First Sunday in Lent
Luke 10:- 42
An expert in the law 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 neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”
But wanting to vindicate himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and took off, 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 traveling came upon him, and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, treating them with oil and wine. 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.”
Now as they went on their way, [Jesus] entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at Jesus’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her, then, to help me.” But, the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things, but few things are needed—indeed only one. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Who Is Our Neighbor?
As of January 2024, the homeless population of Los Angeles, California was over 75,000 people. That is more people than the entire population of Lewis & Clark County. The place with the highest concentration of homeless people in LA is called Skid Row, with over 4,400. Covering 50 city blocks east of downtown, this area has been known for its population of unsheltered people since at least the 1930s.
As many of you know, I was one of the youth group leaders at my church when I was in my early twenties. One year, we decided to do a mission trip to Skid Row. We took about a dozen kids, packed them into two vans, and drove them into LA. There was a program for groups like ours to experience what it was like on Skid Row. We were brought into a big room with a bunch of twin mattresses stacked up on the side. We each took one, claimed a spot on the floor for ourselves, and had a briefing about Skid Row and what we were going to be doing for the week.
That first night, we got back into the vans to drive around a bit to see what Skid Row is like after the sun goes down. The people who ran the program explained to us that the people who live on the street often sleep during the day, because it feels safer to sleep when there’s light and the sun is out, and they stay awake at night, because it’s more dangerous in the dark. At one point, we turned a corner, and saw a mass of people in front of us. We were told to continue driving. From the inside of our vans it looked like some kind of protest or riot, the street was absolutely filled with people, hundreds, maybe even thousands of people. But, they didn’t block our vans, and despite the noise and the writhing mass of all of those human bodies, it didn’t seem like anything violent was going on. We were told later that it was actually some kind of street party or church service, it was never really clear. What I do remember is being scared to drive through all of those homeless people, and then feeling guilty about it later when we found out there hadn’t really been anything to be afraid of.
We spent the week walking the streets of Skid Row, getting to know some of the people who lived there, and even sharing meals with some of them. We called it a mission trip, but I don’t know if we actually did anything to help anyone who lived there, other than giving a few individuals some food. In the end, it mostly felt like it was an experience to help us understand what Skid Row was really like, and to put a human face on the people who live there. Because, they are people. They’re human beings. They are the neighbors that Jesus was always talking about.
We all know the story of the Good Samaritan. It’s the classic story that answers the question, “Who is my neighbor?”
Jesus is with someone who is well-versed in the law, depending on the translation you’re using, a scholar, a teacher, or a lawyer. This person asks him, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Since this person knew the law so well, Jesus asks, “What is written in the law?”
The man says, “You shall love God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor also.”
So, Jesus tells him, “Yes, that’s right. Go and do that.”
But, this man asks, “Who is my neighbor?”
So, Jesus tells him a story. A man is beaten by robbers who steal from him and leave him for dead on the side of the road. A priest, someone who would have been well-respected in the community and who would know the law, sees this man, beaten and dying, and walks right past him on the other side of the road. Same thing with the Levite who comes by. The Levites were a special tribe who had special religious duties, and often had political and educational responsibilities, as well. This man would have also been familiar with the law, but he doesn’t stop to help the injured man, either.
The third person to come by, as we know, is the Samaritan. When we think of the word Samaritan today, it only has good connotations. We all know the story of the Good Samaritan; we have Good Samaritan hospitals and Good Samaritan Laws. We say that someone who does something for others out of the goodness of their heart with no expectation of getting anything in return is a “Good Samaritan.” But, when Jesus was telling this story, the word “Samaritan” would not have come with all of those good connotations; it would only have had bad ones. We only have those good connotations because Jesus told this story. When Jesus told this story, Samaritans were considered outsiders, less than. Samaritans were people who had intermarried with non-Jewish people, and did not keep to the laws. The Jews didn’t want anything to do with them, so for Jesus to cast a Samaritan in the role of the hero in this story, the one who treats the injured man’s wounds and brings him to an inn, would have been a shock to the man he was talking to. So, when Jesus asks, “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” the man can’t even bring himself to say, “The Samaritan,” and instead says, “The one who showed him mercy.”
And, Jesus says, “Go, and do likewise.”
The question of who is our neighbor is more pressing now than ever these days, as various groups of people, the most vulnerable members of society, come under attack. Is the undocumented worker harvesting your strawberries or cleaning your hotel room your neighbor? Is the refugee family from the Congo or Afghanistan your neighbor? Is the trans man or woman who just wants to use the bathroom in peace your neighbor? Jesus didn’t exclude people; his message was always one of love and inclusion. He sat at table with sinners and tax collectors. He touched lepers. He spoke with the woman at the well. Following Christ means following his example. We can’t just call ourselves Christian, and then do the opposite of what Jesus told us to do.
Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan to explain that everyone who needs help is our neighbor. It would have made perfect sense in the story for the Samaritan to just walk past the injured man without helping, just like the priest and the Levite; Jews and Samaritans didn’t get along, they didn’t interact with each other at all. But, that was the point of the whole story. Those differences shouldn’t matter when someone needs help. And, we have to ask, should those differences keep us apart, at all? Of course, differences matter; difference is good, even identical twins aren’t exactly the same. We should embrace difference, celebrate difference! Can you imagine how boring the world would be if we were all the same? We have to be different. We were created as a reflection of God, and God is too big to be encompassed by just one type of person. When you take humanity as a whole, with all of our different shapes and sizes, colors and thoughts and ideas, that is the reflection of God. Difference matters, and difference is good.
Society only works when we are good neighbors. When the California wildfires were raging, Canada and Mexico sent firefighters to help, because that’s what good neighbors do. But, we’ve repaid their kindness and their concern with tariffs which are only going to hurt us in the long run. We have had peaceful relations with our two neighboring nations for decades. They are some of our biggest trading partners and strongest supporters. They deserve to be treated with respect and generosity and kindness.
Everywhere we look, our neighbors are suffering. Our neighbors are the people who can’t get medical care because of the cuts to Medicaid. Our neighbors are the veterans who risked their lives for us who are now losing their VA benefits. Our neighbors are the park rangers and the teachers and the doctors and the scientists who have lost their jobs. Our neighbors are the immigrant workers who have abandoned farms and ranches because of their fear of ICE raids. Our neighbors are the farmers and ranchers who are facing bankruptcy because they no longer have anyone to work the farms and the ranches.
We have to take care of each other. It’s not an arbitrary rule that Jesus made up; he was trying to teach us how to live, and live successfully. If we want to live happy lives, if we have to live in a community that we can count on when we’re in trouble, if we want to live in a community that works, then we have to take care of each other. Community is the Kingdom of God. Helping and sharing and love and kindness is the Kingdom of God. So, heed Jesus’ words. Love God, love your neighbor, and love yourself. Amen.
~ Rev. Charles Wei
