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The Gospel of Matthew Bible Studies
The Gospel of Mark Bible Studies
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007 Ordination of Louise Christensen
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
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Time after Pentecost #15 (C) Our gospel reading for today about the parable of the good Samaritan is one of the most famous and beloved of all of Jesus’ stories. But perhaps we have a rather difficult time in relating it to our modern day lives. So let me give you a personal story which may help in this... Some years ago back when I was a pastor in Dayton, Ohio – I spent a couple of weeks one summer in Chicago participating in a continuing education program at the Lutheran School of Theology (LSTC) in that city. It just happened that my wife Carol, who at that time was a hospital consultant for the Johnson and Johnson company, was assigned to work with two hospitals in the Chicago area during my second week of school there. It was great! Since Carol’s meetings at her hospitals started on Monday – and we did not have classes at LSTC during the weekend –she came up early so we could spend a couple of days with each other and do some sightseeing around the city. While thinking about today’s gospel story, I especially remember two experiences that we had during that weekend. The first one happened while we were traveling throughout the city on the public transportation system. To make a long story short, after getting off the “EL” electric train, we found ourselves in a very, VERY undesirable neighborhood! (You might say that we “integrated” it, because we definitely were the only light skinned persons around!) We had been given directions about where to go to catch a bus to our intended destination, but at this point we were feeling unsure of things and also a bit nervous. After we had walked a block and were attracting a lot of curious and sometimes hostile stares, and were wondering what to do next, a woman from the “EL” station came running to us. She obviously was a survivor of many things - she had a huge scar running from here to there across her neck which had obviously been from a knife assault. But anyway, it was obvious that she was quite concerned for us and our safety. She came to make sure that we knew where we were going, and walked with us to the bus stop, and only left us when she saw our bus approaching. Carol and I really appreciated her kindness! The second experience I remember was on the next day – on Sunday – when Carol and I went to worship at an obviously well-to-do Lutheran Church in a very upscale suburb. In this church, everything was extremely formal. The ushers never smiled or said “welcome” as they handed us our bulletins. No one introduced themselves or invited us to stay for the fellowship coffee afterwards which was “somewhere upstairs” on the second floor. Even though Carol and I obviously stood out like sore thumbs as being strangers (there were only about 50 or so people in a large sanctuary), not even the pastors said anything more than a perfunctory “hello” to us. In these two experiences, who most proved to be a NEIGHBOR to Carol and I when we were obviously strangers? It was not the people or the pastors of that well-to-do Lutheran church! Rather, it was that woman in the ghetto! I am telling about these experiences not only because they obviously made a personal impression upon me, but also because I think that they get to the heart of the point which Jesus was trying to make in his parable. Being “religious” does not necessarily make a person a “NEIGHBOR”. But being “NEIGHBORLY” is an essential characteristic of anyone who would truly be a child of God and an heir of eternal life. In Jesus’ story, it was not the “religious” persons of his day such as the priest or the Levite who befriended the man in need but rather a Samaritan who probably was not. Although I can not know for sure, the same may well have been true about the woman who befriended Carol and me in that Chicago ghetto. To their shame - to OUR shame - many “religious” people flunk the test when it comes to offering simple kindnesses and hospitality to strangers while many non-religious people show that in some ways they are actually closer to God than we are! Perhaps to fully comprehend the impact of Jesus’ story, we need to put ourselves in the position of the man who had been beaten by the robbers and was left lying in the ditch. Until we have been in the situation of needing help from someone else, we are unable to truly feel for someone else who needs help from us. For example, a doctor or a nurse who at some point has been a PATIENT - on the receiving end of health care - will likely have a much better appreciation of what his or her patients are feeling and going through. A person who has endured hunger and poverty will very likely have a greater sympathy for others who are enduring it now. A person who has endured failures in life - such as in finances or in marriage - will probably be more understanding toward others who are now going through failures of their own. And I can go on and on with examples like these. Although we can not know for sure, I think that one reason why the Samaritan stopped to help that robbed and beaten man in the ditch was because HE COULD FEEL HIS PAIN! Not physically, of course, but spiritually. As a Samaritan, he knew what it felt like to be ostracized and neglected. He knew what it felt like to be looked down upon and despised by others. He knew what it felt like to be treated as the object for others’ conversation rather than to be valued as a human being. The priest and the Levite did not have that understanding. They existed in a world of privilege. In their practice of religion, they always focused upon what THEIR status was with God. They did not see religion as focusing upon the needs of other people. What about us? Who are we like? Have WE ever been been helpless and unloved like that man lying in the ditch?! Have we?! Or have we, like the priest and the Levite, always seen ourselves as being pretty good and successful. Who are we like? What are we like? A primary prerequisite for being a good Christian is having an awareness that we are sinners who NEED God’s love and mercy. Self-righteousness and self-satisfaction have no place in our religion!! Neither does judgment and condemnation of others! Until we understand that WE are people who need love and mercy - just like that man in the ditch did - we will be unable to feel love and compassion for others who are also in need. God uses even the times of pain and suffering and failure in our lives for a good purpose. Because through them, we can better know what our neighbors are experiencing when they encounter these times. And because of this, we like the good Samaritan can be stirred up to have compassion and be moved to help those who are in need. As I said at the beginning of this sermon, Carol and I personally experienced what it was like to be strangers - and how appreciative we were to receive help from a friendly person. I would hope that this experience might move us to be more aware of others who may need to be befriended by US. Likewise, I have also experienced what it is like to need help and compassion from others in many other areas of my life as well. I believe that most of us have too. And it is because of this that we can now be NEIGHBORS to others who need help and compassion from us! If we have received love and compassion from others, and if we know that we have received love and and mercy and forgiveness from Jesus Christ - (and we certainly have!!) - let us GO AND DO LIKEWISE!! Then we shall truly be NEIGHBORS to each other and to everyone as God intends us to be! In Jesus’ Name! Amen! -------------------- George R. Karres, Pella Lutheran Church 418 W. Main Street Sidney, MT 59270
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