Taken from The Oil That Makes Glad by A. B. Saint
Reading taken from St Lukes Gospel chapter 10 verses 25-37.
We were on holiday recently for a few days, and driving through some less than familiar streets I was surprised, yet delighted, to see these words on a large billboard in the middle of town. It read like this: No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. I have no idea who posted this, or how long it had been there, all I know was that it was a real source of blessing to me.
Of all the dubious things that are sometimes posted on billboards, I found these few words really refreshing, absolutely true and much needed for this generation. I thought how wonderful it would be if these sentiments were to be shown in every town for all to see. Do not the Scriptures agree with this? Does not the bible say that we are to love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind and our neighbour as ourselves?
I wonder, over the years, just how many times the Parable of the Good Samaritan has been preached from pulpits in this Land on the Lord’s Day? Just how many times has it been read at home, or expounded to younger listeners in Sunday School, or to those sat in weekly bible study groups? I would imagine innumerable times. Times without number, and yet here we are looking at it again today. It is a story which never grows old and a story which for me, has never lost its impact. It is ever a reminder that Christ is the Christ of the Human Road.
We are told In Luke’s gospel chapter 10 that one day a certain lawyer questioned the Lord on two points. The first question was as to how it was possible to inherit eternal life. In order to answer the man, the Lord Jesus referred him back to the Law and the first two great commandments which are found in Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 5, and Leviticus chapter 19 verse 18. These are that we must love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength and with all our mind.
Notice the intensity here, with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength and all our mind. In other words, we must love God with a passionate and sincere heart and following this we are also to love our neighbour as ourselves. As a result of this, the lawyer probed the Lord as to who might be his neighbour? It is then that Jesus begins this parable and verse 30 opens with these words: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.”
I do not know about you, but this opening statement never fails to arrest me. If Jesus had said the man was on the trail, the track, the road which led down to the beach, I would have no such qualms, no such fears. Rather it is the fact that the man in the story was travelling on the road which led down from Jerusalem to Jericho which fills me with alarm. Why? Simply because a history had attached itself to this particular route.
It was a place fraught with danger. Its rocky and uneven pass was made up of uneven slopes. It ran down a deep descent which was somewhere in the region of 3,000 feet or more. Another peril was that hidden along the pass were caves, which were infested it would seem with thieves and robbers, ready to spring out at any moment to surprise their unsuspecting victims.
Even in more modern times we know that people were still being warned not to travel along this road unless absolutely necessary, and if they were forced to take this route, they were to make sure they were home before dark. It was actually known as the Way of Blood, because of the things which happened there. During the 19th century it was seen as a ‘safe bet’ to pay protection money to local sheiks in order to travel unharmed.
Although it was just a story being told that day it was true to life and the lawyer knew well of it. Through the years the Jericho Road had claimed many lives. Yet dangerous though it be, there were always those who traversed it. They knew its history, they were aware of its rocky crags, its deep slopes, its uneven pathway, and yet still they followed others who had gone on before. Reminds me of what the Good Book says, “There is a way which seemeth right unto man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Proverbs chapter 16 and verse 12. In life we have to be so careful which path we set our feet upon. I am glad I have planted my feet on God’s Road aren’t you?
It would seem that the traveler in our story was not alone that day; somewhere in the distance another man was journeying on in his direction. Verse 31 follows saying that “By chance there came down a certain priest that way.” What are we saying here? That his walking that road was unintentional, completely by accident, or rather, unexpected? I do not think so, for we know that the 12,000 priests and Levites based at Jericho used this very route whenever they were rostered or assigned to serve in the Temple. So, why are the words, ‘by chance’ highlighted to us? After all, it is a man of the cloth that is passing that way and help is surely coming. Certainly, life can hold many surprises, some of which we really enjoy and others on looking back, we could rather have done without maybe.
There are those in my family who love science and we were talking the other day of a few inventions which had been made quite by accident. Take the two Kellogg brothers who are famous for their breakfast cereal. In their early beginnings they were trying to make a pot of boiled wheat grain. Accidentally they left it on the stove for several days, and when they remembered they had left it there they went back to it, and although it had gone mouldy, they saw it was dry and thick. This then gave them the idea to proceed further with the experiment and in the end, they managed to eliminate the mould and so created Cornflakes.
It was the same with Patsy Sherman. At work she was assigned a certain project which was to develop rubber material which would not deteriorate from exposure to jet engine fuels. Completely by accident she dropped the mixture she was experimenting on onto her shoe. In time she noticed that whilst the rest of her shoe showed staining, one spot remained bright and clean. She retraced her steps and in so doing identified the stain resistant compound which is known today as Scotch guard, the carpet and upholstery protector. We also spoke of Percy Spencer and his invention of the microwave which began quite unintentionally and all because of a melting chocolate bar in his pocket! And then there was Spencer Silver and the early beginnings of Post- It stickers and so on.
