The Parable of the Good Samaritan
An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”
But wanting to vindicate himself, he 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 took off, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came upon him, and when he saw him he was moved with compassion. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, treating them with oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him, and when I come back I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
~ Luke 10:25-37 (NRSVUE)
Okay, so did anyone circle or write down who the characters in the story were? An expert in the Law, Jesus, the man who had been beaten up by robbers, a priest, a Levite, a Samaritan, and an innkeeper. Were any of them really bad people? No, well, except for the robbers! Each of their titles or labels simply told where they came from, or what social class they were in. And the truth is, the law in Jesus’ day kept people separated into groups. Not only were the clean separated from the unclean, the acceptable from the unacceptable, and the rich from the poor, but the lawyers were only friends with the lawyers, the priests stayed only with the priests, the people from the tribe of Levi stayed only with others from the tribe of Levi, and the Samaritans only stayed with other Samaritans. That was the law, the way people were instructed to live.
Well, today in Oldtown, we are celebrating Scout Sunday and the wonderful lessons scouting teaches and the experiences Scouting gives our young people. Now, we just talked about the fact that in Jesus’ day, there was a law that people had to live by, a law that separated them by social class and place of origin. Well, the scouts also have a law that they live by, but luckily, the scouting law doesn’t say that scouts can only help other scouts, people who look like them, or people who live in the same kind of house that they do, or people from their same town.
So I was wondering if our scouts today would share their oath and law with us. Now I know that we have BSA Scouts and Girl Scouts here today, so let’s hear from BSA first, then our Girl Scouts.
BSA: On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight. A scout is: trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.
Excellent job, thank you, scouts!
Girl Scouts: On my honor, I will try to serve God and my country, help people at all times, and live by the Girl Scout Law. I will do my best, to be honest, and fair, friendly and helpful, considerate and caring, courageous and strong, and responsible for what I say and do, to respect myself and others, to respect authority, use resources wisely, make the world a better place, and be a sister to every Girl Scout.
Beautiful job!
In both of those laws, I heard beautiful words: healthy, friendly, courteous, kind, considerate, caring, responsible, and respectful. But nowhere in either of those laws did it say to only be helpful and friendly to people who look like you, or to be courteous and kind only to people who live in your town, or to be considerate and caring only to people you know, or to be responsible and respectful only to your elders. Because I’m pretty sure scouts are expected to be helpful and friendly, courteous and kind, considerate and caring, responsible and respectful to EVERYONE! And our faith teaches us the same.
Jesus reminds us that we are all made in the image of God, every single one of us! And he teaches us to look at every person we meet as a child of God and a brother or sister or a neighbor, no matter where they are from, or what class they are in, where they go to school or work, or what they like to eat for dinner. And if we could all live by the scout law, and by the lessons that Jesus teaches us, I think the world would be a pretty amazing place!
But there are other groups in society that remember those old laws and those old rules, and they try to separate people into groups. They give them names and labels like rich or poor, tall or short, thin or fat, gay or straight, liberal or conservative. And all that does is teach the world to judge one another, and it fills people with fear and anxiety.
In our story today of the Good Samaritan, when the priest and the Levite saw the man in need, they quickly walked by on the other side of the street. And deep in my heart, I don’t think they left him there because they were mean or uncaring. I think they left him there because they were afraid: afraid of what people might think of them, afraid of what might happen to them if they tried to help someone from a different class, culture, or background.
I guess like the expert in the law that asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”, the priest and the Levite didn’t know that we are all made in the image of God, and that, as human beings, we are all brothers and sisters and neighbors to one another. They only knew the labels and the names that they had been taught and the law that kept them separated. And out of fear, I think when the priest and the Levite saw the man on the side of the road, they asked themselves, “What would happen to me if I helped him?” While it seems as though the Samaritan asked himself a different question: “What will happen to him if I don’t help him?” Friends, this story of the Good Samaritan is not about making dangerous choices. It’s not about putting yourself in an unsafe situation, but it is about thinking of others and doing the best that you can to help them. Luckily, today, if we saw someone hurt on the side of the road, we would have different options. Scouts, what is something that you could do if you saw someone hurt on the side of the road? Call 911.
Folks, the question of who is my neighbor and who is a stranger is an age-old question like, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” But if we remember that we are all human beings and all made in the image of God. And when we choose to show mercy and compassion, or as scouting teaches us, healthy, friendly, courteous, kind, considerate, caring, responsible, and respectful, then we begin to realize that a stranger is simply a neighbor we haven’t met yet!
So, scouting friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ, as you go out into your busy week ahead, forget about labels and names that separate us. Just share a smile with the people you meet and do your best to show mercy and compassion by being healthy, friendly, courteous, kind, considerate, caring, responsible, and respectful because that is the best way to meet new neighbors and friends and to make the world a more kind and loving place.
My friends may it be so. Thanks be to God, Amen!
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