Does Your Neighbor Know You Care?

[Preached April 20, 2008; Based on Luke 10:25-37 & 1 Peter 5: 6-7]

 

“The love of our neighbor is the only door out of the dungeon of self.”

(George MacDonald)

 

A long time ago, I made a hospital visit in San Antonio and for some reason Alicia went along with me.  She was only 8 years old at the time.  After the visit, we were on our way out of the hospital and an elderly Hispanic woman walking behind us said, “Mister… Mister… Mister!” 

 

I suppose I was already thinking about what we would do next (transitioning into the future) that I almost didn’t hear her at all.  Finally, I heard her say, “Mister, could you give me a ride to the bus stop?  If I catch it here, it will take three buses to get me home, but if you take me to Broadway, I can ride in one.”

 

I thought for a second, “Do we have time? Is there anything pressing? No, I can’t think of anything.”  I looked at Alicia and thought, “Why not?  We can do this. This will be a good lesson.”  So, I said, “Sure, come on.”

 

As we went to the car and on to Broadway, this lady told us of her day with the Humana Senior Citizens Group – about the outing they had.  I was very impressed with her.  She was intelligent, articulate, and with a heavy accent, she mastered the English language.

 

As we traveled, I heard an inner voice, “Go ahead and take her home.”  I thought of Jesus’ teaching, “If someone asks you to walk with him one mile, go two…” (Matthew 5: 41); and so we took her home.

 

After a congenial parting, Alicia and I talked about it and I told her about the scripture from Matthew about walking one or two miles – and later I read her the passage.

 

Now, when I read the Parable of the Good Samaritan, I wonder how I’d have responded if I were on the road to Jericho… would I have stopped or would I have crossed the road and gone on?  After all, this lady nearly had to run after us and tackle me… “Mister… Mister… Mister!”  And what if Alicia weren’t there?  Would I have helped?  Would I have even noticed her if she were beaten on the side of the road?

 

The Parable of the Good Samaritan is almost too familiar; you may already be transitioning into your future, “What will happen after church?”  Well, I plead with you, “Mister… Lady… won’t you come with me for a few minutes?”

 

I believe the focus of Jesus’ teaching is: How do we treat our neighbors? Do we care for them? Do they know it? What was Jesus really saying to this lawyer and to the disciples who were listening? Let’s look a little closer at the development of this event. 

 

  1. A lawyer stood up to test Jesus – to examine his doctrine.  His question was “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
  2. Jesus (as a good teacher) responded, “What do you think?”

 

  1. The lawyer responded with a two-part answer, “Love God and love neighbor!”

 

  1. Jesus said, “Good answer!  Do this!”  All the while, Jesus knew that maintaining a healthy relationship with God and neighbor is oh, so difficult.

 

  1. The lawyer asked, “Who is my neighbor?”  How far does this reach?”

 

This led to our beloved parable.  Now, Jerusalem is 2500 feet above sea level and it is 17 miles from Jerusalem to Jericho.  Jericho is 800 feet below sea level.  So, the direction from Jerusalem to Jericho is mostly down… 3300 feet decline over 17 miles.

 

  1. The first one to come by after the man was robbed and beaten and left for half-dead was a priest.  Priests were experts in the law.  He knew if he touched this man, he would be defiled, so he crossed to the other side of the road.
  2. Next, a Levite came by.  Levites were the lay associates of priests.  He didn’t want to be contaminated either, so he also crossed the road.
  3. Next a Samaritan came by.  The Jews despised Samaritans because when the Assyrians conquered Israel in 722 BC and Israel was exiled, the ancestors of the Samaritans remained in their land and intermarried with the Assyrians – the Samaritans were the result of this union.  This particular Samaritan did not take the easy path; he did not cross the road.  He helped!

 

All three saw the beaten man on the side of the road, but the Samaritan alone had compassion – he personally cared for him, took him to the inn, paid for his care, and later returned to check on him.

 

The priest and Levite presumed their knowledge of the Law pleased God more than any help they might have rendered.  Perhaps you’ve heard the statement, “When it comes to helping others, some people stop at nothing.”   The priest and Levite focused on the vertical relationship exclusively.  Just perhaps, Jesus recognized that the lawyer was doing the same thing!  Perhaps, he ignored those around him.

 

So, Jesus asked, “Which was a neighbor to the man?”  The lawyer’s original question was “Who is my neighbor?”  But, Jesus asked, “Who is this man’s neighbor?”  Jesus took the focus off the lawyer… Don’t you get the sense that the lawyer was used to having the attention most of the time?  Jesus took the focus off the lawyer and so, with a little more perspective the lawyer said, “The one who had mercy on him.”

