July 1, 2007; P8cLW.
Earlier in Luke 10, Jesus sent the 70 to proclaim the Kingdom of God was
near. Now they were back, giving excited reports. Christ gave thanks to the
Father for their work, and said they could also rejoice they saw Him. Then a
wet-blanket came, a lawyer putting Jesus on trial for His teaching, demanding
to know what to DO to inherit eternal life.
We know that to inherit something when a person dies you have to be named
in the will. In Jewish Law, you had to also be a son. Jesus could have quoted
Acts 16:31 or John 6:29, as you well know. Instead, He held the
brightly-polished mirror of the Law in the man's way to help him be aware that
we can't be made right by what WE do (see Galatians 2:16), because we fail
God's perfect standard.
The response "to honor the LORD with all your heart, soul, mind, & power"
is an orthodox one. He was QUITE certain that he had done that. There was no
question in his arrogant mind that he had. But the man wanted to do good works
to MAKE God love him; not BECAUSE God loved him. And he, like we, tended to
pick & choose what to do.
God wants us to be active in our faith & follow Jesus as a pattern of good
works. But sadly we are often like the priest & Levite in the parable: picky
about who we may help. Or like the lawyer, wanting to justify ourselves.
I believe we know this story well. We could look at some details and know
it a little better.
A priest or Levite going down in elevation from Jerusalem might think
about becoming unclean for a day from touching a dead body. They had just
recited the Law. But they were done with Temple service, so if they were
unclean for a day, not much would matter. They didn't do anything really
wrong. They were total failures at doing good.
Maybe you haven't killed anyone or some terrible deed like that. But there
are thousands of times you have failed to help a person in need, not wanting to
get involved in the misery of others. You look the other way, like the priest
/ Levite, thinking, "they deserved it." They made a train wreck of their lives
with drugs, had an abortion, gambled, and made stupid choices. They mad their
own bed.
The temptation to feel like that is very strong, and the Old Man in each
of us will fail to see a lot of good. We can be so practiced at ignoring some
people that they seem invisible to us.
I remember a college class at Concordia, Seward. We were given a test
that counted for 25% of our semester grade. There was only one question on on
the test: name the janitor who was responsible for the building. 2 of us out
of 25 knew him. It wasn't that other students did evil. They just failed to
do the tiniest courtesy of a "hello" even once.
Be honest with yourself. You have walked on the other side of the road,
even made a detour, more than once. Like the lawyer, we may know the letter of
the law, but overlook the heart of the law - which is mercy.
Then there's that Samaritan.
On the same 15 mile trip, he sees a Jew in trouble. He KNOWS the Jew
would not help him. He probably will not get repaid a dime. BUT he goes to
the side of the road, gets off his donkey, gives first aid, and walks to
Jericho. He cares for this stranger overnight. He is ALSO a Good Samaritan to
the inn keeper: paying in advance, and promising to cover any extra costs as a
repeat customer.
Jesus IS the man in the story: the Good Samaritan.
Despised and rejected as Isaiah 53 says, He saw all of humanity left for
dead and fit for hell because of sin. It would not have been wrong to pass us
all by. He didn't. At the expense of His own life, He became the Balm of
Gilead Jeremiah speaks about. He rescued us.
"Whatever it costs, I will repay it" Christ Jesus says. And did on the
cross. By His death, He has destroyed death; by His rising, He has brought
life and immortality to light by the Gospel. The Son of God died, so that you
and I would freely get the inheritance of heaven: by grace, through faith.
Christ did not die with the thought of being repaid. The lawyer tried to
do good to EARN God's riches. We try to do good because we already HAVE His
riches.
After many tragedies like the recent flooding here in Iowa, we often erect
statues to heroes; people give speeches; award medals; and maybe even try to
live up to those brave men and women.
How many children want to be firefighters or rescue workers when they see
their bravery? They study how they act, practice the moves, maybe run around
the house making siren noises, and may grow up to be one. But do these same
Sunday School children see the bravery of your living faith? What do they see
in you that makes them think "I want to be like that"?
Faith is not just sitting in church, singing hymns, and hearing sermons.
Those are important, to be sure. Faith means putting the words into actions
and fighting against sin. Christianity means being involved in the world
around you. It means following the genuine Jesus.
When Jesus told the lawyer, "go and do likewise", He was not telling the
man to read or a Bible or Luther's Small Catechism. It is very important to
know what is in those books; and the Lord wants you to read them and learn
them. But Jesus didn't die for books. He died for people.
Faith in Jesus Christ comes by hearing (Romans 10:17). But faith is not
meant to do nothing. As Luther said, "faith without works is dead; in fact, it
is not even faith." (1471) Our best works don't EARN us forgiveness - they NEED
forgiveness (What Luther Says #4877).
How you live in the course of a day is no less than your faith on display.
What you say (gossip or building up) shows your faith. What you do, in even
the smallest things, shows faith as well. The greatest acts of faith are those
done with the love of Christ in us and the power of God moving us to help
others: so they see your good works and glorify the Father in Heaven, (Matthew
5:16) what you sacrifice without thought of repayment from God, OR from people.
What MUST I *DO* to be saved? Nothing. Jesus did it all for us in His
life, death on the cross, resurrection, and ascension.
For the Christian only, the question becomes: What *CAN* I do now that I
am saved? What is my response to Christ's rescue?
The answers to that will be as different as each one of us is different.
As you walk thru life, God will point out things you can do (Ephesians 2:10).
It may be as heroic as a roadside rescue lasting a few minutes, or sacrificing
for months to help a person get on the road of Life.
The forgiveness of the cross changes people. It changed you. It
continues to do so. Amen.
Pastor Michael Harman,
St. Peter LCMS - Newell, IA
vacancies at ...
Immanuel, Pomeroy
First Evangelical, Fonda
