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Hands On. Compassion

Luke 10:25-37

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”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.’”“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins 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.’“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

In the scripture that was read today, there was a very important question that was asked.

The question: “On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

The answer: “‘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.’”

The solution: “And who is my neighbor?” It is in answer to this question that we find the basis for this sermon this morning. In fact the message will be hard for some of us to hear. It has been easier to become hardened and cynical about the needy that live around us instead of finding ways to deal with the question, ‘Who is my neighbor?’

Jesus clearly leaves no room for doubt about how he feels regarding the attitude of those who profess to be Christ followers.

We are called and commanded to extend helping hands to those around us who are in need.

We are to do it sacrificially. It was Jesus who clearly taught that when someone asks you for your coat. . .

Giving is a vital part of Christianity. Lifting people out of their dilemmas must be included in the lifestyle of Christ followers.

1. Why should Christ followers show compassion?

A. Because it is what decent humans do.

The world is one great sea of humanity. It was God who separated the nations a long time ago. It was His idea that languages and culture reflect the diversity that make up the planet Earth.

Acts 17:26, “And he has made from on blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation.”

While we are different we are the same. We are all part of the same great bundle of life, and its human instinct to act, not as the priest and the Levite, but in some measure like the Samaritan.

When trouble comes to a neighborhood, we all pull together. When someone’s home burns down or tragedy strikes we try to do something significant to help.

Social service in our Country is largely being done by people who are not extending help in the name of Christ. Even the agencies that started out that way have strayed from their roots or become politically correct in an effort to secure funding.

At the beginning of my recent educational journey pursuing a graduate degree in Human Services management, I sat in a class in which the professor defined the phrase human services. He said it was any organization that would seek to lift up humanity to a higher level. He then proceeded to name the different organizations that would represent a cross section of the human service field. He did not mention the church.

It was all I could take so I raised my hand on the first night of class and asked, “Shouldn’t the church be included as a human service organization?” He responded, “It should be, but that’s up to churches to get involved.”

The perception was that churches did not even show up on the radar screen when it comes to human services or helping others less fortunate than oneself.

His implication was that churches for the most part are not involved in compassion ministries. He was right.

The evangelical church in particular has been notorious about our lack of compassion for the social needs of others. We have been too content to leave that work to the “liberal mainline churches.”

I understand our reluctance to get involved. We live in a society where government hand out programs have created a culture of people who instead of using them for the emergency needs that the programs were created for have found a way to live very comfortably off the system.

Social programs have created and enabled some people to take advantage of what should be short term solutions to a problem in life and turn them into careers of accepting and living on the generosity and charity of others.

Gordon McDonald tells the story of receiving a ferret from his son as a gift. At first it was somewhat cuddly and cute. By the end of the first four months however they learned that ferrets can be nasty when they grow up. Total lack of personal hygiene. Bad personality. They began to look for something to do with Bandit. McDonald stated that there was no apparent market for ferrets that they could discern; no one was knocking on the front door of their home to say, “Do you by any chance have a ferret you’d like to sell or give away?”

They considered turning him loose to live in the woods and roam free but decided to check with a pet store first. The pet store employee explained you cannot release any tamed wild animal back into the wild because it would be dead within twenty four hours. It wouldn’t know how to find food or who to defend itself against its natural enemies. These kinds of animals become dependent.

We are sometimes afraid to help other people because we don’t want to enable them to become dependent or habitual with living off of other people.

I understand the reluctance but we have too often thrown the baby out with the bath water as the old phrase states it.

Helping others is what humans do.

B. Because our profession demands it.

We are professing to be followers of Jesus Christ. It is His example that we must follow.

Acts 10:38, “He went about doing good and healing all. . .”

Our attempt to follow the teachings of Christ and the Bible force us to deal with passages of scripture like Matthew 5:39, “ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well, If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who ask you. . .”

Jesus life work included bringing relief to the afflicted and suffering, comfort to the dying, and healing to the broken-hearted.

Luke 4: “The Spirit of the Lord in on me because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of our Lord’s favor.”

Of what value is our profession if we don’t find ways to follow Christ example in helping others? We are duty bound to follow Him in the care and concern for others.

C. Because our experience demands it.

Every one of us in this room who have experienced God’s mercy and forgiveness should understand why we have to share with others. We were in the pit of despair that sin does to a person’s life but God who is rich in mercy lavished us with His love. Freely He gave Himself to redeem our lives from destruction.

Because of God’s mercy extended to us we must find ways to extend His mercy to other people.

2. When should Christ followers show compassion?

A. When we know of a need.

Obviously we cannot offer help when we are ignorant that help is needed. The sin of the priest and the Levite was in the fact that they knew about the sad plight of the man who was robbed and did nothing about it. When we see the need we must show mercy.

B. When the opportunity arises.

All of us have people who cross our path who are in need. Those of us who have lived in major cities have figured out how to not make eye-contact with the panhandler or the guy who is holding the “will work for food sign”. We are quite convinced that they are professional charity cases and are working some kind of a scam and so we pass by on the other side.

Who carries on conversation with these kinds of people? Who engages them in questions about God and if they have ever heard of a loving Savior?

What Christians ever talk with the single mother who is legitimately in need of welfare but never hears that Jesus can provide her with something that will enable her to live a new lifestyle and look at life from a different perspective?

Two weeks ago, a Mt. Vernon student came up to me at the close of the service and said I want to help a single mother or someone who can’t afford to the attend the ladies banquet by giving anonymously. They did. I was so heartened at the example of someone seeking to help and thinking of others.

Are we thinking about the needs of others?

C. When we have the means to do something.

Not everyone in this room will have the means to help other people. In fact there are people here who need help from others. There are times in life when you are not in a position to help someone else and you must learn to accept the help of others with an eye to doing the same for someone else when the opportunity arises.

