Saturday, February 7, 2015

Who Is My Neighbor?


We talked a bit about the greatest commandments back on January 28th. We also talked a bit about the scope of these commandments. If you love God and you love your neighbor, you are required to act. You have responsibilities. Failure to meet these responsibilities would represent a violation of these commandments. In today's scripture we will see someone following these commands. The interesting thing here is that the one in obedience is not one that the people of the time would have expected.

Luke 10:25-37

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?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
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’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 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. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] 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.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

It's interesting that the "expert in the law" knew what the greatest commandments were. Perhaps he had heard Jesus speak about this before. Whatever the case, this expert immediately baits a trap for Jesus by asking the question, "Who is my neighbor?". I call it a trap because the expert knew that there were all kinds of reasons why you might not consider someone your neighbor according to the prevailing interpretations of the law at that time.

Never the less, Jesus proceeds to answer the question. He uses a story about a man going from Jerusalem to Jericho that gets mugged on his way home and is left for dead by his attackers.

The road on which the crime was perpetrated turns out to be quite busy. As the "half dead" man lays there in his misery and wounds, no less than two people pass by. One is a priest and the other a Levite. It's interesting that both of these men are supposed to be the shepherds of Israel; leaders in the faith, knowledgeable of every aspect of the law . They were to serve in the temple in various capacities at given times and that may well be where they were headed when the saw the severely wounded man by the road. 

Did they offer assistance? Did they stop to help? No, they passed by the victim on the other side of the road and continued on to their destination.

Why would they do this? Why would they not help? These men knew the law. Had they determined that this man was not their neighbor according to the law? Perhaps a foreigner or a sinner? Or was it something else? Maybe they were concerned about remaining ceremonially clean. If they were going to Jerusalem to serve in the temple, they would have been forbidden to come into contact with human blood or dead bodies. This would have disqualified them from temple service. Then again, maybe they just did not want to get involved or maybe they did not want to be late. Whatever the reason for their lack of concern, it was not a good excuse.

As Jesus explains, a third traveler, a Samaritan, comes along and shows immediate concern for the injured man. He treats and bandages the man's wounds and then delivers him to a local inn so he can receive care. The Samaritan man even pays the innkeeper for the man's stay and says he will be back in a couple of days to check on him and bring more money if needed.

A Samaritan did this. The significance of this is astounding. Samaritans were held in very low regard by the Jews of the time. They were considered heretics to the law and rejected by God. They would not have been considered anybody's neighbor by a Jew in those days. Even so, it was a Samaritan that instinctively did what God's law commanded. It was notably not the priest or the levite - the spiritual leadership of God's people. Strange indeed.

So what would you do? Who is your neighbor? Would you help? Suppose it was someone that looked different from people you normally associate with? Would long hair, body piercings and tattoos stop you? Would their inability to speak English and the color of their skin stop you? Would a gay pride bumper sticker stop you? Would fear stop you?

There's always a reason not to help isn't there? But God's greatest commandments are not festooned with contractual footnotes offering reasons why we do not have to obey in a particular instance. They are plain and clear.

If you love God and you love your neighbor, you will act.

Jesus asked the expert in the law which of the three was a neighbor to the injured man. The expert replied that it was the man who had mercy (he would not even utter the word "Samaritan").

What did Jesus say?

"Go and do likewise"