Proper 10
Preaching
Preaching Luke's Gospel
A Narrative Approach
We come this week to one of the great Lukan stories that have found their way into the consciousness of people far and wide. A poll was taken some years ago asking people in the United States why they gave to charity. The number one answer was a reference to the story of the "good" (Luke's story does not call him good) Samaritan! "You can't just pass by on the other side" was an answer given by many in relationship to their motive for giving.
David Tiede sets this week's text into its immediate context in Luke's Gospel:
This cluster of stories presents Jesus teaching "on the way." The encounter with the lawyer (vv. 25-28) sets the context with a discussion of observing the Law and inher-iting eternal life. The parable of the "good Samaritan" (vv. 29-37) provides an object lesson in loving and serving the neighbor; the exchanges with Mary and Martha (vv. 38-42) deal with the priorities of serving and hearing the word of God, and Jesus' instruction on prayer (11:1-13) depicts the confidence with which all people may love and serve God.1
A lawyer rises to test Jesus. "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" That's the question. This is a question asked and answered by myriads of lawyers in the rabbinic tradition. No matter how Jesus answered this question the lawyer would be able to quote to Jesus other answers by other teachers. Jesus turns the tables on the lawyer and asks him what the law says. The lawyer says rightly! He knows that the greatest law is that which calls for love of God and love of neighbor. See Leviticus 19:18 and Deuteronomy 6:5. In Matthew 22:34-40 and Mark 12:28-31 Jesus answers a question about the "greatest commandment in the law" by giving the same answer this lawyer gives. Love God. Love your neighbor.
Love of God and neighbor is the biblical word on the divinely intended shape for human life. God created the first human and called upon this one to refrain from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the center of the garden (Genesis 2:16-17). This boundary at the center was to serve as a reminder that God is the center of human life. God is to be loved above all else.
God saw that the first human was alone and that loneliness was not good (Genesis 2:18-25). God, therefore, created a woman for the man. The two were to live together in human community. They were to love each other! Human life is life lived in community with other persons. We are to love these persons.
The Ten Commandments speak in their two tables of love of God and love of neighbor. The commandments which concern the neighbor put a boundary at the edges of our lives. This boundary tells us what we cannot do in relation to our neighbor. We are to love the neighbor. The commandments do not tell us what that means. We will have to figure that out for ourselves. We do know that there are boundaries on our behavior with others.
The lawyer is not satisfied by Jesus' answer. He wants to justify himself. In order to justify himself he needs to know exactly who his neighbor is. Then he can love that neighbor and live! Then he can justify himself. We note the main concern of the lawyer. His main concern is himself. He is not really interested in his neighbor except as a means to his own justification.
This motive of self-justification occurs in other Lukan stories (16:14-15; 18:9). Jesus makes it clear in all of these stories that justification and eternal life are not rewards for the justifiable be-havior of humans. Justification is a gift of God. This is particularly clear in the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector in 18:9-14. (This text is appointed for Proper 25.) In this story it is the sinner who cries, "Lord, be merciful to me," who goes home justified.
We have referred a number of times to the theme of reversal in Luke's Gospel. This theme is first sung by Mary: "God has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted the lowly ..." (Luke 1:52). We mentioned this theme in Chapter 1. We cited Luke 7:36-50; 13:22-30; 14:11-24 and Chapter 24 as stories of reversal. This reversal is also present in today's story as the lawyer (the powerful) is brought down and the lowly (Samaritan) is lifted up. It is probably in character for this Gospel to suggest that justification is about lifting the lowly!
It has been noted by many commentators that Jesus' story of the Samaritan does not directly answer the question of the lawyer. The lawyer wanted to know who his neighbor was. Jesus' story is of a man, a very unlikely man, who was a neighbor. In order to catch the sharp edge of this story we need to remind ourselves of the status of Samaritans in relationship to Jews. John's Gospel puts it succinctly: "Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans" (John 4:9). The Samaritans were the remnant of the old Northern Kingdom in Israel who defined themselves over and against the people of Judah (the south) in the post-exilic period. It is hard for us to imagine the genuine shock value of this story in its context. A good Samaritan? Impossible!