 

Jesus said, “Go and do likewise.”  Now, this is an interesting interplay.

 

We are not called to do discipleship and ministry.  We are to be neighbors and to become Christ present in the world today.

 

Perhaps, this is why Pope John Paul II loved to quote Georges Bernanos, “What the church needs is not more reformers, but more saints.”  You see, reformers criticize and want the church to do things differently, but saints are those who are like Christ in their being and help regularly!  They come out of the stands and onto the playing field. 

 

All three – the priest, the Levite, and the Samaritan – saw the man in his need, but only the Samaritan had compassion and refused to leave him as he found him. Do you think that the priest and Levite conveyed to this man that they cared about him?

 

And there’s another part of the story – perhaps more for the disciples who were listening in.  You see, in the previous chapter (just before the sending of the 70), it was the Samaritans who snubbed Jesus and the disciples.  The disciples had suggested, “Do you want us to call down fire from heaven?”  Jesus rebuked them!  And he must have thought, “How can I get them to see that the Kingdom of God is for everyone?” Not a bad thought… perhaps this very event led to this beloved parable.

 

“My friends, God’s help may come from unexpected places and unexpected persons, even from Samaritans… Nazareth… carpenters.  And the flip side is that God’s help may not come from expected sources, like the priest or Levite.  Jesus was saying, “Do not limit God! Do not place boundaries upon God!  What really matters?  …..let’s pick up one more aspect of the parable.

 

Verse 31 says that the priest was by chance going down the road… and the Levite as well, but verse 33 says of the Samaritan, “As he journeyed.”  What’s the difference? 

 

I remember sitting at a stop light and seeing a stalled truck. As I watched, a car pulled up to the truck, the driver spoke and then pulled over and let the man use his car phone. That man was on a journey. He recognized a need and that God could use him to help, so he stopped to help someone going his way! He was on a journey with God.

 

Are you a Journeyer… a Traveler, or do you just happen to be going down the road?  Are you like the Good Samaritan?  Are you a good neighbor?  Is that who you are?  Notice I didn’t say, “Is that what you do?” Is that who you are? Perhaps the answer becomes apparent when we consider: Does your neighbor know you care? Your neighbor knows you care when you communicate:

 

 

Caring is a process (like tilling, fertilizing, planting, and cultivating) that relies on God for the results.  The goal is to develop trust and communicate acceptance and love… leave the rest to God.  Results belong to the Lord!

Do we live life in both vertical and horizontal dimensions?  Is either beam a lot thicker than the other? Are we really living to please God and serve others, or are we merely striving to please others or ourselves as we go through life? How balanced are your vertical and horizontal dimensions?

But pastor, you don’t understand – there’s barely enough of me to go around as it is. Yes, serving others demands more than we have to offer. That’s why Peter says: Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5: 6-7) Caring

Perhaps you think, “What can God do through me?  I am not exceptional!”  The prophet Amos (7:14) said, “I am no prophet nor a prophet’s son, but I am a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore trees” …and God said, “Go prophesy to my people Israel.” (7:14)

 

God can use us as long as we are in the neighborhood and on the journey. God may use us even when we do not feel qualified!

 

“A man fell into a pit and couldn’t get himself out… 

·         A subjective person came along and said, “I feel for you down there.” 

·         An objective person said, “It’s logical that someone would fall down there.” 

·         A Pharisee said, “Only bad people fall into a pit.”      

·         A Mathematician calculated how he fell into the pit.

·         A news reporter wanted an exclusive story on his pit. 

·         A fundamentalist said, “You deserve your pit.” 

·         An IRS man asked, “Are you paying taxes on the pit?” 

·         A self-pitying person said, “You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen my pit.” 

·         A Charismatic said, “Just confess that you’re not in a pit.” 

·         An optimist said, “Things could be worse.” 

·         A pessimist said, “Things will get worse.”

·         Jesus, seeing the man, took him by the hand and lifted him out of the pit!   

[David Gibbs, from a book by Barbara Johnson, in Ecunet (database online), (cited 5 November l994), Meeting name: Eculaugh, file name: A000000S.MSG.]

 

That’s why I love Jesus so… He’s different from everyone else… He lifts people out of their pit!  Sometimes He uses expected persons like friends and family, but sometimes he uses unexpected persons – strangers, Samaritans if you will… even Baptists, charismatics, and Roman Catholics. “The Kingdom of God is for everyone!” 

 

Has Jesus extended his hand to you and helped you out of a pit?  Will you do the same for others?


 

·         Are we Samaritans?

·         Are we neighbors to those in need?

·         Are we on a journey?

·         Are we good Samaritans?