Luke's Sermon

Luke 10:25-37 Good Samaritan

The parable of the Good Samaritan is one of Jesus’ stories that is commonly known beyond the Christian tradition. “Be a Good Samaritan” we hear people say who have nothing to do with the Church. I am sure many would know what it means to “be a good Samaritan” and have no idea who or what a “Samaritan” is. Taking a look again at this very familiar story, consider this time associating one’s self with the lawyer.

Jesus teaching in this parable is directed to a lawyer, a religious leader whose calling was to interpret religious law, teach religious law, and live according to religious law. The lawyer stood up to test Jesus as to how well Jesus defines religious law. The lawyer wanted proof from Jesus, as well as proving himself, as being ‘a good Jew’; a ‘good Jew’ being one who knows and keeps the religious law. So the lawyer asked Jesus, knowing the answer he was looking to hear; ‘what behavior results in eternal life?’ In Jesus’ typical form, he asked a question in return; ‘okay, you know the law inside out, you know what is needful; you tell me what you read in the law.’ Jesus seemed to get himself out of the controversy by agreeing with the lawyer’s response as to the two core elements of Jewish law; ‘love God with all you have within you and your neighbor as well’. And then the lawyer pulls out his legalistic maneuvering, asking for clarification and definition of who constitutes a ‘neighbor’.

You see a common daily prayer of a good religious law keeping man in that day was to give thanks to God that he was not a Gentile or a woman, both readily discounted from the category of ‘neighbor’. Anyone not of their own race or gender or religion was exempt from neighborliness; don’t talk to, don’t eat with, don’t associate with those ‘others’ who may contaminate ‘our’ purity laws; walk away, or walk by, never enter the house of an ‘other’. I suspect that this lawyer already knew that Jesus associated with women and unclean people and yes, even some goyim, Gentiles, and so ‘eternal life’ was not so much the lawyer’s agenda as much as proving Jesus’ “good Jew-ness” to be a questionable, while his own “good Jew-ness” was impeccable. “Wanting to justify himself he asked Jesus, ‘Who is my neighbor?’”

Now it should be remembered that Dr. Luke, a Gentile, is the writer of this Gospel. One of Luke’s agenda was to state very clearly that God’s good news of grace in Jesus extended beyond the insiders, beyond race, gender, religion, beyond birth right. Only from Luke’s pen do we read the statement from old Simeon at Jesus’ first temple appearance when he said, “for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all people, a light for the revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” (Luke 2:30-32) Only Luke included this story of “the Good Samaritan” emphasizing his point that there can be no exclusion from God’s embrace of grace, and God’s people need to follow God in inclusive love.

Jesus’ parable slashed all the traditional sense of ‘good Jew-ness’ which might exempt anyone from loving all, the very reality that the lawyer no doubt held up as his own religious and legal justification for exclusion. Jesus jabs and stabs with the characters of the priest and the Levite, both models of religious legalism. They did the right thing to avoid uncleanness, to avoid messiness. The man who fell among robbers and was beaten is unknown in race or religion. We don’t know if he was a Jew or a Samaritan (that is half-breed) or Gentile, only that he was going from Jerusalem to Jericho which was toward Samaria. We don’t know why the priest and the Levite avoided helping; perhaps the man was not their neighbor according to religious law because he was not a Jew, or perhaps it was their prerogative to avoid the man because it would make them unclean to touch a dead man or bloodied man. After all, they were religious purists, like the lawyer; they were ‘good Jews’, like us, ‘good Christians’ who can justify inaction in the name of religion if pressed to do so.

What a great story for the Church today which so often slips into being like the legalist, justifying its own goodness and righteousness at the expense of others who are in need or who are outside the parameters of acceptance. How easy it is for the Church to believe it has all the right answers while perhaps disregarding the right behaviors. The Church, in the midst of confessing their love for God and all people, in spouting a desire to save the world for Jesus, can become arrogant, paternalistic, judgmental, and exclusive as it discriminates against those perceived outside the parameters of grace-filled responsibility.

To the pietistic, religious legalism of his peers, Jesus says, the good neighbor, the one who did the right thing, the one who fulfilled the law of love was the Samaritan, the very one you despise. Be like him and you will live, says Jesus. The lawyer could not bear to answer Jesus’ question as to who was a neighbor to the man in need; he could not or would not soil his mouth even with the word “Samaritan”. He answered that the neighbor was “the one who showed him mercy.” Be that man, says Jesus. To fulfill the law of love show mercy, act mercifully, to whoever is in need. Be like that one you despise, but who acted with grace.

I don’t think Jesus parable was so much about that Good Sam as much as it was and is an indictment about any and all of us who would put on pietistic airs of exclusive disregard, justifying ourselves as religious, faithfilled, do-gooders who have kept God’s command to love. If we are to live, to have the gift of life eternal that begins now, then we must love God and our neighbor, and be mercy-filled neighbors to all. Like the lawyer, wanting to justify ourselves we might ask, 'who exactly does “all” include?' (as if we need clarity on “all”). Bad people? Abusers? Those who mock God or our religion? Terrorist? Osama bin Laden? Communists? Republicans? Gays or lesbians? NRA card holders? Abortion doctors? Tattoo covered multiple-pierced gage wearing Harley riders? Enron executives? Homeless drunks? Tiger Woods? whoever we would name as the scum of the earth? Eeeeew!

Luke chooses Jesus’ story to preach mercy and grace, in the name of Love touching the wounded and the wounds inflicted by this world . This is the action of love we are instructed to do if we are to be the neighbors who love God and follow God’s law of love. “Go and do likewise”.

The prophet Amos spoke God’s word to the religious status quo of his day when the pious didn’t want to hear it: (from Amos 5 describing how God’s people had turned away from responding to the poor and afflicted, the wounded and disregarded, yet regarded themselves justified and ‘good’)

“I know how many are your transgressions…
you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, who push aside the needy in the gate…
Seek good… that you may live…
Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever rolling stream.”

Loving God of all,
who would have us be imitators of your love,
help us.
Free us from our notions of religiosity and a tendency to exclude others, or exempt ourselves from doing what is just and kind .
Help us to act in love and mercy when opportunities present themselves to us, regardless of circumstances.
Help us to love extravagantly because we love you.