September 24, 2000
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Mark 9.30-38 Today's sermon is the last one based on the titles and texts you have suggested. It is prompted by three requests. One was to hear the story of the Good Samaritan, another was to respond to a request for a sermon on taking risks. And I am also addressing the question, "how can we do greater things than Jesus?" That no doubt was probably brought on by the words of Jesus in John 14.12: "Very truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works I do, and in fact, will do greater works than these because I am going to my father." As we consider all these things, is seems to me that here we can change our wristbands and our bumper stickers. We do not need to ask, WWJD, What Would Jesus Do?" because we know WJDD, or What Jesus Did Do. We know that Jesus did not hesitate to take a risk to make his witness for God. He was unafraid to touch the untouchable, say what was sometimes unspeakable, love the unlovable, and to break bread with whoever was hungry and in need of his company. He was a risk taker and he calls us to do the same. We learn about risk when Jesus has an encounter with a lawyer with a question. "Jesus, rabbi, how do I get this eternal life you talk about? What do I have to do, what steps are there for me to follow, I will do whatever you tell me to do, so tell me." But Jesus says, "You are a smart man. You know what to do. What's the law say?" The lawyer says: "O, you mean the Shema. Everybody knows it says, (Deuteronomy 6.4-5): "Hear O Israel: The Lord is your God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might." That is exactly what the inquisitive lawyer and we are commanded to do. We are to love God with everything we have, and then add the love of neighbor as we love ourselves. That is the key to eternal life. Love God and all that God holds dear, appreciate this world created for us, love the people God has created. Then the lawyer asks one more question. Perhaps he wants to show Jesus how smart he is. Maybe he just wants to trap Jesus with a question he does not think Jesus can answer. In any event, he has one more question. "But Jesus, just who is my neighbor?" Is my neighbor the one who lives across the street from me, the one who picks up may mail and waters the plants while I am gone? Is my neighbor the one I trust enough to leave the key to my house? Is it the man at the off-ramp with the sign that says, "will work for food"? Or the woman who comes to the door and says she and her kids need food and gas money? Is my neighbor the one woman who sells her body for money, the police officer who profiles certain drivers in certain neighborhoods, is my neighbor the ones who are not as polished as we are? Who exactly is worthy of my compassion? Jesus says, "Let me tell you a story and then you tell me." We know the story Jesus told as that of the Good Samaritan, but for today we will call him the Risk Taking Samaritan. It seems that one day a man was going down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by thieves. The people who heard those words already know that Jesus is foreshadowing something serious. They would have known that [Interpreters commentary, page 229] "the road from Jericho was notoriously dangerous. It descended nearly 3, 300 feet in 17 miles. The road ran through narrow passes at points, and the terrain offered easy hiding for the bandits who terrorized travelers. This unfortunate man had been stripped, beaten, and left for dead. His assailants had left him with nothing to identify his status except his desperate need." In short order two religious leaders walk by. First a priest, then a Levite, a temple assistant see him, and cross the road to avoid him. These men are not bad, evil, or indifferent. Like may of us they are risk averse. They do not know, they do not want to know. What they do know is the law about the love of God and neighbor. They just cannot practice it today. For the priest and the Levite, there were matters of ritual purity to consider. If the man were injured, there was an obligation to bury him, but if he were bloodied which was likely, then to touch him was to may them unclean. They just kept walking. But there was another traveler, a Samaritan who by helped the man. We can hear the lawyer say, "A what! What do you mean a Samaritan? Where are you going with this story? Don't you know who these Samaritans are? You must have forgotten that we Jews and those Samaritans despise each other. Remember, [Interpretation, p. 150] "Samaritans are the descendants of a mixed population who occupied the land following the conquest by Assyria all those centuries ago. They intermarried with our enemies. They opposed rebuilding the temple and everything else in Jerusalem and they even built their own place of worship. They were are ceremonially unclean, socially outcast, and heretical, how can you include a Samaritan in this story about a priest and a Levite?" That is exactly the point. For Jesus to focus the story on the Samaritan was an astounding thing to do. It would have been the last thing the lawyer or anyone else expected to hear. Listen Jesus says, the Samaritan was not afraid to take some risks. The Samaritan risked his own safety. The man on the side of the road might not have been injured at all, he could have been a decoy, a lure for other bandits in hiding. But when the Samaritan saw the injured man, he helped him. He did not ask his name, his religion, or what he was doing on such a dangerous road. He did not blame him