But wanting to justify himself, [the lawyer] 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…[A priest and a Levite when they 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. Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Five months ago, Michelle and Noel, together with Laurelle and Junior, received the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. Through their baptism they became members of Christ’s Church, were washed clean of sin, received the Holy Spirit and the gift of eternal life. Today we rejoice with Shelly and Noel and their family as they receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion through which they are strengthened to live out their baptismal identities in the life to which God is calling them as they daily grow into more and more of the persons whom God created them to be.
It is in weekly worship, daily prayer, the study of scripture, and at the table of the Lord’s Supper that we’re prepared for the work to which we’ve been called and equipped through the Holy Spirit from the day of our baptism. It is at the Communion table where we’re given the strength we need to be God’s presence in the world as we share Christ’s light and love with those in our community and beyond. It is there that we know, as we hear the words, “The body of Christ given for you, the blood of Christ shed for you,” that we are indeed God’s beloved children—so loved that God gave his only Son so that our broken relationship with God could be restored.
We encounter the living Lord in a powerful way as we receive the bread and wine. As we kneel, eat, pray and receive the blessing we are very much aware of the Real Presence of Christ—a presence that is with us 24/7/365 days a year throughout our earthly lives. Christ who is the host of the meal feeds us with himself so that we can be his body—his hands and feet in the world—a world urgently in need of forgiveness, love, and mercy.
Mercy certainly isn’t a buzzword in today’s world. In fact, it is something to which we probably don’t give a lot of thought on a daily basis. Nevertheless, it’s an important aspect of both our relationship with God and our relationship with others, as is pointed out in today’s gospel text, known as the parable of the Good Samaritan.
Before we begin to look more closely at this morning’s parable, however, I want us to remember that the parables that Jesus told throughout his ministry were not models of moral obligations for us nor rules to follow for living a “Christian” life; rather, their purpose was to teach us what God is like. For example, in the story about the prodigal son, the father, not the sons, was the main character—the loving, forgiving, father who ran to meet his wayward son when he saw him at a great distance from his house—the father who reached out to the older son who was angry about the big welcome-home party for his younger brother—the father who consistently demonstrated what God’s love and forgiveness are like. Likewise, the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin help us to understand the unimaginable lengths to which God will go in order to find us and bring us back into his safekeeping.
Today’s gospel story of the Good Samaritan endeavors to teach us about God’s mercy, compassion, and love that is always reaching out to us because of who God is, not, not because we in any way deserve that love and mercy. The following story, one I’ve shared with you before, illustrates well the idea that mercy is never, ever something that we deserve.
A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son. The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death. “But I don’t ask for justice,” the mother explained. “I plead for mercy.” Napoleon replied, “But your son doesn’t deserve mercy.” “Sir,” the woman cried, “it wouldn’t be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for.” “Well then,” the emperor said, “I will have mercy.” And he spared the woman’s son.
For the Christian, God’s mercy is all about not getting what we deserve, judgment and condemnation; but, rather, getting what we don’t deserve, aren’t entitled to and haven’t in any way, whatsoever, earned—i.e. God’s love and forgiveness.
The lawyer in our gospel text had asked two questions of Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” and “Who is my neighbor?” In asking the first question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” the lawyer wanted to demonstrate his knowledge of and obedience to the Law, in other words his righteousness. However, when he asked the second question, “Who is my neighbor?” he was really asking who is not my neighbor. Who is it OK to not come near to, to ignore, look down upon, walk away from, not help?
Jesus suggests that it is not possible to identify anyone who is not a neighbor, because one’s neighbor is defined by need; whomever has a need that is within our power to touch and help is our neighbor.
The lawyer no doubt asked this question because he was convinced that God only loved and cared about certain people, those who, like himself, lived righteous lives, had the correct theology, and followed the Torah. He failed, however, to understand that God loves all whom God has created, thus making all people neighbors to one another.
Interestingly, the meaning of “neighbor” in Greek and Hebrew means “to be near or to come near.” The text itself tells us that, “The Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity.” The priest and the Levite both passed by on the other side; they weren’t willing to come near enough to see his wounds, pour oil and wine on them and then bandage the injured man. So, who was the neighbor; who was the one who came near to the half-dead man lying in the ditch? It certainly wasn’t the priest or Levite—the ones whom Jesus’ listeners would have expected—but, rather, the hated Samaritan. When Jesus made the Samaritan the hero of the parable, the lawyer and all who heard had to have been shocked, scandalized, and downright angry. After all any good Jew knew that Samaritans were outcasts, losers, heretics who would never act in the manner of the Samaritan in the story.
But remember, this story, my friends, is not about doing good or following a set of rules in order to inherit eternal life, as the self-righteous lawyer believed. Rather, like all of Jesus’ parables, this parable is about the love, mercy, and compassion of God as portrayed in the actions of the Samaritan. The lesson in this story for us is in recognizing that because God has come near to us through Jesus Christ and because we are the undeserving recipients of God’s mercy, we are in turn to be a neighbor to others in need of mercy—to come near to them—showing mercy because mercy has been shown to us.
When we approach the Communion Table each week as we do, and as Michelle and Noel do for the first time this morning, and receive the bread and wine—Christ’s Body and Blood—and hear the words, “Take and eat, this is my body given for you; and again “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin,” we realize the depth of God’s mercy poured out for us. Such overflowing mercy and love compels us to go and do likewise as Christ commanded in his parable.
God in Christ is the true neighbor to us, the One who daily comes near to us, stoops to minister to us as we lie in the ditch, broken and forgotten. When we feel God’s loving and gentle touch upon our wounded, aching hearts, we’re filled with an overwhelming love for the One who loves us so much that he gave his life so that we might have life. The mercy that we’ve received propels us to go and do likewise for all those neighbors who are lying in ditches awaiting God’s mercy through the healing actions of our hands and lives.
And so we come again to the Table to receive God’s gift of mercy, the forgiveness of our sins, and the strength to love our neighbors and to show mercy to them. Sharing mercy is simply making a gift of what we’ve been given by God. May we, by the power of the Holy Spirit, come near to all who need to know and experience God’s healing love and mercy in their lives. May we be a merciful neighbor to all whom we meet, so that Christ Jesus may be glorified in us. Amen.
Pastor Shirley Ross-Jones