Luke 10:25-37
You have probably heard a dozen sermons on this parable. You know what it’s about, I don’t need to tell you. Maybe we should just skip ahead to our next hymn and get out of here early today. It’s one of the most familiar stories in the Bible. Everyone – whether or not they ever go to church – knows what a Good Samaritan is: a do-gooder; a helpful person. It’s the name of hospitals and counseling centers and homeless shelters and more. Never mind that it once was an oxymoron, as much as “jumbo shrimp” or “boneless ribs” or “entertaining sermon.”
We all know that the point of Jesus’ story is that people should be like that – the Good Samaritan – helpful to those in need. It isn’t something I need to tell you today: you know this – and what’s more, the legal expert who approached Jesus knew it.
I don’t know exactly what was up with that legal expert. Sometimes I think this young man was earnestly seeking to know what he must do to gain eternal life. And other times I think that he was just trying to show off – the way we sometimes do in school when we try to ask the really good question that will make the teacher raise her eyebrows showing how impressed she is.
I guess I just want to give him the benefit of the doubt – in both cases. Being earnest is good, and even being a showoff is not really that bad. Not as bad as what he was really up to. And we know what he was really up to.
The text actually tells us: he was testing Jesus. And I don’t think he was testing his knowledge or his compassion. It was something else.
I like this story in the Common English Bible because it uses this term to describe him: a legal expert. It really drove home for me just what kind of person we are dealing with. Knowing who this man is gives us a framework for beginning to understand his motivations and his mind. We see that the conversation he strikes up with Jesus presents itself almost like a courtroom scene. The lawyer stands up, legal pad in hand, to question the witness – Jesus. The lawyer takes a step toward him and begins. His first question is very direct: What must I do to gain eternal life?
Eight simple words: What must I do to gain eternal life? Meaning that there is some thing, which isrequired, for me to do to acquire something desirable – eternal life. So, Jesus, tell me what it is please.
Any lawyer will tell you that when you ask a question of a witness you should already know the answer because you don’t want to be surprised. Surprises can really mess up your case. So when the lawyer asks this question of Jesus, he already knows the answer.
He knows because he has done his homework; he knows because is an educated man; in fact, he’s a legal expert so when it comes to matters of what is required by law, he knows. He is not asking Jesus because he is curious or because he is lacking this important piece of information. And he is not asking Jesus because he would like to be sure that Jesus has sufficient knowledge. He is asking Jesus because he wants to see if Jesus’ response will be sufficiently orthodox. This is a test.
Of course, Jesus surely knew all that too. And, in any event, Jesus didn’t seem interested in schooling this legal expert, or in playing any games. So he does what he does so well: he reframes the conversation; he answers the man’s question with another question. “What is written in the law?” You are, after all, a legal expert. “How do you interpret it?” Isn’t that the job of a legal expert? Interpreting the law for others who are not expert? You tell me what it is!
And of course the lawyer knows; he knows the Law of Moses inside out. He gives a wonderful answer: Love the Lord with all that’s in you and love your neighbor as yourself. This is the essence of the law. The Law of Moses contains over 600 laws, spanning four books – Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy – and on these two hang all the rest. The man got it right, so Jesus said, “Correct. So do it.”
Now we know we’re all on the same page. We all know that this is the answer to the question – love God and love your neighbor. End of story. We should all be like this. But –
As it happens, that wasn’t what this was all about. That wasn’t the point of this conversation. So far, this lawyer has just been laying the groundwork. Now he gets to his follow-up question. He asks, “And who is my neighbor?”
Who is my neighbor? Whom does the law say that I need to concern myself with and offer my love to? Who is it that is worthy of at least as much love as I am? What is the definition of neighbor? This is an important question, because the flip side of the question is this: Whom can I exclude? Whom can I throw under the bus? Who is expendable?
We need to know how to form the categories … we need to know where to draw the lines – the boundary lines. Because it seems important to keep an accurate account of who’s in and who’s out.
It was certainly an important topic for the community in which Jesus lived and worked – a community that divided the world into Jews and non-Jews.
Samaritans were in the latter category. Yes, they thought of themselves as Jews, but the Jews did not. They believed in the God of Israel and lived by the Law of Moses and thought this was good and right, but the Jews did not. The Samaritans might have said to the Jews, “Hey look! We’re just alike,” but the Jews said, “No, we’re not.”
But, of course, it would be wrong for me to just pick on the Jews.
There was a time in the not-too-distant past when African Americans were not welcome in the Presbyterian Church – a truly shameful part of our history. There was a time when women were not permitted to be ordained – as deacons … as elders … as ministers – and, of course there were several precise reasons for drawing that line.
We always have reasons when we make these distinctions. In retrospect we can see how flimsy they often are. I am grateful that we no longer promote those particular things, that we have moved beyond those prejudices.
But the thing is, we can’t leave this story in the past. This story is why we cannot in good conscience ignore the crisis that is going on at our southern border.
People are being locked up in inhumane conditions – without adequate space, without adequate food and water, without the means to wash themselves. Children, even babies, have been separated from their parents and left uncared for. They are languishing in these facilities for weeks on end. And people are dying.
So the question is this: are these people our neighbors? And if they are, is this the way we love them?
Christians don’t need to agree with one another about the best way to address border policy. These are complicated matters. But all Christians must stand together and say this treatment of human beings is unacceptable.
Just as it was unacceptable for a priest or a Levite to walk past a man who was left for dead on the road from Jerusalem.
We all know this story very well, from more sermons and more Bible studies than we can count. Maybe there is nothing new I can tell you about the Good Samaritan. But today I just want you to hear one thing: This legal expert wants Jesus to tell him where the line falls. He wants Jesus to tell him who is his neighbor and who is not his neighbor. But Jesus just wants him to be a neighbor.
Such a small difference. But it makes all the difference in the world.
Photo: Migrant detention center in McAllen, Texas. US Government, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
