In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +
We sinful human beings have a strange, distorted fascination with the Law. With the rules. I'm not saying laws are bad, I'm not saying all rules are stupid – but we make so much them. We're spending how many millions, billions of dollars this year over various national elections, and really, all to make sure people we like make the rules. And yes, this is important, good rules are good. But we expect too much of them. We expect a new rule, a new law to... fix things. Make everything better. If we just craft the new rules, if this new bill gets passed... then everything will be better. But that's more than a law can do. A law limits, a law protects. I mean, speed limits and stop signs are designed to protect, but those laws don't suddenly mean everyone is a good driver. Laws can mitigate damage, they can give legal grounds to punish people - but they don't fix, they don't give, they don't do away with wickedness.
So, I don't want you to think too poorly of the lawyer in our Gospel lesson. He's going to ask some bad questions, but the silly assumptions behind those questions are still ones that we ourselves deal with, that we live with, and that in our annoyance with our neighbor we fall into. Consider: And behold, a laywer stood up to put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Oh no, putting Jesus to the test, that's bad, right? Think of this as a political interview. We ask questions of our political candidates – what's your position on X, how are you going to handle Y. That's putting them to the test, that's examining them. Do they give answers I like so I'll vote for them, give them my support? And so he asks his question – what must I do to inherit eternal life. And I want you to think about that question. The assumption behind it is that there is a law, a rule, that if we follow it, if we do it, then we will get eternal life. Give me a set of policies and procedures that will give me eternal life. What law are you going to give me that gives me eternal life.
And then Jesus responds with a question – which isn't rude, it was simply how you did public discussions and debates, you asked questions. So Jesus asks the Lawyer, what's written in the law? How do you read it, how do you sum it up? And the Lawyer says, “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 the Lawyer gives a good answer, a text book answer. I asked the the Sunday morning bible study last week to sum up the law, and this was basically the answer they gave. It's the right answer, it's the summation of the law. And so Jesus says, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” Yep, that's the law, just follow that and you'll live.
And Jesus is right – if you followed the law completely and fully, if you were without sin, you'd live. Eternally. Unfortunately, it's that pesky sin part that is the problem, and the Law happens to be really good at pointing out and showing us our sin. The law shows how bad the problem is, but it doesn't get to fix the problem. What Jesus says is akin to this – let's say someone asks a politician, “What laws are you going to pass to bring about world peace,” and instead of saying, “My policy will be this,” or “On my first day in office I'll sign this executive order,” the politician looks and says, “Well, you know, when people stop killing each other, we'll have world peace. Yep, yep, that's it – just stop killing each other, and don't rob each other, and maybe stop the affairs and the lying, and yeah, yeah, oh, and respect authority, and um, don't covet... and then we'll have world peace. There's the solution.” It's true, it's utterly correct... but it doesn't give some “simple” fake solution that we all get to celebrate and cheer over. It's not one simple thing to do, it's a mountain of stuff that we don't do.
Do you see the underlining issue? In our gut, we're just like that Lawyer – we operate with this deep, flawed assumption that if we just got new rules, longer rules, better rules, then the rules would fix the problem. And of course, we assume that we would easily follow and obey these new simple rules... but that's not how anything works. Pass a law, and then the lawyers all find the loopholes. Case in point, “But he, desiring to justify himself said to Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?'” Oh, and now the major flaw is shown. He desires to justify himself, to prove himself right, to prove himself good, to show that he's on the right team, one of the good guys. He thinks the law is going to do that. No, no! God's perfect law shows you your sin, it shows that you are dead in your tresspasses. And no loophole gets you out of this!
And so now, we finally get to the day's parable, the day's story. The Good Samaritan. So, how does the story start? Okay, guy gets brutally mugged on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho – a winding mountain road, lots of switchbacks, can't see what's coming. Life is full of surprises, and this guy's surprise was violent criminals who beat him near to death and steal all his stuff. Pause here. Let me ask a question. That robbed man, that beaten man... what must he do to inherit eternal life? What law can I make, what rule can I write, what advice can I give to him to give him life. Hey buddy, you might want to bleed less. Keep breathing, and you will live. No law, no rule will rescue him – the rules have long been tossed out of the window! He needs to be rescued! But who will rescue him? That's the right question.
