July 14, 2013
You, me and the `neighbors'
- Colossians 1:1-14
- Rev. Elsworth "Bud" Morack
“Along time ago in a galaxy far away,” I was a senior in a homiletics class at that great seminary in Chicago which contrary to popular opinion among some Presbyterians does not produce farm machinery. The professor, a man of genuine preaching ability, encouraged us to never … "never paraphrase Scripture and pretend it's a sermon.” Sadly, Dr. King is gone now … so please listen to this paraphrasing of our text; it’s not mine. It was written by Robert McAfee Brown, for many years a well-known Presbyterian teacher, pastor and theologian (some of his `modern-day` images and references might be a bit out-dated for us now, but I don't think you will have much trouble making the connections. … "An undocumented worker (Jesus begins), was walking down from Nob Hill to Fisherman's Wharf (obviously McAfee Brown was in San Francisco.) On the way, a bunch of teen-age [drug] addicts, desperate for a fix, grabbed his wallet, beat him up and left him in the gutter, half dead. Now by chance, a Presbyterian Minister was going down the same street, but when he saw the man he crossed over to the other side at the traffic light, since he was already late for a [committee] meeting. The executive vice-president of the San Francisco Social Service Agency, when he came to the place and saw the man, he also crossed over to the other side. He was collecting his thoughts for a speech on "Remedies for Juvenile Delinquency" that he was about to give at a prayer luncheon. ... Then a clerk from the Russian embassy drove by and when she came to the place where the man lay, she had compassion on him and taking the first-aid kit from the glove compartment, she stopped her car and tried to bind up the man's wounds. She then put him in the back seat of the car (getting blood all over the upholstery), and drove him to Mercy Hospital. Since the victim had no Blue Cross coverage and the hospital would not admit him without a financially reliable sponsor, the young Russian took out her purse, gave the admitting clerk two fifty-dollar bills (you can tell how old this is), and said, "Take care of him; and if this isn't enough, here is my VISA card. We can settle the difference when I return tomorrow!" ("Unexpected News" p.108) …
An undocumented worker in this country still is considered a real "nobody" by many! No papers, no right to be in our midst!! Illegal immigration is a big problem in certain parts of our country, so much so, that some communities and states have moved against such persons in the most unkind, inhospitable ways. And there is quite a bit of support for that around these United States of America!
A Presbyterian Minister ... well, what more needs to be said? Getting to our meetings is (always has been) important! And Lord knows we've had more than enough examples of "religious professionals" of all kinds who do not practice what they preach!
The vice-president of the Social Service Agency, another one of those liberal do-gooders! Busy doing this, doing that, many good and important things; a person who is not afraid to speak up; a person who seeks justice, yet, some of them, I fear, would never dream of getting their clothes the least bit dirty when seeing such an unfortunate person lying in the gutter!
Along comes the Russian (again, remember, this was written some time ago), a Russian, a woman no less, who works in the Russian Embassy and we all know those places were nothing but nests of spies; and possibly still are today (but we shouldn't talk any more about that sort of thing going on between nations - should we)! ...
It is this distrusted outsider, this perceived enemy who does what, at first thought, we would expect any good, red-blooded American, especially a Christian Child of God to do!
Now, substitute for the woman clerk at the Russian Embassy a person or group of persons who is one of your own particular objects of … (uh) distain - maybe prejudice: I don’t know; along comes an officer in the Iranian army … or a Taliban insurgent! ... Along comes a self-affirmed, practicing homosexual! Along comes the medical director of the local abortion clinic, or, a drug dealer known to sell to Junior Hi Kids - our kids! ... Along comes your sister's husband's lecherous father (no one in mind; I don't have a sister)! ... Whoever would be the least likely or the most offensive person in your opinion comes along that road and does what the despised Samaritan in the parable does, and it is this person who receives praise from the Son of God! … Familiarity, when it comes to the teachings of Jesus, does not always breed comfort; ... any one a little fidgety? ... maybe even a little angry? … at least frustrated?
If the purpose of Jesus' parable is to shock us out of any religious smugness or self-righteousness due to our favored positions as part of today's people of God; if the purpose of the parable is to tell us that the Love and Grace of God can and do work through all kinds of persons, even those of whom we do not approve, - even our perceived enemies ... then the parable does its job but we must listen carefully! There may be something of a twist in the parable (as is true in most of our Lord's parables). A twist. “Who is my neighbor?" asks the teacher of the law. … Dr. Robert Funk, at one time an Associate Professor of New Testament, Drew University, suggests that we must not allow this question to dominate the parable. The penetrating thought is not: "Who is my neighbor;" the real question becomes "WHO AM I?" (Interpretation Mag 164 p.60) Jesus asks the teacher of the law, "Who acted as a neighbor to the man?" An extension of that question easily can be: “Who are the People of God?” … Who I am, you see, determines what I do! Who I am, controls what I think and feel. It causes me, sometimes, to let loose with a volley of emotion! It pushes me, at other times, to curb my desires. Who Am I?
William Willimon, unabashedly my most favorite theologian (he’s a Methodist) writes: "Being a Christian means being part of a people who make the story of Jesus normative for the interpretation of their lives. ... The Christian is not someone who is working hard to bring about goodness; the Christian is someone who witnesses to the arrival of goodness in [Jesus] Christ and adjusts his or her life accordingly." (Sighing pp 83-91)
Who am I? ... "I am a Christian! I am a Disciple, a follower of Jesus, the Christ!" In him is found the grace and mercy I need in my life. His teachings and call to faithful witness are the touchstones for what is good and right for all of God's people everywhere. The basic question becomes not "Am I being a good neighbor;" the question is "Am I who I say I am?" (And this I really like from Willimon) "When Christians do good things they do them not to get anywhere; they do them because they have arrived!" (Everything, p.70) ... Arrived at the feet of the Master! Arrived at the 'lofty' position of servant of the Lord! … Arrived in the sense that one knows … knows that he or she is dependent upon and freed by the loving Grace of Jesus Christ … and reaching out to others in all matters of faith and living is rather to be expected!
That 'suspect' Russian; that "unclean" Samaritan! Me … you … whoever comes along the road is not bound by the need of the neighbor lying there half dead in the gutter. ... The traveler moving along the road is bound by who he or she IS … even at the risk, sometimes, of it costing you something; maybe even more than you might have expected or want it to be!
We know … that life is not always clear-cut and simple, … and neither is the question posed by Jesus all that complicated. "Who proved to be a neighbor to the one in need?" … "Who is the follower of Jesus, the Christ?" Who are we? Who do we WANT to be? Are we who we say we are?
May God grant that who we are be made known in our love for God and in our love for those around us - our "neighbors" all … to the glory of God and in praise of Jesus Christ, God's Son, our Lord and Savior. Amen!
(The content of this sermon is the exclusive property of The Rev. E. W. Morack, Greenwood, Indiana, and is not to be copied and/or used without permission.)