The Church Season of Trinity
The Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland,
MI (Sepember 2, 2012)
Readings: Psalm 32
2
Chronicles 28:8-15Galatians 3:15-22
Luke 10:23-37
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Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit. Amen
The text for
today’s message is as recorded in the Gospel Lesson from the 10th chapter of
St. Luke, the following verses,
Luke 10:23–37, ESV
“Then
turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what
you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you
see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” And
behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall
I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How
do you read it?” And 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 answered
correctly; do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself,
said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down
from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat
him and departed, 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, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had
compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine.
Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of
him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper,
saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I
come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the
man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And
Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.””
And so Jesus answers the Lawyer's question: "Do this and you will live." He speaks not of eternal life. He speaks of life. That is, do this and you will show yourself, prove yourself to be alive. Do not do these things and you will prove yourself to be dead. For the one who does not do this is dead: dead in his trespasses and sins. For the wages of sin--the transgression of God's Law--is death, as the Lord promised Adam "In the day that you eat of it, you will surely die." So, Jesus' answer really is a veiled question about human nature. He asks: Who are you? Are you alive? Or are you dead?
And
so the Lawyer, seeking to justify himself, seeking still to earn eternal life,
asks "Who is my neighbor?" In other words, the Lawyer still doesn't
get it. And thus the parable.
The parable is told from the perspective of the man in the ditch. As you listen, you can't but help seeing yourself in the ditch. And so you can't help but see all these people walking by on the other side. The Lawyer sees those so focused on their doing so as to earn eternal life, that they do not show themselves to be alive to those who are in need. And so the Lawyer sees himself walk by on the other side. He sees himself leave himself for dead. He wasn't a neighbor even to himself. He is dead. Anyway you look at it, either as the one in the ditch or as the ones who walk by, he is dead.
The parable is told from the perspective of the man in the ditch. As you listen, you can't but help seeing yourself in the ditch. And so you can't help but see all these people walking by on the other side. The Lawyer sees those so focused on their doing so as to earn eternal life, that they do not show themselves to be alive to those who are in need. And so the Lawyer sees himself walk by on the other side. He sees himself leave himself for dead. He wasn't a neighbor even to himself. He is dead. Anyway you look at it, either as the one in the ditch or as the ones who walk by, he is dead.
But
the one who was a neighbor is the one who had every right not to be: the Samaritan.
The one despised by his own half brothers did not see it below him to help one
in need. For he, too, saw himself in the ditch. He felt it in his bowels. He
had empathy and sympathy. And so he showed mercy. He reached out to those who
did not deserve it as though he himself were in that ditch. He paid his
half-brother's price. He felt their pain. He went the distance for them. He
lived so that they would not die. He proved himself to be alive to save them
from death. He had compassion on them. He felt sorry for them and did something
about it. He is alive.
Now the parable goes out to you. You are in the ditch. Do you see yourself pass by? Yes. But your half brother, our Lord Jesus Christ, has compassion. He proves himself to be alive. He comes into your death to pull you out it, to give you His life. And you live.
Now go and do likewise. Prove yourself as one alive out of the grave, saved from death, forgiven of your trespasses and sins. Do mercy to your half brothers in the ditch. Have compassion on them. Feel their pain, pay their price, go the distance for them. Live . . . in faith toward God and in fervent love toward your neighbor.
Now the parable goes out to you. You are in the ditch. Do you see yourself pass by? Yes. But your half brother, our Lord Jesus Christ, has compassion. He proves himself to be alive. He comes into your death to pull you out it, to give you His life. And you live.
Now go and do likewise. Prove yourself as one alive out of the grave, saved from death, forgiven of your trespasses and sins. Do mercy to your half brothers in the ditch. Have compassion on them. Feel their pain, pay their price, go the distance for them. Live . . . in faith toward God and in fervent love toward your neighbor.
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