WHO ARE YOUR NEIGHBORS (The Parable of the Good Samaritan)

SERMON TITLE: WHO ARE YOUR NEIGHBORS The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) There are many times in our lives that God provides us with the opportunity to help our neighbors in the spur of the moment; however, there are times we Walk on By. This could be a moment when an unhoused person reaches out for food, money, or just a simple conversation. It could be in your office where you see a person of color being discriminated against by another co-worker. It could be a person with a specific disability that made you feel uncomfortable, but the person just needed you to hold the door for them, but we walk on by. It could be a person who represents the LGBTQ community seeking more information about Jesus, but due to their sexual orientation, people decide to walk on by. These people who we are walking by are our neighbors. There are times when we walk on by our neighbors, knowing later that was not the right thing to do. I had to bear the shame and guilt of our actions. Three weeks ago, while in San Francisco, an unhoused person looked at me and asked for .85. Instead of giving the person the money, At that moment, I judged the person by thinking this person would either use the funds to buy alcohol or drugs. I just walked on by ignoring my neighbor, losing the opportunity to allow that person to see Jesus through my actions. Who was I to denied Jesus to use me for the person to have the chance to see Jesus? A moment when Jesus was allowing me the opportunity to show his grace and mercy through my actions to another person instead, I took the liberty to close the window and draw down the shades as we continue our sermon series on Matthew 25, when have you seen me. We need to understand who are our Neighbors. When asked that question, who is your neighbor? What is the first thing that comes to your mind? Do you think about your neighbors next door to you, or the one's across the street or around the corner? Are they the neighbors who you see every day when you take a morning, afternoon, or evening walk? Are they the people you feel most comfortable with within your community due to their political affiliations or viewpoint? Are they limited to people who look and or think like you? In our scripture passage for today (Luke 10:24-37), Jesus presents to us The Parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus is continuing his journey towards Jerusalem to perform his work for us on the cross and along the way, as noted in verses 24-25. A lawyer stands up to put Jesus to the test by asking him the question. "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?". (This reminds us about Nicodemus encounter with Jesus) Jesus answers the question by asking a question with a question: "He said to him in verse 26 'What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?'" By referring to the Law, Jesus is directing the man to an authority they both would accept as truth, the Old Testament the actual word of God. In verse 27, the Lawyer who would have been an expert in the Mosaic Law and not a court lawyer of today answers Jesus' question by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself (2x). Jesus affirms that the Lawyer's answer is correct. Jesus' reply tells the Lawyer that he has given an orthodox (scripturally proper) answer, but Jesus goes on in verse 28 to say to him that this kind of love requires more than an emotional feeling; it would also include orthodox practice; he would need to "practice what he preached." (Do this and you will live). At this point, rather than just accepting Jesus's answer, the Lawyer needing to justify himself, asked Jesus, "who is my neighbor?" The word "neighbor" in Greek means "someone near," and in Hebrew, it means "someone that you have an association with." This interprets the word in a limited sense, referring to a fellow Jew and would have excluded Samaritans, Romans, and other foreigners. Jesus then gives the Parable of the Good Samaritan to correct the false understanding that the Lawyer had of who his neighbor is and what his duty is to his neighbor. You see, we sometimes misunderstand the word neghibor, as we tend to think it only relates to people we have associations with and not the greek interpretation of someone near. This question gives us insight into where the Lawyer's ' heart was and, at times, if not careful where our hearts as Christians can present themselves as the Lawyer assumes that he must do something to obtain eternal life. As Christians at this very moment, we know that it does not work, but faith that's leads to the gift of eternal life. However, although this could have been an opportunity for Jesus to discuss salvation issues, He chose a different a surprising course as he focused on our relationships and what it means to love. In verse 30 Jesus starts by exlplaing that A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, (opposite direction of Jesus current journey) and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat and departed, leaving him half dead. Jesus next tells the Lawyer a parable (The Parable of the good Samaritan). This imagery that Jesus presents here by today's standards could be a homeless person, a person who has a mental illness, a person facing unemployment, and has to support a family. However, the bible story does not tell us who this person is, but Jesus makes certain we have enough description to know that the person is under a great deal of distress. I don't know about you, but I have encountered people at times in similar situations. There are times when some of us experience distress while traveling on our journeys. Next, in Verse 31, Jesus introduces into His story a priest. He spends no time describing the priest and only tells of how he showed no love or compassion for the man by failing to help him and passing on the other side of the road so as not to get involved. If there were anyone who would have known God's law of love, it would have been the priest. By nature of his position, he was a person of compassion, desiring to help others. Unfortunately, "love" was not a word for him that required action on behalf of someone else. The following person, verse 32, to pass by in the Parable is a Levite, and he does precisely what the priest did: he passes by without showing any compassion. Again, he would have known the law, but he also failed to deliver the injured man compassion. The following person to come by is the Samaritan Verse 33, the one least likely to have shown compassion for the man. Samaritans were considered a low class of people by the Jews since they had intermarried with non-Jews and did not keep all the laws. Therefore, Jews would have nothing to do with them. We do not know if the injured man was a Jew or Gentile, but it made no difference to the Samaritan; he did not consider the man's race or religion. The "Good Samaritan" saw only a person in dire need of assistance, and assist him he did, above and beyond the minimum required. As noted in Verse 34, He dresses the man's wounds in wine (to disinfect) and oil (to soothe the pain). He puts the man on his animal and takes him to an inn for a time of healing, and pays the innkeeper with his own money. He then goes beyond common decency and tells the innkeeper to take good care of the man, and he would pay for any extra expenses on his return trip. The Samaritan saw his neighbor as anyone who was in need. Verse 35. Jesus now asks the Lawyer if he can apply the lesson to his own life with the question "So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?" The Lawyer's answer is telling of his hardness of heart. He cannot bring himself to say the word "Samaritan"; he refers to the "good man" as "he who showed mercy." Because the good man was a Samaritan, Jesus is drawing a strong contrast between those who knew the law and those who followed the law in their lifestyle and conduct. His hate for the Samaritans (his neighbors) was so strong that he couldn't correctly refer to them. Jesus then tells the Lawyer to "go and do likewise," meaning he should start living what the law tells him to do. By ending the encounter in this manner, Jesus is telling us to follow the Samaritan's example in our conduct; i.e., we are to show compassion and love for those we encounter in our everyday activities. We are to love others (vs. 27) regardless of their race or religion; the criterion is needed. If they need and have the supply, then we are to give generously and freely, without expecting a return. This is an impossible obligation for the Lawyer and us. We cannot always keep the law because of our human condition; our hearts and desires are primarily of self and selfishness. When left to our own, we do the wrong thing, failing to meet the law. We can hope that the Lawyer saw this and came to the realization that there was nothing he could do to justify himself, that he needed a personal savior to atone for his lack of ability to save himself from his sins. Thus, the Parable of the Good Samaritan lessons are three-fold: (1) we are to set aside our prejudice and show love and compassion for others. (2) Our neighbor is anyone we encounter; we are all creatures of the creator, and we are to love all of humanity as Jesus has taught. (3) Keeping the law in its entirety with the intent to save ourselves is an impossible task; we need a savior, and this is Jesus. 2