Sermon: Pentecost 5, Luke 10:25-37

July 13, 2025 
Faith-La Fe Lutheran Church
Pastor Jonathan Linman

In today’s gospel reading, when the priest and the Levite saw the man stripped, beaten, robbed and left for dead, those religious leaders who should have known better and who should have done better, passed by on the other side of the road, ignoring the plight of the suffering man. 

How true to form given the human condition. It is easy to self-righteously condemn the behavior of the religious leaders. And there are plenty of religious leaders today who essentially do as the priest and Levite did, ignoring the suffering of vulnerable, oppressed people. Here’s just one example: preachers who preoccupy themselves with the comparatively few biblical passages concerning sexual activity while completely ignoring the many, many passages throughout the Bible that instruct us to care for the poor, the oppressed, and the vulnerable. Enough said about them….

But truth be told, we all have our ways, individually and communally, of passing by on the other side, ignoring the suffering of people fallen on hard times. (We’ll go into greater detail about this in today’s forum between services.)

And we also make excuses for the actions we don’t take. The lawyer who sought to test Jesus was looking for loopholes: “Who is my neighbor?” he asked. The lawyer wanted to justify himself, thinking maybe he would get off the hook by concluding some people were not really neighbors. Honestly, we, too, decide that some are not neighbors worthy of our care. Individually, we routinely drive past those seeking help at intersections, refusing to recognize them as neighbors. Communally, our governments make policies that in essence say that the poor and immigrants and others are undeserving and we don’t need to be neighborly to them. 

In today’s gospel story, it was the Samaritan, a looked-down-upon outsider, who was the one who did the right thing and showed mercy to the man robbed and left for dead. It was the Samaritan who was moved to “come near him,” not passing by on the other side. 

And it was the coming near, it was the close proximity of the Samaritan to the suffering man, that moved the Samaritan with pity and compassion. When he saw the man’s suffering up close and personal, the Samaritan could empathize with the stricken man. 

And it was this compassion that came from drawing near that made the difference that led to taking merciful action. Look at all the active verbs in the story: 

The Samaritan poured oil and wine on the wounds and bandaged them. He put the man on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him there overnight. The Samaritan then paid two days’ wages to the innkeeper to provide still more care, promising to pay back any more money the innkeeper spent on the care-giving. In short, the Samaritan went far above and beyond what we would normally consider the call of duty. 

In our day, if we don’t outright ignore the suffering of others, we might simply call 911. Again, it’s human nature to either ignore suffering or do the minimal, not getting too involved.

So how is it that we can resist the inertia of our human nature and be moved to draw near to those who suffer in such a way that we are filled with compassion and are moved to show mercy through our loving neighborly actions? 

The answer, I believe, is found in today’s first reading from Deuteronomy where it is written: “Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away…. No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.” (Deuteronomy 30:11, 14) 

Here’s what I take from this passage from Deuteronomy: When God gets close to us through our hearing and reading and study of God’s word, then the power of God’s presence active in the word frees us to draw closer to suffering people in compassionate ways. In short, when God gets close to us, we can get close to others, offering them the same love and mercy that God shows to us.

Our worship on Sunday, of course, is prime time for God to get close to us through the readings we hear and through preaching. Indeed, here in this place the word is very near to us. And then, too, God’s word in Christ is in our mouths when we come to this table to receive Christ, the word of God made flesh, in bread and wine. God in Christ can draw no closer to us than in this holy sacrament. Christ enters into our mouths to dwell in our hearts such that through him we can keep the great commandment to love God and our neighbors as ourselves.

We then leave this place with God in Christ close to us – in our mouths, in our hearts, in our souls, in our minds. And this closeness of God gives us the strength we need to draw close to others in their suffering. God’s compassion for us leads to our compassion for others. God’s loving action in our lives leads to our offering that same kind of loving mercy to our neighbors in need, doing for them as the Samaritan did for the wounded man on the road.

And we’re not alone in loving our neighbors as ourselves. Indeed, all the saints who have gone before us are cheering us on, praying for us just as Paul did for the Colossians as we heard in today’s second reading. 

Eighty years ago this past week, our own faithful saints gathered on this parcel of land in what was then undeveloped north central Phoenix to officially establish the congregation we know as Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church. Ever since then and even now those saints who have gone before have been praying for us in our current day mission to keep the great commandment to love God with all that we can muster and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

So listen again to the words of Paul, and hear them also as the prayer of our congregation’s saintly forebears who intercede for us, even now: “We have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work….” (Colossians 1:9b-10a)

Therefore, upheld by the prayers of those saints who have gone before us, and strengthened by God in Christ working through the word and the sacraments in the power of the Spirit, we leave this place with Christ close to us so that we can draw close to our neighbors in need as we love our neighbors as God first loved us, offering them mercy and compassion. 

At a time in our nation when such merciful compassion is in short supply, our efforts at being good and merciful Samaritans is a gift indeed to those in need! Thanks be to God. Amen.