glared from his car into the other disapprovingly. He saw an elderly woman just sitting in the seat in her car. As she looked at him, the man just shook his head at the older lady as she was fouling up the entire ride home by just sitting there. The least she could do was get her car off to the side of the road. She just sat there… can you believe it?! Call somebody or something! He finished up his conversation with his mom and was glad to get home to his family when he finally arrived.
The passage and Biblical truth that we will be looking at this morning is one that is very well known and some people who have never even come to church often know about this story. We hear it often, so often that sometimes we just ignore it or make excuses not to actually do it. The passage is one that is full of grace and mercy and moves us to right action. Grace and mercy are often two sides of the same coin. If you want to think of grace and mercy as a family, they are brother and sister… related, but different at the same time.
GRACE AND MERCY DEFINITIONS (adapted from www.studiesintheword.org/mercy_and_grace.htm)
The Hebrew words translated "mercy" in the Old Testament are defined as compassion, to love deeply, to have tender affection, to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior, and to favor. A word in the Old Testament that is a great synonym of “mercy” is “loving-kindness.” In the New Testament, there are two words most often translated "mercy" which carries with them the meaning of pity, compassion, and is most often an action word where someone is showing compassion to another. I want you to see that in both the Old and New Testaments that “mercy” is framed in terms of action… “stooping in kindness” and “showing compassion.”
The other word “grace” is very similar to “mercy.” Nelson's Bible Dictionary (my favorite Bible study tool of all time) defines "grace" as: "Favor or kindness shown without regard to the worth or merit of the one who receives it and in spite of what that same person deserves." In the Old Testament, the word which is translated “grace” is one that means "favor." In the New Testament, in almost every instance, the word that is translated “grace” comes from one that means “graciousness of manner or act; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude." Again, grace in both the Old and New Testaments are framed in terms of actions towards people who do not deserve that which is coming to them.
The stories in Scripture that are full of grace and mercy are those that we know the best:
* Joseph responds in grace and mercy by providing food and land in a time of drought for his brothers and their families even after they sell him into slavery (Genesis 43-45).
* Throughout the book of Judges God has compassion and grace on the people of Israel that although they have turned away to idols, He sends 12 judges to lead them out of their oppression and offers forgiveness, in fact, Judges 2:18 says, “Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the LORD had compassion on them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them.”
* Lonely desperate Ruth finds favor and mercy in the eyes of generous Boaz as she harvests in his fields and he provides a way for her to feed herself and provide for her and her mother-in-law (Ruth 2:1-17). In fact, the word “favor” is used 3 times in Ruth 2 and shows how much mercy Ruth is shown by those who did not know her.
* Queen Esther begs for mercy from King Xerxes and puts her life on the line for all her people in the midst of persecution (Esther 4-9).
* Paul writes to his friend Philemon to ask that grace be extended to Onesimus who stole from him and now was returning a changed man (Philemon 1-25).
There are countless passages and stories in the Old and New Testament all about grace and mercy. We read about these people and their lives and we see grace and mercy lived out in their experiences and with one another.
What does all that have to do with anything? Well, the passage today is one that is all about loving-kindness and favor towards others. It is a passage that illustrates the need for gracious actions towards one another even though the other person does not deserve it and probably has done nothing to merit favor in the first place.
You see, in the passage we will read in the Gospel of Luke today, Jesus is faced with an expert who is asking good and hard questions. This expert in the law wanted to know an exact number. He wanted to know specifics and Jesus decided to tell a story instead of giving numbers or giving an exact definition or an exact answer. That seemed to be Jesus’ way wasn’t it, when someone asked a question, He would answer with a story. Jesus tells a story all about grace and mercy in an effort to answer the expert’s question.
NARRATIVE: Loving Story Part 2
He was driving home one Monday evening on a busy city street. Like everyone else in the world at that time, it was the mad rush to get home from work. Traffic was crazy… no it was insane. Some people were even driving in traffic while texting which makes the drive that much more difficult and so very dangerous. He managed a store and did well for himself and provided well for his wife and kids. He was about to take off his tie after a hard day of dealing with customers and complaints when his cell phone rang. Carefully he hit the speaker phone and answered. It was his mother. He often talked to his mother on his way home from work. They talked about her day. They talked about what had happened on the weekend. He asked her about church. She asked about his. They talked about the kids.