The church is to play a role in helping others. While there are individuals here who may not be able to help someone financially there are many other ways to extend compassion to someone else.

This church runs a food pantry. We are in desperate need for individuals to step up and involve themselves in this ministry. Every Tuesday and Thursday from 10:00 to 12:00 there is food being distributed from the basement of this church. Not a huge commitment but a ministry of compassion none the less.

You may not have the resources to give yourself but you can give through the church.

There are ministries to needy people all throughout this community. They are looking for volunteers. I commend the individuals from this church who have involved themselves in sharing in the pain of others.

They have taken a hand’s on approach. They have been willing to get their hands dirty so to speak. They have rolled up their sleeves and gone to work.

3. How can Christ followers show compassion?

A. We are to do so irrespective of who they are.

The genius of this story is Jesus use of the characters. The priest and the Levite, were both deeply religious people. They both decided there agenda was more important than getting involved with this needy person lying in the ditch.

When I was a first responder with a fire department we were trained to understand that when we came upon someone in need and made the decision to involve ourselves in their situation we could not leave until they were in another’s care. We had to make a decision.

I love His choice of the Samaritan being the one to help the needy man. You cannot imagine how explosive this illustration was. It would be like writing a story during the civil war that would be distributed in the southern states that used a slave as the hero and made villains out of the Slave owners.

The Jews hated the Samaritans. They considered them to be the lowest form of humanity.

In his book Handyman of the Lord, William Borders tells the story of a black man whose poverty had left him begging for food. Ringing the front doorbell at a Southern mansion, the man was told to go around to the back, where he would be given something to eat. The owner of the mansion met him on the back porch and said, “First we will bless the food. Repeat after me, ‘Our Father, who art in heaven. . .”The hungry man replied, “Your Father, who art in heaven”“No” the owner of the house corrected, “Our Father who art in heaven. . .”Still the beggar said, “Your Father who art in heaven. . .”Frustrated, the giver of the food asked, “Why do you insist on saying ‘your Father’ when I keep telling you to say ‘our Father’?”

The man answered, “If I say ‘our Father,’ that would make you and me brothers, and I’m afraid the Lord wouldn’t like it, you askin’ your brother to come to the back porch to get a piece of bread.”

B. We are to do so without expecting any return.The Good Samaritan knew the Jew’s poverty, but that made no difference. He was just as ready, indeed more ready, because of this to minister to him.

When you engage in the work of compassion and hand’s on ministry often the returns can be disappointing. People will fail. People will sometimes let you down. People will often bite the hands that feed them.

C. We are to do so with true sympathy and compassion.

“But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins 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.”

Matthew 9:36, “ But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, . . .”

We need this kind of compassion to overwhelm us.We need this kind of compassion to wash over us and cleanse us from our cynical and negative attitudes.

We need to become proficient at:

Going, Seeing, Binding up wounds, Pouring oil, BringingTaking care of. . . and giving with a heart of compassion.

D. We are to do so by practical, sacrificial and social help.

We are attempting to define the vision and future of this church. It is obvious that God is doing something incredible.

We are trying to define what role we will serve in this community. What kind of Chris followers we are going to be. There are all kinds you know. Even today, on this Sunday morning there are churches full of people who are far removed from the teachings of Jesus and lives of servant-hood and compassion.

It is these people and churches who will stand before God someday to hear Him say, I never knew you.

They will complain as Eugene Peterson in the Message has translated Matthew 7, “Knowing the correct password – saying Master, Master, for instance—isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills, I can see it now—at the final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, ‘Master, we preached the Message, we bashed demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.’ And do you know what I am going to say? You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here.”

The leadership of this church is committed to making sure that we fulfill God’s will in every area. =Compassion and servant-hood is one of the most important.

Do you know what phrase grips me in this story?

After all the Samaritan had done, Jesus says, “he took care of him.”

“But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.

All night long he took care of him. He was a stranger. He was a risk. It cost him money. It cost him his time.

And then I hear the words of Jesus, “For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed me I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. Then the righteous will answer Him saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give You and drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in or naked and cloth You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison and come to You?

And the King will answer and say to them, Assuredly, I say to you inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers you did it to me.”

I have preached this message this morning to cause us to pause and reflect.

Reflect on our lives and our compassion. Reflect on our involvement with the “least of these”

I also have preached this message to make you aware that on the first Sunday of every month there will be a box in the back of the sanctuary that will enable you to do the minimum which is give something extra to those who have needs. This is above your tithes which go to support this church and its ministry. This money will be used to reach out to the genuinely needy.

Each month we will give a donation to a new ministry in Licking County that will enable church secretaries to direct the numerous people who call churches everyday asking for something to a ministry that will focus on meeting legitimate needs.

This money will enable us to help people within the church who are experiencing hard times.

I want you to know why we are making sure that compassion is a vital part of this church.

Jim Cymbala is pastor of The Brooklyn Tabernacle in Brooklyn N.Y. This churches has touched thousands of needy people. It is not a church which just hands out money or resources they hand out Jesus and Jesus makes real changes and differences in the lives of the people He touches. Our goal is to be His hands extended and reaching out to the people that He died to give eternal life to. Please watch the video and let God speak to your soul today. (Brooklyn Tabernacle Video, Story of the homeless man who now works for the church.)

We are instructed to help one another. It is a scary proposition. Yes we will probably be taken advantage of somewhere and at some point but we cannot let that turn us and cause us to pass by on the other side.

Let’s ask God today to put a lot of His love in our heart.Let’s ask Him today to allow us to make a difference in the lives of others. Inasmuch. . . .

2002/10/06