Ask, Seek, Knock

July 27, 2025

Luke 11:1-13

            Way back when I was a member of the Methodist church in Eatontown, I was on the Administrative Council (That’s Session to Presbyterians).  We had a new pastor, and this new pastor decided to replace the traditional language of the Lord’s Prayer with a new ecumenical translation.  The reaction to this was seismic, and not in a good way.  Much of the congregation was up in arms over the change, and the matter ended up before the Administrative Council.  I had a dear friend in that church and he was on the Administrative Council also, and during the meeting, as the pastor was explaining his choice to use the modern translation, this gentleman stood up and said, “If the words were good enough for Jesus, they are good enough for me”.  I was sitting next to him and as he sat down, I whispered to him, “You know, Jesus spoke Aramaic”.  He just looked at me as if I had two heads.  I don’t know if the thought didn’t occur to him that Jesus never spoke English, or if he thought that somehow the traditional version was a word for word perfect translation, but clearly, he, and quite a few others, were under the impression that the traditional translation was somehow sacred.

            I loved this man, I sat next to him in choir for several years and he was a wonderful and faithful man.  But I still love to tell this story, not to disrespect him, but simply because I’ve always found the story to be funny.  But there is a truth in his outburst that needs to be understood.  As a general rule, humans like to keep things simple.  And this is something that we see over and over again in the actions of the Pharisees and truthfully, something that we see over and over again in the actions of the church, namely, that following a routine often seems to be much easier than forging a new path. 

As complicated as the first century Jewish religion seems with its myriad of rules and regulations, the first century Jews really did have a pretty complete roadmap for their faith: if such and such happens, always do this.  These rules that they followed were the exact reason that they ran into so much trouble with Jesus.  They had taken a faith with infinite shades of grey and tried to make every single bit of it black and white.  No, you can’t heal someone on the sabbath, it’s against the rules.  No, you can’t have dinner with a gentile, it’s against the rules.  No, you can’t pick grain on the sabbath, it’s against the rules.

            And we, in the 21^st century read these stories, and we think to ourselves, “Well, that’s a little silly, isn’t it? We know better than that”.  But do we?  When all is said and done, we are more like our first century counterparts than we are different from them, and we still tend to like to keep things simple.  And so, my friend’s tenacious grip on the specific wording of the Lord’s Prayer is indicative of this desire to have a roadmap, to have things planned out for us so that we don’t have to be forging a new path every time we do something… or every time we pray.

            In today’s reading, the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray, and He obliges, giving us the words of the Lord’s prayer, but wait just a minute…  The story of the giving of the Lord’s prayer isn’t unique to the book of Luke because Matthew tells the same story, but guess what?  In Luke, the wording of the Lord’s Prayer is different from the wording of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew.  Why do we think that is?  There are some theologians who postulate that Luke and Matthew are reporting on different times that Jesus taught on the subject.  Or perhaps Luke and Matthew reconstructed their notes from the event and remembered things differently.  OR, perhaps Jesus never intended for the Lord’s Prayer to be memorized and repeated verbatim but instead intended it to be an outline for how we are to approach God in prayer.

            When we look closely at this prayer we find that it contains a remarkable opening and then five petitions.  Let’s take a look at these things one by one.

First, the opening.  Jewish prayer pretty much always begins with “Blessed are you Lord God, King of the universe”, but Jesus began His prayer by saying, “Daddy”.  James Laurence tells us that, “Jesus teaches us that when we pray, we can turn to God as any child would to a loving parent. God wants to hear from us, wants to be in a relationship with us, wants to help us live our lives. But God also does not want to interfere without our wanting Him to. He loves us too much to help us against our will. So, he waits for us to ask. And the way that we ask is through prayer.”  [1]  So, our remarkable opening is the revealing of the fact that God is every bit as approachable as a loving parent, probably even more. 

The first two petitions are directed towards God.  The first one being, “Hallowed be Thy name”.  In ancient times, names had an impact that was different from what they have now.  To know someone’s name then was to know a person completely, to know not just the person but to know their character; to know who they were on a deeply personal level.  To be “Hallowed” is to be made holy or to be reverenced.  And so, our first petition is, therefore, a request that we can be led to comprehend the majesty and the glory of God and to interact with Him accordingly.

The second petition says, “Thy Kingdom come”.  Which of us doesn’t deeply long for the day when evil is overthrown on earth and God’s kingdom of peace and love and compassion becomes our present and eternal reality?  Two weeks ago, I said, “When we abandon our prejudices and choose to be a neighbor to others, then the Kingdom of God is in our midst.”  Our desire, our request to God is not only that His kingdom will become a reality on earth, just as it is a reality in heaven, but that we will realize that His kingdom needs to become a reality in our hearts before it can become a reality on earth. 

