Mercy

Introduction

On January 2, 2007, the day after New Year’s, Wesley Autrey was standing on a New York subway platform with his two young daughters, ages four and six, waiting for a train. He witnessed a man apparently suffering from a seizure stumble and fall onto the subway tracks. As a train quickly approached, Wesley jumped down onto the track to help. Acting with no thought for himself, Wesley pulled the man into the hollowed-out space between the rails and spread his own body over him to protect him as the train passed over both of them. The train cleared Wesley by mere inches, coming close enough to leave grease marks on his knit cap. When the train came to a halt, Wesley called up to the frightened onlookers on the platform: “There are two little girls up there. Let them know their Daddy is OK.”

Wesley Autrey immediately became a national hero. People were deeply moved by his selflessness, and they marveled at his bravery. What he had done was a remarkable deed of concern for another person. He had no obvious reason to help this stranger—he didn’t know the man, and he had his young daughters to think about. What he did was at severe risk to his own life. But a human being was in desperate need, and Wesley saw it and, moved with compassion, did what he could to save him. The press called him “the Subway Superman” and the “Harlem Hero,” but one newspaper described Wesley Autrey in biblical terms: “Good Samaritan Saves Man on Subway Tracks.”

We like the stories about Good Samaritans. Such stories inspire us. But what about the first time the story of the Good Samaritan was told? Did it inspire? Probably not. More than likely it insulted. Familiar texts often result in complacency rather than being challenged. Let’s resolve to open our hearts to this familiar text and allow the words of Jesus to penetrate.

The Text

An expert in the law asks Jesus a question. To call him a lawyer carries too much mental baggage; this is a man who knows the Law of Moses well. He has spent his life trying to understand what God wants for his people. Luke tells us that this man is testing Jesus—not necessarily that he dislikes Jesus, but wants to find out for himself the genuineness of Jesus’ teaching. The question is the same one that the rich young ruler in Luke 18 will ask: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus appeals to their shared source of authority—the law. The man is the expert; Jesus allows him to answer his own question.

The man answers with a combination of Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 19. Jesus affirms that man’s answer and simply instructs him to keep these things in mind as he lives his life: Love God and love your neighbor. Verse 29 tells us that the man knows the answer but doesn’t like it. Trying to justify himself suggests that the man is trying to let himself off the hook.

There are two ways that people try to let themselves off the hook in regards to loving others. Some will become isolationists—“I’m an introvert. I’m not around people that much.” They withdraw from people so that life is less messy. Others develop restrictions. They restrict who their neighbor is, determining who is worthy of their help and who is not. This way they can help some but not all because some are undeserving of help. The expert in the law seems interested in restricting himself. Jesus will have none of that.

The story may be very familiar. A man, assumed to be Jewish, goes on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho. Along the road he is attacked, robbed, beaten, and left for dead. This was a familiar event in this day; the road was known as a treacherous way to travel. Two religious people come by, see the man, and refuse to act. To illustrate with two from the official religious practice is to condemn official practice. The expert in the law would have understood the point. Then a Samaritan—the hated half-breeds of Jesus’ day—appears and provides for the man. His compassion extends beyond the immediate. According to the text, the Samaritan gives the innkeeper two denarii, which would have equaled about twenty or more days of lodging and food for the injured man.

Jesus asks the obvious question: “Which of the three acted as a neighbor to the injured man?” Back in the mid-1990s, the coach at Vanderbilt University was Gerry DiNardo. The rivalry between the Commodores and Tennessee was lopsided; Tennessee beat Vandy almost every year. DiNardo, trying to inspire his team, refused to call Tennessee by name. He referred to the Volunteers as “the team to the east.” Some suspected he hated the Volunteers and by refusing to use the name showed his disgust. DiNardo says he was motivating his team. The expert in the law has the same issue. The answer reveals how difficult it was for the expert in the law to admit the truth or even to speak the word “Samaritan”—the one who had mercy. Be merciful as well.

Application

It is easy to apply this text. But we may not like the application. The application may result in lots of questions. Like the expert in the law, we may find ourselves trying to justify who we help and who we do not help. It’s easy to say “go out and be the Good Samaritan,” but that isn’t really what Jesus is saying. He uses the Samaritan to drive home his point. Mercy isn’t limited. Those who want to follow him will share mercy whenever they can. But like the expert in the law, we want to find loopholes.

My students like loopholes. There is an attendance policy at FHU. One is given the number of classes that can be missed without adversely affecting the grade. While the vast majority of students do not come close to that number, some students want to take full advantage of their allotted misses. They ask: “Tell me how many classes can I miss and still pass?” The expert asks the same question: “What’s the least I can do and still make it?”

But Jesus will not allow such a view to stand. The hated Samaritan didn’t ask what was the least. He did all he could to be a neighbor. The expert asks, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus changes the question to “What kind of neighbor are you?” What kind of person do you want to be? What demonstrates your mercy? Who will you exclude from your mercy? Who loses out?

We do the same thing. Should I help someone with a flat tire? What kind of person do you want to be? What about on a dark night when I am a woman by myself? Before you justify yourself, ask: what kind of person do you want to be? It’s easy to be merciful to some. There are some who deserve mercy. It’s harder to be merciful to those who are undeserving. The follower of Jesus doesn’t look for ways to avoid helping others but to supply what is needed when it is needed.

Evidence of Good Samaritans abound in our congregation. What kind of person do you want to be?

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