"Boundaries to Compassion"
Sermon Presented July 11, 2004
(Luke 10:25-37)
My fourth year in Marysville brought me new neighbors with twin 3-year-old sons, Tyler and Jessy. The boys always called me "neighbor" - probably because that was easier to remember than my name. We became good friends and when they moved to Lincoln, NE a couple of years later, we stayed in touch. One day I received a call saying they were in town and would like to come by. As they were leaving following our visit, I said: "Goodbye, neighbors. It was so good to see you!" To which Tyler replied: "But Jo Ellen, we aren't neighbors any more." I replied: "Oh yes we are! We will always be neighbors."
The next day I purchased a children's story book of the Good Samaritan and sent it with a note saying that we will always be neighbors because a neighbor is someone who shows love to another.
"Who is my neighbor?" The lawyer's question to Jesus is a legitimate one. The text says that he asked it to justify himself and I'm sure he felt anything but justified when he heard the reply. Instead of a direct answer, he got a story. Hear the parable Jesus told, commonly called "The Good Samaritan."
Luke 10:25-37
The road from Jerusalem to Jericho is a hilly route of 17 miles. Jerusalem is 2500 feet above sea level and Jericho is 1200 feet below sea level - with mountains in between. The road passes through barren, uninhabited land and is a prime spot for robbers to attack travelers. For protection, people traveled in caravans. But for some reason, the traveler in Jesus' story is alone. My hunch is that he was in a hurry and didn't wait for a companion. Jesus' listeners aren't surprised that he's attacked, robbed, stripped naked, beaten and left for dead. As he lay dying on the hot dusty road, no cry escapes his parched lips as vultures circle overhead.
Now a priest passes, but because he doesn't want to become ritually unclean by touching what looks like a dead body, he goes on his way, avoiding contact. As the situation worsens for the injured man, a Levite (a servant in the temple) comes on the scene and he too walks around the wounded traveler. Like the priest, he would be barred from temple service if he touches a corpse. Next a despised Samaritan comes along but instead of ignoring the injured man, he stops to help.
To the lawyer and the others hearing this story, the Samaritan is repulsive - not because of anything he did but just because he is a Samaritan. Samaritans are outcasts from Jewish society. They're half-breeds who centuries before refused to participate in the rebuilding of Jerusalem and instead built their own temple on Mt. Gerazim. They also aided the Syrian leaders in their war against the Jews. If Jesus were telling this story today, he might tell it using a wounded Jewish soldier and a Palestinian as the one who helps.
Jesus says that the Samaritan is moved with compassion. His heart goes out to the injured traveler and he acts on that concern. He knows what it's like to be rejected and reaches out to the battered man. He cleans and bandages the wounds and then places the man on his donkey and takes him to a local inn where he resumes caring for him. Throughout the night, the care continues and when the Samaritan leaves the next day, he pays the innkeeper to care for the man, promising additional money if needed. He gives compassionate care to a wounded enemy.
The Samaritan felt pity for the man and acted on that pity. He wasn't concerned about his personal safety or preserving his ritual purity. He didn't see someone who was different, but a fellow human being. He wasn't concerned about the cost of helping in terms of time or money. He acted compassionately.
Compassion is a right motive for doing acts of love and is often a response to a grievous situation. Last Sunday in Parade, there was an article by Elie Wiesel titled The America I Love. Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 wrote of the day in 1945 when American soldiers came to the Buchenwald concentration camp to liberate the prisoners. These are his words: "Bewildered, disbelieving, they walked around the place, hell on earth, where our destiny had been played out. They looked at us, just liberated, and did not know what to do or say. Survivors snatched from the dark throes of death, we were empty of all hope -- too weak, too emaciated to hug them or even speak to them. Like lost children, the American soldiers wept and wept with rage and sadness. And we received their tears as if they were heartrending offerings from a wounded and generous humanity." Those tears of compassion from the soldiers moved the despairing prisoners and showed them that their emancipators cared.
Often we try to justify our lack of concern for others. We sense no compassion. "He deserves what he got. If she hadn't been there at night wearing that short skirt, she wouldn't have been raped. If he weren't living an immoral lifestyle, he wouldn't have AIDS. If they didn't come into the country illegally, they wouldn't have died in the desert. If he would only work harder, he would have enough money to support his family." We attempt to justify why we don't act compassionately toward someone in need. Not her, Lord! You can't mean she's my neighbor? When we pass judgment we fail to reach out to another.
When Jesus told the lawyer that he was to love God with everything he had and to love his neighbor as himself, he wasn't just giving him instructions for a good life. This was in answer to the man's question of what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Followers of Jesus will do loving acts toward those who are in need - even if they don't have the same values or the same faith. We will see the needs and act compassionately. Jesus doesn't put any boundaries on compassion.
Not long ago I received this thought in e-mail from a friend. I don't know the source. "In a world that couldn't care less, we are to be a people who couldn't care more." In this parable, Jesus is calling us to care more! He is calling us to do loving acts toward others or else to relinquish eternal life.
Who do we reject as being unworthy of our acts of love? What boundaries do we place on compassionate acts? Who do we ignore? Where do our prejudices lie? Who do we place outside our parameters of "neighbor"? When we answer these questions, we know where to begin to love.
This story challenges us to self-reflection. It confronts us with a vision of ourselves and of our response to our world. Historically, Christians have a poor track record! We hold prejudices. The Christian Church in Germany failed to put a halt to Hitler's activity because they weren't the ones affected. Because of fear of Christians, the Jews in Newport, RI built a trap door in the floor of their synagogue with an escape tunnel beneath. Christians in the U. S. owned slaves. Christians persecute homosexuals. Sometimes we don't act in love because we fear what others will think, sometimes we just don't want to get involved and sometimes we don't care. When we ignore the cries of those in need, we fail to love. Jesus calls us to listen with our hearts as well as with our ears to the cries of others and then act compassionately on those pleas.
This story shatters the categories of who are and who are not the people of God. It's the religious leaders who fail to act in love toward the wounded man. It's the outcast who acts in love. Jesus says that Kingdom people act in love -- love that knows no boundaries -- love that expects no repayment.
Who is my neighbor? Jesus infers that it's anyone who has a need. Those who live in the Kingdom of God don't recognize social class, status, religious beliefs, gender or race. Our biblical knowledge, tithing, and church attendance are of no significance if we don't love others. What matters is that we reach out to those in need with generosity and love. Caring actions prepare people for eternal life. This is Kingdom living!
But let's face it; overcoming prejudice and acting with good will aren't easy. When we understand Jesus' command to be channels of God's love, then we must seek God's help to transform us. Transformation is a lifelong process! Hopefully we learn from our mistakes.
I believe God places people in our path to love - family members, friends, fellow workers, strangers, next door neighbors, the poor and oppressed and yes, even our enemies. They may not be naked and oozing with blood, but many are wounded and needy. As we pray for sensitivity to the needs of others, God will help us make the right response.
Oh, by the way, there's something I neglected to tell you about the twins next door. Their parents are a lesbian couple and our friendship was cemented because I helped them deal with the abuse they were experiencing at the hands of their neighbors on the other side - verbal, emotional and even physical abuse. I'm confident that God brought them to my neighborhood for my benefit and not theirs. I needed understanding. I needed to hear their cries and respond with compassion.
Eternal life - life in the kingdom of God - is both present and future. It's the quality of life characterized by showing mercy - by doing acts of love toward those in need, regardless of their circumstances. Yes! She is your neighbor!
BENEDICTION: Go in peace, to receive God's love
and to give God's love to others.