The next three petitions are requests for us.  The first of these is to be given our daily bread.  Actually, in the original Greek, the word ἐπιούσιον (Epi-you-see-oon) means not daily bread but essential bread.  The request being such that God will provide for our essential needs.  Warren Wiersbe, in his own inimitable style, says, “We ask [God] to provide our needs, not our greeds, for today”.  [2]  While God certainly desires our happiness, and loves to fill us with good things, it’s also critical to realize that the real purpose of prayer is not to amass pleasures for ourselves, but rather to live to seek God’s glory.  My Army Chaplain friend Greg Monroe used to say, “Prayer is not us asking God to do our will, prayer is us asking God to incorporate us into His will”. 

The second personal petition is to be forgiven our sins, or debts, as we forgive the sins, or debts, of others.  Garland tells us that, “The Lord’s Prayer is to affect the distinctive way that disciples live and not just the distinctive way they pray.  It has an ethical thrust; we ought not to expect to receive from God what we are not prepared to bestow on others”. [3]  Forgiveness of our sins is essential, but here, Jesus tells us that for us to forgive others is essential also.  It’s not that God will refuse to forgive us, it’s just that an unforgiving heart will be equally unable to receive forgiveness.  In short, it’s not possible for us to be loving when our heart is burdened with animosity towards others.

The final petition is to be delivered from temptation…  Human free will is a cornerstone of God’s plan.  C. S. Lewis said, “If a thing is free to be good it’s also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible.  Why, then, did God give them free will?  Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having.”  [4]  God, even with all of His power cannot create love.  Love must be given of one’s free will, and so, God gave humans the freedom to choose Him or to reject Him in order that those who do choose Him do so out of love and not out of fear or out of obligation.  Unfortunately, this has created a situation where, even those who have given their hearts to God are still capable of making wrong choices and indeed do so all the time.  Our prayer then, is that God steers us away from those temptations that may cause us to make those wrong choices or may cause us to harm our relationships with God, or with others.  We ask to be protected from the temptation of the evil one in order that we may enjoy uninterrupted fellowship with our God.

Luke follows this part of his story with Jesus telling two parables encouraging the disciples to pray.  The first parable Jesus tells depicts a person knocking on a friend’s door at midnight asking for some bread to feed an unexpected guest who had just arrived.  This parable is difficult for us to understand because our culture doesn’t share the first century deep obligation for hospitality, so please allow me to modernize this parable.  Your wife goes into labor and your car won’t start.  You knock on your neighbor’s door, desperately asking if you can borrow their car.  The point of this parable isn’t the audacity of the man waking his neighbor at midnight, the point is that the man doesn’t hesitate to ask his friend for help.  And so, neither should we hesitate to ask God for our needs.  We don’t need to convince God to help us, that is His desire right from the start, but God does ask us to make our needs known to Him. 

The parable about the father not giving his children bad things when they ask for good things is in the same vein.  If even a sinful human will give their child good things when they ask their father, then how much more will God joyfully give to His beloved children when they ask Him?

Luke concludes today’s story by telling us to ask, to seek, and to knock.  Leon Morris tells us that, “Jesus does not say, and does not mean that, if we pray, we will always get exactly what we ask for.  After all, “no” is just as definite an answer as “yes”.  He is saying that true prayer is neither unheard nor unheeded.  It is always answered in the way God sees is best”.  [5]  Luke teaches us that Jesus calls us to be faithful and persistent in prayer, with the ultimate result of our faithful prayers being that we are given the Holy Spirit, who leads us in our journey towards Christ-Likeness.

Michael K. Marsh said, “Here’s what strikes me about how Jesus teaches us to pray. It’s not about asking God to do or give particular things in specific circumstances. It’s bigger than that. It is about the future and our responsibility for bringing about that future.”  [6]  And so, I encourage us all to look beyond the familiar words of the Lord’s Prayer and instead, always, always pray what is in our hearts, because that is what God desires to hear.

At the risk of upsetting any for whom the words to the Lord’s Prayer are thought to be sacred, I’d like to give us all a little food for thought in reading Pastor Marsh’s translation of the Lord’s Prayer.

Our Father in heaven, regardless of what has and has not happened, through our words and actions we bless, hallow, and make holy your name before others.

We claim your ways, concerns, and desires as our own.

Each day give us bread for the day to nourish and strengthen us in body and soul for whatever lies ahead.

Free us from the past and forgive us our sins in the same way and to the same extent as we forgive others.

