Fifth Sunday after Pentecost - Sermon and Video of Divine Service

 Video of Divine Service at St. Luke, Rensselaer, IN

Pentecost 5 (Proper 10C)

Leviticus 18:1-5; 19:9-18    

Colossians 1:1-14     

Luke 10:25-37

O Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my rock and my redeemer. Amen. 

Two questions that nearly every generation must address throughout human history are the questions “What should we believe?” and “How shall we live?” Most people answer these questions without much thought or concern. I dare say, that most of us throughout history, don’t even think conscientiously about these questions unless someone within our hearing brings them up and asks that all important question: Why do you think this?The reason why we do not have to really think about these questions and provide an explicit answer is because the culture in which we live and move and have our being provides these answers. Culture forms us in ways that we do not realize until we encounter someone from somewhere else and there is a mutual understanding that this person does not think like I do. 

In America right now, what is so magical about the ages of 16, 18, and 21? At 16 you can get a driver’s license. At 18 you are an adult, and you may vote in elections. At 21 you may purchase alcohol. Who made those rules? A century or so back, a person was considered an adult at 14. Why the change? Our culture has alot to do with that. 

The declaration of independence happened in 1776. But, women were not legally eligible to vote until 1919. Also, closer to home, in the state of Indiana, in 1852 married women in Indiana are given the right to own (but not control) property in their own name. That does not change until 1879 when married women are granted separate economy and control over their earnings. 

What determines these values and why do these values change? The simple answer is culture. 

Culture also plays a significant role in a person’s belief system. Unless we are thinking about this critically, we simply inherit a creed about what we believe. It’s just the way it is. 

The reason I bring all this interesting information to your attention this morning is because God instructs Moses on Mount Sinai to tell the people that from here on out, they are to live a life that is different than they knew before. No matter where they are, no matter what the culture dictates, God demands that His people believe and live according to God’s ways only. This requires a critical assessment of the culture in which they live and discernment about the best course of action for the individual, family, and community of faith as they work and live within the culture in which they reside.  Hear again what the Lord said to Moses: 

“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the Lord your God. ³ You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. ⁴ You shall follow my rules^[a] and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God. ⁵ You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.”

In Egypt and in Caanan, there are many gods to worship. But, the LORD God says, I am the LORD, worship me and only me. What the culture you came from and where you are going is wrong. What it teaches is idolatry and you will have no part in it. 

The rest of the reading is from Leviticus 19 where the LORD addresses hospitality toward the poor and strangers, theft, truth telling, justice, and treatment of one’s neighbor. God states clearly and emphatically, regardless of the values of the culture in which you find yourself, the values by which you live and interact with others are my values and no one else’s.

God has more to say about how to live as God’s chosen people, but this gives us a significant nugget of what it means to live in God’s kingdom where our faith shapes how we shall live. 

When we read through the history of Israel in the Old Testament, we see how quickly the people forget God’s Word. Yet, God’s Word endures forever and the Lord calls forth judges and prophets to call the people to repentance and to return to the Lord and His ways. 

In the Gospel reading, Jesus is functioning as a prophet. He is offering a corrective to a Jewish religious culture that had become focused on the wrong things. In the reading from Leviticus 19, we see great care for the neighbor being expressed by God. Already, the question is answered, “Who is my neighbor?” The neighbor is whoever is in need. The poor and the sojourner are hungry and they need food. They are your neighbors, don’t harvest absolutely everything. Leave some for the neighbor in need. All of the instructions that we find in Leviticus 19 are ultimately about how to care for the neighbor who is in need, who is in a position of disadvantage somehow. The Lord demands that His people, care for the neighbor. In fact, he ups the ante. Your care is an expression of love. The lectionary reading concludes with the exhortation: “You shall love your neighbor as yours: I am the LORD.”  

Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan comes because the good, decent man standing before him wants to make distinctions between the neighbor in need. Is my neighbor, the guy who lives in my neighborhood and goes to the same house of worship that I do? My neighbor couldn’t possibly be somebody not like me, could it? Is a gentile my neighbor? Is my theological enemy my neighbor? 

God says in Leviticus 19 to not make distinctions between the poor and sojourners. Does not matter why they are poor and does not matter what country they come from. They are in need and are your neighbor. God says to not make distinctions between the poor or the wealthy. Both deserve the truth. Both deserve our honesty. Both deserve justice. Make no distinction between them.   

Jesus says the same thing in this parable. Doesn’t matter why the man was beaten and laying in the ditch. He needs help. He is the neighbor in need. Two men who should have helped, did not. In their minds, probably for very good reasons. Three of which are as follows: First, they are both temple workers and coming in contact with the man’s blood would make them ritually impure and interfere in their time of service. Second, if the man is dead or dies while they are addressing his wounds, they would become ritually impure and interfere in their time of service in the temple. A third reason is the sense of obligation that would be placed upon them. Who knows how long this is going to take, what is going to happen, and who has time for this? If they cross to the other side of the street, they do not officially know that there is a problem. 

So, the despised Samaritan is the one who recognizes the man as a neighbor in need and proceeds to generously render much needed assistance.  The Samaritan is the one who models the seamless connection between belief in the one true God and action prescribed by God.  God has mercy on Israel by calling them out of bondage of slavery in Egypt. God has mercy on Israel by instructing them to live in a way that promotes life and demonstrates God’s mercy in action. 

Jesus is the embodiment of God’s mercy. Jesus is God incarnate who comes to down to us who are still in bondage to our sin. We need God’s Word because we too forget what God says. We do not behave in accordance with our confession of faith. We fail to see, we fail to address, the neighbors in need around us. But God’s mercy is such that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away our sin through his sacrifice on the cross. On account of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we have the privilege to repent and receive our Lord’s forgiveness. We are set free by His mercy so that we can show mercy to our neighbors in need.  

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.