We have talked about Luke's mission theme. The salvation that comes in Jesus Christ is for all people. See Luke 2:32; 3:6. This mission to the whole world, of course, is carried out in the Book of Acts as the disciples are empowered by the Holy Spirit to be witnesses of Christ in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). The first appearance of Samaritans in Luke's Gospel is in the story in 9:51-56 where they would not receive Jesus as he set his face towards Jerusalem. That's what we expect from Samaritans! But in this week's text we have a good Samaritan. In Luke 17:11-19 it is the Samaritan leper alone who returns to give thanks to Jesus. (This text is appointed for Proper 23.) The grand climax of the Samaritan theme is the story of the "Samaritan Pentecost" in Acts 8:4-17. Apostles from Jerusalem went down to Samaria to pray for these newborn Christians with the laying on of hands. Samaritans become part of Christian com-munity. Incredible!
Homiletical Directions
The narrative possibilities for preaching on this week's text are many. First, we could deal with the theme of love of God and love of neighbor. Tell only the first part of this week's story (10:25-28). This very good answer of the lawyer points to the reality of how God created us in the first place. From the Genesis material above tell the story of the creation of the first person, the tree in the garden, and the need for human community. This story says that we are created to love God at the center of our life and our neighbor as well. To live such a life is to live in the image of God.
Next tell the shape of the Ten Commandments. The first table of the law points to our relationship to God; the second table of the law points to the boundaries we must not cross in our relationship with our neighbor. We can add to this the fact that Jesus gives this same answer of love of God and neighbor when he is asked what the great commandment of the law is (Matthew 22:34-40; Mark 12:28-31).
Such a sermon, of course, cannot end with a command to people to love God and neighbor. That's precisely what we can't do! In Colossians 1:15 and Romans 8:29 we read references to Jesus as the image of God. The Romans passage tells us that it is God's intention to conform us to the image of God's son. There is our hope. There is our proclamation. Jesus' word is: "I am the image of God. I have come to conform you to my image. Put your trust in me and I will conform your life to be a life of love of God and love of neighbor."
A second sermon possibility would be to deal with the theme of self-justification versus justification by God. First tell the lawyer's story down to the fact that he asked in order to justify himself. See the text above for additional comments on the meaning of self-justification. Second, note the self-justification motive in 16:14-15; 18:9-14. It would be very helpful to tell the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector this week even though it will occur later in the lectionary cycle. It is a story that clearly explicates the justification theme. Who is justified? Confessing sinners go home justified. Play off the realities of self-justification and Christ's justification. Such a sermon can end in proclamation: "I justify sinners. I justify those who cry for mercy. I justify you when you, along with the tax collector, cry 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner.' "
A third narrative possibility would be to go with the Samaritan theme. As Old Testament background you can tell stories from Nehemiah 2:1-20; 4; 6:1-9. When Nehemiah came back from exile he was confronted by the political power of the Samaritans in the persons of Sanballat and Tobiah. Note the closing line of the story told in Nehemiah 2. The Samaritans have no portion or right or memorial in Jerusalem! The same was true in the earlier return of exiles to Jerusalem. See Ezra 4:1-3.
In Luke's story begin with the bad Samaritans in 9:51-56. Then comes this week's story of a good Samaritan. Tell his story! Ref-erence can be made as well to the good Samaritan in 17:11-19. The Samaritan story ends in the book of Acts 8:4-17. The apostles from Jerusalem go down to Samaria to lay hands upon the Christians there. The Holy Spirit is poured out also on the Samaritans! Samaritans are no longer excluded from Jerusalem! This is in con-trast to Ezra 4:3 and Nehemiah 2:20.
The conclusion of this series of stories might have Jesus say: "I love the outcast. I love even the Samaritans. Bad Samaritans were turned to good Samaritans in my presence. I still love outcasts today. I still love Samaritans who by some persons' definition must stand outside of my love. If I love the Samaritans of yesterday and today, then know that I love you as well."
