On Going and Doing Likewise

Rev Dr Mark Porizky

7/15/07

Luke 10:25-37

Just then a lawyer 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 neighbour as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, 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 travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 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. 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.’

       The personnel manager of a large corporation recently said that the chief problem in industry and business today is certainly not over-production, but under-work! More and more people are required to do less and less. As a result, companies say there is a growing sense of uselessness among the current work generation. Thomas Huxley, the great 19th century biologist and philosopher, grasped the heart of the matter when he wrote, "A feeling of uselessness is the severest shock that the human system can endure."

       That seems like a radical statement, but we all know that it is not enough to be strong and healthy.  We must have emotional satisfaction as well. We must have a feeling of worthiness in relation to our family, our friends, and our job to make it all worthwhile. We know that a lack of dignity and a sense of uselessness is detrimental to our well-being.

       The secret to abundant living is not in keeping busy, but in being useful! For this reason, I would like for you to think about Jesus’ story of a traveler going down from Jerusalem to Jericho who was mugged and left for dead. As the story develops, leaders of the religious groups ignore his plight. It is a traveling salesman who stops and gives the man first aid, takes him to a motel, and pays for his lodging until he is well enough to continue on his way.

       The compassionate man in Jesus’ simple, but touching, story has become a modern day representation of what it means to be a caring person. Even though Jesus doesn’t call him that, he is known to us as "the Good Samaritan."

       Many pilgrimages to the Holy Land document the danger of the Jericho to Jerusalem road.   The ascent from Jericho to Jerusalem up the same lonesome valley has been used for centuries to travel the 19 miles between the two cities. The area is desolate and dry. It is part of the Judean desert. There is the occasional herd of goats and the scattered tents of the Bedouins, but little else. No trees, only rocks.

       In the Gospel of Luke,  Jesus begins this story as they are on their way to the home of Martha and Mary, actually walking through this foreboding area. I imagine the disciples were uneasy. They knew they were in very dangerous territory. It is even dangerous today; people will not drive down that road at night for fear of being robbed. They were alert, looking for bandits behind every boulder. Then Jesus begins the story. The opening words added to the disciple’s uneasiness: "A man was going from Jerusalem to Jericho , and he fell among robbers...." At that point I can imagine someone saying: Hey, Jesus, it’s bad enough to be here; don’t remind us of the danger!

       Like all Scripture, there are two ways you can hear the story of the Good Samaritan. You can hear it in past tense, as characters in ancient Israel , impersonal and not really involving yourself, or you can listen to it with what Arthur Moore calls "a consecrated imagination," and hear a story about yourself and your contemporaries in the twenty first century.

       If you were one of the characters in this parable, which one would you identify with? Those who finds reason not to get involved, or the one who is compassionate? Sooner or later, we all confront the question: "Am I really the kind of person I should be?"

       Most of us think we are. Deep down inside we tell ourselves we are industrious, honest, charitable, courageous, and moral. But when we find ourselves lapsing into laziness, jealousy, fear of responsibility, or immorality, we tell ourselves it is only temporary and expedient and that under normal circumstances we are really fine people.

       At this point, the parable of the Good Samaritan comes into sharp focus. There’s a world of difference, Jesus says, between what you profess to believe and what your actions reveal about you. The ultimate standard of a useful life is not what you think and expect of yourself as much as what you are willing to do for those around you.

       If we are going to apply this story to our own lives, we need to see where it fits in our daily living. I think the story has several things to say to us. Applying this story to our lives requires concentration on three keys to useful living.

       1.  Avoid the danger of generalities.   

       On this occasion, a lawyer was attempting to put Jesus on the defensive. The man wanted to discuss a philosophical point. He wanted to have a leisurely talk about the implications of neighborliness and cover a whole gamut of questions about human relations. Like many others, he enjoyed socializing. With his training in the courts, he was sure he could make this simple carpenter appear at a disadvantage. He was shocked when Jesus slipped out of his snare and confronted him with a judgment. There are many people like the lawyer who prefer to keep all ethical questions in the philosophical realm, discussing them in a general way without personal implication.

       Christianity is not a philosophy because its approach to life is concrete. The gospel calls us to test our belief by acting upon it. The lawyer says, in effect: Let’s have a discussion about the idea of neighborliness.

       Jesus replies, "A man was going from Jerusalem to Jericho , and he fell among robbers...." He begins with a specific situation, not a generalization.

