As preached by Brother Luke
Holy Wisdom Church
When we hear the story of the good
Samaritan it is easy to be drawn into the praiseworthy character of the hero of
the story. In history and even in current news stories, people acting like the
Good Samaritan can lift our spirits, especially in the midst of tragedies and
despair. In our tradition the Good Samaritan represents Jesus Christ. And that
is the model we are invited to replicate in our own lives. At the end of the
story, what did Jesus say to the lawyer who identified neighbor as the one who
showed mercy? “Go and do likewise.”
However,
as we ponder this story, we dare not forget the stories of the other characters,
which may touch us in ways that bring up moments in our own lives when we acted
like the priest or the Levite, or felt more like the poor unfortunate traveler:
pummeled, robbed, striped naked and left for dead by the circumstances of our
lives or psychologically debilitated by the oppressive realities of the world
today. So, we can see two different sides to this story played out in our lives:
Lenten repentance and paschal resurrection.
When
we see someone in need, we have the option to help or turn away, as did the
Priest and the Levite. If we turn away, then our Lenten journey opens the door
for our repentance. This is when we can devote additional time for prayer and
recollection around some of our past decisions and actions. It can be a time to
seek forgiveness from others or even ourselves. We may even feel the presence
of Christ bearing a light to guide us to repentance, forgiveness and new
behavior when the next opportunity arises. And when it does, to make ourselves
available to others in need. Our change in ourselves is a resurrection.
When
we are the ones in need, we may pray for someone to help us, or at least listen
to us. When this happens and others come to our aid in
our time of need, might we see this as our prayers being answered, as Christ
moving through others to come to our aid? Also a resurrection for us.
How
we respond to such a situation can depend on how we understand the situation. This
brings us to the central image of the story: who is my neighbor? When Christ
refers to the two most important commandments to live by: love God and love
your neighbor, neighbor takes on a character that is expansive and all
inclusive. It’s not just our next-door neighbor, though it could be, nor our
neighborhood.
The resurrection reality strikes home to
us when we finally realize that everyone is our neighbor and the world is one
human community and we need our neighbor and they need us. In the Good
Samaritan story, all the characters are one human reality. Even though the
Samaritan is outside the Jewish clan, Jesus, as Jew takes on that role to
obliterate the barrier. Even the robbers are part of the “family”. Their story
is part of the fabric of the human condition. Repentance and resurrection are
offered to all. God’s purpose and Jesus’s actions and teachings are intended to
show all humanity the path to the Kingdom which begins with each one of us
right here on earth.
No screening process is to take place. After
all, who was the person who was robbed? We don’t know. And the Samaritan? An
outsider. The person God places before us who is in need is our neighbor. And
when we respond like the Good Samaritan, then we are living our baptismal
pledge to “put on Christ,” as we show mercy and “go and do likewise” as Jesus
commands us to do.
Glory
be to Jesus Christ!
