WHO IS
MY NEIGHBOR!
Mount Hope
UMC
Sunday,
July 14, 2019
Luke 10:25-37 New
Living Translation (NLT)
The Most Important
Commandment
25 One day an expert in
religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher,
what should I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 Jesus replied, “What
does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”
27 The man answered, “‘You
must love the Lord your
God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’
And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”[a]
28 “Right!” Jesus told
him. “Do this and you will live!”
29 The man wanted to justify
his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Parable of the Good
Samaritan
30 Jesus replied with a
story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he
was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and
left him half dead beside the road.
31 “By chance a priest came
along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the
road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant[b] walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also
passed by on the other side.
33 “Then a despised Samaritan
came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil
and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him
to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins,[c] telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher
than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
36 “Now which of these three
would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by
bandits?” Jesus asked.
37 The man replied, “The one
who showed him mercy.”
Then
Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”
I’m going to apologize because today’s message is the
longest I have given, but I believe God wants me to share it with you. Let me submit a present day, and very real
representation of this parable in light of the ICE raids that will begin today
to deport and detain immigrants in this country. It is estimated that there are over 2 million
men, women and children who will be affected by the President’s Executive
Order. Let’s think about the Parable of
the Good Samaritan in this light. I have
changed this somewhat to delete references to ethnicity because many people of
all ethnic groups have discriminated against our Hispanic brothers and sisters
who have arrived in this country out of fear for their lives by the drug
cartels and gangs who have threatened them in their countries.
An American Christian asked Jesus, “How do I get to
heaven and gain eternal life?” Jesus
replied, “You have to read the Bible.
You know what it says. Be sure
you are not ignoring what it says.”
The American Christian replied, “It does say to love God
with all that I am and all that I have and to love my neighbor as myself.”
Jesus replied, “Yes.
You have stated correctly what God’s Word says. But are you living it? Are you loving your undocumented neighbor who
is afraid of being deported this weekend?
Our neighbor who is a detained migrant in a concentration camp? Your neighbor who has become a victim of
“wait in Mexico policy” when they have the legal and God-given right to seek
asylum? Your neighbor who is being put
in an immigrant detention center to be a pawn and a source of profit? To which the American Christian said, “I
mean, are those people really my neighbors?
Who really is my neighbor?”
So, Jesus told this story: “A man with his young daughter
had crossed from Honduras to Guatemala and all the way across Mexico and
arrived at the U.S. border. They had
fled Honduras because their life was being threatened every day by the gangs
and drug dealers and there was not food to eat in their small town and they
were dying of poverty. When they arrived
at the U.S. border exhausted yet full of hope, they presented themselves as
asylum seekers. The Border Patrol agent
would not listen to them explain their situation and told them they had to wait
in Mexico. A U.S. politician visited the
border and spoke at a press conference to decry the horrible conditions of
migrants but returned to Washington, DC and said there is nothing we can do to
stop this current administration. But a
Muslim woman who has been separated from her family because of the Muslim ban
that has been in place for 5 years and will not allow her husband and children
to join her from Yemen went to the border.
She fought for the young Honduran an to get free legal representation,
for them to be able to join is uncle in New Jersey while awaiting for an asylum
hearing and immigration and made sure his young daughter got the medical care
she needed.” Jesus then asked the
American Christian the question: “Which of these three was a neighbor to the
Honduran man and his young daughter seeking asylum in this country?” The American Christian answered, “the one who
showed mercy.” And Jesus replied to him
and all of us: “Go and show mercy. Fight
for the immigrant. Don’t turn away from
the injustice. Do what you can to make
changes to this system that is breaking families, damaging people and destroying
our democracy.”
If you have seen the news, Friday the Vice President went
to one of the immigrant camps on the Texas border. What he found far exceeded the conditions he
believed existed. Hundreds of men were
housed in a cage like animals. Some were
laying on the floor covered in the aluminum blankets, while others stood around
because there was not enough room for them to lay down. Reports who had accompanied the Vice
President reported that the stench was unbearable. The caged men said they had not been able to
bathe in weeks and that they had not even been given toothbrushes to brush
their teeth. This is not our
America. This is not the land of the
free and the home of the brave. This
scenario is too much like how Nazi Germany treated the Jews before the
holocaust during World War II.
