Sermon

We Have Met the Victim

by The Very Rev. Terry White, Dean

The story is told of fellow who was driving down the road and noticed a truck pulled over by the side of the road, with its hood up. Being the kindly Good Samaritan-type, he pulls over and asks the man if he needs any help.

"Well, my truck just broke down and I don't know how long it will take before I get it running. I have a bunch of penguins I'm supposed to take to the zoo." He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a $50 bill and hands it to the Good Samaritan. "I'll give you fifty dollars if you'll do that for me."

The Good Samaritan loads all the penguins in the back of his van and heads for the zoo. The truck driver heaves a sigh of relief and continues his repairs. About two hours later, he sees the Good Samaritan driving back from the zoo. As he nears, he notices the penguins are still in the back of his van. He flags him down.

"Hey man. I gave you fifty dollars to take those penguins to the zoo. What's going on?"

"Oh," said the Good Samaritan, "We're finished with the zoo. I still have ten dollars left so we're going to Dairy Queen."

“Good Samaritan” has become a part of the American lexicon. The parable by the same name is well-known, and as many preachers will tell you, too well-known, or perhaps more precisely, known-just-well-enough.  I encountered some fine resources preparing for this homily, and was intrigued by those that challenged me to look more closely at this Gospel reading from a less traditional viewpoint. So for the next few moments I invite us to look at the victim – the one who was robbed, stripped, beaten, and left for dead.

Ever been robbed? When a thief breaks into our home, or picks our pocket, or smashes our car window, or robs our identity on the Internet, we tend to have two reactions. The first has to do with losing the item stolen and the work needed to replace it, and the second has to do with the emotion, so often expressed as feeling violated or stripped of one’s dignity. There is a powerful emotional response to being robbed.
We can also be robbed of time and energy by those whose irresponsibility forces us to do more than our fair share, requiring us to either pick up the slack or re-do shoddy work performed by others.  This type of robbery, particularly that experience or individual which robs us of time we can never get back, leaves us feeling betrayed and/or angry at being treated unjustly. 

The victim in the parable was beaten and left for dead. We all know what it is like to be beaten emotionally, to be robbed of self-confidence and self-worth. And lest we focus only on what others can do to us, we must acknowledge that we often beat ourselves down with our poor choices, our failures and our sins of commission and omission can do quite a number on us.

The Rev. Ken Kesselus writes:  [At times] we have been stripped bare by rejection and abandonment, and we have been stripped by those who told lies about us and tried to harm our reputations. We may even have been left half dead by rivals seeking to ruin our careers or reputations. And perhaps more devastatingly, we have been left half dead by discovering that there is nothing we can do to change such conditions or relieve the pain they cause, [making us brutally] aware of our own limitations.

In greater or lesser ways, aren’t we sometimes as helpless as the victim in Jesus’ parable? Do we not also pray for mercy? Does not each of us [at times] come as a beggar to the Lord’s altar with cupped hands seeking the true bread that gives life and saves us from desolation and despair? [Sermons that Work, Proper 10, Year C.]

In telling this parable Jesus invites us to probe the depth of divine grace, God’s unmerited love for us, by questioning whether the beaten man was deserving of help from the despised and despicable Samaritan.
Further, we ask what did he do to merit an enemy’s taking a serious risk and sacrificing his time and substance to save him, loving him with no strings attached and with no hope of gaining anything in return? Maybe nothing. Maybe the victim was undeserving. Was he not foolish to have traveled on such a dangerous road alone?

The point is, of course, that it did not matter. The Samaritan helped him unconditionally. He showed mercy as God shows mercy to us. Are we deserving of the love and forgiveness that God gives us? It doesn’t matter, either. This is the primary message of this parable. It illustrates the truth of God’s mercy and love poured out for us unconditionally, with no strings attached, without our being deserving. [Ibid.]

Through the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus immerses us in the depths of God’s love. He answers the question “Who is my neighbor?” by giving us an example of love in action which has endured through the ages. Christ calls us to put our money where our mouths are. Believing and knowing what is right is not enough. Jesus forces us to see ourselves on the roads to Jericho we travel – such as the road of transition we are always traveling

Exploring this parable from the perspective of the victim can help us move from belief to action. Jesus’ forces us to see that knowing the meaning of “neighbor” is not enough. We can only express adequate gratitude for what God gives us by acting toward everyone as did the Samaritan.

While we know what it means to be beaten stripped, robbed and left for dead in various ways, we know, the power of grace and love to forgive, heal, restore, and raise us to new life.  We have been called in baptism to love God with all our being and our neighbors as ourselves.  The moment we leave this Holy Meal, we continue our journey on the Jericho Road.  We are saved by grace. Be agents of grace.

© Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral