"Who Is Our Neighbor?"

            My series of sermons on Jesus’ parables continues this Sunday (August 2nd) with the popular parable of the “Good Samaritan,” in Luke 10: 25-37.  In his teachings, Jesus uses parables to answer a question or illustrate a point. 

            This parable occurs in the context of a debate between Jesus and a scribe or lawyer.  Luke, the Gospel writer, records that a lawyer stood up to test Jesus with a question.  In Jesus’ culture, such a test is really a challenge to the honor of the teacher—in this case, Jesus.  The lawyer asks, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  The basis of this question is the Jewish understanding that they are a covenant people who belong to God.  God has set the Hebrews apart as a special, chosen people.  As a chosen people, the Hebrews believe that God has promised them eternal life in God’s own kingdom.  So, the lawyer is really asking Jesus, “What must one do to remain in good standing as part of God’s covenant people who have been promised eternal life?”

            Although this is a very crucial question which everyone contemplates—the question of life after death—keep in mind that the lawyer and Jesus are engaged in a public debate.  Recognizing that his interrogator is an expert in Jewish law, Jesus answers the lawyer's question with another question:  “What is written in the law?  How do you interpret it?” Jesus’ question is also a challenge back to the lawyer.

            The lawyer responds with an exquisite answer that goes to the heart of what it means to be faithful to God.  He says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”  I love the lawyer’s answer to Jesus’ question.  He says that we should love God with our whole being (our heart); with the very essence of who we are as an individual (our soul); and also with all of our personal resources, including our very physical strength and our deepest intellect.  In sum, we should love God with all that we have and all that we are, in all of the dimensions of our existence. 

Then, the lawyer adds that we should “love our neighbor as ourselves.”  That is, the lawyer sets up a threefold type of love.  We love God, love our neighbor, and love ourselves.  And, we love in this priority:  God, then neighbor, then self.  We are to love ourselves because if we can’t love ourselves, then we can’t love anything. 

            Jesus responds to the lawyer’s answer by saying, “You have given the right answer; do this and you will live.”  Now, in the context of a public debate between Jesus and the lawyer, it is important to see that Jesus’ reply is a put down of the lawyer, causing him to lose face in public.  We need to keep in mind that the lawyer is publicly recognized as an expert in Jewish law.  In response to this question about inheriting eternal law, Jesus has asked the lawyer what the law says.  In other words, Jesus shifted the debate to the lawyer’s area of expertise.  But, Jesus' response, “You are right,” actually assumes that Jesus understands the law more deeply and, therefore, is above the lawyer when it comes to the lawyer’s own area of expertise.

Jesus overwhelmingly wins the first round of the debate with the lawyer.

            So, the lawyer seeks to justify himself by launching into a second round of debate with Jesus.  “And, who is my neighbor?” the lawyer asks.  The question of who is our neighbor is highly charged in a highly regimented society, such as first century Israel.  In Jesus’ society, as in many societies across history, there were clear boundaries which separated people into different groups, with specific rules about how persons were to treat each other.  For instance, there were divisions between men and women, Jews and Gentiles, etc.  So, the lawyer’s question concerning who counts as the neighbor we are to love is a very tricky trap.

            It is at this point in the debate that Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan.  The parable is his answer to the lawyer’s challenge. Jesus begins the parable with the words:  “A man was going from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.”  The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was very steep, descending nearly 3300 feet over 17 miles.  It winds through many narrow passes, providing excellent locations for bandits to lie in wait of travelers.  Notice that Jesus provides no details about the man who was beaten and robbed.  Based upon Jesus’ description, the man cannot be classified or categorized in any way.  He is simply a human being in need of assistance.

            Almost immediately after the attack, there is a ray of hope for the victimized man, a priest is also traveling along the road.  Yet, instead of stopping to help the victim, he passes by on the other side.  Similarly, a Levite passes by without offering assistance.  Within Jewish society, both the priest and the Levite are highly respected persons.  Yet, neither offers the victim any help.  At this point, the parable has reached its climax.  We know that a third person will see the victim and this third person will break the pattern by stopping to help the beaten man.  Undoubtedly, Jesus’ listeners would have expected that this third person will be a very faithful, devout Jew.

            Yet, Jesus has a surprise for his listeners.  The third person is not a kind, faithful Jew.  Instead, he is a despised and hated Samaritan.  Although both Jews and Samaritans shared a similar faith and similar sacred texts, they disagreed bitterly over how to interpret God’s Holy Word and the implications of that interpretation for how they lived their lives.  For the Samaritans, Mt. Gerizim should be the center of worship, whereas for the Jews the center of worship was the Temple in Jerusalem.  The animosity between Jews and Samaritans was so great that Jews avoided all social contact with Samaritans out of fear that they would become ritually impure. 

            Of course, the man lying in the ditch couldn’t care less about ritual purity.  He is in desperate need of help.  When the Samaritan sees the beaten man, he is moved by pity and compassion.  He stops and offers first aid to the beaten man.  Then, the Samaritan gets the broken man up on his own animal and gets him to an inn where he can rest and recuperate.  The Samaritan even pays the innkeeper to care for the victim.

            At this point, Jesus asks the lawyer, “Which of the three, do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”  Still repulsed by the thought of a Samaritan being the hero in the parable, he can only respond:  “The one who showed him mercy.”

            In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus defines “neighbor” not in geographic or cultural or national terms.  Instead, for Jesus, our “neighbor” is simply the person who needs our help.  For 21st century Christians, the question becomes, “Who needs our help?”

Come, join us this Sunday, as we explore the implications of the Good Samaritan parable for following Christ in the 21st century.  Christ United Methodist Church is located at 4530 A Street in Lincoln, Nebraska.  Our classic worship services are at 8:30 and 11:00 on Sunday mornings. 

Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.