WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR? DR. ROGER BARRIER Like 10:25-37 R5-1794 BACKGROUND SLIDE: Sign: injured person ahead. Will you get involved? This morning we begin a five-week series of lessons in wisdom from several New Testament characters. We will begin with the Good Samaritan. In this story we find ourselves living out the role of at least one of these characters. The truth is that most of us are all of these at one time or another. Today is a story about everybody. We all will find ourselves as at least one of the characters. The truth is, most all of us are all of these at one time or another. SLIDE: THE LAWYER WANTED TO FIND THE BOUNDARIES IN ORDER TO OBEY THE LETTER OF THE LAW (LUKE 10:25-29). SLIDE: LUKE 10:25: On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Since he is a Lawyer we don t know if this if from a searching heart or something up his sleeve for an ongoing theological discussion. Won t tell a lawyer joke. How many have heard one? Think about your favorite. Laugh together. Serious issue: Searching question: eternal life. Amazing how often Jesus answers man's question with another question. SLIDE: LUKE 10:26: "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" The lawyer quotes from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19 for the laws that apply. SLIDE: LUKE 10:27: 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 neighbor as yourself.'" SLIDE: LUKE 10:28: "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." 1
SLIDE: To love the whole world For me is no chore My only real problem s My neighbor next door. SLIDE: LUKE 10:29: But he wanted to justify himself; so he asked Jesus, Who is my neighbor? Surely there has to be limit here. How little can I love other people and still be okay with God? Pause Jesus Christ takes this great theological controversy and puts it down on a Judean road. He simplifies this in a story about a hurt man cut and bleeding to death. SLIDE: LUKE: 10:30-35. (JULIE JUST PUT A PIX OF THIS ON THE SLIDE WITH THE REFERENCE ONLY). Jesus didn t give a definition, He didn t give a description, He didn t give a checklist or a list of attributes. He told a story about a nice man who helped another nice man who got beat up by the bad guys. We file it away as a sweet story for children about how to be nice to people, even people who are mean. I have in my brain sometimes that Jesus is swapping out his suit coat for the cardigan sweater as He sings this parable to the tune of Won t You Be My Neighbor. But from an adult perspective, when we remove that glossy, nice story and really dig down and see what Jesus is asking us to do. SLIDE: LUKE 10:30: 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. All knew this road from Jerusalem to Jericho. When J.C. said man went down, he wasn't kidding. -3000 foot drop in 17 miles from mountains of Jerusalem to Dead Sea. -17 miles of winding gorges and ravines and crevices and great hiding places. -Familiar road - something bad about to happen. Here's this man walking down the road. He's not hurting anybody. Guidebook and walking stick in hand, minding his own business. Then the robbers saw him and the rest is history. Stripped, beaten left for dead SLIDE: OUR WORLD IS FULL OF VICTIMS. Let s get personal. Some robbers have stolen your childhood, your innocence; your marriage. 2
Here I am lying on side of the road of life. I'm making no progress. I'm whipped. I'm beaten. I'm stripped...robbed...half dead. I can't help myself. Dream: All I wanted was for some one to talk to The overwhelming majority of people who commit suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge jump off the side facing the city. SLIDE: ROBBERS LURK IN THE MOST UNEXPECTED PLACES (LUKE 10:30).. Robbers are Wall Street white collar bankers who ve stolen multi millions from us taxpayers and then have the gall to pay themselves multi-million dollar bonuses and they are getting away with it! We are all every one of us financially worse off because of their heartless greed. Why is Hollywood turning out so many lurid, violent, and sex filled movies? Why have they stolen the morality, ethics and values from our up and coming generation? Because they love our country? NO! They love the money. Why are gaming software companies turning out addictive and violence-filled games? Because they love our young people NO! The young people of today are just victims for them to exploit. All of this adds up to a fast-paced, morally degenerating society in which nothing is ever enough. We run to keep up. Stolen away time joy, contentment and time for fostering relationships with other. Study of mice running mazes. Motzar music for two weeks. Others Heavy metal for two weeks. See if either group had advantage in running a maze. Never got to begin. Time to start and all the Heavy Metal Mice had killed and eaten each other. SLIDE: THE TWO CHRISTIANS ACTED LIKE NON-CHRISTIANS (LUKE 10:31-32). SLIDE: LUKE 10:31: A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. Preacher comes along and ignores this man in need. Why? Too Busy? Other things to do? Late for church? 84% of young adults surveyed know a Christian. About 15% say that those Christians are no different than anyone else that they know. 49% of young people say they have a negative perception of Christians. Common perceptions of present day Christians: judgmental, hypocritical, a political party, anti-homosexual, insensitive to others, boring, and confusing; Less than 10% used the labels love, respect, trust, hope. 3