____________
1.aDavid L. Tiede, Luke: Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament (Minne-apolis: Augsburg, 1988), p. 207.
David Tiede sets this week's text into its immediate context in Luke's Gospel:
This cluster of stories presents Jesus teaching "on the way." The encounter with the lawyer (vv. 25-28) sets the context with a discussion of observing the Law and inher-iting eternal life. The parable of the "good Samaritan" (vv. 29-37) provides an object lesson in loving and serving the neighbor; the exchanges with Mary and Martha (vv. 38-42) deal with the priorities of serving and hearing the word of God, and Jesus' instruction on prayer (11:1-13) depicts the confidence with which all people may love and serve God.1
A lawyer rises to test Jesus. "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" That's the question. This is a question asked and answered by myriads of lawyers in the rabbinic tradition. No matter how Jesus answered this question the lawyer would be able to quote to Jesus other answers by other teachers. Jesus turns the tables on the lawyer and asks him what the law says. The lawyer says rightly! He knows that the greatest law is that which calls for love of God and love of neighbor. See Leviticus 19:18 and Deuteronomy 6:5. In Matthew 22:34-40 and Mark 12:28-31 Jesus answers a question about the "greatest commandment in the law" by giving the same answer this lawyer gives. Love God. Love your neighbor.
Love of God and neighbor is the biblical word on the divinely intended shape for human life. God created the first human and called upon this one to refrain from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the center of the garden (Genesis 2:16-17). This boundary at the center was to serve as a reminder that God is the center of human life. God is to be loved above all else.
God saw that the first human was alone and that loneliness was not good (Genesis 2:18-25). God, therefore, created a woman for the man. The two were to live together in human community. They were to love each other! Human life is life lived in community with other persons. We are to love these persons.
The Ten Commandments speak in their two tables of love of God and love of neighbor. The commandments which concern the neighbor put a boundary at the edges of our lives. This boundary tells us what we cannot do in relation to our neighbor. We are to love the neighbor. The commandments do not tell us what that means. We will have to figure that out for ourselves. We do know that there are boundaries on our behavior with others.
The lawyer is not satisfied by Jesus' answer. He wants to justify himself. In order to justify himself he needs to know exactly who his neighbor is. Then he can love that neighbor and live! Then he can justify himself. We note the main concern of the lawyer. His main concern is himself. He is not really interested in his neighbor except as a means to his own justification.
This motive of self-justification occurs in other Lukan stories (16:14-15; 18:9). Jesus makes it clear in all of these stories that justification and eternal life are not rewards for the justifiable be-havior of humans. Justification is a gift of God. This is particularly clear in the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector in 18:9-14. (This text is appointed for Proper 25.) In this story it is the sinner who cries, "Lord, be merciful to me," who goes home justified.
We have referred a number of times to the theme of reversal in Luke's Gospel. This theme is first sung by Mary: "God has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted the lowly ..." (Luke 1:52). We mentioned this theme in Chapter 1. We cited Luke 7:36-50; 13:22-30; 14:11-24 and Chapter 24 as stories of reversal. This reversal is also present in today's story as the lawyer (the powerful) is brought down and the lowly (Samaritan) is lifted up. It is probably in character for this Gospel to suggest that justification is about lifting the lowly!
It has been noted by many commentators that Jesus' story of the Samaritan does not directly answer the question of the lawyer. The lawyer wanted to know who his neighbor was. Jesus' story is of a man, a very unlikely man, who was a neighbor. In order to catch the sharp edge of this story we need to remind ourselves of the status of Samaritans in relationship to Jews. John's Gospel puts it succinctly: "Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans" (John 4:9). The Samaritans were the remnant of the old Northern Kingdom in Israel who defined themselves over and against the people of Judah (the south) in the post-exilic period. It is hard for us to imagine the genuine shock value of this story in its context. A good Samaritan? Impossible!