Quite some years ago I had the pleasure of meeting an elderly gentleman who had fought in World War One. After the war and because of his feeling unwell, his doctor said he should try to go and stay somewhere where there was some good salt air. He chose the Isle of Man for his recouperation, and whilst staying in a small hotel enjoying a cup of tea, he looked through the window and noticed an attractive young lady sitting in a trolleybus with an older lady who he presumed to be her mother. On the spur of the moment, he jumped out of his seat, boarded the bus and speaking to the two women, invited them to jump off the bus and have tea with him. They accepted the invitation and the rest as they say is history. He told me over and over that he did not travel to the Isle of Man to find a wife, but simply to get well. He would intimate, that it was purely ‘by chance’ that he found the woman of his dreams there and the wife of many, many years.
In this world of ours, sometimes things happen unexpectedly and in their wake bring either bad or good, sorrow or joy. The world believes in happenstance, in luck or twists of fate, but this never takes place in the life of a Christian who has committed all things to God. Yes, things may happen unexpectedly, there may be one or two ‘suddenlies’ come our way or thrust upon us, but the Lord has promised to be with us always.
But back to the story, the priest was aware of the man but seems to have quickly fled the scene. Same with the Levite who was to follow later, but give him his due, he did actually cross over and enquire as to what had taken place. I have heard it said on some occasions, how that it seems these two men were more concerned for their own lives maybe and yet others have said, as men of the cloth they themselves were exempt from such attacks.
I do not know which to believe, all that I know is that they both made a quick exit. Both men were Jews but worryingly, neither helped their countryman on that particular day. In this parable I do not believe that God ever saw chance in any of this. Rather, I believe each man was given a golden opportunity to lend aid to another fellow traveler and that day they both failed in this particular task.
Did both of these men think their duty ended when they left the Temple Precincts? They were both hurrying on home and sought not to be delayed. Where was their heart of compassion? Were they not obligated to help? Yet, if it just boils down to duty, to obligation alone, surely we have missed the mark! Maybe deep down inside of these two men they concluded that it was somehow the injured man’s own fault, and he should have been more careful, whatever, it proved to be an inconvenience for both of them.
Have you noticed in your own life that sometimes the Lord asks you to do things for Him at what seems to be the most inconvenient time and sometimes with the most difficult of people? The woman in the market- place who always pushes in front of you in the queue, or the boss who never seems to allow you to get away from work on time and always with no extra pay. People whose lifestyle is so very different than our own. Folks with differing religions and so on. In a way I suppose I am covering the whole waterfront of humanity.
The Samaritan man, as he approached the wounded figure could have had many conflicting thoughts of his own. He was the last of the travelers to reach the spot. He is the last and yet at the same time he is the central figure in the parable. Imagine what a shock the lawyer would have had as Jesus brings the Samaritan gentleman into the tale and to think that in the end he was the one whom Jesus spoke well of.
What makes this story so interesting is that the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans. They would never ever consider them as neighbours; no Gentile would be considered as a neighbour. For countless years they seemed to have had an awful hatred for each other, and yet on that day it was the Samaritan man who put every difference aside as he tended to the man’s wounds. How does the Bible put it?
“A certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him he had compassion on him, and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence and gave them to the host, and said unto him, take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.”
He looked beyond outward appearance, he looked beyond any cultural differences and just saw someone in need. I love this Samaritan man; he is my brother. He doesn’t ooze obligation, that feeling of being forced down a particular route and made to do something instead of really wanting to do it, but rather he oozes with compassion. Also, he was surely a person who we would call a ‘second miler’, for not only did he apply on-the-spot first aid to this dying man but ensured his future by taking him to an inn where he could be cared for in his absence. He could not leave things half-finished, for sometimes it takes a little while to bind the wounds of those in need and we should prepare for this.
Let’s be honest, we have all of us, at some time or other, been glad of those who have come alongside us, hearing our stories, meeting our needs, carrying it would seem the oil of compassion with them, and you know sometimes I have proved myself; it can come from the most unexpected source!
Genesis chapter 4 verse 9 highlights a very important thought for us today and this is how it reads: “And the Lord said unto Cain, where is Abel thy brother? And he said I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?”
Wasn’t it Martin Luther who said, “It is the duty of every Christian to be Christ to his neighbour,” and does not the Apostle John in his Epistle write that we who love God should love our brother also? (1 John chapter 4 and verse 21). And is it not the will of our Precious Saviour that we are to also love those who would be our enemies?
John Wesley said, “I am sick of opinions, give me a humble, gentle lover of God and man; a man full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy; a man laying himself out in the works of faith, the patience of hope and the labour of love.”
The Good Samaritan is indeed a picture of Christ Himself who came down to where we were and saw our need.
The old chorus rings true:
He poured in the oil and the wine,
The kind that restoreth my soul,
He found me bleeding and dying on the Jericho Road
And He poured in the oil and the wine.
Prayer: Dear Lord, each day as we wake and prepare for the daily round and the common task, I pray we will always carry the oil of compassion with us, just in case You should bring someone across our path who has a particular need, so that the loving, healing, restorative Works of the Spirit of God may be poured out into the lives of fellow travelers just like us.
Remember: Take a little oil with you – it makes all the difference!
Taken from The Oil That Makes Glad by A. B. Saint
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LIFE ON THE ALTAR 