Reflection on Luke 10:25-37

 

Luke 10:25-37 (NRSVue)

25 An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” 27 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.” 28 And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

 29 But wanting to vindicate himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 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. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan while traveling came upon him, and when he saw him he was moved with compassion. 34 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. 35 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.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Reflection

God provides, and sometimes God even uses our hands.

I do not remember where I first heard that expression, but it is one that has stuck with me.  God provides, and sometimes God even uses our hands.  No doubt the idea comes from Ephesians 2:10 which states: “We are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works.”  Ephesians picks up on this idea that we exist in Christ Jesus, and because we live in him, the good works of Jesus naturally flow out of us to others.  In other words, “God provides, and sometimes God even uses our hands.”

This phrase was echoing in the back of my head as I read again this parable of the Good Samaritan.  And, what actually started the echo was a phrase in the parable that just jumped out at me like an old friend who jumps out of from nowhere with a party hat and a bottle of wind in his hand saying “Surprise!”  Actually is the mention of oil and wine that jogged my memory.  Listen close to the story.

If you remember, in Jesus’ parable he tells of a man who gets beat up and left to die on the side of the road.  A priest walks by, taking a wide path around the carnage.  Likewise, a worker in the temple also takes the long way around the poor guy.  But, a Samaritan comes along, and overcome with compassion, rushes over to the man, bandages his wounds, and…here it is…treats “them with oil and wine” (Luke 10:34).  

Oil and wine; Jesus is so specific here.  Now, you might think that Jesus put it in the story because alcohol disinfects and oil moisturizes and heals.  And that is part of it, but I happen to know that Jesus intentionally sticks those two items in the story for another reason.  He wants you to think of another well-known piece of scripture from the Bible.  The ancient people knew it well and so do you.  It is Psalm 23.  In particular, Jesus wants you to think about this section:

“You prepare a table before me

    in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

    my cup overflows” (Psalm 23:5).

As you ponder on the goodness that the Samaritan is literally pouring on the poor man, Jesus wants you to think about how God makes a feast for us, enemies standing around the house but not daring to move any closer.  In their sight, God tends to us, makes us an honored guest, anoints our heads with oil, and fills our cups of wine to overflowing with the best wine.  Jesus wants us to think about this image of safety, good life, and abundance that God provides when enemies are around.  And, Jesus wants us to see that the Samaritan is the one who provides it.

The enemies have struck.  They could still be lingering in the ditches, waiting for another victim, using the man as a lure.  Fear of the enemy on the road to Jericho was very real, and it caused a priest and temple worker to decide to not get involved.  But, the Samaritan provides the feast.  The Samaritan provides the safety and provides the oil and wine as the enemy lingers.  “In the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”

An expert in the law asks Jesus what he needs to do in order to be a permanent part of the holy life, and Jesus tells the story of someone who provides that sort of life to someone in need.  Do you want to be a part of God’s holy life?  Then allow God to draw you into the holy actions that give life to the people and creatures of this world.  In other words, help the guy on the side of the road.

God provides, and sometimes God even uses our hands.

But, Jesus’ point goes even further than that.  More to Jesus’ point: God provides, and sometimes God even uses the hands of our enemies.

This is the shocking part of the story. 

The Samaritans were no friends of the Israelites and the Israelites were no friends of the Samaritans.  And, though they were not at war, they stayed well away from one another.  The Jews had their towns and the Samaritans had their own towns.  Jews talked to Jews and Samaritans talked to Samaritans.  There are reasons for this, and you can ask me those reasons later.  The only thing you need to understand is that when the expert in the law asked, “And, who is my neighbor?” Jesus intentionally responded by telling a story with his enemy as the hero.

God provides, and sometimes God even uses the hands of our enemies.

It is easy to assume that your enemy is evil.  It is easy to mark some people as “in” and others as “out.”  It is easy to lump people into categories of good and bad. 

Evil Samaritans

Evil Jews

Evil Blacks

Evil Whites

Evil Police

Evil Protestors

Evil Iranians

Evil Israel

Evil Palestinians

Evil Russians

Evil Ukrainians

Evil ICE Agents

Evil Undocumented Immigrants

Evil Educated Elitists

Evil Backcountry Hicks

Evil Druggies

Evil Narcs

Evil Men

Evil Women

Evil Pastors

Evil Churchgoers

Evil Old People

Evil Teens

Evil Towanda Knights

Evil Wyalusing Rams

Have I offended you yet?  Have I raised your blood pressure a little?  If so, take the one that shook you a little, and put one of those individuals in the place of the Good Samaritan in Jesus’ story, because it is that sort of impact that Jesus wants the story to have on you and on me.  Truly do this.

Once there was a man who was left for dead by some robbers on the side of a dangerous highway, and a pastor, who was driving along, saw him, but out of fear chose to drive a little quicker.  The church organist also saw him, but did not feel safe to stop.  But, a ___fill in the blank__ “when he saw him he was moved with compassion. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, treating them with oil and wine” just as Jesus would have done for you (Luke 10:34-35).

After-all, sometimes you are the enemy of God.  Sometimes, you refuse to do what is right and good and refuse to love as Jesus loved.  And, Jesus still saved you.  As the Apostle Paul reminds us: “God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).  Not only that, Jesus still uses you.

God provides, and sometimes God even uses the hands of our enemies.

Sometimes our “enemies” are actually real people who are a mix of both good and bad, just like us.  Sometimes our “enemies” do not even know that they are our enemy; we never told them, we just got mad.  Sometimes our “enemies” are just people trying to do what they think is right and messing it all up.  Sometimes our “enemies” are people who could turn their lives around if they had a good neighbor who refused to pass on by, but instead showed some compassion and mercy.

In 2019, an evil robber snatched the money from an old woman who had just withdrawn money from an ATM.  In his haste, he snatched both the money and the receipt.  But, the surveillance video shows that the evil robber stopped in his tracks when he looked at the receipt and saw that the balance was zero.  As I mentioned before, the victim was an elderly woman.  But, she was not a victim, because right then and there he had compassion on the woman and immediately gave the money back.  The man was arrested, but I just want to point out that even an enemy can have compassion. 

Even an enemy is able to turn to good.  Even an enemy is a neighbor, for whom we can show some compassion, if we are just willing to allow God to make us stop and see them for who they really are, instead of who we need them to be. You see, sometimes we need them to be an enemy, for our own purposes.

But, Jesus teaches: “I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-28).

“Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:35-36).

God provides, using his hands on a cross to embrace us all, the good and bad.

God provides, and sometimes God even uses the hands of our enemies.

God provides, and sometimes God even uses our hands.

And, when God does, life flows out of cups and makes the world taste so much better.