September 17, 2017
Today as we continue to examine the theme of hospitality we
will look at a very familiar parable of Jesus, the Good Samaritan. So let’s jump right into this Parable
from the Gospel of Luke.
Just then a lawyer stood up to test
Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He
said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He
answered, “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.” And he said to him, “You have given the right
answer; do this, and you will live.”
But
wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus
replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the
hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half
dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he
passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place
and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came
near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and
bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his
own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he
took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him;
and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these
three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the
robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go
and do likewise.”
Our culture, has glossed over this Parable and we have lost
the poignancy of its message. The
term “Good Samaritan” has been used over and over again to mean someone who
comes to the aid of another, it has really pervaded our psyche and soul. And, that’s a good thing, really,
coming to the aid of someone else is always good.
It’s the name of a roadside assistance group who rescues stranded
motorists. There even is enacted
into law, a statute called the Good Samaritan Act that protects a person from
giving emergency, volunteer help and aid to someone in dire need. It is very unfortunate that we have to
protect ourselves from being sued by someone that we have just helped, this
statute is the antithesis of this parable. So in one form or another people know this parable.
But the Samaritan didn’t help because he knew the guy, or
that he knew he was protected under the law if something went wrong. He was a GOOD, ethical man from Samaria
who saw that there was another man in need. He broke through the boundaries and risked his life, his
limb, and his social status to help another. It was not a quid pro quo, this for that, conditional
help. He gave all, expected
nothing. I think that is the ultimate definition of hospitality,
giving all expect nothing. Let’s
look at this text more closely.
A man traveled from Jerusalem to Jericho. It is a tough journey, rotten
terrain. Bandits could hide out in
the crevices and descend upon travelers as they did with this man. We know nothing about his identity
except that his luck had run out and he was robbed, beaten, and stripped, left
to die on the side of the road.
But the identity of this guy really doesn’t matter at all or, for our
purposes, shouldn’t matter. Mercy
should be extended to all people, it doesn’t matter where they are from or the
color of their skin or their ethnicity or religious affiliation. When someone is in need, you help. But Jesus is telling this parable to
Jews and the expectation for the Jewish hearer is upon the three men who pass
by the beaten man. Way back then it just didn’t matter.
A priest, a Levite, and a Samaritan turns their expectations
and world upside down, because a Samaritan was not a Jew. Jesus wasn’t railing against Jews it’s
just that there is a certain orderliness to ALL cultures in defining who they
are and there are many assumptions that are made about who’s on the inside and
who’s on the outside.
Jesus crosses the picket line of thinking. He challenges them to think about “the
other” being nice, “the other” giving aid, “the other” the one to reach out to
an almost dead man, “the other” offering hospitality.
The first two men flub up completely. A priest, I’m sorry to say, someone of
my own profession, does not bother to help the beaten man. So wrong, a complete breach of his
“charge to the pastor” if he were an ordained clergy person. The priest passes right on by. In fact, he moves to the other side of
the road so that he doesn’t have to confront the situation. He doesn’t have to have eye contact
with the man. You know what I
mean! You’re taking a walk, in the
next block you see someone coming towards you, the anticipation mounts, should
I say hi, acknowledge the person and then at the moment of passing by each
other, the walker fixes their gaze to the ground as if you aren’t even
there. Because too look someone in
the eye is to, for a brief moment, have a relationship with that person and you
really do not know who that other person is. Or what they will do to you. But the priest!
It would have been expected of him to help, it would have been expected
of him to bury the man had he been dead.
And the Levite – same expectations. Descended from the tribe of Levi, the
Levites assisted in the ancient Temple, sort of assistants to the priests. He would have known the laws and
commandments, he would have known what to do with the man if he were dead. But nope, the Levite, like the priest,
passed by on the other side of the road.
Too preoccupied, in a hurry to get to Jericho, perhaps he was late for
an appointment, or maybe he just didn’t want to bothered. Genuine hospitality was not even a
thought in this guy’s brain.
The Samaritan, he was the good guy! It was the Samaritan who was a good
neighbor because he showed mercy.
A Samaritan, an unclean person of mixed marriage, down from the North
who interprets Torah differently, a bitter enemy of Jesus. I can imagine that
the crowds mouths dropped wide open when Jesus said, “But a Samaritan while
traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity.” He showed mercy. You know the rest.
I believe that this is hospitality at its core. His heart was changed. To be moved with pity, for your enemy,
to stop your route and to help the one you dislike intensely, can only be of
God’s doing, not of our own human instinct. Hospitality happens within the context of relationship; he
cared deeply about what would happen to this man and he extended himself
without any expectation of reciprocity.
Hospitality at this level is not easy and probably difficult
for most of us. Most of us choose
the surface level hospitality, “how ya doing?” and then go about our
business. But with genuine
hospitality you build relationship by caring what is actually happening to the
other person. I care. I see you. I acknowledge the pain you are in, I can see your joy
because I’ve been there too. You
find out what peoples needs are and you meet them right there. There is a certain equality in
hospitality in that the one offering hospitality is not different or above the
one who is receiving the hospitality.
All are equal brothers and sisters in Christ.
What makes this parable as moving and remarkable is it is is
the Samaritan shows compassion and mercy, forgiveness and understanding without
asking a person’s ethnicity, or race, or theology beforehand and that is what
that great commandment says to us
– love God and love your neighbor as yourself. This is how we are to order our
living. This is hospitality.
Love God; love your neighbor as yourself. God’s expression of love in your life
will enable you to love your neighbor as yourself. God’s intervention and blessing in YOUR life will help you
and equip you to overcome prejudice, and weakness, and fearfulness, to seek
justice, to help another person in need and to strive for better living for ALL
people.
When you least expect it you will be called to be a Good
Samaritan along the road of life and your neighbor will be the unsuspected
one. Accept that moment, approach
that person, do not avert your gaze and offer the most loving and sincere
hospitality that you can, show genuine mercy. Love God and know that God will strengthen you and give you
the ability to do whatever is needed of you, whatever God has called you to do
and to be at that moment in time.
We are blessed to have a God who will do this for us and
with God’s help you will love your neighbor as yourself.
Amen.
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