"Neighbourliness Across Boundaries" - a reading of the 'Good Samaritan' parable (Luke 10:25-37)

1. Introduction – the Way to Eternal Life

The lawyer had got the answer to Jesus’ question spot on! He knew what the greatest commandment was … he knew what the scriptures indicated about the path to eternal life!! To love God with everything we have and to love our neighbour – this is the path to eternal life, that is, the path to a purposeful, satisfying and God-honouring life now … that leads us toward a secure eternity. You might be able to love your neighbour without loving God, but you can’t truly love God without loving your neighbour! This is a point not just to be conceded (as a theological truth), but something that has to be put into action; for Jesus said, “Do this, and you will live”.

You can hear the lawyer thinking … ‘well … loving God … that’s okay … I can do that … but loving my neighbour … now that’s a bit of an ask’ – especially when it’s loving our neighbour as ourself! To “love your neighbour as yourself” means that:
· we desire for others what we would desire for ourselves
· we would not want others to miss out on what we have
· we would not think of ourselves more highly than we think of others
· we are prepared to see others as just as deserving as we are (for all people have been created in the image of God)
· we would consider others just as positively as we consider ourselves.

So there must be limits to this concept of loving one’s neighbour mustn’t there – there just must be, thinks this lawyer! He wants to limit his responsibility here. He wants to limit neighbourliness in comfortable terms – pretty close to home and certainly within his own racial grouping. So, in the hope of drawing out some of these limits, the lawyer asks for clarification … “And who is my neighbour”? Perhaps this just might turn out to be something he can handle after all.

Now this was at the very centre of everything Jesus was about, so we hold our breath for the answer. What we get is a story … and probably one of the most famous stories ever told. Most people have some idea about the parable of the ‘Good Samaritan’, but have they got a good grasp of its meaning? This story is about neighbourliness across boundaries!

2. Missing the point

This message welled up in me as I read a recent article about how 55 independent studies carried out in the United States, which included the views of 20,000 mostly Christian participants, had found that members of religious congregations tended to harbour prejudiced views of other races – people who were different to them. The analysis of this research suggested that the more devout the religious community, the greater the racism; and that this level of racism was greater than it was in people without strong religious beliefs. Doesn’t this appal you!?! A quarter of these studies were taken after the year 2000, and half of them since 1990.

The analysis of this data partly attributed the association between religion and racism to an “in-group identity” which encourages distinctions between people. Such distinctions then play out in very negative ways. In her analysis, Professor Wendy Wood, said that people who were religious because of their respect for tradition or social convention were especially likely to be racist. Does this all indicate an appalling level of biblical ignorance, and a tragic lack of discipleship in following the ways of Jesus?

Both the Jews and Samaritans were caught up in a culture of mutual hatred; which of course is the context for the parable that Jesus tells. Many people can get caught up in certain political or religious institutions that seem to turn inward toward very narrow and exclusive beliefs and practices. In Jesus’ story, who would stand up and seek to break the cycle of self-interest? As journalist Carl Marziali commented (in his reporting of these studies): “In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus warned religious listeners against what today would be called ‘ingroup prejudice’: the tendency to think less of outsiders, especially those of another race”.

3. Revolutionary Story

It would be quite probable that on many occasions a community member would be mugged and robbed on this dangerous road leading from Jerusalem to Jericho. So this scenario would make total sense to the lawyer as he listened to Jesus’ story unfold. We would have the expectation that when any passer-by came across such a person lying beaten and bloody that they would lend a hand. And you would think that a Jewish lawyer would have the expectation that a priest of the Israelite religion would take the time to lend a hand to one of their own citizens.

So there is a sense of shock and dismay as the priest ignores this scene and travels on. We can’t say that this priest wasn’t aware of the need, because we hear that he actually crossed to the other side to try to block the scene from his consciousness and thereby avoid responsibility. Maybe though, the priest had excuses; like, the robbers might still be around, or, maybe this guy is a decoy so that I can be robbed, or, maybe there’s a chance he was a Gentile – so it’s not my problem, or, there may be a chance this bloke is already dead and thus he wouldn’t want to risk being deemed ritually unclean for touching a dead man. But I believe the way Jesus tells this story provides no ‘get out clause’ for this priest. He was negligent in his human response, and certainly no neighbour to the beaten man.

It’s interesting that the second man on the scene was a ‘Levite’, who was a sort of underling or junior associate of a ‘priest’. Some argue very persuasively, that the reason why this Levite passed by so similarly to the priest before him, is that either he had seen what the priest had done ahead of him and just followed his example or he had been so influenced by the (inadequate) teaching of this priest that he just acted as he had been taught. This brings a significant challenge about the legacy we offer to those we teach through both our words and deeds. What those with influence teach often becomes the model of behaviour that then follows in others. This can then become imbedded in culture … like looking after number one or the survival of the fittest for instance. The “priest” didn’t have an attitude of compassion, so neither did the “Levite” – why would he! This also challenges us about the nature of the whole Christian witness to an apathetic and perhaps unbelieving world! What do we stand for? What should the modern prophets say?