A priest comes by, and a Levite comes by. Two very good, law abiding folks. And they skip on by quickly. Go to the other side of the road. Ceremonial law says that if you touch a dead body you are unclean for several days, and I have things to do, and it looks to be dangerous, so I'm out of here. The good people, the leaders, they don't stop to get their hands dirty. Still rings true today, right? But then a Samaritan comes by – someone who is despised – insert whatever villain of the day you happen to have, whomever you personally like to designate as “the bad guy”. And they just up and rescue the beaten man. 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 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.” And this Samaritan does it well. He stops and dresses the guy's wounds... while there are thieves around. He puts the guy on his own donkey, so if the muggers return the beaten guy might get away, but he won't. Then he fronts up cash, leaves an open tab at the inn, to care for the guy. The innkeeper could make up all sorts of stupid charges – how much did that bowl of soup cost? The Samaritan risks it all... to rescue the other guy. How is this beaten man going to live – only because someone else risks everything to save him.
You want to know who your neighbor is, you want to know what the law demands – go and do likewise. You go – and as you are going about just as that Samaritan was, you'll find people who need to be rescued, who need help, and you go and help them. Except, that's not going to give you life, that's not going to give you anything. It's going to cost you. It will cost you time, it was cost you money, and frankly, if scoundrels come along it might cost you your life. But you're supposed to love your neighbor, no ifs ands or buts, so get to it.
That's what the law says. Luther once said, “The Law says, 'do this,' and it is never done.” We don't meet that standard. We sin. We refuse to show love. And we becomes bruised and broken and the wages of sin is death – and we're the guy half dead. We need to be rescued. And that's what Jesus does. Jesus rescues you by fulfilling the law in your place, by not only risking everything in His life but by willingly laying it down to rescue you. Jesus goes to the Cross to pay your penalty, to take the sentence of death away from you and put it upon Himself. No law can take away your death, only Jesus rescuing you. Only Jesus seeing you continually cared for, continually forgiven and strengthened in His Church. Only Jesus returning again and raising us all to new and everlasting life will finally fix it. What must I do to inherit eternal life? Well, you've got to be rescued by Jesus, and He does that by forgiving you and raising you from the dead.
But what about the here and now, what about the what I am supposed to do, what about the “go and do likewise”? You're talking all about what Jesus does, Pastor! Well, yes, because Jesus is the One who does salvation, who does the saving. We don't get to be the Savior in our own story of salvation. But here is something to note. Jesus does want you to love your neighbor. But, unlike the hospital names, you don't get to become the Good Samaritan. You don't get to be the one who saves others. Sometimes, though, Jesus will make you the donkey. Jesus will put someone on your back and have you carry them. Sometimes, you get to be the innkeeper – Jesus will say, “Here you go, here's a guy who needs to be cared for and here's some wealth – get to it, and don't worry, I'll keep giving you more.” That's classic Christian Stewardship – God gives you His own stuff so that you can care for your neighbor. And this all happens because you've already been rescued by Christ. You only see this because you know Jesus, and you've been forgiven by Him, and you hear His Word. Turning to the disciples He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!” You get it, you see it, you understand it, because you see Jesus. No law, no rule is going to fix things. That's all damage control – and don't get me wrong, damage control is important, but it's not the real and full solution. That's Jesus. We need Jesus, and we see Jesus, and we know that we are forgiven, and we see the neighbors He gives to us in our various vocations, and we strive to love them, to help them, to assist them in a variety of ways... but we do this all knowing that we and they need Jesus, need His love, His mercy, His salvation. And we start to see Jesus' love and mercy in all things more and more.
But the world doesn't. The world is stuck in that sin-laced law delusion where if we just did this then everything would be better. And the world calls out to us, to get us caught up in that too. So Jesus calls us to repentance – no, no, the law's not going to save you. The law will show you your sin, and if you think that you're not a sinner anymore, we can ponder the law a bit and show you your sin. But the Gospel shows you and gives you your Savior, the true Good Samaritan, Jesus Christ, who has died and risen for you, and so you are free to boldly love your neighbor with your whole life, no matter how hard, and when you die, all Jesus is going to do is raise you and give you everlasting, eternal life, freed from sin. It's all good in Jesus. In the Name of the Father of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +
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