Save us from the temptation of turning away from ourselves, one another, and you.

To all these things we say yes, yes, amen.

---

[1] James Laurence, WorkingPreacher.org, Commentary on Luke -111-13-5

[2] Warren Wiersbe, Be Compassionate, Pg. 147

[3] David E. Garland, Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: Luke, Pg. 464

[4] C. S. Lewis, The Case for Christianity

[5] Leon Morris, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: Luke, Pg. 214

[6] Michael K. Marsh, InterruptingTheSilence.com, “Can I Get an Amen?” Sermon on Luke 11:1-13

The Days are Coming

July 20, 2025

Amos 8:1-12

            I love Amos!  It is absolutely one of my favorite books of the Bible, not only because Amos’ message really resonates with me, but because Amos was a man of extraordinary courage.  And what is even more remarkable is the fact that this courage came from a place of deep humility.  So, before we talk about Amos’ message, let’s talk for a little bit about Amos himself.  Amos did not come from a priestly family.  He wasn’t a priest or a scribe or a teacher of the law.  Amos was, by his own admission, a shepherd.  Now, we’ve talked about shepherds before, and we have recognized the fact that there wasn’t a job of lower status in all of ancient Israel.  The shepherd, by the nature of their job, was continually ritually unclean and so was excluded from temple worship.  Since much of Israel’s social structure was built around the temple community, shepherds were outcasts.  Also, shepherds shared a terrible reputation; so much so that shepherds were not permitted to testify in a court of law.  When I was a kid, my mom used to tell me that if I didn’t apply myself in school I would end up digging a ditch.  I actually ended up a musician, which is a story for another time.  But I would imagine that ancient Israelite mothers told their children that if they didn’t apply themselves that they would end up being shepherds.  And so, the first thing that we know about Amos is the fact that he didn’t exactly have a desirable job.

            During Amos’ time in the late 700’s BCE Israel and Judah were quite affluent.  When we look at a map we see that Israel is situated in a direct line between Egypt in the South and Assyria and Babylon to the North, and so Israel lay right in the middle of the trade routes, and trade routes have a way of making merchants extremely wealthy, so, at the times that Israel was not occupied by other nations, Israel flourished economically.  And this was one of those times.  But that flourishing took place mostly among the economic elite, and so, as a shepherd, Amos would have been pretty far from benefiting from the economic bonanza that was enriching Israel’s upper class.  Bearing in mind the extremely low social status that Amos bore, we can see a few things right away.  First, is the fact that this common shepherd nobody… stood up to kings and priests with a force that was unexpectedly fierce.  And second, we can imagine that Amos’ message about how the wealthy exploit the poor was probably deeply personal.

            With this in mind, let’s take a look at Amos’ message.  Prior to today’s reading, God had given Amos three visions.  In each vision God shows Amos something then asks Amos what he sees and after Amos replies, God explains the vision.  In each of the three instances God declared judgment on Israel for their sins.  And in each of these three instances, Amos intercedes for Israel so compassionately that God relents and tells Amos that the prophesied judgments will not take place.  Today’s reading starts out in the same way, with God showing Amos a basket of summer fruit.  After Amos correctly identifies the vision, God, in a play on words in the original Hebrew, declares Israel to be ripe for judgment.  In the Hebrew, the word for “summer fruit” is qayits, while the term for “end” is qets so, here God is telling Amos that the time for judgment is here and will no longer be delayed.  And this time, Amos does not intercede.

            The next part of this passage can be a little hard to read.  Amos’ prophesy essentially says that the nation of Assyria will soon conquer Israel.  For an archaeology nut such as myself, I’ve seen pictures of the reliefs on the walls of Ashurbanipal’s palace.  The Assyrian king, Ashurbanipal reigned during the time of the siege of Jerusalem and the carrying off of the people of Israel into captivity.  These reliefs depict in gruesome detail the horrific things done by the Assyrian armies to the people of Israel.  Suffice it to say that the Assyrian armies were among the most heartless and vicious armies that have ever existed on this planet.  Our text today tells us that the songs in the temple will turn to wailing and that dead bodies will be flung everywhere.  The results of this war will be catastrophic to the Israelites. 

            And it’s here that we run into the age-old question of how can a God of love allow this kind of violence to happen?  Well, Amos spends most of today’s reading, and indeed most of this book. explaining what the sins are, that have led to this impending judgment.  You see, the wealthy of Israel have become obsessed with their wealth.  They just can’t wait for the sabbath or the religious festival to be over so they can get back to making money.  These religious observances, intended to bring people closer to God are instead viewed as an inconvenience to their money-making enterprises. 

