May
the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in Your
sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. AMEN.
Let
us pray! Lord Jesus Christ, the parable
of the Good Samaritan was meant to reveal us for who we are, but also to
inspire us to become more like You. Peel
the layer of our discontent with ourselves to reveal how You can change us
today through not only our hearing Your Word, but fulfilling Your promise of
salvation for all mankind, including all of us saints here at Emmanuel. AMEN.
It
is not uncommon for anyone who drives to enter the on ramp for the interstate
and encounter a hitchhiker. Years ago
the practice was common to stop and offer a ride and take the person at least
to the next interchange or town. Today
this practice has been replaced by fear of who it is on the side of the road,
if they are a convicted felon, a deranged individual or someone that is running
from the law. Ironically even here in
Goodland, KS at the parsonage and church we have individuals who knock on our
door asking for money, help and even a ticket to get to a faraway place like
Washington State, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Massachusetts or Arizona. Some of the individuals and families
desperately need our help, others are going from town to town, working the
system. What is ironic, but different is
in our Gospel this morning Jesus tells a parable about a wounded man that needs
help and how three strangers respond.
I
won’t retell the parable but want to ask and answer one question that the
lawyer asked. “Who is my neighbor?” This question is the whole reason for the
parable. It is to make us realize that
according to Jesus Christ our neighbor is not just the person who lives next
door, sits in the next pew or that we encounter walking down the aisle at
Wal-Mart. Our neighbor is everyone that
we meet daily without exception.
Jesus
is clarifying for us who we need to be concerned with, not only with our
actions, but even our inactions. The
parable has three main action characters, the priest, the Levite and the Good
Samaritan. They show what they believe
and do by their action. The priest and
Levite move to the other side of the road.
They choose to not be troubled to help a man who has been beaten to within
an inch of his life. The Good Samaritan,
who by nature and in the culture of that day is not known for doing something
for others gets off of his donkey, binds up the mans wounds, places him on his
beast of burden and takes him to the local inn and cares for him, pays for his
care and promises to pay whatever is required when he returns.
Jesus
is speaking to us today that we need to care for one another and step out in
faith and be involved in peoples lives.
We need to enter into relationship with even the people we are not
comfortable with and those that we necessarily do not agree with whether in
politics, religion, lifestyle or beliefs and enter into meaningful and lasting
relationship with them. Jesus words, ‘Go
and do the same’ call us to action like the Good Samaritan, not apathy like the
priest and Levite. We are called to be
involved because Jesus is involved with each of us today.
Jesus
involvement with each of us today is not only the promise of salvation that He
offers to us today in His Word. Jesus
came down from heaven, lived among us and taught the hard parables like the
Good Samaritan, not to beat us up or for us to feel like it is aimed directly
at us. Jesus teaches these parables in
order for us to be His hands and His Good Samaritan for others today. This is not directed at us to bind our
conscience at the preacher or proclaimer, but to hear what God is calling us to
do and offering us the opportunity to do today in order to glorify Him.
For
in our glorifying God, we not only become more like Jesus Christ, we enter into
a deeper relationship with Him, but also with those that we serve and minister
to and with. When we break our bonds of
small groups, clicks and our own little social groups, God enters into our
relationships and reforms and reshapes us to be His instrument of change, not
of apathy or passive aggressive anger or resentment. We no longer work or live as the Levite or
the priest, but are transformed by Jesus Christ into the Good Samaritan willing
to cross the road, street, tracks, enter into an uncomfortable place or
relationship without fear, because of trusting God where we will spend
eternity.
When
we become eternity focused and not earthly focused, our reality is radically
changed and we can and will make a difference in ourselves as well as with the
people that we encounter. Then we follow
Jesus imperative of “Go and do the same” not because we have to, but because of
the grace that He offers us through His death on the Cross for all of mankind,
including all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.
Recently
I read an article that convicted me of my ‘blind spots’ where I have not wanted
to ‘cross the road’ or enter deeper into relationship. Alex Early penned an article entitled, “A
Pastor Walked into a Gay Bar And…” At first
I avoided the article because I thought this article was more a joke than
anything, but upon reading the article it epitomized the Good Samaritan
story. While in school expecting to get
a job in a few years as a college professor, Alex took a job in a local bar
sweeping floor, stocking the beer and generally doing what one has to do to
survive with a wife and family. Prior to
taking the position he prayed about this occupation and what God could do
through him. Through his own and his
wifes discernment they felt this was where God was calling him to work.
The
bar he began to work in wasn’t a classy joint in town. It was known as a ‘gay bar’. Alex didn’t take the job to ‘convert’
everyone he met, God had given him a different mission. It was to be a ‘a friend of drunkards and
sinners’. This realization only came
through his reading, studying and believing the scriptures of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ.
Ultimately
Alex’s interactions with the patrons opened up many opportunities to share the
gospel in the most unconventional way.
It wasn’t to ‘beat them over the head with the Gospel’ or to judge them
for their lifestyle, attitudes or how they led their lives. Alex knew who the real judge was, God the
Father, Alex’s role also was not to portray himself as the ‘perfect follower’,
but as someone who was approachable and willing to walk broken, but also call
them his friends. This non-judgmental
and open approach allowed the true Gospel of Jesus Christ to not only be
shared, but lived out in a gay bar that shared the true message of salvation
for all mankind. It showed how he could
cross the road and minister to a complete stranger like the Good Samaritan and
bind up wounds of bitterness and hatred that had previously been levied at
Christians and now bring new meaning and understanding to what true relationship
could be when following Jesus Christ Gospel call in his life.
No comments:
Post a Comment