Now if this wasn’t all disappointing enough, now for a real shock! The animosity and hatred between Jews and Samaritans went way back – it was deep and mutual. The Samaritans were the result of inter-marriage with non-Israelite peoples eight centuries previous; and there were strong disputes between these groups about where God should be worshipped. It would be shocking to hear for this Jewish lawyer, following the inactivity and negligence of a respected “priest” and “Levite”, that it was a “Samaritan” who not only lent a hand, but lavished help and support upon this poor beaten Jewish man. The lawyer might have coped better with this story if it was a Jew who was helping a Samaritan, but the Samaritan being the one being drawn upon as the positive example was outrageous. That a “Samaritan” could be viewed in this way was such revolutionary thinking – it certainly begs the question as to how we view some of our neighbours, and then how we treat them.

The “Samaritan” was “moved with pity”. This was the heart attitude of Jesus when he was confronted by needy and sick people – Jesus was moved to the very depths of his being by what he confronted – Jesus was ‘gutted’ by what he saw; and now we see this same heart attitude in a hated “Samaritan”. And this “Samaritan” didn’t just do the minimum on behalf of the beaten man, he:
· took what ever time was necessary to resolve the situation
· likely tore up parts of his own clothing to create bandaging
· used his own expensive resources to treat the man’s pain and wounds
· took a detour to the local inn, walked all the way beside his own donkey, stayed over a night, paid for the man’s accommodation, and committed himself to returning and picking up the cost of any further care provided.

Jesus turned the lawyer’s question from an intellectual enquiry seeking limits to the definition of the word “neighbour”, into an inescapable lesson of neighbourly behaviour across cultural and religious boundaries. The intelligent lawyer had no choice but to answer that the Samaritan had been the ‘neighbour’, but he couldn’t even get those words out, and had to say, “… the one who showed mercy”. He was no doubt in turmoil as Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise”. Jesus’ use of the “Samaritan” effectively breaks down any limits put on the identity of our neighbour … breaking through geography, race, culture, religion and status.

[We could also read Jesus’ response in another way. Who is my neighbour? Ask the beaten man now lying in a bed in the local motel (paid for by someone else). My neighbour was not my fellow countryman, but the one that had been viewed by all as my enemy. And as this neighbour helps me, maybe I’m obliged to return the good deed. This brings great mutuality and solidarity in neighbourly relationships. When I am strong and resourceful I will respond to the needs that present. Then, when it is that I am the one beaten and in trouble, there may well be support available (and sometimes from surprising quarters). We may indeed reap what we sow.]

4. Widows, orphans and aliens

The Bible talks a lot about our relationship with the most vulnerable in this world. As just one example, Deuteronomy 27:19 reads:

“Cursed be anyone who deprives the alien, the orphan, and the widow of justice. All the people shall say, ‘Amen’!”

As the prophet Amos pointed out (in chapter 5:21-24), God cannot abide hypocrisy, and will not accept the worship of those who allow injustice to continue; Amos writes:

“Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream”.

Another Hebrew prophet Micah considers the ethics of everyday life and conveys that what God requires is, “… to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (6:8).

The most vulnerable in our communities and this world are our challenge, and God is looking for how we respond. They are our neighbours. As Jesus tells it – in them, and in their faces, and in their need for food and water, and for welcome and hospitality, we actually experience Jesus himself (Matthew 25:31-46). We read in verse 40 of this text:

“Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me”.

The whole area of refugees and asylum seekers is a very complex issue (and I don’t plan to try to solve it here). But such teaching as this parable, gives us insights and challenges that we shouldn’t ignore. We can easily just follow various political agendas without actually attending to what the gospel teaching is. We can also let our human fear get in the way of what God’s Spirit is seeking to show us.

There are displaced people, loved by God, seeking a new home. Many have experienced trauma more terrible that we can ever imagine. Many are put into detention centres where their mental and spiritual health will be diminished even further. And while we take up arms in foreign lands, we need to stand ready to address the fall-out. I would suggest that we must find ways of seeing our compassionate response to displaced people and those fleeing from war-torn countries, as a separate issue from the detection and elimination of people-smugglers.

Some would have us believe that the biggest issue facing Australia is a threat to our Christian heritage – whatever that might mean! But this should not be our big ticket item – this tends towards putting up a defensive wall, and often leads to negative thinking about certain people groups. If we take the defensive route, we will find our gospel priorities being compromised. The greatest commandment is proactive and positive – wholly loving God and practically loving our neighbour. If we want to make a contribution to promoting Christianity, then we can only do so through proving our love for God in our love for our neighbour. And it will often be those whom our communities tend to hate and reject, that we will need to reach out to in the name of Jesus.

The “Levite” in Jesus’ story follows the poor example of the “priest” who went before him. He knew no better because he had not been shown anything better! Our role in society is to stand against racism and apathy and self-interest and fear, and be examples for the Jesus way, and become well known for doing so. The “Samaritan” had every reason to pass by on the other side – why should he help a foreigner – but instead he set the shining example … a shining example of cross-cultural, sacrificial, whole-hearted caring ministry.