And it’s not enough that these merchants are obsessed with money, they are devising all manner of ways to increase their profits, most of which are contrary to the law.  Leviticus 19:35-36 says: “Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity.  Use honest scales and honest weights.”  In spite of this clear command to use honest weights and measures, the merchants boast about “skimping on the measure”.  Deuteronomy 25:13-16 says: “Do not have two differing weights in your bag—one heavy [and] one light.  You must have accurate and honest weights and measures.  For the Lord your God detests anyone who deals dishonestly.” And yet again, the merchants boast about “cheating with dishonest scales”. 

I love ice cream and I have always been loyal to a particular brand that I particularly like.  This ice cream used to come in half-gallon cartons.  One day, I wrote a letter to this company to complain when I noticed that the cartons were no longer a half-gallon but had become one and three quarters quarts.  I had one half-cup less ice cream, but I paid the same amount.  Now, I personally would have preferred to continue to get my full half-gallon of my favorite ice cream and wouldn’t have minded a price increase… it happens.  But it seemed to me that the diminishing of the quantity was underhanded.  The manufacturer never responded to the letter.  I guess they just don’t care if people know that they are being cheated.  And for those who are paying attention, their cartons are now one and a half quarts.  These Jewish merchants would measure out their grain in containers that didn’t hold quite as much as they were supposed to.  And the merchants were also including the inedible husks along with the grain that was being purchased, giving you even less for your money.  And then to top it all off, when you paid in silver, the scale measuring the weight of the silver said you were giving them less than you actually were.

Stan Mast tells us that, “The effect of this widespread deceit, says God, is that the poor and needy end up falling further and further behind, until they need a loan just to make it day to day.  They end up being a slave to a lender, even to the point of having to use their shabby sandals as pledge on the loan.  So, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The bottom line for Israel was that making money was more important than caring for neighbor.  The God of the prophets had been replaced by the god of profit.” [1]

One cannot read the Bible without coming to an understanding of the fact that the poor and the marginalized hold a place near to God’s heart.  Three times in the Book of Amos God declared judgment on Israel for the exploitation of His beloved children, and three times He relented, out of His great love even for those whose actions were hurting others.  God is patient, but God’s patience is not limitless, and in this, the fourth vision, God declares Israel to be ripe for judgment.

This question about God’s judgment has been a subject of difficulty and a stumbling block to potential believers for millennia.  How often do we hear (or ask) the question, “How could a loving God allow this to happen?”  Well, I would like to share a  quote from the Canadian theologian and pastor, Tim Challies, who explains this better than anyone I have ever heard. 

“Scripture says that God is love and that he has wrath. This means that love lies deeper than wrath in the character of God. Love is his essential perfection, without which he would not be who he is. Wrath is love’s response to sin. It is God’s voluntary gag reflex at anything that destroys his good creation. God is against sin because he is for us, and he will vent his fury on everything that damages us.”

“Love is at God’s very core. 1 John 4:8 says, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” Through all of eternity, God has been love; he has existed in a state of love of Father to Son, Son to Spirit, Spirit to Father. There has never been a time that God has not been expressing love; nor will there ever be. But God’s wrath is far different. God has not always been wrathful. He has not always had to express anger. His anger is a reaction to a lack of love–a lack of love for him or a lack of love [for] others. Wrath is a response to sin. Thus, wrath did not exist until sin existed. And as sin came to be, God had to respond to it in a way befitting his holy character. God’s response to sin is wrath. How could it be otherwise? Sin is cosmic treason against the Creator of the universe. He must respond.” [2]

Amos, the shepherd, who lived in the southern kingdom of Judah had come to the northern kingdom of Israel to prophesy because God had sent him there with a message.  When Amos declared judgment on Israel, on the high priest Amaziah, and on the king Jeroboam, Amaziah heard Amos’ oracle and reported back to Jeroboam.  Jeroboam commanded Amaziah to return to Amos and tell him “Go back to Judah”.  But Amos would not be intimidated, nor would he be silent.  Neither the high priest nor the king were willing to listen to Amos or to repent.  But within a short time, everything Amos prophesied happened.  Amaziah was assassinated.  Jeroboam’s children were all murdered, Jeroboam was carried off into captivity along with most of the inhabitants of Israel, leaving his wife behind, unsupported, to become a prostitute, and Jeroboam died in a foreign country.

Today our text tells us that, as difficulties began to overrun Israel and they turned to the Lord for answers, the word of the Lord was nowhere to be found.  There was a famine of God’s word, exactly as Amos had prophesied.  If one refuses to listen to God, there will come a time when God will no longer speak to that person.

