Devotional Message

ATTITUDES TOWARD LIFE

Luke 10:25-37 tells us about a person who is considered an outsider in so far as Judaism is concerned. The story tells us of a young Jewish lawyer who wanted to reassure himself that he was doing the right thing. To help him, Jesus took the opportunity to tell him a story. The story was designed to set the young man straight. In response to his question, Jesus Christ told a parable about a man who traveled from Jerusalem down the Jericho Road, was attacked by robbers, and left bleeding & dying. Along this same road came a priest & a Levite. They passed on the other side. The Good Samaritan came along & gave the man assistance. This story describes at least three attitudes toward life.

I. The first attitude toward life is "I’ll take from others". This is the attitude of the robber--"I will take whatever I want. It does not make any difference who has it." The road from Jerusalem to Jericho descends 35 hundred feet in its 22 miles thru rough terrain. Robbers would often hide behind rocks along the way. This road has been called the Bloody Way. You and I know the robbers of life. They declare in veiled ways, "I will take whatever I want from you. It doesn’t make any difference how it affects you or how it hurts you." You are simply a means to an end for them. They manipulate, abuse, and use people; cheat, steal, or lie. This is a philosophy we see too often in life. In the parable, the robbers beat the man & left him for dead. Many of those who inflict pain are unconcerned about their actions.

II. A second attitude toward life reflected in this parable is "I will ignore others". This is seen in the response of the Priest and the Levite. The text states that he was "going down" from Jerusalem. Perhaps, he had already done his priestly duty and was simply rushing home to be with his family and did not want to take the time to be bothered with this man. The Levite was a holy person by heredity. He & the priest passed on the other side. They were too busy; they had too much to do. They thought that religion was more concerned with custom than with charity, with being than with doing, with seeing than with assisting, with feeling than with helping. The priest represents the noble citizens, the good folks in society, the churchgoing people, & the preachers. He probably told the man who was lying wounded in the ditch, "Friend, I’m concerned about you. I want you to know that I hurt with you. I ache with you. I’m sorry this has happened to you. As soon as I get home, I will organize a committee, & we will start a drive to clean up the Jericho Road." Oh, he had noble feelings & good thoughts toward this man. He may have even told him, "I will inform the Jerusalem Red Cross. "I will let the Jericho Salvation Army know of your plight." He was too busy with his own needs, concerns, family, & way of life. He was concerned, but he didn’t do anything. He simply ignored him. Are we ignoring other people?

III. The third attitude toward life is, "I’ll help others". Seeing the man’s need, the Samaritan showed mercy. He extended himself toward the wounded man in a deliberate act. He went down into the ravine where the man was lying hurt. He touched him physically & began to bind up his wounds by pouring oil on them to clean the cuts. He put himself at some personal risk by going to the side of the hurt stranger. He placed the hurt man on his animal and then took him to an inn. "Take care of him," the Samaritan said to the innkeeper, "and I will repay you any other costs he may run up on his bill." He made personal sacrifices to assist the wounded man. He sacrificed his time, changed his schedule, and may have missed the next caravan going East and even lost a few sales. He took the risk of being misunderstood by his Jewish neighbor. The fact that a Samaritan rescued a Jew might not sit well with the Jew who was rescued. He and his family might think that the Samaritan had defiled him by touching him. The Samaritan was so despised by the Jews that some might have assumed that he had attacked the wounded man. The family of the victim might seek revenge on him. When telling this story, Jesus then turned to the lawyer & asked, "Who do you think then was the neighbor?" He replied, "The one who showed mercy."

Who is our neighbor? That’s the question for all of us. Where do you see yourself in this story? Are you the victim? Are you wounded and hurting, waiting for somebody to come & tend your needs? Are you the robber or the priest? Or are you the one who showed kindness? As the story unfolds, we are actors in the drama, not merely observers. To ask the question--"Who is my neighbor?" is the wrong question. That very question attempts to set limits. We are not to restrict who our neighbor is. To know who our neighbor is moves us beyond geography, countries, or space. To know our neighbor is not a concern for an area but w/ a spirit. Our neighbor is determined not by proximity but by need. Our neighbor is not identifiable by fences but in opportunities for ministry. Our neighbor cannot be defined. There is an absence of limits. When we understand what it means to be a neighbor, we realize that all fences/walls are destroyed; all barriers disappear; all limitations are removed. We are neighbors to persons of all races, creeds, skin colors, ranks, geographical areas, or educational levels. God expects us to reach out to all human beings with love and compassion. Wherever there is need, we are challenged to respond in kindness and grace. The Good Samaritan is symbolic of Jesus Christ and his ministry. Jesus’ ministry is summarized in the compassion of the Samaritan. Jesus spent his ministry reaching out to persons in need— the blind, the deaf, the crippled, the lepers, the outcast, and the lost. He reached out with compassion to all persons in their time of need. The Jericho Road passes by your door every day. Its path may lead by the door at your home, at work, or on the street you travel each day. Down the Jericho Road that passes your door, you encounter the hurting, the lonely, the wounded, and the needy that walk by every day. They reach out to you for help. Do you see them and hear them? Who is your neighbor? That is not the right question. The right question is: "To whom am I neighbor?" Our neighbor is everyone who has need.

By: Rev. ELMER MANZO
Senior Pastor