The thought that there are camps that house women and
children under the same condition is abhorrent, disgusting and an embarrassment
and everybody in the country ought to scream in disgust against this policy to
their Congressmen and women and their Senators.
This is totally unacceptable because who will be next – us?
Beginning today, our Hispanic brothers and sisters will
go into hiding to try and avoid ICE.
Migrant workers will not show up for work on Monday morning. Hispanic children will disappear from the
classrooms. Blue collar workers,
landscape companies, car repair shops, retail establishments – all will be
missing valuable employees. Do you
understand the depth of the havoc this will have on our economy? But consider this – those in our prison
system may be the first to be deported because they are more easily identified
and if they held citizenship or a green card, they may lose their right to be
in this country because of the crimes they committed. They can’t hide from ICE. And what do you think will happen to them if
they are returned to their countries?
Most likely they will find a way back into this country illegally.
In the past America has been outraged by foreign
countries human rights abuses. We have
stood on the side of right in calling out these countries for how they mistreat
and abuse their citizens, yet this country is doing the same with those who
seek to find a better life. There is a
song whose lyrics say, “Give me your tired, your poor; your huddled masses
yearning to be free.”
This is
not the first time America has resorted to camps. During World War II Asians who were American
citizens were placed into camps.
I read
this on Facebook this week and it was timely.
“The Greek verb splagchnizomai is formed from the word for inward parts
or guts. The verb suggests being moved
in the innermost core of one’s being. A
gut-wrenching, stomach-twisting mercy. In
the New Testament, it’s a Jesus verb. He
has splagchnizomai for the people who are like sheep without a shepherd (Matt.
9:36); for the sick (March 14:14); for a widow (Luke 7:13). In the parables, the Jesus figures of the
forgiving king (Matt. 18:27), the father of the prodigal (Luke 15:20), and the
Samaritan (10:33) all show splagchnizomai.
Thus, rather than a good Samaritan, he’s the splagchnizomai
Samaritan. He’s moved in his very bowels
with compassion, the giver of gut-wrenching compassion. In the innermost core of Jesus is love for
us.” Author, Chad Bird.
There are a number of Scriptures that speak to how we are
to treat the alien, or the foreigner, who resides in our land.
For instance, Leviticus 19:33-34 says, “When a foreigner resides with
you in your land, you must not oppress him. 34You must treat the foreigner living among you as native-born and love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God. “
Matthew 25:35-40 – “For I was hungry and you gave me something to
eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you
invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and
you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord,
when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to
drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing
clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to
visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you,
whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine,
you did for me.’ (New International Version)
Jeremiah 22:3, “The Lord proclaims:
Do what is just and right; rescue the oppressed from the power of the
oppressor. Don’t exploit or mistreat the refugee, the orphan, and the widow.
Don’t spill the blood of the innocent in this place. (Common
English Bible)
Hebrews 13:2 – “Don’t forget to show hospitality
to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without
realizing it! (New Living Translation)
These are just a few of the Scriptures I share with you
today. My heart is so heavy, and I don’t
know how I can be a vessel to effect change but speaking to you today to
encourage you to use your voice is one way.
If you read your Bible you know that people are always
testing Jesus, trying to see if he is faithful to the Law of Moses or if he is
a fake prophet. The Pharisees were
always testing him because they were jealous of his following and felt he was a
threat to their authority and control over the Jewish people.
Society challenges us as Christians, too. We are considered hypocrites because many of
us say one thing and do another. Society
sees the fundamentalist Christian as Bible thumping, preaching about sin and
damnation, fire and brimstone. Then they
see the traditionalist Christian as preaching the Word, but not always living
what they preach. Then they see the
holier than thou Christian who is so heaven bound they are no earthly good.
As
professed Christ followers, many of us feel we’re too good for the rest of the world
who are the least, the last and the lost.
