JERRY NEFF'S SERMON NOTES
August 26, 2001
Shalom Alekum tells a delightful story about an old man standing on a crowded bus. The young man standing next to him asked, "What time is it?" The old man refused to reply. The young man moved on. The old man's friends sensing something was wrong asked, "Why were you so discourteous to that young man who was asking for the time?" The old man answered. "If I'd given him the time of day next he'd want to know where I'm going; then we might talk about our interests. If we did that he might invite himself to my house for dinner. If he did, he'd meet my lovely daughter. If he met her they would both fall in love. I don't want my daughter marrying somebody who can't afford a watch!"
You know, I suppose if you didn't want to be bothered, any excuse will do. We are living in a world of people who don't want to be bothered. Indeed, we don't even want to come out of our houses any more. Sociologists say we've moved from a front porch society to a back yard society. Now I know you folks want to hear this! In the old days we used to walk uphill both ways! NO! But in the old days you'd sit on the porch on a Sunday afternoon and that way: first of all you didn't have air conditioning so it was the coolest place in the entire house to be, and secondly when people walk up and down, they'd walk on Sundays and they would go and visit people and you could see who was out on the front porch and you'd go up and visit with them. It was really a chance just to get together with people. But unfortunately what we've done is we've gone to our backyards and built 7 ft. privacy fences so nobody can know where we are, or what we're doing. We have VCRs now, so you don't have to go to the movies if you don't want to. We are, you can do your banking by computer. You can even do your grocery shopping by cable. Isn't that amazing? And they'll bring it to you. We can stay inside, separated, isolated from people as much as we would desire.
What will happen to us, the question is, if we continue to retreat into our own little cubicles? Will we become even more isolated, even more cut-off from the greater human family of which we are a part? This morning you heard a story that you recognized quite well. It's a story about a man who is going from Jerusalem down to Jericho, when he fell among thieves who robbed him, stripped him, beat him and left him for dead on the road. Now the road leading to Jericho was well traveled. So it wasn't long until a priest happened by. He glanced at the broken and bleeding body of that man lying there by the side of the road and he hurried on by. Likewise, a Levite, when he saw the man passed by on the other side. But there was a certain Samaritan, that's all we know about him, a certain Samaritan who coming upon the man had compassion on him. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring wine and oil over them. And he placed the beaten man on his own animal and took him to an inn. The next day when he had to be on his way, he gave the inn keeper enough money to care for him for the time being. And then he said, "If he requires more, I will make good on it when I come back."
You see the story of the Good Samaritan is one of the most famous stories in all of literature. Jesus told this story in response to a lawyer's question, "And who is my neighbor?" The obvious answer to the question after you hear the story of the Good Samaritan is anybody who needs your help is your neighbor. Now that's a lot of people! Jeremy Taylor, a 17th century Bishop, used to council aspiring members to speak kindly to everyone you meet for everyone has a problem.
Now I doubt that there is anyone here this morning who doesn't feel just a twinge of guilt when they hear this story. We recall the hitchhiker that we left standing by the side of the road. Now we know the danger of picking someone up and yet it still makes us feel kind of funny when we pass them by. Or there was that derelict who approached us in the street, and our first thought was, "don't make eye contact cause he is going to ask for something and if we do give him something, he'll probably just spend it on whiskey." But deep in our hearts we wonder what Jesus would have done. We read about Central American refugees, and Ethiopian starvation victims and we ask with an anguished cry, "LORD, what is my responsibility to these people. There is so much pain everywhere that I turn. How far do you mean for me to go?"
There are two levels at which we may respond to the story of the Good Samaritan. The first is at the level of simple civility, or common courtesy. I was reading recently that just as the Hawaiians have no word for weather, because the climate's so good, Eskimos have no word for thank-you, because in a world that is so stark, helping one's fellow human being is seem as a duty! And there is no need for the work, thank you. Columnists and great theologist, Ann Landers, once wrote, (laughter, you picked-that up hum?)"be kind to people. The world needs kindness so much. You never know what sort of battles other people are fighting. Often just a soft word, or a warm compliment, can be immensely supportive. You can do a great deal of good by just being considerate, by extending a little friendship, going out of your way to do just one nice thing, or saying one nice word.
Being civil to one another is the LEAST that we can do. Every major religion, or philosophy, ACKNOWLEDGES THAT. You most certainly don't have to be a Christian to extend to another, common courtesy, human decency, simple civility. Everyone owes their fellow beings that much. There are many Good Samaritans around of every race, and every creed. Most people who if they see a fellow human being who is clearly in need, and they have the resources with which to help, will respond.