And so, how are we to understand all of this?  Where do we find God’s grace in this story?  That is the big question for today, don’t you think?  We see God’s grace in the three times that He relented from bringing judgment.  In what is rapidly becoming one of my most quoted Bible verses, 2^nd Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.  And I think that the key word here is absolutely “repentance”. 

These Israelite merchants undoubtedly were faithful attendees at the temple, as was made clear back in chapter 5.  But their worship and songs were mere lip service.  The fact that their hearts were not inclined towards God was painfully evident in the lack of empathy expressed to the poor who they were exploiting.  In chapter 5, verse 4 God says directly to these merchants “Seek me and live”. 

That “Seek me and live” is an open invitation from the creator of the universe, issued to every single one of His beloved children that will hear Him and respond to His love.  God’s grace is showered upon the repentant heart.  But in the hearts of those who serve other gods like money or power there is no room for God Himself. 

God’s gift of forgiveness is free, but it is not a gift that comes without strings attached.  And those strings are found in God’s call to live justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.  And what does it mean to live justly?  Well, justice is what happens when love is put into action.

---

[1] Stan Mast, CEPreaching.org, Amos 81-12-2

[2] Tim Challies, Challies.com, Wrath is Love’s Response to Sin

WHO Is My Neighbor

Luke 10:25-37

July 13, 2025

            OK, so, by a show of hands, how many folks have heard of the story of the Good Samaritan?  I thought so.  According to BibleSociety.org, it’s the third best known Bible story after the Birth of Jesus and Noah’s Ark.  And so, this parable of the Good Samaritan is a story that is widely known, not only by Christians, but by a significant secular audience as well.  And there is a problem with this.  The problem being that the entire impact of the parable’s original intent has been lost.  What do we think of when I say the phrase “Good Samaritan”?  Do we think of the Good Sam Club and all of the do-gooders that belong to it?  Do we think of a person who does the right thing, even when others don’t?  Is our focus on the parable the idea of someone doing good or doing the right thing?  If so, then we have missed Jesus’ point entirely.

            There is a series of 12 ancient books which are purportedly the testaments of the 12 sons of Jacob.  In reality, these books probably date to the Maccabean period from somewhere between 167 and 63 BCE some 1700 years after the time of the guys who supposedly wrote them.  But we do know that these books date to at least a hundred years or so before the time of Jesus, because several of these books are included among the Dead Sea Scrolls.  In the Testament of Levi… and understanding that Shechem was the capital of Samaria, Chapter 7 verse 2 says, “For from this day forward, Shechem shall be called “City of the Senseless,” because as one might scoff at a fool, so we scoffed at them”.

            You see, the Jews despised the Samaritans and among the Samaritans, the feeling was mutual.  Without getting into a big, long, history lesson (and y’all know how much I love history) Many Israelites had been unhappy with King Solomon’s reign because of oppressive taxes and also because some of Solomon’s many wives were not Jewish and Solomon joined in the worship of their foreign gods.  And so, when Solomon’s servant Jeroboam rebelled against Soloman many Israelites followed him, and this support intensified after Solomon’s death when his son Rehoboam ascended the throne.  As a result of this rebellion, Isreal ended up splitting into two nations.  The southern nation of Judah with their two tribes was ruled from Jerusalem by the rightful king Rehoboam, and the northern kingdom with their 10 tribes, retained the name Israel, and was ruled by Jeroboam… and his capital city was, you guessed it, Shechem; the capital city of the northern kingdom of Israel, which would eventually become known as Samaria.

            The northern kingdom was defeated in a war with Assyria.  The Assyrians, in a brilliant strategy designed to prevent insurrection, forcibly relocated most of the inhabitants of Israel to locations throughout the Assyrian kingdom and forcibly relocated other conquered peoples to Israel.  When you hear the term “Diaspora” it is to this relocation that it refers.  When you hear about the ten lost tribes of Israel, that refers to those who were relocated.  After about 150 or so years of intermarrying, the original Jewish people who had remained in Israel were no longer really Jewish, even though there remained a Jewish styled worship at the temple on Mount Gerizim.  The Jews living in the southern kingdom of Judah considered these people to be Gentiles, to be unclean, and further, the Jews regarded their worship as being blasphemous. 

            Still trying to keep this very long story short, about 150 years after the fall of the northern kingdom, the southern kingdom of Judah fell to the Babylonian empire and the inhabitants of Judah were also carried off into captivity, but 70 years later, Babylon was in turn defeated by the Persians and their very enlightened king Cyrus.  Cyrus had great tolerance for the customs and religions of the people that he had conquered, and it was Cyrus who not only permitted the exiled people of Judah to return to Jerusalem, but he actually funded the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls and the rebuilding of the temple.

