For giving me this opportunity to be with you all today.
And it's a wonderful pleasure and to say thank you for your continuous partnership and support.
!
Today what I want to share with you is something about my own story,
about what I have been through.
In my own journey as a teenager.
So that goes back to almost 30, 35 years before.
So it's my own story.
Before we open what God has placed in my heart, I would like to pray with you.
Let's quickly pray.
Dear loving God, as we gather this morning to worship and reflect your word,
help us to understand what you are teaching us.
Show us how to respond with love, without limits.
As we think about the familiar story of Samaritan, teach us this morning how to respond.
Thank you, Lord, for our church, this church.
And for the partnership you have given us here, help us to work together in unity, in love, serving others as one body.
Guide us so that we don't just listen, but be changed, be challenged, becoming your people who share your grace with everyone we meet.
In your holy name.
Amen.
Again, church, as I said earlier, thank you for this opportunity that I can stand with you today to share God's word.
My theme of message, today's message is, who is my neighbor?
When the lawyer or the expert in the law asked the question, who is my neighbor?
He wanted to know the limits of responsibility.
What is the limit?
He was asking the right question, but he was asking how far I have to go.
What is the distance I have to go?
Who must I love and who can I ignore?
Who are the people I could love, who are the people I could ignore?
But Jesus did not answer his question.
Jesus was asking a question from him.
And then he simply says to the man, go and do likewise.
So Jesus didn't answer his question directly.
It was a good question.
Before I go further, I want to share a bit of my own story, my own life.
I get asked by churches and people who meet me often what I do and why I do the work I'm involved.
And in short, my story, one of the chapters, starts in this point, 1990, June.
My journey begins in one of the darkest moments of the Sri Lankan Civil War.
If you have known Sri Lanka, the history of Sri Lankan Civil War and internal displacement has been one of the major disasters and man-made disasters of that nation.
In 1990, June, there was a major internal displacement.
Hundreds of thousands were forced from their homes to flee.
Many didn't survive.
Many of my friends didn't survive.
Bombings, shelling, that followed that particular week, starting from June 14th.
My family and I were among those who fled on that night.
I want to take a moment to share with you my own story, in a way.
In a very difficult time of my teenage years, in my journey, there were seven churches along the way of fleeing of around 300 kilometers.
Seven churches who stepped up, making an impact in my life.
I may not agree with the doctrines of these churches.
I don't agree with those certain doctrines those churches shared.
But their actions and their response was profound.
The church has the responsibility and the unique ability, even today in Australia,
to stand with those who have lost everything.
They have lost the people who have lost their hope.
People have lost everything.
The church has the ability to make a difference.
Their actions are part of why I now walk alongside with those who are forcibly displaced
or those who have become refugees.
And I've been involved in refugee ministry since I left my high school, I don't know, 30 years ago, 32 years ago.
And since I left, I've been involved in refugee work.
And when I talk about these seven churches in my journey, I want to start talking about the church one.
When we fled and we walked probably around 15 kilometers and we came to a small Pentecostal congregation in a village.
And I still remember the pastor opened their home and they fed us on that day.
We were complete strangers to them.
And they opened their home and they fed us on that day, on that night when we were praying.
And the devotional reading was from Isaiah 43, verse 2.
Verse 2, when you walk through the fire, you will not be burned.
And those words became very real when we heard that our home was completely burned down.
My parents lost their business, our home, everything we lost on that night.
The second church was a pastor who journeyed with us who also fled.
And we came to a point where it was so dangerous for us to go further in our displacement.
And the only way we could do is to cross a particular waterway through sea, the sea waterway.
And we were around 30 of us.
We have to cross.
And many of the young people didn't have any financial means to do that.
And the pastor and his wife, that was their first wedding anniversary.
And the pastor and wife took off their wedding rings and gave it to the boatman and said,
take these young people, save the show.
And that was the second church.
The third church, when we arrived on the other side of the show, it was a Catholic parish in the local area.
And when these people coming by boat in hundreds, these Catholic church on the show,
they rallied the community around, the people around the church area.
And they cooked a meal for that day.
And they served, they didn't have plates, they didn't have any fancy equipments.
And they served us in this big teak leaves.
They served the meal on that day.
It was a very simple meal.
Even today, I sort of wonder if I could taste the same thing.
And I feel that was a life-saving meal for me on that day.
And my life became sort of as a family wandering in that district for a few months.
And I also remember one morning stepping into another congregation, an apostolic church.
That's what their name.
And the pastor and the wife invited me.
And because I was 16 and I was so frustrated at that day.
And he gave me a New Testament in my hand.
And he said, Jude, you need to start reading the scriptures.
And that New Testament spared my life.
Because that's the time the young teenagers got dragged into becoming child soldiers.
So Sri Lanka had this issue of child soldiers.
And the conversation with that pastor and he sort of giving me that New Testament in my hand
sort of saved me from that temptation of going through this hopelessness and say,
no, I also need to take my arms and fight.
And that point saved me.
And continuing to talk about the other churches.
And another church, complete strangers, they came and gave some money to my dad and say,
on your next leg of your travel to go to the capital, here you are.
And we never knew them.
We never met them.
And they're just complete strangers.
When we came to what we call the military-controlled area,
and we were housed in a school hall, a Christian school hall,
the priest of that school made arrangement for us to sleep in the school hall and made meals.