Now I moved to College Station last June. I've been here a little over a year. So everything was first for me. You freshman, you'll understand first as we go along. But, (kind of hot up in that balcony, huh? Shouts of yes. That's alright, you can keep fanning, that' alright it doesn't bother me.) Now last August, end of August, someone said "okay, are you going to be in the Freshman move-in?" And I said, "what's that?" They said "well, just show up, we'll show you." (Laughter) So they put a real bright colored shirt on us, put us out in the parking lot and we ended up helping move in the freshmen. Every person I got was on the third or fourth floor. (Laughter) I personally carried ten refrigerators up those flights of stairs.
Actually, the reason we were there was just to welcome someone. We were able to take our son to Ft. Worth, and we just left him there and there was no one to greet him. He came back (laughter) but never the less, there was no one there so it was really a blessed thing to see some folk out there just willing to help and that was a real blessing for us and it was something we could do. I've learned to take an earlier shift since I've been here with the weather. But that was really a nice thing to see the smiles on the parents faces when they realized that they weren't going to have to move up a small U-Haul trailer three stories. And it was, they had a real bright smile when they asked where the elevators were in the dorms. (Laughter, yeah) A simple civility. We all owe one another that.
And that's one of the levels that you can read the story of the Good Samaritan, but there is another level. Those of us who have known the Grace of Jesus Christ at work in our lives know that it was once we who lay in the ditch broken and bleeding. It was the ultimate Good Samaritan, who is God, who ministered to our needs, and now we long to do for others what God has done for us. There was a fashionable phrase several decades ago called "compassion fatigue." I don't know if you've ever heard that? It was the term used to describe those who during the 60s had tried to right society's wrongs, but they were now burned out. They had lost their enthusiasm for doing good.
The reason they had lost their enthusiasm is clear. They've started with the wrong motivation. It's find to be a nice person who wants to help others. That's far better than being an insensitive clod who thinks only of him or herself. However, it's another thing to see a man dying on a cross for your sins and to realize that you own a lifetime of service in response to the kind of love that was extended to you. I do not know of any greater service of humanity, whether it's a Switzer, or Mother Theresa, or Dr. Tom Dooley in southeast Asia, or whomever it might be who was not driven, first of all, by a love of God. Loving people is not enough. People can be ornery. Even people you help can be ornery, or cross. And they can squeeze all the joy out of that Good Samaritanism that is in us. If you're motivated only by the love of people, you're gonna soon grow weary of well-doing, but if you are motivated by your love for God, YOU CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS!
Years ago there was a young businessman in Atlanta named Jack Stevens, who got a call from a friend, who was the director of a local boys club, asking him to pick up a young boy and his mother, and to take them to the hospital. The boy had leukemia, Jack was told, and probably only had a few days to live. Since the boy's home was only a few blocks away from his own, Jack Stevens agreed to this request. At 8:00 that morning the mother and the boy were sitting in the front seat of Jack's car. The child was so weak that he was lying down. His head in his mother's lap and his little feet resting on Jack's right leg. After starting the motor, Jack glanced down at the youngster, who was staring at him and eyes met. "Are you GOD," the boy asked. Jack hesitated and then he answered softly, "No son! Why do you ask?" "Mother said God would come soon and take me home with him," the young fellow said. His plaintiff words nearly broke Jack's heart. Six days later that young man did go to be with God but a radical change take place in Jack Steven's life. The picture of that young boy lying with his head in his mother's lap, the eyes of that helpless child and the question, "Are you God?" burned themselves FOREVER in his heart and in his mind. He knew that he had to do more than he's been doing. Soon Jack Stevens, himself, was director of the Joseph B. Whitehead Memorial Boys Club in Atlanta, Ga.
You see, when Christ gets hold of us we reach out to other people not just because we're nice people. We do it because once upon a time we were lying in a ditch and a stranger reached out to us and now that stranger has invaded our lives and it is HE, not we, who reaches out to our neighbor through us, using our hands, our material sources, our valuable time. I can almost hear that broken man lying beside the road on the way to Jerusalem to Jericho and looking into the face of that compassionate Samaritan and saying, "Mister, are you GOD?" And in a sense he was!
Archibald Rutledge once told about visiting a church service where the singing was contagious, the prayers splendid, and the minister was most impressive. As the congregation was leaving following the Benediction, however, there was a woman unkempt and weeping sitting outside by the church yard fence. Only one of the worshipers paid her any attention. One of the ladies went over and knelt beside that desperate woman and sought to dry her tears and comfort her. Rutledge concluded that only one person in that entire congregation really knew how to worship God. It was the one that did something to help. It almost makes you want to be bothered, doesn't it?. We can go beyond common courtesy. We can be more than simply, nice people.
We can be the very hands and feet and voice of Jesus Christ reaching out in love and compassion to all people. And that is the Good News. Amen!