After all of this, the people of the northern kingdom, with their temple in Shechem, and the Jews, with their temple in Jerusalem, both considered themselves to be the true people of Yahweh, and each considered the other to be interlopers.  And so, the two groups were constantly at odds with one another with the end result that there was great animosity between the two nations, and this animosity had been brewing for almost 600 years by the time that Jesus came along.  There was a deep-seated bigotry felt by both the Samaritans and the Jews and there was a tenacious refusal to even accept one another on a human level.

            And it is with this in mind that we enter into today’s story.  A Teacher of the Law asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life”?  Jesus asked him “What does the Law say”? and the scribe answered, “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 ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”  Jesus replied that he had answered correctly, but the scribe wasn’t done yet.  Our text tells us that the scribe “wanted to justify himself” and so he asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor”?

            He should have quit while he was ahead!  And so, Jesus tells the famous parable where the Jewish Rabbi and the Jewish Scribe pass an injured Jewish man lying in the road without helping him.  Cousar, Gaventa, McCann, and Newsome tell us that, “Their decision to pass by on the other side would not have been a surprise to, nor would it likely have been condemned by, Jesus’ hearers.” [1]  In the context of the time, it’s important to remember that the injured man was probably beaten and bloodied and if either of those two touched the man it would have made them ritually unclean, excluding them from their temple duties.  So, they both had their reasons for not stopping.  2000 some years later it may be difficult for us to comprehend a mindset that would prefer ritual cleanliness to compassionate help for someone in need, but to the priest and to the scribe it made perfectly good sense.  But for Jesus, the mere fact that this made sense to them was a big problem.  And so, Jesus picked the most hated person that anyone at that time could possibly have imagined and made that person the hero of His story.  It was a despised Samaritan who had compassion, bandaging the man’s wounds, placing the man on his own donkey, taking him to an inn, and paying the innkeeper out of his own pocket to ensure that the man would be cared for. 

            Even with the little history lesson that I just bored you with today, I think it is still difficult for us to realize just how repugnant this story would have appeared to a first century Jew.  But I think I might be able to help us to understand.  Because I have a modern… and true Good Samaritan story to tell that may help us to imagine just how shocking Jesus’ story was to His original audience.

            In 1996 the Ku Klux Klan held a rally in Michigan.  They chose Ann Arbor as the site for the rally, which was a curious choice, because Ann Arbor was known to be a very progressive and multi-cultural town.  A large crowd of counter-protestors was gathered to protest the rally, but the police were doing a great job of keeping the opposing crowds on opposite sides of a specially built barrier.  Then, a man wearing a confederate flag themed shirt with a visible Nazi SS tattoo entered the crowd on the counter-protestor side of the barrier.  People began to chase the man, at first just to try to get him to leave, but then some people started shouting “kill the Nazi”.  The man tried to run away, but he was soon knocked to the ground and people began hitting and kicking him.  Keshia Thomas, an 18 year old, black, female, high school senior, saw this and fell on top of the man, shielding him from the attack and very likely saving his life.

            This is a modern-day Good Samaritan story where Ms. Thomas risked her life and her personal safety for someone who probably never would have done the same for her and was in fact, there basically protesting against her and her people.  And if we can imagine the mindset of the average white supremacist, how do we think they would have responded if Jesus told THEM the story where the hero, saving the life of a fellow white supremacist, was an18 year old, black, female, high school senior?

            When the Jewish Teacher of the Law asked Jesus “Who is my neighbor” our text tells us that he was attempting to justify himself, and indeed, Jewish Scholars had debated for centuries the question of “Who is my neighbor”.  Jewish interpretations varied with “neighbor” meaning anything from all who had Jewish blood to only faithful Jews.  Gentiles were rarely, if ever, included in the “neighbor” category.  And it is here where we find the true point of this story.  Garland comments, “The [Scribe’s] question itself implies that there is such a thing as a non-neighbor.  The parable says there is no such thing”. [2]

            You have heard me speak from time to time about the Imago Dei, the image of God that dwells in each and every one of God’s beloved children.  The simple truth is, it is completely impossible to love God if you don’t love those who bear His image.  Among Christians, there is no such thing as a non-neighbor.  Miller expands on this idea when he says, “If I am to manifest God in my dealings with my neighbor, I must first determine who my neighbor is.  The lawyer thus suggests limits to love.  There must be those to whom the obligation to love does not apply.  This was an effort to evade the real issue by theoretical discussion.  Furthermore, it focused attention on the worthiness of the object of love rather than on the condition of the heart [of those] who [are] to do the loving” [3]