As they were talking, traffic slowed to a crawl. Everyone was moving to the left and so did he. His mother sensed the change in his mood. He told her about the now even slower moving traffic. As they spoke, he passed the problem car. This car had stopped in the right lane of the busiest street at the busiest time. As his car passed, he glared from his car into the other disapprovingly. He saw an elderly woman just sitting in the seat in her car.
He looked at the phone with the voice of his mother coming from the speaker. She reminded him of his mother… the lady in the other car. “Mom,” he said, “as he drove a little further down the street, “I love you.” They finished up their conversation and the man continued his way home. He finished up his conversation with his mom and was glad to get home to his family when he finally arrived.
3 DIFFERENT ATTITUDES
You know, there are basically three different attitudes that we can show to one another. The three attitudes cover just about every possibility in life and describe our reactions to what happens around us. The first is “what’s yours is mine and I’ll take it or I’ll misuse it.” You can see this attitude often in the news and it how people react. I heard this week on the radio about a school in Winter Haven, Florida where three kids ages 12, 10, and 8 were caught vandalizing their school and taking electronics equipment. The radio show host was shocked that kids of this age would vandalize a school and steal (www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety /crime/article1226457.ece). I also heard this year at the end of the Final Four Basketball tournament that students in Lexington, Kentucky were rioting and overturning cars and burning furniture and generally causing chaos because of basketball (huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/31 /Kentucky -fans-riot-final-four-louisville _n_ 1394213.html). Those two small incidents are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to attitudes that “what is yours is mine and I’ll take it or misuse it.” There is a general lack of concern out in the world for others on a basic human level. We live in a world where we are told “we” should be our #1 priority. The Bible tells us this is wrong. James 3:13-17 describes this by saying, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. 17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”
The second attitude is “what’s mine is mine and I’ll keep it.” Sometimes we think this way and other times we just get busy and are involved with our own lives and are self-centered. I think I have this attitude every time someone calls on the phone from this society or that organization asking for money for orphans or widows or the transplanting of endangered tree mites or for some political activity. When I think about this attitude of “it’s mine and I’ll keep it” I think of the phrase “to store up.” Sometime we are tempted to store up what we have and keep it. Two Bible passages come to mind when we think of “storing up.” We first think of Psalm 17:13-14 which prays, “Rise up, O LORD, confront them, bring them down; rescue me from the wicked by your sword. 14 O LORD, by your hand save me from such men, from men of this world whose reward is in this life. You still the hunger of those you cherish; their sons have plenty, and they store up wealth for their children.” Even in the Psalms the way of God is not ignoring others and thinking only of self, but rather seeking reward after this life. Jesus echoes this same thought in the New Testament which is the second passage that comes to mind in Matthew 6:19-21 which says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Don’t store up things here, store up things there in Heaven. Do good because God will be proud of you not because you are storing anything else up or causing any other type of favor to be thrust upon you.
These three attitudes cover just about every possibility in life and our reactions. The first is “what’s yours is mine and I’ll take it or I’ll misuse it.” The second attitude is “what’s mine is mine and I’ll keep it.” The third is “what’s mine is yours and I’ll share it.” Jesus was pretty clear about this in Matthew 25:37-40, “Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'” In the midst of this passage we also see that our motives must be right. We cannot just feed others or clothe others just to do it… because that is just religious business or deeds without faith… we must do good and share for the glory of God. God needs to get the glory when we do good. What does that mean? That means that people see clearly who God is based on our actions and words and efforts. We do good to point people to Jesus Christ. We share that others may know about God’s goodness. They see Him clearly.
I don’t know about you, but of the three attitudes, I want to have the “what’s mine is yours and I’ll share it” attitude and I want that attitude to define my life. I want to be a giving person. I want to be loving. I want to be gracious. I want to be merciful. Don’t you?
