Scripture Luke 10:25-37
DRAMATIZED STORY: Modern day version of “The Good Samaritan”
Mormon & Christian
Down center isle The road
where I got beat up after going to the ATM. Pastor and Pillar of the church
went by and didn’t help. A Mormon/Muslim came by called 911 went to the hosp w/
me and visited me every day, read the bible to me and prayed for me.
Luke 10:25-37
On one occasion an expert in the law stood
up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he
asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal
life?" 26 "What is
written in the Law?" he replied. "How
do you read it?" 27 He answered: "'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, 'Love your neighbor as
yourself.'" 28 "You have
answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do
this and you will live." 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he
asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
It seems he doesn’t question his love for God –
how can that be proven? But love of neighbor…He wanted the scope – next door
neighbor? Just Jewish neighbors? Just my geographical neighbors? Just family?
Who is my neighbor – certainly not sinners.
Here is a
former pastor and theologian that can shed insight on who our neighbor is: PLAY
VIDEO “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood” song. Not
everyone according to apocryphal scripture:
Sirach, also known
as “Ecclesiasticus” or the “Wisdom of
Sirach,” is one of 12–15 books generally recognized as comprising the Apocrypha
(hidden writings) written in the 400 years between the OT and NT not included
in Jewish canon or ever quoted by Jesus – they are part of the Catholic Bible).
Sirach 12:1-4New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
(NRSVCE)
“If you do good,
know to whom you do it, and you will be thanked for your good deeds. 2 Do good to the devout, and you will be
repaid—if not by them, certainly by the Most High. 3 No good comes to one who persists in
evil or to one who does not give alms.
4 Give to the devout, but do not help the sinner.”
HOWEVER,
Jesus had a reply to this: 30 "A man was going down
from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They
stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and
when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him,
passed by on the other side.
Priest may
have been on a donkey – the upper class of temple servants. May have just
finished 2 weeks of service. Cannot get closer than 4 cubits (6 feet) of a dead
body or will be defiled which means he cant get close enough to see if this non
Jew is dead so he crosses to the other side of the road. It would cost a great
deal of time and money if he became defiled form even being close to a dead
body – he was ready to get back to see his family.
Behind him
comes a Levite who serve the priests and are financially a lower class
–probably on foot and can see ahead on this long road that the priest passed by
and figured he might as well do the same (we so often don’t consider what
example we are leaving for others).
And so the
man lies there dying in desperate need of help or he will die and those who
were required to help him did not but they also would have become defiled and
it would have cost them a great sacrifice to show love to this man. Jesus
continues the story:
33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was;
and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil
and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took
care of him. 35 The
next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look
after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra
expense you may have.'
He
Samaritan is a half Jew like a mormon is a half Christian. They have aspects of
the truth but miss critical realities for it to be the truth. Yet he doesn’t
worry about what it will cost because he has compassion on the man – he can
imagine himself lying there and needing help – or his own brother or child and
what he would want others to do for him and he does not hesitate and spends 2
days wages and offers more if needed. He walks and puts the man on his donkey
and leads him to a safe place to get help. He makes certain the man will be
cared for. Then Jesus asks the lawyer…?
36 "Which
of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands
of robbers?" 37 The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him,
"Go and do likewise."
Meaning: anyone in need is your neighbor – location,
socio-economic status, religious affiliation, sinner or saint – MATTERS NOT AT
ALL – need defines who your neighbor is. Just as we say we love God – we show
it by loving our neighbor.
When I moved
here I often heard that Mormons have a reputation of being very friendly and
helpful to others. No one has ever said to me – anywhere – Christians have a
reputation for being very friendly and helpful to others. THIS MUST CHANGE – our
church must be known as the most loving place in town. We must not gossip we
must not tear others down, we must not let negative speech come our of our
mouths – We must build one another up – work in our jobs as though working for
the Lord, be a positive loving example for others, have compassion on those in
need, so that this prayer is true about us and so that Jesus receives ALL THE
GLORY:
Col 1:3-8
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in
Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— the faith and love
that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have
already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. All
over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been
doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all
its truth. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a
faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in
the Spirit.
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