Those that have the most need of hearing how Jesus brought us out of our
mess, we keep at arm’s length. They
smell, they’re immigrants, they don’t speak our language, they’re homeless, they
drink, they do drugs, they prostitute, they lie, they steal, they sleep around
with other people’s spouses or girlfriends or boyfriends. We have become self-righteous and set
ourselves up as judge and jury over the rest of the world. We now think we’re better than the immigrant,
the drug addict, the alcoholic, the homeless person, the prostitute, the
poor. Surely, they are not our
neighbor. But let me tell you, beloved
of God, there but for the grace of God, go each and every one of us.
Take the
man who asked Jesus what he must do to inherit the Kingdom of God. First of all, you cannot inherit the Kingdom
of God. Many people think because their
parents or their grandparents where fire Baptized and Holy Ghost filled, that
they are too. They may have walked down
the aisle to the altar to accept Jesus Christ to please Momma or Grandma
because Momma or Grandma made them when they were young or Sunday School
encouraged them, but Christ is not living in them. They think because Mamma and Poppa or Grandma
and Granddad are saved, that covers them too.
You have to know Jesus for yourself.
If you have not opened your heart to let Jesus in, you walked down the
aisle to appease Momma, Daddy, Grandma or Grandad, but you are still only going
through the outward motions; your heart has not been strangely warmed as John
Wesley said. I keep telling you sitting
in the pew doesn’t make you a Christian anymore than standing in the garage
makes you a car. You have to surrender
to Jesus and let the Holy Spirit come into your heart.
When you
let the light of Jesus in, you will find that everyone is your neighbor. You will find it not robbery to love
everyone, even those who may not be quite so lovable. So, who is my neighbor?
Three
men encountered the man on the road. Two
were holy men – a priest and a Levite.
The priest was a holy man who could make sacrifices for the forgiveness
of sins in the Temple and preach in the Synagogue. The Levite was a member of the Hebrew tribe
of Levi and provided assistants to the priests in the worship in the Jewish
temple. These were men, if you think
about it, who were really not trained in pastoral care. They didn’t necessarily have empathy for the
people they served. Their service was
contingent upon payment for their services, so seeing a homeless person beat up
on the side of the road would not have prompted them to compassion because they
knew they would not receive compensation for giving assistance. Plus, the law said that if they touched
someone who was unclean and bleeding, they would have had to be quarantined for
a period of time. They couldn’t afford
to be out of service for that long, so the priest and the Levite kept galloping
along. Just like we do when we drive by the
homeless person asking for change on the side of the road.
But the
Samaritan. Samaritans are genetically
linked to Jews and to Palestinian Arabs.
Because they were a “mixed” race, Orthodox Jews did not associate with
them. That is why the story of the
Samaritan woman in the Bible is so significant.
Samaritans also were adherents of Samaritanism, a religion closely
related to Judaism. They believed their
religion is the true religion of the Israelites from before the Babylonian
captivity and that Judaism is a related but altered and amended religion. The major issues between Jews and Samaritan
has always been the location of the Chosen Place to worship God. Samaritans believed it was Mount Gerizim and
Jews believed it was the Temple Mount of Moriah in Jerusalem. Bottom line, Jews had nothing to do with
Samaritans.
So, on
the road to Jerusalem from Jericho a Jewish man was attacked by bandits,
beaten, robbed and left to die on the side of the road. A priest came by, saw the man and kept going,
offering no assistance. A Levite, a man
of his own people, came by and saw him, but kept going. Now along comes a Samaritan – someone Jews
considered unclean and not worthy to even talk to. This Samaritan saw the injured Jew, attended
to his immediate injuries, picked him up and put him on his horse or mule, and
took him to an inn. He cleaned the Jew
up, gave him a clean change of clothing and laid him in bed in a room for him
to recover from his wounds. He paid the
innkeeper for the room and board and any incidentals and said if he required
more he would come back on his return journey and pay him anything over what he
had already given.
