The ‘Good’ Samaritan

Sunday 10.00 St Giles Cheddington

Gospel Luke 10.25-37

An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

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 neighbour as yourself.’”

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?”

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. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 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.’

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Sermon

• Good Samaritan
• Second most well known story in gospels
• After Prodigal Son
• Both unique to Luke
• Jesus rejected by Samaritan village
• John & James – call fire down on them?
• Hated enemies for centuries – Samaritan never called Good
• Encounter with Lawyer.
• Lawyer asks question about salvation – Jesus responds with another question – ‘Haven’t you read your Bible?’
• He says yes - Love God and neighbour. Jesus: do that and you will live.
• Lawyer then follows up with point of clarification – that’s what lawyers do.
• By asking “Who is my Neighbour?” lawyer seeks to restrict gospel.
• No Jew would ever class a Samaritan as neighbour
• No help need ever be given to the enemy.
• But the gospel cannot be limited or confined within a set of rules
• Many people have interpreted exchange between Jesus and Lawyer as antagonistic – not necessarily. But lawyer is testing Jesus.
• Wants to be made right with God.
• Feels, somehow, Law is not enough
• Lawyer is respectful – called Jesus Teacher – has genuine question about Jesus’ teaching and how it fits within the Law
• Jesus himself is immersed in the Law – has not come to abolish it – extends it by making it simpler and easier to understand
• We criticise Lawyer for presumption – no one can inherit eternal life – only a son can inherit – even then only by grace – free gift of his father
• In seeking to justify himself – sounds like self-righteousness – sounds like he believes we can earn salvation by what we do – in context of Law means he wants to set himself right with God.
• Having answered with questions – Jesus now tells a story – Tale of Righteous Neighbour
• Story goes from bad to worse – we know nothing about the man who was attacked – ignored by both authority figures, priest and Levite
• Shocking to hearers when third man appears – a Samaritan
• Sharp intake of breath – all parables shock, exaggerate and surprise – no way a Samaritan could be Good
• Not bare help – exaggerated sacrificial generosity
• Sounds like a simple story with a meaning – but what is the meaning?
• Our neighbour is the one we least expect?
• We should sacrificially care for those most unlike us – downtrodden, marginalised, rejected, helpless – put ourselves out for our worst enemies and those who hate us?
• Those in positions of authority and power – set themselves up as examples to others – least likely to offer Christian compassion?
• All of these and more? There is no one message from a parable – each of us derive our own teaching which may vary every time we hear the story.
• Let me invite you to become part of story in order to try and appreciate what it means for you. How listener enters a parable story determines its meaning for them. Pick a character and think how you would react:
• Man half-dead – last week in Regent Street – cyclist on ground – no sign of injury or any vehicle close by – I walked by – then looked back to see someone calling on mobile phone. But I first walked by. How would that feel from perspective of man if he had been mugged and seriously injured and saw me step over him and walk on?
• Priest and Levite – would put themselves in danger if stopped – might be defiled if dead – could not see his dress – passed by on other side – how does that feel? Lawyer would not be surprised they did not help
• Samaritan – inexplicably stopped to help – sacrificial, costly, great personal risk – lifted body onto horse – might not be accepted at Jewish inn – would have suspected his motives – just a good man?
• Parable not really about who is my neighbour? – they are all the injured man’s neighbour, and he is theirs – just because Samaritan stopped to help does not make him more the man’s neighbour than those who passed by
• Maybe we should all hear the story as a beaten up and dying person in need of life-saving compassion – then model our lives according to what we learned
• Maybe we should model ourselves as someone who ourselves has been abused and homeless – act accordingly when we see someone in need
• Injured man is only character in story with no identity, no name, no origin, no place.
  Only when the righteous neighbour comes along and offers life saving mercy does his ‘otherness’ cease – only then does he become a person with an identity – only then is he really a neighbour because of what the righteous man has offered him, common humanity
• All the other characters can offer – Priest, Levite – are excuses
• Jesus’ final remark – punchline Go and do thou likewise – can only be understood once you appreciate what it is to be a righteous neighbour
• Now no longer a definition within the Law – now we must interpret Christ’s command as outside the Law – purely Christian response – not counting the cost – not identifying with the person in need before helping
• Go and do thou likewise parallels first reply - do this and you will live – by answering the question ‘do what?’ Who is my neighbour? – the ‘other’ - the despised - the rejected - the marginalised – the one in whom we see Christ’s own face

This is what was going on in Matthew 25 :
³⁷"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When 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.'
Amen