A sermon
preached at Kowloon Union Church on Sunday 14
July 2019 by the Rev. Ewing W. [Bud] Carroll, Jr. The scripture readings that day were Amos 7:7–12, Colossians 1:1–14, Luke 10:25–37.
My friend Jerry was born and reared in Hong Kong. He wrote two books [but never published
them]; studied for a PhD but never finished his doctoral thesis; is smarter
than ten computers put together; but could never get a job. For some people,
Jerry was simply “out of synch” with
the world. One day I was complaining to
him about beggars in many of our tourist areas.
Jobless Jerry looked at me with a mixture of disgust and pity, saying, “Well, I give to every beggar who asks, even
if it’s only a ten cent piece.” Just as I was about to tell him “I disagree with you…” today’s Gospel
Lesson from Luke hit me like last year’s powerful typhoon. A reminder that I’m one of parable’s
characters but not the Samaritan!
You know this story from start to finish: a man was attacked by robbers
and left to die on the roadside leading from Jerusalem to Jericho. Luke tells us three people saw him: two, prominent religious leaders, who left
the man to die. Fortunately, a third
person, a Samaritan stranger, enemy of the Jewish people, scorned by most “civilized”
Jews, stopped and through his acts of compassionate love, saved the man from
probable death. Hence, the term Good Samaritan.
Jesus told this story to a lawyer, an Old Testament scholar. He and Jesus engaged in a verbal ping-pong
match, bouncing back and forth with questions about law, justice, love and
faith. When all was said and done, the
lawyer’s basic question was: “Who is my neighbor and how much do I have to
love?” In my words Jesus’ reply? “Everyone is your neighbor; and you need to
love a lot.”
We Christians are often like that lawyer. “Lord,
just let us love the nice people. People
we really like and feel comfortable with.”
It’s easy to ask, ”Who is my
neighbor?” The more difficult
question is, “How can I be a good neighbor?” The
lawyer knew the right answers to Jesus’ question. But he wasn’t prepared to hear what Jesus had
to say about compassion in every day real life.
What is the Samaritan Compassion that Jesus talks about? And even more importantly- and challenging –“How Samaritan are you and I?” What are
the ingredients for becoming real Samaritans?
The first ingredient: A
compassion that feels something.
A bishop from my own church was visiting Shanghai in the 1930’s. He later reported to our Mission Board that
the first night he was unable to sleep.
Why? Because of the hack, hack,
hack coughing of people with TB – sprawled on the pavement outside his hotel. The second night, was a bit better. By the third night, he slept like a baby
lamb. “Wonderful,” said his mission board colleagues. “Hardly,”
he replied. “God forgive me for being so comfortable I had no feeling for those
people.”
The Greek word for feeling in today’s Gospel Lesson is very
colorful. The Samaritan’s “moved with pity” meant he could “feel something deep down in his guts.” Not some pretty picture or a Disney fairy
tale with a happy ending. More like
being smashed to the ground by a fast-moving freight train. A feeling that stirs and troubles; a feeling
that keeps you awake at night until you do something helpful. The Samaritan helped the wounded man, not
whether he was worthy or not, but because he had strong feelings of compassion
for him.
The Second ingredient: A Compassion based on need, not worth. Frankly, I think the wounded
man was stupid to walk alone on the road to Jericho. Local people called it, “The Way of Blood” because so many robberies and deaths occurred
there. The robbers stripped the man of
his clothing, wounded him and left him half dead. Sadly, the priest and a Levite, a temple
worker, both passed by “on the other side.”
They weren’t “bad” people; but for whatever reason, they saw the man but ignored his needs. My friend Jerry has no problem with giving,
even a small coin, to a street beggar. I
don’t know about you, but I’m still struggling with my own response.
The Third ingredient:
A Compassion that does something. The lawyer knew Old Testament Law, but he didn’t know New Testament Love.
He was a good thinker but a bad
helper. To become Samaritans, we
need to move “towards” people and their problems, not “Pass by on the other side.”
Jesus uses six verbs to describe the Samaritan’s compassion: he went to the wounded man; he bandaged his wounds; he poured oil and wine on the wounds; he put him on his donkey; he brought him to an inn; and he cared for him.
The Fourth ingredient: A
Compassion that costs something. If you were part of this story, which person
would you most like to be? I remember
Rev. Hans Lutz telling years ago about a group of Hong Kong factory workers who
were studying this passage in their weekly Bible study. Guess who most of them said they would like
to be? Any ideas? The innkeeper. Why? Because he received money to care for
the wounded man. Sadly, that’s what
describes far too much of life in Hong Kong.
Oh, if today’s HK Government and Business leaders could both understand
and seek to resolve this problem!
Yes, God’s grace is “free”; but look what it costs God! In his book ”The Cost of Discipleship” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German
theologian imprisoned for years and then murdered by Hitler’s Nazis less than
two weeks before the end of WWII in Europe, was right “There is no cheap grace.“
Samaritans know the meaning of inconvenience and difficulty. Samaritans know care and concern are
expensive. There are no special sales;
no reduced prices; no “buy two and get
one free.”
The 5th and final
ingredient is self; me, you. Little Maria was late for supper.
When her mother asked, “Where have
you been?” she replied, “I stopped at
the park to help Janie. The front wheel
on her bicycle broke.” “But you don’t know anything about fixing
bicycles,” her mother replied.
Little Maria’s answer? “I know, but I just stopped to help Janie cry.”
The lawyer’s final answer to Jesus’ question about who is a neighbor
was, “Someone who shows mercy.” Jesus’ reply was “Go, and do likewise….” So, my friends, ”How Samaritan are you and I?
Christ calls us to live as we have sung this morning, “Neighbors are rich and poor, black and
white, near and far away…Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love.” We can’t change or help the entire
world. But like Marie [and my jobless
friend Jerry], we can begin where we are.
O Lord, help us to truly become Samaritans; to stop…and to help whoever
is in need. Who knows, you might see a
beggar or a broken bicycle on your way home today!
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, July 14, 2019