We have talked about Luke's mission theme. The salvation that comes in Jesus Christ is for all people. See Luke 2:32; 3:6. This mission to the whole world, of course, is carried out in the Book of Acts as the disciples are empowered by the Holy Spirit to be witnesses of Christ in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). The first appearance of Samaritans in Luke's Gospel is in the story in 9:51-56 where they would not receive Jesus as he set his face towards Jerusalem. That's what we expect from Samaritans! But in this week's text we have a good Samaritan. In Luke 17:11-19 it is the Samaritan leper alone who returns to give thanks to Jesus. (This text is appointed for Proper 23.) The grand climax of the Samaritan theme is the story of the "Samaritan Pentecost" in Acts 8:4-17. Apostles from Jerusalem went down to Samaria to pray for these newborn Christians with the laying on of hands. Samaritans become part of Christian com-munity. Incredible!
Homiletical Directions
The narrative possibilities for preaching on this week's text are many. First, we could deal with the theme of love of God and love of neighbor. Tell only the first part of this week's story (10:25-28). This very good answer of the lawyer points to the reality of how God created us in the first place. From the Genesis material above tell the story of the creation of the first person, the tree in the garden, and the need for human community. This story says that we are created to love God at the center of our life and our neighbor as well. To live such a life is to live in the image of God.
Next tell the shape of the Ten Commandments. The first table of the law points to our relationship to God; the second table of the law points to the boundaries we must not cross in our relationship with our neighbor. We can add to this the fact that Jesus gives this same answer of love of God and neighbor when he is asked what the great commandment of the law is (Matthew 22:34-40; Mark 12:28-31).
Such a sermon, of course, cannot end with a command to people to love God and neighbor. That's precisely what we can't do! In Colossians 1:15 and Romans 8:29 we read references to Jesus as the image of God. The Romans passage tells us that it is God's intention to conform us to the image of God's son. There is our hope. There is our proclamation. Jesus' word is: "I am the image of God. I have come to conform you to my image. Put your trust in me and I will conform your life to be a life of love of God and love of neighbor."
A second sermon possibility would be to deal with the theme of self-justification versus justification by God. First tell the lawyer's story down to the fact that he asked in order to justify himself. See the text above for additional comments on the meaning of self-justification. Second, note the self-justification motive in 16:14-15; 18:9-14. It would be very helpful to tell the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector this week even though it will occur later in the lectionary cycle. It is a story that clearly explicates the justification theme. Who is justified? Confessing sinners go home justified. Play off the realities of self-justification and Christ's justification. Such a sermon can end in proclamation: "I justify sinners. I justify those who cry for mercy. I justify you when you, along with the tax collector, cry 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner.' "
A third narrative possibility would be to go with the Samaritan theme. As Old Testament background you can tell stories from Nehemiah 2:1-20; 4; 6:1-9. When Nehemiah came back from exile he was confronted by the political power of the Samaritans in the persons of Sanballat and Tobiah. Note the closing line of the story told in Nehemiah 2. The Samaritans have no portion or right or memorial in Jerusalem! The same was true in the earlier return of exiles to Jerusalem. See Ezra 4:1-3.
In Luke's story begin with the bad Samaritans in 9:51-56. Then comes this week's story of a good Samaritan. Tell his story! Ref-erence can be made as well to the good Samaritan in 17:11-19. The Samaritan story ends in the book of Acts 8:4-17. The apostles from Jerusalem go down to Samaria to lay hands upon the Christians there. The Holy Spirit is poured out also on the Samaritans! Samaritans are no longer excluded from Jerusalem! This is in con-trast to Ezra 4:3 and Nehemiah 2:20.
The conclusion of this series of stories might have Jesus say: "I love the outcast. I love even the Samaritans. Bad Samaritans were turned to good Samaritans in my presence. I still love outcasts today. I still love Samaritans who by some persons' definition must stand outside of my love. If I love the Samaritans of yesterday and today, then know that I love you as well."
____________
1.aDavid L. Tiede, Luke: Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament (Minne-apolis: Augsburg, 1988), p. 207.