The heart of the issue, right here, we can act and love like Jesus? Think of what the world would be like if we really lived the red letters in the Bible. SLIDE: LUKE 10:32: So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. What was his hurry? Maybe the soloist that morning in church: No time to stop and help, no time to waste, had to hurry & sing to God's glory. I have done that. Once I passed on by and am really ashamed of myself. Flu lady lying on the floor at DFW. Build up and expand Our character and religion is not determined by how well we keep our schedule for God, or how many meetings we attend. Our character is revealed in these sudden choices in life that surprise us - the interruptions of life." SLIDE: ONLY THE GOOD SAMARITAN BEHAVED LIKE A CHRISTIAN (LUKE 10:33-35). SLIDE: LUKE 10:33: But a Samaritan Jesus plays the race card. Listeners want anyone to stop, but a Samaritan despised and rejected by all Jews. Neighbors to the north. Intermarried with Assyrians. Half Jew, half something else. And they were heretics in the sense that they worshipped the one true God, they embraced the first five books of the Old Testament but they rejected the prophets and they set up their own center of worship on Mt. Gerizim. Jesus had to deal with his own feelings about the Samaritans. Luke 9 sent James and John to a Samaritan town to make preparations for His arrival. His disciples were rejected and so was Jesus: Shall we call down fire and brimstone on them? Jesus rebuked them and went to another town. Explain Race as a child Bus trip to downtown when I was six. Mom explained why blacks would sit in the back of the bus. N word shooter Drive by schools in colored town and my school was clean and painted with great playground equipment. Theirs were dirty and unpainted; swings broken, jungle jim in pieces on the ground. 1954: Rosa Parks Sorry for that. Embarrassed. But just what I learned from my culture. 4
The days of racial prejudice are not gone in our country but we certainly are making progress in our country. Now look at the story; At least let a bad Jew stop. Not a Samaritan. But, oh The penetrating power of a story from lips of Jesus - pushes in dagger and twists it well. SLIDE: LUKE 10:33: But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. The Samaritan pulled back the covers, and instead of seeing just a certain man, he saw a human being, cut and bleeding to death. But when we pull back the covers and see a human being, cut and bleeding to death, it's hard to pass on by. Racial prejudice is not the only prejudice that blinds us. When we put into categories it's easy to pass on by! Just another messed up teenager, lots of them and we walk on by. Just a senior adult in nursing home, lots of them. Just another panhandler on the street, there are lots of them, they are all alike and we pass on by. Just another marriage ending in divorce they are everywhere and we walk by. Just another overweight American. They don t have to be overweight if they want to. Just some one else who has lost their job they are everywhere don t want to hear their problems Just another boy or girl in a broken home But when we see them as human beings, cut and bleeding to death, it is hard to pass by. SLIDE: LUKE 10:34-35: He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took 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. Compassion is messy. The Samaritan knelt beside the wounded man, bandaged him and poured oil and wine and had to lift this man up on his donkey. It s messy. It is not just some emotional response, it is not some sentimental sap, it is risky and it requires something of us. I think that what helps me reach out in messy situations is to remember that people are created in the image of God. No matter what the mess that they are in, no matter what the mess of their lives looks like, they are created in the image of God. C.S. Lewis said it this way there are no ordinary people, you have never talked to a mere mortal. It is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, exploit. 5
