Luke 10:25-37
Intro on the Series: Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations (Bishop Schnase)
We invite and welcome others into relationship with the church with Radical Hospitality because God has welcomed us. Through Passionate Worship, God transforms us and satisfies our hunger for relationship with God. Through Intentional Faith Development, God grows disciples in the setting of small groups to be ever more like Christ. Through Risk-Taking Mission and Service, God seeks to bring God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven in our work, service, prayer, and relationships with those in need. And finally, today, we focus on how, in cultivating the practice of Extravagant Generosity, God transforms our hearts and minds, enables us to place God and following God first in our lives, and propels us into ever greater ministry in Christ.
Today’s passage from Luke – the Parable of the Good Samaritan – is a familiar one ripe with insights into Christian faith and living, including a powerful example of what it means to love God with all our being and our neighbor as ourselves (Lu10.27). Bishop Schanse says that fruitful, growing, vibrant, and faithful churches practice Extravagant Generosity. What we must consider today is this: “Fine, Bishop. You’re right, but what does Extravagant Generosity look like?” And so, with this question in mind, let’s turn our attention to the parable itself, and what Jesus shows us about Extravagant Generosity through it.
The Good Samaritan’s Generosity
The parable of the Good Samaritan is one that most of us know. It’s so common that we have “Good Samaritan” laws to protect from lawsuits people who help others. A man going from Jerusalem, which suggests he’s a Jewish man, is attacked by robbers and left for dead on the dangerous road to Jericho. Separately, a priest and a Levite, both fellow Jews, saw the man heaped in the ditch (perhaps he was moaning) and gave him a wide berth as they passed on by. Why they didn’t stop, we don’t know. Some speculate that it was because they didn’t want to defile themselves with another’s blood, as directed by the Law. At the very least, they act in a way that is decidedly un-neighborly.
Then a Samaritan man sees the man left for dead in the ditch and comes to his aid. He’s moved by compassion for the other. By the man’s dress it’s likely that the Samaritan knew he was helping a Jewish man, but he didn’t let the centuries-long animosity between Jews and Samaritans stop him from seeing the man’s need and offering assistance. The Samaritan treats the man’s wounds, loads him on his own animal. He takes him into town and continues to care for him through the day and night at an inn. Then, he gives the innkeeper two denarii (probably about two-days’ wages for a laborer), instructing him to continue caring for him and assuring him that he’ll come back and repay the innkeeper for the man’s care beyond this amount.
Extravagant Generosity looks like the Samaritan caring for the Jewish victim. Simple generosity might have gone as far as to take what he had on him – the wine, oil, and bandages – to help the victim. It might even have gone as far as taking him to the innkeeper for help. But the Samaritan goes further, paying the innkeeper two days’ wages and promising more if the man’s care called for it. This is certainly an extravagant act of compassion and generosity. The Samaritan couldn’t have expected anything in return, any sort of repayment. In fact, it’s quite likely that he never expected to see the man again. He gave of himself and his resources for the benefit of another. He planted a seed knowing that he would not be the one who would reap the harvest and benefit from his sacrifice and generosity.
Why’d the Samaritan Do This?
As we read this passage, one of the questions I wondered was, “What’s the reason for his extravagant generosity?” Jesus doesn’t tell us that explicitly, but he seems to imply the reason. The Samaritan acts with extravagant generosity for another because he knows what it means to love God with all of his being and love his neighbor as himself. (A quick historical aside: traditionally, it’s believed that the Jewish and Samaritan people both claimed to worship the same God.)
So, why did the Samaritan act this way? Because he loved God and knew that loving God meant that he was called to love his neighbor as himself. The Samaritan was extravagantly generous because he knew God to be generous. God was the one who brought his people out of bondage in Egypt. God was the one who caused the rains to fall and the sun to shine. God was the one who spoke through the prophets and enabled the people to be in relationship with God and one another. God enabled the Samaritan to give of himself for the care of the Jewish victim as a response to God’s love for him, and for all people. And in the Samaritan’s care, the victim experienced the love of God.
What does Extravagant Generosity Look Like Today?
In thinking about Extravagant Generosity and the Good Samaritan, it’s easy to boil the parable down to a simple moral: when you see others in need, help them even if it costs you. While this might be a good moral, it’s still awfully vague. Bishop Schnase, in both the Five Practices book and the devotional Cultivating Fruitfulness, offers a story that takes the extravagant generosity of the Samaritan and places it closer to home.
Bishop Schnase tells this story. There was a long-time church member present for the celebration of his granddaughter’s baptism. A new family in church also celebrated the baptism of their son. After the service, both families were mingling around the front of the church taking pictures. At one point the grandfather offered to hold the child of the other family while the mother got something out of her bag. Other church members came by and commented on the grandfather holding the baby, to which he replied, “Oh, this one isn’t mine; I’m just holding him for a minute.”
The next morning the pastor received a phone call from this grandfather asking to meet with him right away. “Was he upset about something?” the pastor wondered. In a way, he was. When the grandfather came in, he told the pastor that he wanted to change his will to include the church and he wanted to know how to do that. Stunned, the pastor asked what brought about this decision. And this is what the grandfather said to the pastor, according to Bishop Schnase:
Yesterday I realized something while I was holding that other baby, the one from the family that just joined the church. I kept telling people that wasn’t my child, but then it dawned on me that it was part of my family, my church family, and that I have a responsibility for that little boy just like I have for my own granddaughter. I’ve been a member of this church for more than forty years, and in God’s eyes I’m a grandfather to more than just my own. I’ve taken care of my own children in my will, but I realized I also need to provide for the children of the church. So I want to divide my estate to leave a part to the church as if the church were one of my children. (107-108)
In conclusion, Bishop Schanse says, “Those who practice Extravagant Generosity have a God-given vision and faith to plant seeds for trees whose shade they will never see” (108). In this grandfather’s story, we can see the generosity of the Samaritan, and also the generosity of God. God enabled this man to give of himself so that others can experience God’s love.
What does Extravagant Generosity Look like for Us?
Extravagant Generosity like this is not something we do out of some sense of duty, but rather, it is a response to the needs of others out of gratefulness for what God has done for us. God enables us to give of ourselves – and especially with our money – so that others can experience God’s love. One of the ways that we have to participate in the ministry of Christ is by our offering. Each week, we have the joyous opportunity to give a portion of the money God has entrusted us with to be used for the ministry of Christ locally and globally.
The challenge is that God calls for us to tithe, to offer a tenth of whatever our income is, to the ministry of Christ, and to do so from the first-fruits, as opposed to whatever’s left over at the end of the month. Now, I know that tithing can be a challenge, but we’ve heard a testimony today of the way it has been a source of growth and joy for one family at Faith. If you’re not tithing now, I encourage you to think seriously about why not, and how God might be leading you to take steps toward tithing. You can go all in if you want, but I’d suggest starting with a smaller step if you have to. Figure out how much you give each week for the ministry of Christ now. Take that number and divide it by your weekly income and move the decimal over two spaces. That’s a percentage. Then, considering ways that you can increase your percentage of giving each year until you reach ten percent. Then see where else God might be leading you. Perhaps it’s to be like the grandfather and designate a portion of your estate to go to the ministry of Christ through the church. If so, I can certainly help you in that process. I am absolutely sure that Terry’s story is not one that he alone can tell. It can be all our stories. It is our story. Through the practice of Extravagant Generosity, through giving of ourselves like the Samaritan, God slowly changes our hearts and minds and opens us to greater faithfulness. God enables us to give of ourselves so that others, maybe years down the line even, can experience God’s grace.
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