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(Audio)
But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus,
“And who is my neighbor?”
The man knew what needed to be done, what was required of him by the law. He probably hoped to hear a narrow definition of neighbor, one that would allow him to say that he had been discharging his moral obligation toward those included faithfully. But we imagine that even he himself suspected that more was required. He was, to some degree, aware of what his attempts to justify himself had produced in his life thus far. If he looked at the state of his own heart and inquired about whether it was fit to dwell eternally in the presence of the all holy God he could not help but be aware on some level that something was lacking. The scope of his own ability to love and show mercy to his neighbor was limited to situations that were convenient and those to whom he had a naturally predisposed sympathy. This isn't that unusual or horrific. We too often place limits on the mercy we will show. We try to justify ourselves and insist that we are doing our best on a human level. But we can't shake this nagging awareness that we need greater purification if we are to become capable of living and enjoying eternal life with God. So, with this scholar of the law, we can bring our attempts at self-justification before Jesus so that he himself can unravel them and set us right.
A priest happened to be going down that road,
but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place,
and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Insofar as we fail to show mercy to others we are the priest and the Levite in this story. But we are also the wounded man, stripped and beaten by sin, spiritually half-dead and unable to rise. People representing the other solutions of religion, philosophy, and ideology, that exist in the world notice our predicament, but go out of their way to avoid us since they have nothing to offer, and risk tarnishing the reputations by even making the attempt. Fortunately Jesus comes to us, like the Samaritan, as an unexpected outsider, and is moved with compassion at the sight. He is not overwhelmed by the intractability of what he sees because his limitless compassion gives him the power to do all he needs to do to heal us. He uses the oil and wine of the sacraments and delivers us to the inn of his Church for ongoing care. His two natures of humanity and divinity are the silver coins that are more than enough to purchase all the grace we need for us to recover and thrive.
Importantly, we are not merely healed to the level of the priest and the Levite and others who believe they have more important things to do than mercy. The mercy Jesus shows us is precisely to rehabilitate and restore our own ability to show mercy. We can begin our encounter trying to justify ourselves like the scholar of the law. But Jesus does not desire to leave us in the rigid confines of a narrow and self-serving definition of mercy. Others, who could not address the diseased nature of the human heart, had no choice but to pass by. Only Jesus is capable of addressing the root of the problem. Only he sees clearly to do it. And does and will do so for all who are willing. Strengthened by the grace we receive we become more free to live in accord with our purpose. This was the secret that allowed Paul to say:
Am I now currying favor with human beings or God?
Or am I seeking to please people?
If I were still trying to please people,
I would not be a slave of Christ.
People pleasers pass by on the other side of the road. But we who have been healed by Christ and not free to do so. And hopefully, we don't want to. The Lord has never and could never forget us. Let us try to learn to love our own neighbors as he himself has demonstrated.
The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.
“And who is my neighbor?”
The man knew what needed to be done, what was required of him by the law. He probably hoped to hear a narrow definition of neighbor, one that would allow him to say that he had been discharging his moral obligation toward those included faithfully. But we imagine that even he himself suspected that more was required. He was, to some degree, aware of what his attempts to justify himself had produced in his life thus far. If he looked at the state of his own heart and inquired about whether it was fit to dwell eternally in the presence of the all holy God he could not help but be aware on some level that something was lacking. The scope of his own ability to love and show mercy to his neighbor was limited to situations that were convenient and those to whom he had a naturally predisposed sympathy. This isn't that unusual or horrific. We too often place limits on the mercy we will show. We try to justify ourselves and insist that we are doing our best on a human level. But we can't shake this nagging awareness that we need greater purification if we are to become capable of living and enjoying eternal life with God. So, with this scholar of the law, we can bring our attempts at self-justification before Jesus so that he himself can unravel them and set us right.
A priest happened to be going down that road,
but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place,
and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Insofar as we fail to show mercy to others we are the priest and the Levite in this story. But we are also the wounded man, stripped and beaten by sin, spiritually half-dead and unable to rise. People representing the other solutions of religion, philosophy, and ideology, that exist in the world notice our predicament, but go out of their way to avoid us since they have nothing to offer, and risk tarnishing the reputations by even making the attempt. Fortunately Jesus comes to us, like the Samaritan, as an unexpected outsider, and is moved with compassion at the sight. He is not overwhelmed by the intractability of what he sees because his limitless compassion gives him the power to do all he needs to do to heal us. He uses the oil and wine of the sacraments and delivers us to the inn of his Church for ongoing care. His two natures of humanity and divinity are the silver coins that are more than enough to purchase all the grace we need for us to recover and thrive.
Importantly, we are not merely healed to the level of the priest and the Levite and others who believe they have more important things to do than mercy. The mercy Jesus shows us is precisely to rehabilitate and restore our own ability to show mercy. We can begin our encounter trying to justify ourselves like the scholar of the law. But Jesus does not desire to leave us in the rigid confines of a narrow and self-serving definition of mercy. Others, who could not address the diseased nature of the human heart, had no choice but to pass by. Only Jesus is capable of addressing the root of the problem. Only he sees clearly to do it. And does and will do so for all who are willing. Strengthened by the grace we receive we become more free to live in accord with our purpose. This was the secret that allowed Paul to say:
Am I now currying favor with human beings or God?
Or am I seeking to please people?
If I were still trying to please people,
I would not be a slave of Christ.
People pleasers pass by on the other side of the road. But we who have been healed by Christ and not free to do so. And hopefully, we don't want to. The Lord has never and could never forget us. Let us try to learn to love our own neighbors as he himself has demonstrated.
The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.
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