            The REAL message of the story of the Good Samaritan is that there is not one person on this planet from whom God exempts us of our responsibility to love.  There is not one person on this planet who is not our neighbor.  They don’t look like us?  Still our neighbor.  They don’t speak our language?  Still our neighbor.  They’re our political opposite?  Still our neighbor.  They don’t love like we do?  Still our neighbor.  They don’t believe what we believe or worship the way we worship, or they don’t worship at all?  Still our neighbor.  Because every single one of these people bears the Imago Dei, the image of the living God, it is our responsibility to love them.  Not to judge them, not to tell them how to live their lives, not to expect them to adapt to our culture or our customs or our beliefs, or our morality, but just to be a neighbor to them, just to love them.

            For the man in the confederate flag shirt at that KKK rally, Ms. Thomas was a neighbor.  At the time she didn’t see his politics or think about his motive for being at the rally.  The only thing she saw was a person in trouble and in need of help.  Asked about the incident later, Ms. Thomas said, “When people are in a crowd, they are more likely to do things they would never do as an individual. Someone had to step out of the pack and say, ‘This isn’t right.”  And so, Ms. Thomas did exactly that, she decided to be a neighbor.  Turning to Garland again, “When Samaritans help Jews, and Jews abandon their prejudice and embrace their enemies, the Kingdom of God is in their midst.” [4]  And when we abandon our prejudices and choose to be a neighbor to others, then the Kingdom of God is in our midst also.

---

[1] Cousar, Gaventa, McCann, & Newsome, A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV – Year C, Pg. 427

[2] David E. Garland, Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: Luke, Pg. 448

[3] Donald G. Miller, The Layman’s Bible Commentary: Luke, Pg. 104

[4] David E. Garland, Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: Luke, Pg. 449

The Harvest

July 6, 2025

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

            You are not going to believe what’s about to happen!  I was just talking to Jesus and do you remember about a month ago when Jesus sent the 12 out to preach the Good News and He gave them the power to heal the sick and to cast out demons?  Well, now He’s going to send US!  All 72 of us, can you believe it?  We’re going to go out into the towns and villages and preach the word that the Kingdom of God is at hand.  We’ll probably get to heal the sick and cast out demons too!  How cool is that?  Jesus said that we are going to have a meeting early tomorrow morning when He will give us all the details.  I can’t wait!

            The next morning we were up at first light and went to the meeting place.  Jesus was already up, as usual.  Every day He gets up while it is still dark and finds a quiet place to pray.  The meeting started and after praying and the usual greetings, Jesus got right down to business.  I’m sending you out in groups of two to all of the towns and villages that I will soon be visiting.  “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few” He said.  Always speaking in parables, you know?  But the parables are good because they make things easier to understand.  He said that we should pray that the Father sends more workers.  I suppose He’s hoping that some of the folks to whom we preach will join us and help us to spread the word.

            Then He told us that He is sending us out like lambs among the wolves.  And boy, do I ever believe that!  Because we are on our way to Jerusalem and we’re going straight through Samaria.  I would have assumed that we would go around Samaria like the normal people do, but if there is one thing about Jesus that is predictable, it’s the fact that He is never predictable.  So, Samaria it is.  I’m really glad that we are going to be going in pairs though.  I would hate to have to visit a Samaritan town on my own.  I suspect it will be hard enough with the two of us.

            And speaking of unpredictable, I can’t believe what I just heard Jesus say.  He just told us that we are to make this trip with just the clothes on our back.  Seriously Jesus?  Not even an extra shirt?  “Nope” Jesus said, no change of clothes, no purse, no bag, no extra pair of sandals, not even any money!  I mean, I know this is how He does things all the time, but most of us aren’t accustomed to such an austere lifestyle.  But you know what, if He asks us, we will do it.  I mean, who else can we follow?  There’s nobody else that has the words of life like He does. 

            I find it interesting that He has asked us not to greet anyone on the road.  Personally, I have never been a big fan of the Jewish customs with the elaborate rigmarole that you’re supposed to go through when you greet someone.  It’s time consuming, and, to tell you the truth, I find it a bit annoying.  Jesus says that our work is the priority and that we have so much to do that we really need to be focused on the task at hand.  He did say that we can be friendly, but friendly without getting mired in meaningless greeting traditions.  Fine by me!

