The 5th Sunday after Pentecost | July 13, 2025 | A Sermon on Luke 10:25-37 | by The Rev. Dr. Judson F Merrell, STS |

²⁵ On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. „Teacher,“ he asked, „what must I do to inherit eternal life?“ ²⁶ „What is written in the Law?“ he replied. „How do you read it?“ ²⁷ He answered, „‚Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind‘; and, ‚Love your neighbor as yourself.‘ “ ²⁸ „You have answered correctly,“ Jesus replied. „Do this and you will live.“ ²⁹But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, „And who is my neighbor?“ ³⁰ In reply Jesus said: „A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹ A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³² So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‚Look after him,‘ he said, ‚and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.‘ ³⁶ „Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?“ ³⁷ The expert in the law replied, „The one who had mercy on him.“ Jesus told him, „Go and do likewise.”

Luke 10:25-37  New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

What is the Law?  In other words, what exactly are the things we are supposed to do to inherit eternal life?

Those are words of Deut. 6:4.

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.

7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.

9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (Deu 6:4-9 NIV)

The law is love.  Rather simple, yet so hard to do.  This lawyer that stood up to question Jesus was a very devout Jew.  He would have recited Deut 6 twice a day.  He knew the law.  But by being so focused on the law he forgot the most important part:  That in order to love our neighbor, we start with loving God.  The Shema out of Deut 6 does not begin with verse 5 “You shall love the Lord your god with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.”  No, it starts with verse 4:  “Hear O Israel:  The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.”

That preamble to the commandment of love is so important.  If the LORD is our God, then we cannot be.  That is what makes loving our neighbors so hard.  Putting God first is in a way a test of faith.  It is getting down on your knees and asking for help.  It is humbling and scary.  It makes you uncomfortable.  And there is absolutely no way to prepare for what happens next.  Jesus puts all this into words by telling the parable of the Good Samaritan, which is a parable that we are familiar with.  This parable doesn’t focus on the deeds of a fellow Jew, but instead on the deeds of someone who was considered an outsider.  The Priest and the Levite, well, they both crossed on the other side of the road.  But the Samaritan, a nasty, dirty, enemy of the Jews, was the one that showed pity to his fellow man.  He checked his theology at the door, put his personal beliefs behind him, and knelt down to help a fellow human in need.

In a world that is so divided and polarized by race, ethnicity, social class, and religion, we need to hear this story more.  While this parable provided a wonderful example for the lawyer, it also provides still a wonderful example for us.  Did Jesus come into the world just for the Jews, for God’s chosen people?  Or did Jesus come into the world for the entire world?  I remember a situation that happened my senior year of seminary.  I, along with a classmate who is a now also a pastor, were heading up to Harbison.  As we came down Monticello road, we got stopped at a stoplight.  We were approached by a man that said he needed money or food.  He was homeless.  While it is the human reaction to turn away and to keep on driving, this classmate of mine said:  “well, I don’t have any money.  But if you want to ride, we will take you down here to the gas station and buy you some food.”  He hopped in and we went.  We never saw that man again.  I don’t know where he is or what he is doing.  But I know he didn’t go hungry that night or the next day.

The gospel calls us to be good to our neighbor.  To love our neighbor, whether we know them or not.  So I want to extend to you a little challenge.  I want you to help someone.  It could be by donating food or items to Mission Lexington or another charity.  It could be buying a few groceries for someone.  It could be by paying for the meal of the person behind you in the drive thru.  It may be by sending someone a card for no apparent reason, simply a “thinking of you” type message.  You get to decide, and then you get to act.  But here is the kicker:  do it with the expectation that you will get nothing in return.  And then let me know the stories.  Tell me what happened and your reaction.  Stories of love and grace are meant to be shared, not for personal gain, but for the glory of God.  So as you leave today, be thinking of how you will honor God by loving your neighbor, then go, and do it, and pray that it keeps going.  In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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©The Rev. Dr. Judson F Merrell, STS

   judsonmerrell@bellsouth.net

   St. Peter’s Lutheran Church

   Lexington, SC USA