NARRATIVE: Loving Story Part 3
He was driving home one Monday evening on a busy city street. Like everyone else in the world at that time, it was the mad rush to get home from work. Traffic was crazy… no it was insane. Some people were even driving in traffic while texting which makes the drive that much more difficult and so very dangerous. He was about to take off his tie after a hard day of dealing with customers and complaints when his cell phone rang. Carefully he hit the speaker phone and answered. It was his mother. He often talked to his mother on his way home from work. They talked about her day. They talked about what had happened on the weekend. He asked her about church. She asked about his. They talked about the kids.
As they were talking, traffic slowed to a crawl. Everyone was moving to the left and so did he. His mother sensed the change in his mood. He told her about the now even slower moving traffic. As they spoke, he passed the problem car. This car had stopped in the right lane of the busiest street at the busiest time. As his car passed, he glared from his car into the other disapprovingly. He saw an elderly woman just sitting in the seat in her car.
He looked at the phone with the voice of his mother coming from the speaker. She reminded him of his mother… the lady in the other car. “Mom,” he said, “as he drove a little further down the street, “I have to go, God wants me to do something.” He got off the phone and slowed. Not now. It was time to go home. He was hungry. His family was waiting. He slowed even more. Horns blared in his direction. He looked in his rearview mirror at the car still blocking lanes of traffic and pulled off to the side of the road. In his business casual attire, he approached the woman in the car. She rolled down her window as he approached in the midst of horns and traffic and smog and stress.
Her car had stalled. She had no cell phone. She simply didn’t know what to do other than just sit there. By now the engine was flooded and would need some tinkering to get it started or maybe a jump from another car. None of that could happen in this exact spot in the middle of the busy street. The man instructed her to put her car in neutral and he got behind her car. He pushed with all his might. A horn blared beside him as someone passed and glared at him. He pushed and pushed and the car began to move. As it began to move the woman slammed on the brake. He asked her what was wrong. She said she didn’t want to get into a wreck or go to fast.
He smiled. He kindly asked her not to put on the brake so they could get her car off the road. He pushed and finally began to move the car off the road. Sweat poured down him. His hands were dirty. His nice pants had smudge on them. His shoes were now scuffed quite a lot from trying to move the car. He tried to push the car into the nearby parking lot up the small entrance ramp and the car suddenly got very heavy. He turned and pushed with his legs with all his might up the entrance ramp. The car slid back a little.
The woman again applied the brake, this time he was thankful for the car could have rolled on top of him. More cars blared and zoomed past in anger at the scene of that which was slowing them down from getting to their destination. He was tired. He wanted to give up. He prayed for strength to help this lady.
With one more try he pushed and the car was safely in a parking lot and out of traffic.
“Thank you,” the elderly woman said as she got out of her car. She looked at the sweaty, tired, and dirty man and said again, “Thank you! You are such a good Samaritan.”
READ LUKE 10:25-37
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 26 "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" 27 He answered: "'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, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" 28 "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" 30 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. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 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. 35 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.' 36 "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" 37 The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
We live in a world of violence, abortion, killing, malnutrition, selfishness, brokenness, anger, need, bills, greed, sickness, busyness, instant gratification, divisiveness, and a whole other litany of characteristics that make it difficult to be compassionate. Jesus tells the inquisitive expert in the law that he must not just open his heart to grace and mercy, but he must actually act on it. If the man wants to be a person after God’s heart, then he must do something about the needs around him! He must act! He must sacrifice for another! He must put into practice the love of God and the love of others. The command to love God and love others is not an idea or a theory, but practice and action and deeds for God’s glory. You see compassion + action + sacrifice = love.
The Samaritan was willing to offer mercy to another.
The Samaritan was willing to give of what he had and sacrifice for another.
Are you? Me, do what? Us, do that? Huh?
VIDEO CONCLUSION… Liberty Mutual Commercial 2009 (1:00-1:59) [youtube.com/watch?v=frpp6DjCaJU]
CONCLUSION & INVITATION
