Sermon for March 5

Sunday, March 5 

The reading

Luke 10:25-42

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."   

Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.  She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying.  But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me."  But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things;  there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her."

The message

Today, we hear one of Jesus most well-known parables. This teaching story about who is our neighbor has a simple, meaningful and timeless lesson.  Almost 2000 years after Jesus told this story, our world is still filled with non-profits, hospitals and other health care agencies that care for those in need named after the Good Samaritan.

We can lose sight of the fact that when Jesus first shared it, it was probably one of his more controversial as well.  For those of you who were here on Ash Wednesday or read my message online, I mentioned the ancient division between the Samaritans and Israelites. Our reading on  Ash Wednesday mentions that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem, that he was fully committed to completing his work by enduring suffering, shame, death and ultimately resurrection. On the way, Jesus sends his disciples to seek welcome at a Samaritan town. The people reject Jesus outright, not even allowing him to enter. Their reason: he was going to Jerusalem.  A long time before this meeting, A dispute over leadership split Israel into 2 different kingdoms.  Jerusalem was the capital of the Southern Kingdom and Samaria was the capital of the Northern Kingdom.  Over time, the Samaritans were seen as a different religious and cultural group.  The 2 kingdoms developed a rivalry along with their own temples, leadership and rituals. To put it mildly, they did not like each other and were not supposed to have anything to do with each other.  

That makes it all the more remarkable that the hero, the righteous, obedient, faithful and God loving person in this parable is not the priest and not the Levite (a member of the priestly tribe) but a Samaritan.  The one who follows God’s law is from a place historically separated from Israel, at war or odds with them for centuries and part of the group that fully and unapologetically rejected and Jesus days earlier.     

The Good Samaritain does not let us pretend the world will be fine if we do the right thing.  This is a story that recognizes the violence, greed, uncertainty and unfairness of the world. This road down from Jerusalem to Jerhico was about 18 miles long and was a drop in elevation from 2500 ft to 820 ft below sea level. It was also notoriously dangerous. There is a robbery, beating and a man left half dead on the side of a road. It challenges us to ask “so what will you do about it”

I never looked at this story connected to the event right after, where we learn that Martha is distracted by many things, Mary on the other hand, chooses the better part, she forgets all the other stuff and simply sits with Jesus.   Perhaps the priest and Levite were distracted by many things, their own safety, whatever they were going to do, their social and religious obligations, the potential for a trap, the knowledge this would not be a quick 5 minute, “you okay, yeah, im fine, thanks for stopping” What makes the good Samaritan good is that he chooses the better part, responding to someone in need with love, compassion and care. 

Now this is something I need to hear as much as anyone else.  We have to choose the better part.  At Lent, and throughout the year, we are invited to lose some of the distractions and focus on what it means to be loved by God.