Glynlea Grace United Methodist Chruch

Scripture

Luke 10:25-37

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" ²⁶ He said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read?" ²⁷ And he answered, "You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself." ²⁸ And he said to him, "You have answered right; do this, and you will live." ²⁹ But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" ³⁰ Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. ³² So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, ³⁴ and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵ And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, `Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' ³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" ³⁷ He said, "The one who showed mercy on him." And Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

Summary and Function

Summary: We all like to find loopholes that enable us to do what we want. Accountants look for loopholes in the tax code, attorneys look for them in the law and many people look for them in the regulations covering their professions. The problem is that when we look for loopholes, we often miss the spirit or principle behind the rules and regulations. That’s why we should never look for loopholes in God’s Law. Instead, we should seek to understand the principle behind God’s Law, which is love.

In today’s Scripture passage, the attorney attempted to find a loophole in the command, “love your neighbor as yourself’. He did this by asking,” Who is my neighbor?”. Jesus replied by telling the story of the ‘Good Samaritan’. The attorney found no loophole. Anyone in need, is our neighbor. How often are we like the attorney? How often do we attempt to find the ‘loophole in love’? Let’s go to God and ask for His help to love all our neighbors.

Purpose: To encourage people to recognize who they are not loving as they should and then go to God about it.

The Sermon

I. Introduction: Loopholes

2. We all like to find the loopholes that benefit us in some way

• Accountants look for them in the tax codes
• Lawyers look for them in the law
• Many people look for loopholes in the regulations governing their professions

• This is why we should never look for loopholes in God’s Law.
• Instead, we should seek to understand and apply the principle behind God’s Law, which is love.

II. The lawyer in today’s Scripture lesson

2. He did , however, try to find a loophole

• He asked, “Who is my neighbor?”
• By defining neighbor, he could justify not loving the people he didn’t particularly like.
• This is called the ‘love loophole’

3. We tend to be just like the lawyer

• We would like a narrow definition of neighbor so we could justify who we love and who we don’t love
• Most of us would define neighbor as people like us.
• The ‘Gran Torino’ movie: Walt Kowalski is an old Korean War veteran who wants nothing to do with the Hmong (an Asian ethnic group) family that moved in next door. At first, he wanted to choose who would be his neighbor. He wanted the ‘love loophole’. By the end of the movie, however, this Asian family truly became his neighbors.

III. Jesus allows for no loophole.

1. Jesus answered the lawyer in a way that allowed no loophole.

3. So, Jesus told a story.

IV. The story of the ‘Good Samaritan’

2. A Jewish traveler is ambushed by robbers and left for dead.

3. A priest and then a Levite pass him by

• This would be the same as a minister and well known Lay Leader passing someone by who needs help
• The Priest and Levite saw the man as a problem and nuisance, rather than as someone loved by God
• How often do we do that? When we see someone in need, how often do we see them as a nuisance and problem rather than someone to love?

4. The Samaritan stops and renders aid. He’s the neighbor.

V. Conclusion: What is your ‘love loophole’

2. Yet, we try to find a ‘love loophole’. We want to choose who we are going to love.