The Good Samaritan

Luke 10:25-37

This scripture is an oldie but a goodie. Even folks not raised in the church know the gist of this story.  We even have a “Samaritan law” that protects a Good Samaritan citizen who tries to help someone in need.  We know the general storyline, but do we know the specifics?  Let’s look closely just to be sure.

                The story is not just a story in itself, it’s an answer to a question: Who is my neighbor?  An expert in Hebrew law is talking with Jesus and wants to know how he can inherit eternal life?  When Jesus asks him what the law says, he cites 2 Hebrew scriptures:

1)      Deuteronomy 6:5 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.

2)     And Leviticus 19:18: “Love your neighbor as yourself”

Jesus validated the man’s answer and then the man inquires “Who is my neighbor?  To which Jesus replies with the story of the Good Samaritan. So, let’s see how well you remember and how closely you were listening:

·         A man was traveling from where to where?  (Jerusalem to Jericho)

·         And what happened to him? (He was attacked by a band of robbers—stripped, beaten, and left for dead)

·         How many people came upon him on the road? (3)

·         Who was the first? (a priest)

·         What did he do? (walked around)

·         à why do you think the priest left him?  Maybe he had work to do. Maybe he was keeping cleanliness laws and didn’t want to defile himself, thus preventing him from fulfilling his priestly responsibilities.  Maybe he was in a rush.  Whatever the reason, he didn’t stop, he just kept on walking.

·         Who was the second? (a Levite)

·         What’s a Levite? (an assistant to the priest)

·         What did he do? (He walked around)

·         à we don’t know the specifics of why here either, but maybe it was for similar reasons? 

·         Who was the 3^rd? (a Samaritan)

·         Who were the Samaritans? (enemies of the jews—We know from a different story in the gospels that the disciples wanted to walk around Samaria entirely so they wouldn’t have to deal with the Samaritans—that’s how bad their relationship was)

·         What did the Samaritan do?  (cleaned and bandaged him, gave him a ride on his donkey, cared for him at the inn, paid for him to stay, asked the inn keeper to take care of him, and came back to pay the rest of the bill)

The Samaritans response was thorough and profound. He could have stopped after cleaning and bandaging the man’s wounds but he didn’t; and he could have stopped after taking him to town, but he didn’t stop there either. Instead, he did EVERYTHING he can. 

·         He gave him a place to stay

·         He cared for him

·         He paid his way

·         And he came back to insure that everything was ok.

This Samaritan is amazing and he’s the one Jesus defines as neighbor. 

So we’ve heard this story, we’ve proven we know this story, it’s a done deal right?  We’ve heard the story so many times, we could tell it ourselves? So why do we need to hear it again?  Probably because no matter how well we know the story, we don’t always live the story.  Like the priest, we often get caught up in our work and in our responsibilities that we have tunnel vision. We are so focused on the end goal of our day—whatever accomplishment that may be --that we fail to see the real needs of those around us. We don’t see that they are hungry, that they need a ride to work, a shoulder to cry on, help with their immigration documents, a hot shower, or a true friend. 

Or worse yet, maybe we do see, but we just don’t care.  Or maybe all we are focused on is the title that describes them—not a Samaritan for us, but instead:

·         A drunk

·         A jerk

·         An illegal alien

·         A lesbian woman

·         A prostitute

·         A homeless man

·         A tagger

·         A democrat

·         A republican

·         A gang banger

·         A drug dealer

·         A pot smoker

·         A liberal

·         A conservative

We become so fixated on what we think we know about someone that we fail to see who that person really is. Because they most certainly are not a title.  Instead, they’re a person with a story to tell. A person with hopes and fears, with aspirations and failures. And our job is to treat them as neighbor. Not the kind of neighbor you wave at as you pass by, but instead the kind you know by name. the kind you pray for. The kind you check in on, the kind of neighbor you get to know so you can stop assuming and start living as Christ tells us we should in order to inherit eternal life.

Now, of course, this is easier said than done.  Jesus doesn’t ask us to do what is easy, he asks us to do what is right.  Loving our enemy, not just briefly and from a distance, but passionately with everything we have, is often impossibly hard.  But as hard as it may be, it’s still what we are called to do.  Not only is it hard to go above and beyond for those we don’t know well, but it’s harder still to go above and beyond for those we fear, those we look down upon, those we hate.  And worse yet, it’s not popular.  You could bet good money that the Samaritan’s friends did not look highly upon his choice to help the Jewish man.  I’m sure they ridiculed him and gave him guff. I’m sure they reminded him of all the bad blood and past incidents that had taken place between the Jews and the Samaritans.  But he didn’t care. He did it anyway.  He even went back to pay the bill. He didn’t leave the man high and dry stuck with a bill at the inn he couldn’t pay.  He cared for him, from beginning to end, no matter the costs. 

 I’d venture, we normally like the idea of the Good Samaritan.  We want to be the Samaritan, the one who does good, the one who sees someone in need and helps.  But often, I think our view of the Samaritan is superficial. I don’t think many of us, myself included, think about how much is truly involved in being a neighbor as the Samaritan was. I enjoy helping people, it’s my life’s work, but I definitely pause when something is going to take “too much time” or take me away from another commitment.  I’m not always ready to drop everything to help to the fullest extent.  It takes time. It takes energy. It takes money. But it’s what I’m called to do. And somehow I don’t think I’m the only one who is reluctant. 

Are you reluctant?  Have you been hung up on what you think you know that you are unwilling to do the real work of being a neighbor and helping to meet all their needs? 

Have you walked past a homeless man, assuming he’s only a drunk or a vagrant who is on the street only because he won’t get up and do for himself? Who doesn’t have a job because he won’t look for one?  Who doesn’t have a home because he squandered his money?  Have you made these assumptions and walked away?  Or have you stopped to hear his story? Have you insured he had a place to stay and food on his plate? Have you tried to help him find work? Not just referred him to some store down the street that is hiring, but helped him fill out a job application or prepare for an interview? 

Have you walked past a Spanish speaking neighbor assuming they are here illegally?  Have you imagined them swimming through a river to cross the border or hoping a fence in the middle of the night?  Have you made these assumptions and walked on by?  Or have you listened to her story? Have you learned the names of her family members?  Have you helped her get the help she needs?  Or did you just assume? 

We hate to be implicated. We hate being confronted with our choices. We have the freedom to do what we want and we want to feel justified in those decisions.  We don’t want to be challenged.  I don’t, and I’m sure you don’t either.  But Jesus doesn’t really care about those desires. Jesus cares about how we act and what we do. And he cares, not just when we do what is easy.  He cares, more than anything, what we do when it is hard and undesirable.