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And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?" So he answered and said, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'" And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."
But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Then Jesus answered and said: "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.' So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among thieves?" And he said, "He who showed mercy on him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."
- Luke 10:25-37
Yesterday, we read that the seventy apostles who had been sent out by Jesus returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son will to reveal Him." Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."
And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?" So he answered and said, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'" And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live." The two laws cited by the lawyer (an expert in the law) are from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.
"But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Then Jesus answered and said: "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead." My study bible says, "Jerusalem is the place of peace, symbolic of communion with God. Jericho, on the other hand, was renowned as a place of sin (see 19:1). Falling among thieves speaks to the natural consequence of journeying away from God toward a life of sin (see John 10:10)."
"Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side." My study bible tells us that titles and positions are meaningless in God's sight when good deeds do not accompany them. Quoting Cyril of Alexandria: "The dignity of the priesthood means nothing unless he also excels in deeds." A note continues, "That the priest and the Levite did not help the man also indicates the failure of the Old Testament Law to heal the consequences of sin."
"But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion." My study bible suggests that the Samaritan, while a despised foreigner, is an image of Christ (see John 8:48). Christ "came down from heaven" (Creed) to save even those in rebellion against Him."
"So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.' So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among thieves?" And he said, "He who showed mercy on him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise." A note says, "The bandages, oil, and wine are sacramental images for (1) the garment of baptism, which delivers us from the wounds of sin; (2) the oil of chrismation, which gives us new life in the Holy Spirit; and (3) the communion of the living Blood, which leads to eternal life. His own animal indicates Christ bearing our sins in His own body, and the inn reveals the Church in which Christ's care is received. He pays the price for that care (1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23)."
Jesus' statement, "Go and do likewise," puts us in an entirely different place than the Law leaves us. The Law speaks about refraining from vengeance, and from holding a grudge. These are important points that Jesus also makes in various Sermons, that I think we miss all too often. (It also tends to refer to those who are of the same people; see again Deut. 6:51.) "Love your enemies" is a direct appeal against vengeance. But from there, in this story, our understanding of the concept of neighbor becomes entirely changed from a "do not" into a highly proactive behavior. And in this "Go and do likewise" we find yet another mandate for gracious behavior. That is, being like Christ, imitating the grace that is given to each of us through Him. And in this behavior is a "neighbor" made. It is entirely within keeping of the Gospel message, of being disciples, even being sent out into the world to represent this Kingdom into the world, that we are to be -- in some sense -- proactively gracious! In that case, it is entirely up to others (would-be neighbors) whether or not they accept or reject our gracious (loving) behavior. It is in the practice of kindness that we offer the Kingdom to others. Refraining from the kind of vindictive behavior that a grudge would carry to someone else is another side of the same coin; what Jesus teaches isn't at all in contradiction to the Law. Rather, as He says Himself, it is in fulfillment of it. In a time when image becomes more and more powerful, given the omnipresence of social media of all kinds, we are -- somewhat surprisingly -- living in a world where it seems like graciousness is increasingly hard to find. The ever-present and growing power of image becomes a weapon, for PR or perhaps for fighting or bullying. The seeming anonymity or protection of a screen and distance seems to amplify hostility and rudeness, and it translates into our daily lives, where a kind of force of how you look to others, how impressive one is, how much power one has, becomes a leaven that is evermore bluntly pursued and winds up affecting daily commerce in many ways, especially among the young. Image also serves hypocrisy, where what matters isn't your heart, but what impression other might have (that is, the right people). This can translate into donations that have meaning for publicity's sake, but a lack of charity in personal behavior. I have found a lack of graciousness in all settings, in Churches and among those who really should know better, who may occupy and seek positions of importance. And, on the other hand, I regularly experience great graciousness from the powerless, and the less seemingly-important, including elders of another generation. Graciousness, "good manners," is all about the kindness we offer to others. There's a well-known saying that good manners or etiquette really translates into one thing: making another person feel comfortable. This the Samaritan quite literally does. He treats the hurt man as if he were in his own home, and in effect makes a home for the man, providing for his care. Thus the Samaritan makes a neighbor of the other. We don't know whether or not the hurt man was grateful. The story doesn't tell us that. It doesn't tell us whether he went his way after healing feeling he had just "gotten something" out of someone else with an attitude of entitlement or superiority. It doesn't tell us if he repaid the innkeeper for the cost of care provided by the Samaritan. It just doesn't tell us any of those things. But it does give us a recipe for ourselves, and for bearing a gracious kingdom into the world. "He who showed mercy on him" is the one who was the true neighbor. Let us endeavor to go and do likewise. It is the way to be disciples and apostles, the very way to show that we are followers of Christ.
