A Sunday school
teacher was telling her class the story of the Good Samaritan, which we just
heard in today's gospel reading.[1] She
described the situation in vivid detail so her students would catch the drama.
Then, she asked the class, "If you saw a person lying on the roadside, all
wounded, and bleeding, what would you do?" A thoughtful little girl broke
the hushed silence, "I think I'd throw up."[2]
From Jericho to
Jerusalem is about twenty miles. The southwesterly pre-Roman road descended
thirty-six hundred feet in elevation. Long parts of it traversed wilderness
infested by notorious robbers.
Jesus implicitly
criticizes two figures in his parable who had important religious roles.
Levites cared for the temple; priests offered sacrifices. Hopefully, Jesus is
not commenting about all religious leaders. If so, Ha’aheo, I, the altar guild,
lectors, eucharistic ministers, and so forth are all in trouble. Hopefully,
Jesus was painting a contrast between, on the one hand, the religious and
cultural stigma of interacting with the unclean and, on the other hand, the
Samaritan’s willingness to aid the man robbers had stripped, beaten and left to
die along the roadside.
Samaritans were the
remnant of the northern kingdom of Israel, many of whom had intermarried with
the indigenous population. In the seventh century B.C., the Samaritans had
refused to centralize worship in Jerusalem, preferring their syncretized
version of Judaism that incorporated local, indigenous beliefs and practices.
Consequently, faithful Jews avoided all Samaritans.
Yet Jesus chose a
Samaritan as his parable’s hero. The Samaritan bandages the victim’s wounds,
takes him to an inn, spends a night caring for him, then pays the innkeeper for
additional care. Two denarii equaled roughly two days’ wages, a large sum in a
subsistence economy. The Samaritan also instructs the innkeeper that when he
returns, he will reimburse the innkeeper for any additional expense.
A recent Pew survey
identified a substantial number of Americans who live in quiet despair,
depressed, mentally ill or abusing drugs or alcohol. Social, economic and
spiritual scarcity have worryingly displaced the meaning people formerly
derived from their relationships with family and friends and from serving a
cause larger than self. Adults who find meaning often look narrowly inward or
point to moments when they feel loved, satisfied or good about themselves. Their
worldview has shrunk. On an encouraging note, high school students tend to
identify themselves with the cause they serve, whether it is working for racial
equality or environmental justice.[3]
Jesus’ parable of
the Good Samaritan seeks to stretch our horizons, memorably illustrating his
command to love our neighbor. He calls us to break the cultural and religious
boundaries and stigmas that cause us to not see or to ignore our neighbor,
turning our heads and walking by on the other side of the street. Jesus asks,
do you really love your neighbors?
Native Hawaiians
comprise just eighteen percent of Hawaii’s population but forty percent of the
incarcerated. Releasees leave our prisons with only what they had when they
entered prison. Unsurprisingly, over half of all releasees from Hawaiian
prisons recidivate within three years. Ha’aheo has been instrumental in the
backpack program, providing new releasees with some basic necessities. The
Diocesan Jubilee group, which includes several from this congregation are working for systemic reform. Jesus asks, do you really love your neighbors?
Nobody wants to be
mentally ill. Medical researchers and practitioners do not understand the
causes of most mental illness, a broad category that includes addiction,
depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, and much more. Nor do these
professionals understand how to treat most mental illness effectively. Yet many
people stigmatize and avoid the mentally ill. Hawai’i’s shortage of mental
health providers exacerbates the situation.
One group trying to
aid the mentally ill is the Samaritan Counseling Center of Hawai’i. The Center
is interfaith. Its therapists, all licensed professionals, seek, as
appropriate, to integrate the client’s spirituality into the therapeutic
process. Nobody is ever refused assistance because of an inability to pay. I
support the Center and serve as its Board President. When the housing bubble
burst and this parish experienced its own difficulties, the Parish ceased to
contribute annually to the Samaritan Center. This sermon on the parable of the
Good Samaritan is the commercial that Heather has suggested for some time that
I make for the Center. Jesus asks, do you really love your neighbors?
With which role in
today’s gospel reading do you most identify? Do you want self-justification,
affirmation for your spiritual journey and the neighbors you love? Do you avert
your eyes and pass by at a distance from needy, hurting neighbors? Or do you
stop to help, generously caring for those in need.
May we increasingly,
with God's help, courageously and honestly answer Jesus’ question, “do you
really love your neighbors?” with a resounding “Yes!”. Amen.
Sermon preached the Fifth Sunday after
Pentecost, July 14, 2019
Parish of St. Clement, Honolulu, HI
[1] Luke
10:29-37.
[2] Source
unknown.
[3] David
Brooks, “Will Gen-Z Save the World?” New
York Times, July 4, 2019.
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