Sermon
July 11, 2004
The Reverend Pamela Snare

"But wanting to justify himself, [the lawyer] asked Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?'" (Luke 10:29)

Webster's Dictionary defines the word "justify” as, "to prove or show to be... conformable to law, right, justice, propriety, or duty; to defend or maintain; to vindicate as right".

The second definition is, "to declare free from guilt or blame; to absolve; to clear."

And the third definition, "in theology, to pardon and clear from guilt; to treat as just; to pardon."

These definitions help, I think, for us to understand what the lawyer in today's gospel is wanting for himself. He wants to prove that he is in the right; that he has fulfilled his duty; that he is free of guilt and blame. One could even say he wants to prove that he is a good person; that he has done nothing wrong, but everything right.

Are you familiar with, have you ever felt this inner drive to be the one who is right, the one who is good, the one who always and everywhere acts blamelessly? To be above reproach? Because, if you are the one who is right, the one who is good, the one who is never at fault, you can not only be proud of yourself, you can compare yourself with others and be found stronger, brighter, better, wiser, more virtuous, more insightful - in short, you are the one who has it altogether.

For most of my life I have been a perfectionist. Well, I was until I met Jerry, my husband. I know this inner drive to be right, to be blameless, to be above reproach. I am intimately acquainted with the desire never to be wrong or never to be in the wrong. I am intimately acquainted with the desire never to show that I do not know something. For that would be to admit ignorance . And ignorance is a bad thing. Perhaps some of you are also acquainted with this desire not to be wrong and to prove yourself right or in the right.

As I pondered this lawyer's attitude and saw it in myself, I composed in my mind a beatitude for this character trait: "Blessed are those who are always right, and always in the right, and always do what is right, for they have no need of God."

Dare I say that this desire to be right and to be free from blame or guilt is one of the Adversary's greatest devices to keep us separated from God and from the rest of
humanity. It creates a wall between us and the love of God, and between us and those who do not measure up to our standards. For if we are always right and always in the right, then we have no need of forgiveness from God or from others, do we? If we are always blameless, then we have no need of mercy from God or from others, do we? If we can get it altogether by ourselves, then we have no need of God or of others, do we?

And if we are looking at ourselves and others from that vantage point of always being in the right, then those who are not in the right always look lacking in intelligence and/
or moral fortitude. They look insufficient and weak to us, perhaps even despicable, or at
least undesirable. Those who need mercy and forgiveness or help are always beneath us;
they may be scorned by us, ridiculed by us, or in extreme examples hated by us because they cannot lift themselves up by their own bootstraps.

This comes close to how this Jewish lawyer viewed Samaritans. Samaritans did not believe the right things. They did not worship in the right way or the right place. They were immoral; they did not do the right things; they intermarried with pagans. Jews were right; Samaritans were wrong. Jews abided by the law; Samaritans broke the law.

Who do we put "below" ourselves? Who do we think of as despicable or undesirable? We may or may not hate them, as some Jews hated Samaritans and vice versa, but we look down on them and on their way of life. Who do we think of as lacking in intelligence and/or moral fortitude? Who do we look upon as misguided, mistaken, weak, not up to par in who they are and how they live? These people or these persons whom we place "beneath" us are our Samaritans. If we truly want to appreciate the point and the power of today's parable, then we need to substitute the persons or people we look down upon for the Samaritan in today's gospel.

Jesus' point is not to say that all Samaritans are "good" people. Rather, his intent is to reveal to the lawyer that his need to be right, to be good, to be blameless, to be above reproach has narrowed his mind and his heart, and created a false dichotomy between himself and the people the lawyer places beneath himself. His need to be right and to be good has restricted, perhaps even closed, his heart to mercy and to the love of God for all people. It has certainly closed his heart to compassion and understanding for the people he considers "beneath" himself. He has divided humanity into those who are right and those who are wrong; those who are good and those who are bad; those who are moral and those who are immoral.

We are told nothing about this Samaritan's way of life or his moral character. All we are told is that when he saw a man, presumably a Jewish man, robbed and beaten half to death, he responded with mercy and compassion, going above and beyond all thought of inconvenience and expense to himself. And that, my friends, is what God honors, what he desires from us, what he desires for us.

"I desire mercy and not [the] sacrifice [of animals], the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings" (Hosea 6:6). "Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8). "He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8)

God does not require us or others to be right, my friends; but he does desire us to
show mercy, as he has shown it to us. God does not even require us to be above reproach -- because none of us are! But he desires us to be merciful to others - all others - as he has been merciful to us. God does not even require us to be good – for, “No one is good, save God alone” (Luke 18:19b).

In what ways and to whom are our minds and hearts restricted? In what ways and to whom have we closed our minds and hearts to mercy? Whom have we placed "beneath" us, out of reach of our mercy and compassion, or the mercy & compassion of God?

The question for us today is not, "Who is my neighbor?,” that is, to whom am I required to show mercy, compassion, charity; rather, the question for us today is can I, am I able and willing, to be a neighbor, to show compassion to anyone – anyone - who crosses my path who is in need of mercy?

"[Jesus said to the lawyer], 'Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?' The lawyer said, 'The one who showed him mercy.' Jesus said to him, 'Go and do likewise.'"
AMEN

Return to Recent Sermons