       In a village cemetery, in England , there is a headstone with this simple inscription:

       Here lies THOMAS COBB
       who mended shoes in this village
       for forty years to the glory of God.

       That is the Christian example. Who knows what Thomas Cobb felt, or what philosophical questions haunted his mind, or what problems he faced? Whatever they may have been, he did his work and served his neighbors in such a way that they judged his life worthy of God’s approval. Neighborliness is not a generality.

       2.  Be aware of what is important.  

       Jesus does not tell us what the priest and the Levite were on their way to do, but from the customs and laws of the day, we may surmise that they were on their way to serve in the Temple at Jerusalem .  They knew that if they touched a dead man (and they were afraid that the traveler was dead), they would not be able to serve because they would be ritually unclean. We know also that Jesus didn’t have a very high opinion of the religious establishment. On several occasions, he called them "snakes," "hypocrites," "whitewashed tombs," "blind fools," and worse.  Jesus was suggesting by implication that all the religious rituals in the world were not as important as the fellow who lay bleeding beside the road.  We are back in the world of concrete action.

       No doubt the businessman from Samaria had pressures similar to those you have in your life today. It would have been easy for him to use the excuse people always use when they want to avoid anything. He could have said: "I’m too busy."

       When you read the New Testament and see Jesus threading his way through the conflicts and turmoil and opposition of his day, you see that his choices were always made in terms of people and their needs. To keep this concern for the needs of other people at the center of life, instead of a selfish concern for our own desires, is one of the keys to a creatively useful Christian life.

       The Samaritan is a perfect example of selfless concern. What possible good could have come to the Samaritan for his act of mercy? Everything points to his inconvenience and his loss. Certainly nothing pointed to recognition or praise or material advantage for him. There is not even an indication that he was ever thanked for his trouble.

       What motivation do people have for the things they do? The cynic says that altruism is simply a matter of ego, a desire on the part of a person to have others think they are better than they actually are. But here, in the Good Samaritan, we have a man who seems completely oblivious to self-interest, going about his work and interested in one thing: a good conscience, an inner sense of satisfaction, and the desire to stand at last and be able to say, "I have led a useful life!"

       3.  Help others help themselves.   

       The Samaritan didn’t say, "I’ll help the fellow from now on." He said, "Take care of him and I’ll settle accounts with you when I return," assuming that the victim would long since have gone his way, healed and restored. The Samaritan’s intention was to get the wounded man back on his feet so that he could take care of himself.

       We are not doing anyone a favor if you make them dependent upon charity. I believe it was a wise American Indian, or a noble tribesman from African, who said, "if you give a man a fish you will feed him for a meal; if you teach him to fish you will feed him for a lifetime."

       Mission work in Guatemala , working with the people, they choose the project.  Not dependent on us.  We work as a team.  

       Here we run head on into the example of Christ, whom we are asked to follow.  Luke painted a portrait of Jesus with the words, "He went about doing good" (Acts 10:38 ). And that is what we are asked to do. In order to fulfill that calling, we need to avoid generalities and seize the opportunity that lies immediately at hand. We need to realize what is really important. People are more valuable than things. We need to help others help themselves and choose appropriate ways to encourage growth and self-reliance.

       The story of the Good Samaritan ends with a question: "Which, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among robbers?" The question posed to Jesus by the expert in the law in verse 29 has been turned inside out through Jesus’ parable. It is no longer, "Who is my neighbor?" but "Who demonstrated neighborliness?" There is only one satisfying answer: "The one who showed mercy."

       And Jesus said, "Go and do likewise" (Luke 10:37 ).

       The best ministry moments don't arrange themselves neatly in my pre-planned activities. They usually spill out of spontaneous encounters at a critical moment in someone's life.

       I've noticed that many people can't remember a teaching I gave two days earlier, but they remember with sparkling clarity a statement I made over lunch nearly a decade ago.

       Steve Kane—LA/Success.  Ministry.  Youth Group?  Retreats? 

       Car ride to a Bruce Springsteen concert when his mother was stuck in traffic and couldn’t give him a ride…

       Nothing is more seductive in ministry than thinking that my efforts for the many justify my ignoring the individual God sends my way. Sometimes people need to be touched one at a time.

       And Jesus says the words that are as difficult to hear and do today as they no doubt were back then:  “Go and Do Likewise.”

       Will you pray with me now?   

St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, Groton , CT

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