We see
people on the side of the road every day and we keep driving. I did it for years. If I don’t have any money on me, I may still
drive by – but it’s because I don’t have anything to give. But, generally, now I try to keep a couple
dollars in the car so that if I come across someone in need, I can offer a
small token. If someone approaches me in
the street, I will give a dollar or two or ask if they want something to eat, and
if I have the resources, I will take them to McDonald’s or Wendy’s and purchase
their meals. I think I’m going to start
buying $5 McDonald gift cards to hand out.
You all probably do the same.
I know
Mount Hope serves at Project Echo and for Warm Nights. For years we have donated backpacks to school
children, but this year we’ve been talking about providing much needed school
supplies to an elementary school in Calvert County so that the teachers don’t
have to come out of their pockets and the children will have the classroom
resources they need. We have been Good
Samaritans, but there is so much more we can do. Perhaps we can think about providing food
baskets at Thanksgiving to our seniors, especially those who are shut-ins. Our youth give Christmas gifts to our
seniors.
It is my
prayer that we can think beyond Mount Hope and reach out to our community in
need in Sunderland, not just in giving, but in doing. I’d like to see us come together with the
youth to participate in a mission project to adopt a needy family. We need to be the feet on the ground for the
homeless, drug addict, alcoholic, prostitute and the immigrant. Somebody came to our assistance when we were
down to nothing! Oh, maybe you’ve never
been down to nothing. Maybe you’ve never
been hungry. Maybe you’ve never needed a
hand-up or had someone walk with you to get you jump started.
The Good
Samaritan never met the Jew before, but he gave much needed assistance out of
the goodness of his heart, expecting nothing in return. I know the church does not have the resources
to support people who need emergency help like rent, or utilities. But there are things we can do and the first
thing we have to do is build relationships with the community. We have to know where the need exists. I talk to people who call here for money for
rent, etc. Some have tapped every Social
Service agency they could – perhaps more than once. This tells me they are always in need and may
not be doing anything to help themselves get back on track. Maybe we can guide them to get back on
track. We have to try. We’ve had people come here that are a day
away from homelessness or called and received guidance on places that could
assist them with their rent or utilities – they have come to service to thank
the church for whatever assistance we have provided.
This is
a loving, but cautious church. Perhaps
we’re cautious for good reason – maybe because we have been burned by people
who were conning us too many times, or maybe we’re just afraid. If that’s the case 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us
that “God did not give us the spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love,
and self-discipline”. But we need to
take a lesson from the Good Samaritan and step out on faith that God will
provide, but that we must take the first step.
Mr.
Rogers said, “We live in a world in which we
need to share responsibility. It’s easy to say, ‘It’s not my child, not my
community, not my world, not my problem.’ Then there are those who see the need
and respond. I consider those people my heroes.”
Church,
Jesus calls us to be responsible for the foreigner living in our land. He calls us to speak out about
injustice. He calls us to stand when
others sit.
In his
last speech before his assassination, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
shared his thoughts about the Good Samaritan in relation to the march the
following day for the sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee. He observed that perhaps the priest and
Levite didn’t stop because (1) they were on their way to a religious gathering
and “One who
was engaged in religious ceremonials was not to touch a human body twenty-four
hours before the ceremony.” Dr. King
said another possibility was the priest and the Levite were afraid because the
road from Jerusalem to Jericho was dangerous and in Jesus’s time was called
“The Bloody Pass”. Another possibility
Dr. King presented was that the priest and the Levite looked over at the 0man
on the ground and wondered if the robbers were still around. Or that the man on the ground might have been faking
that he had been robbed and hurt, in order to lure them there for quick and
easy seizure. And so, the first question
that the Levite asked was, "If I stop to help this man, what will happen
to me?" But then the Good Samaritan came by – a man of a different race and
he reversed the question and asked himself, "If I do not stop to help this
man, what will happen to him?" When
will we stop being afraid and asking, “What if someone is trying to rob me” and
instead ask, “What can I do to help others?”
Don’t let your living be in vain.
As Mr. Roberts used to ask, “Won’t you be my neighbor?”
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