The Samaritan took this man on his donkey to an inn and plopped down two silver coins. Two silver coins was the equivalent of two days pay in that culture. This guy had the equivalent of two days pay in his pocket. Think how nice it would be if you had two days pay in your pocket to help some one bleeding by the side of the road! This another reason why financial stewardship is so important for Christ followers. Having two days pay ready to go for something like this is an act of obedience, and I don t shy back from saying this because at the end of this Jesus says, Go and do the same. If you want to make this personal take your annual salary, divide it by 261 working days to get you one day s pay, then multiply that by two to get your two days pay. Then set it aside for when something like this comes along. SLIDE: The BLESSING for the Good Samaritan. Feels good, great sense of Satisfaction to help someone in need. Think of the blessing you received from going out of you way to help. Julie and I: Woman going through divorce. Several children. Saw roof leaking. Better get that frixed before more damage. Roof estimate of $ to fix it. Can t afford. Julie and I nodded together. Pulled check out of my pocket and wrote check for roof repair. Invited troubled teenagers from broken homes to live with us till we get through their crisis. Home life sucks! Abused; abandoned at 16; so depressed worried about her dying from potassium deficiency. All are doing well. Not always easy. One stole rings and clothes and left. Several years later came to church with her mom. Restored. Now a med student. Marine biologist Job and happily married. SLIDE: THE INN KEEPER WAS DELIGHTED TO HELP AS LONG AS HE WAS PAID. To the innkeeper, this man was a customer to serve. The innkeeper didn t leave his inn, and go up and down the highway looking for somebody who was hurt. No! He sat there at the desk and did the crossword puzzle. And the Samaritan comes in and says, I have a man here! Fine, I ve not seen a customer all day. Here s some money, you take care of him. Fine. There are people who will be glad to do anything you want them to do as long as you pay them for it. Brother Baker to brilliant eye surgeon, Ron. Make so much money. You better by sure you give something away every day. Otherwise suck out your soul. SLIDE: The LAWYER FINALLY LEARNED HIS LESSON (LUKE 10:36-37) sort of. 6
When this lawyer looked at this man on the side of the road, he was not a victim to exploit or a nuisance to avoid; he was a problem to discuss. Lawyer said, "Let's talk about who is my neighbor." Jesus says, "Let's talk about one man." Lawyer said, What is the bare minimum I have to do to get into Heaven? Jesus said, "Forget about boundaries. Let s talk about love." Jesus turned to the lawyer: SLIDE: LUKE 10:36: "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The answer is rather easy! "Which of these three would you rather go fishing with? Go on a trip with? Vacation with? SLIDE: LUKE 10:37: The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." Still couldn t say, The Samaritan! When you meet the cut and bleeding by the side of the road, pull back the covers, no matter what color, race, age, nationality, ability, values, or belief system, help them get healed and well, and back on the road to life. SLIDE: TALK A MINUTE ABOUT BLOOD BANKS beginning of blood banks in America Definition of blood bank: storage for blood. Advantage is obvious accident and need blood. Readily available no time wasted to find donor with same blood types. Blood banks were not practical until the 1950s when an American surgeon discovered how to produce and store large quantities of artificial blood plasma key to sustaining blood banks was born. Banks set up all over United States and have saved thousands of lives with blood for those who need it. Imagine few have heard of Dr. Charles Drew. Great American surgeon for his pioneer work in the field of producing artificial blood plasma. Would have become very well known if not for great tragedy which cut short his life. He and three others on way to medical conference in North Carolina. Car swerved to avoid dog. Drew thrown from the car and critically injured. Bleeding profusely. Companions unhurt. Taken to hospital needed blood. But when they reached the hospital, they were turned away, because it was an all-white hospital. 7
And before they could reach the black hospital across town, the man who developed artificial blood plasma, and the key to sustaining blood banks, had bled to death. SLIDE: TAKING IT HOME From this parable we learn several principles about loving our neighbors: SLIDE: 1. Our neighbor is anyone of any race, creed, or social background who is in need. SLIDE: 2. Deep fulfillment and joy are ours when we pause and give to help others. SLIDE: 3. Not every need has our names on it. SLIDE: 4. 4. If our beliefs and behaviors fail to result in a deeper expression of our love for God, others, and ourselves, then something is drastically wrong with our beliefs and behaviors. They need to be reprocessed and altered. Committing for the long haul. I want to end tonight with a prayer that St. Frances prayed. Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me so love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much speak to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Go and do the same. 8