For the six days preceding Easter, beginning on Monday, April 18, Rev. Dr.

Joan
Brown Campbell, Director, Department of Religion, Chautauqua Institution
shares a meditation that will be offered in the Appleton Chapel of the Memorial
Church at Harvard University. All the meditations are focused on Jesus the
Merciful; Jesus the Compassionate. This title is taken from Muslim friends and
teachers who always greet any audience with the words “In the name of Allah,
the Merciful, the Compassionate.” Beginning with Jesus‟ call to ministry, and
each day thereafter touches on Jesus‟ acts of compassion as set forth in the
biblical parables.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Luke 10: Selected verses 25 – 37 The Parable of the Good Samaritan:

Just then a lawyer 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 justify 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 went away,
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 travelling came near him; and when he saw
him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds,
having poured oil and wine on them. 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.‟
The parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the most familiar of all the parables.
The story line is clear and compelling and, like the parable of the woman caught
in adultery, it is as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago. Once again, we find
leaders of the establishment (in this case a lawyer) trying to test Jesus. As the
Biblical stories unfold, we see growing evidence of tension between the
compassionate teaching of Jesus and the more fundamentalist religious leaders
of the day for whom the rules of faith took precedence over the heart of faith.
When the lawyer asks Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus refers
him to the written word. The lawyer – being a scholarly man – gives precisely the
right answer (which we just heard in the reading of scripture). But not yet
satisfied, the lawyer asks the key question: “Who is my neighbor?”

This, of course, is not just his question, but ours as well. Jesus, rather than
answering directly, tells a story about an incident in which a man, possibly poor,
is hurt and lying helpless on the ground. A priest and a Levite, respected leaders
of both church and society, “the good folks,” walk by the man on the roadside,
leaving him hurting, weeping, and helpless. One wonders what fears led to such
insensitivity. Then along comes the Samaritan – the Samaritans of that day were
the outcasts, those who always aroused suspicion – perhaps the Samaritan
would, in our day, be a Muslim; those who dress differently; those whose religion
is not the faith held by the powers that be. In the story that Jesus tells to the
lawyer, it is the Samaritan that stoops low – willing to dirty his hands, to disturb
the priorities of his day – and steps forward to help the man in need.

The message to the lawyer is clear. Neighbor is not defined by race, or religion,
or national origin, or gender, or sexual identity. The neighbor is the one who,
when facing human need and pain and suffering, does not ask the identity
question. Rather, with mercy and compassion, the good neighbor kneels before
the wounded one to offer help and loving care.

In the story read in your hearing today, the Samaritan neighbor not only offers
healing, but security and hope for the one facing an uncertain future. The
wounded one was not only ministered to, but given a place to heal.

When Jesus asks the lawyer who had been the good neighbor, the embarrassed
lawyer realizes that there is only one answer: “The one who responded with
mercy and compassion.” The story, as old as human history and as current as
today, reminds us that empathy has always been, and will be, the mark of the
compassioned one.

Prayer:
Jesus, merciful and compassionate, continue to teach us how to be neighbors in
a hungry, hurting, and war-weary world. Grant us courage to love beyond the
familiar; instill in us passion for the suffering.