for being attacked. He just helped save his life. How many of us would put an injured man we did not know in our own vehicle, drive to the emergency department of the nearest hospital, leave our credit card and say, put whatever he needs on it, and I will take care of it? When I think of the risk taking Samaritan, I am reminded of what happened at the scene of a fatal accident that occurred a few miles from here a few months ago. One of the cars in the accident kept moving, the unconscious driver's foot was still on the accelerator. There was a woman at a bus stop who saw the accident, saw the car moving toward on coming traffic, saw greater danger coming. She jumped into the car, and shut off the engine, avoiding further damage and tragedy. The Samaritan risked his finances. He did not think about the money, the Samaritan simply saw a need and he acted to meet it. Interpreters commentary describes the action he took by inviting us to count the verbs in the 34th verse of the story. "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. Pouring wine on a wound would help to cleanse it; the oil would keep it soft. The next day the Samaritan goes on with his business, but he leaves two days wages to pay for the man's care at the inn, not a lavish amount, but perhaps enough to provide for him through his recovery. If he needs more, he will pay it on the way back." The Samaritan risked his own reputation. And given all the enmity between the two communities, as word of his action spread to the Samaritan community, it would not have helped the man's reputation for people to know that he had given such comfort to a Jewish man. Here was his chance for a little payback, and what does he do. He helps the man who is trouble. What must I do to inherit eternal life? Love and serve God, take a risk and expand your understanding of who your neighbor. Take a risk and understand that the Samaritans in our lives are as capable of great things as we are. As they act compassionately, they raise a question for us. What keeps us from helping the people we see? Of course we bring concerns for safety, for our finances and our reputation to all that we do. And it is true that when we do what Jesus did, we might not find our selves in physical danger, but we can discover that getting involved with people can leave us feeling hurt. They might not love us back. We might get taken for five, or ten, or twenty dollars. We might get sued. People will talk about the company we keep. Compassion is risky business. Then considering all of the risk involved, Jesus asks, "of the three who saw the man on the road, which one is the neighbor?" All the lawyer can say is the one who helped. He cannot bring himself the Samaritan was the neighbor. What then does Jesus say? Simply "go and do likewise". What are we to do? Engage in some risky business. In the gospel of Mark, Jesus interrupted a conversation among his disciples. They were arguing over which one of them was the greatest, the favorite, the one Jesus loves the best. It is about their ego, not their effort to represent God in the world. There are no greater works than Jesus would do going on here. Let's not argue over who is the greatest or most compassionate among us. Let's remember that Jesus never missed an opportunity to be the face of God in the world. Let's just go and do likewise. Think of that student who performs poorly. They can lie by the side of the road while we lament poor state of some public schools or we can use our considerable resources and intelligence to tutor those students who need our help. Consider the cooler weather and the inadequate clothing some of our neighbors have to wear. Make use of the good unworn clothes in your closets. There are people who are trapped in poor housing, become an advocate for affordable housing for everyone. There are people who are spiritually lost. Let's not watch them wander, instead let's hold them up in prayer and tell them where the church is. We are not called to risk free lives. A friend has a poster that says in part: To try is to risk failure. But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, and is nothing. They may avoid suffering and sorrow but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, live. We are called to take some risks and live faithfully. As we risk, we remember that Christ Jesus himself who gave up his reputation, lived simply, and laid down his life for us reminds us that we can do greater things. Why? Because we see more, we have greater opportunities, we believe in the one in whose name we go out. Why? Because we trust the God of Jesus Christ who loves us without condition, without prejudice, without stereotype, not because of who we are, but just because we are. How can we do greater things than Jesus? We cannot love more, or speak the truth in love more, but we can listen to him, watch what he does, know that in him we find our hope and joy. We can like Jesus, love God with all that we are, knowing that God loves us more. What did Jesus do? He took on the risky business of redefining who our neighbors are, he stood with the devalued, and offered hope and his own self to those he loved. He came to understand neighbor as all who are precious and sacred. He speaks to us today and urges us to go and do likewise. As we go, we find our way to life abundant and life eternal, and he will be with us every step of the way. Thanks be to God. Amen. |
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Broad
Street Christian Church
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