            So, here’s how He says this is going to work.  When we enter a town or village, we go up to a house and greet the owner, saying shalom, shalom.  If they accept our offer of peace, we stay there.  If not, we simply move on to the next house until we find someone who will offer us hospitality.  I do have to say that there is one thing about all this that concerns me though.  We going to be in Samaria for at least part of the time; among Gentiles, and Jesus is telling us to eat and drink whatever they give us.  What if they serve swine?  Yuck!  But Jesus said that we need to be gracious guests and that means gratefully accepting the gift of their hospitality, no matter what they’re serving for dinner.  Jesus also said that, as workers, we are worth our wage, and He reminded us not to be self-conscious about the support that folks give us while we are on our mission.  That’s not going to be an easy one for me, but I’ll do my best.  I am also glad that Jesus told us to stay at only one house.  I won’t mention any names, but I suspect that there are a few among us who would shop around for the best accommodations; you know what I mean?  But part of being gracious guests is to be satisfied with our accommodations, no matter how elegant or how sparse.

            Now comes the good part!  Jesus said that we are to preach that the Kingdom of God is among us.  It was a little confusing at first the way He explained that.  But I think that I get it now.  He said that the Kingdom of God is not something that is just in our future, it’s also something that’s present now in His words and actions, and in the words and actions of His followers.  He said that when a person repents and believes, not only do they become a part of the kingdom right here and right now, but they become ambassadors of the kingdom, spreading the Good News of God’s salvation.  Hey!  That’s us!  That’s what WE’RE going to be doing!  This is so exciting!

            I think that Jesus is just about ready to wrap things up now.  But first He wants to talk to us about what happens if our witness is rejected.  Ooh, I didn’t even think of that.  He is telling us to follow the old Jewish custom of shaking the dust off of our feet when we leave the town.  For generations, Jew’s have shaken the dust off of their feet when they leave Gentile territory.  It’s a symbolic gesture that indicates the fact that we don’t want to carry even a trace of their land or their customs on our journey home. 

Since Jesus said that whoever listens to us listens to Him and that whoever listens to Him listens to the Father, I would imagine that shaking the dust off of our feet now is probably going to be more than just a tradition that expresses our desire to disassociate ourselves from the unclean, it’s probably also going to represent a judgment against them, don’t you think?  We’re going to have to try really hard to make sure that they are all hearing and understanding us.  I’m going to feel really bad for anyone who rejects our message.  Have you read what the Bible says about the judgment?  Phew!  I have, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, not even my worst enemy.  Hey, do you think that might be part of what Jesus is talking about when He tells us that we should love our enemies?  Saving them from the judgment is just about the most loving thing I think that I could do for them,

                        I hope you don’t mind my having taken a few liberties with today’s sermon.  I thought that it might be fun to shake things up a bit.  But there is something that I discovered in my studies this week that I would really like to share with you. 

            Last week we talked about how Jesus’ response to being rejected by the Samaritan village was just to move on.  “They went to a different village” Luke told us.  I quoted Chelsea Brooke-Yarborough who told us that allowing others the freedom to make their own choices, even if we disagree with them, is a loving act.  I was struck by the similarity of thought between the continuing on to another village is last week’s story and the shaking of the dust from your feet in this week’s story.  In both instances, we are validating another person’s right to make their own choices, but unlike last week, to reject Jesus in this week’s story has the potential to lead one to judgment.  And it’s here where we find a really valuable lesson.  As I said last week, it isn’t our place to judge.  It isn’t our place to call down fire from heaven on those who refuse to hear the Good News.  But what IS our responsibility is to recognize the importance of being a faithful witness; to understand how critically important our role is in sharing the Gospel -with a world that is in desperate need of hearing that Gospel.  And we need to understand what my fictional disciple this morning discovered.  That to save another from judgment is just about the most loving thing that we can do for them.  But this saving always must be done with compassion and grace, and forgiveness, and love in our hearts.  Otherwise, we run the risk of being dismissed as “just another one of those judgmental Christians”.

            St. Teresa of Avila was a Carmelite Nun who lived in the 1500’s.  She was the driving force behind a reform of the Carmelite order, advocating for deeper spiritual commitments from the nuns.  She is one of only four women in all of history who the Catholic church has declared to be a Doctor of the Church, the highest honor the church will give to an individual.  Today I share one of her best-known quotes:

“Christ has no body on earth but yours; no hands but yours; no feet but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ looks out to the world.
Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good.
Yours are the hands with which he is to bless others.”

            Jesus is sending us out just as surely as He sent the 72 disciples.  He calls us to bring the Good News that the Kingdom of God is at hand.  He calls us to bring the Good News that there is unending grace and forgiveness of sins for those whose hearts belong to God.  He calls us to share in the love that He has for each and every one of His beloved children.  And He calls us to reach out to them and let them see for themselves the love of God, reflected in us.  Today, let us echo the words of Isaiah who said, “Here I am Lord, send me”.