And to tell you that anyone houses any young people in a strange place like that,
they are subject to military actions.
Because it is a risk that priest took that night to house these young people,
and my family to be safe on that night.
If you have stayed on the street, or if you are outside somewhere,
our life would have been, I would not stand in front of you today to share this.
And then the final about the seventh church,
and we managed to come to the city, and we were there.
And in this particular city, I attended a service,
and then they were glorifying the military actions,
and they prayed for the military.
And I was kind of confused.
And here, one side of the military is killing the people,
and here the church is sort of praying and supporting the whole actions.
But there were individuals and leaders who journeyed with me,
supported me, protected me, where I could stand with you today.
This is my, not a short story.
I thought it would be a short story, but it has become a long story.
Right?
So this is my story.
Right?
So when I want to open the story with you,
what Jesus was sharing,
he was sharing about the lawyer's question.
Right?
And it was a good question.
The intention was good.
The parable in Luke chapter 10
begins with the lawyer standing there to test Jesus.
It was not, it was a good question,
but the intention behind the question was not good.
He was actually trying to test Jesus.
He says, teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?
On the surface, it sounds good,
and Luke's important question,
but Luke's tells us in the passage that he was trying to test.
And Jesus continues.
He responds with a question.
Instead of direct answer,
the lawyer knew the law from A to Z.
And he says,
he responds to Jesus,
love the Lord your God,
love your neighbor as yourself.
And then he asks the question from Jesus,
who is my neighbor?
This reveals the struggle even for us today.
We all, the people know the law.
Even the lawyer knew the law,
but he didn't know the application of the law.
People know the scripture well.
People struggle with the application of the scripture.
People ask good questions based on scriptures.
And one of the questions we all ask about,
today's major question is about migration,
and who comes to this country,
who are they,
and all those questions.
Those are good questions.
The problem is,
are we really looking for the truth,
or we are looking for limits?
And it's easier to look for
what is the limit we can place on things.
But what is the truth is the question.
And based on the parable,
I would like to bring three small reflections for you,
for you to continue to ponder.
The first one is,
the first character is the man on the road.
Most of the time when we read this story,
I think as from our childhood,
we would have read this story a thousand times.
A thousand times we would have read this story.
But,
I would really love you taking a turn,
not to focus on the Samaritan,
but let's start focusing on the other characters.
The man on the road,
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.
The stranger in need,
Jesus in his story simply said,
a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
The man has no name,
there's no name,
there is no ethnic or religious label for this man.
Jesus removes every detail that could be used as an excuse.
He removes all the details of this man.
We only know that man was injured and he was half dead.
The man is suffering and he needed help.
That's all we know from the scripture.
And the pain does not come to a person with permission.
And it doesn't come with a label.
And because I belong to this,
I am suffering.
The pain and suffering to people,
it comes when it comes.
Our focus here is to look at the structure of this parable,
especially the way Jesus removes every identify marker from the man on the road.
Jesus deliberately strips away anything that could be used as an excuse.
The people whom we see,
people whom we journey with,
that most of the time we tend to journey with them
or choose to love them
or choose to support them based on their identity.
And Jesus removes that identity here.
The second group of people we see in the scripture
is the priest and the Levite.
The scripture says,
now by chance a priest was going down that road
and when he saw him,
he passed by on the other side.
So likewise,
a Levite,
when he came to the place
and saw him
and passed on the other side.
And Jesus speaks about this Levite and the priest.
And the scripture very clearly says
they were going down.
They were not going up.
So if you really look at
Jerusalem and Jericho,
Jerusalem is in a higher ground.
It's around 750 meters high.
And Jericho is in the lowest point near the Dead Sea.
And if you read the passage
and if you try to understand the law,
the numbers, chapter 19, verse 11 says,
whoever touches a dead body
still be unclean for seven days.
That's the scripture says.
The man who knows the law,
the Levite and the priest,
he sees this half dead man
and if he goes and touches
that particular person,
if that body is a dead body
or if that person is a dead man,
he will be defiled.
He will be defiled for seven days.
And if he was going from Jericho to Jerusalem,
the Levite and the priest
will be going over there
to do their religious duties,
to serve in the church
or serve in the temple.
And it was a classic example,
a classic excuse to say,
no, I don't want to touch this person
because if I touch,
I can't go and do my religious duties
in the church, in the temple.
I can't do this.
By law, I cannot do this.
And they were not going to serve
in the temple
because they were coming down.
They were coming from the temple.
They were coming down.
Helping that person
would not stop their service
at the temple
because they have already completed
their part of the work.
And it is, even today,
it's a similar thing.
We kind of come to a place
that we say by law,
by scripture,
by certain limitation,
by policies,
by compliance,
we cannot act,
we cannot do something.
The priest and the Levite
weren't stopped by the law.
They were stopped
by the way they interpreted the law
and used it,
used that particular law
as their excuse.
They were already among,
they were already coming
down from Jerusalem.
Their duties have finished,
their rituals are finished,
so Jesus removes
the law excuse.
It reminds us
today,
even good laws
and traditions
can block you and me
from being compassionate
to the people
who are in need.
The third person
in the story
is a character
we mostly talk about.
But in that also
we leave
some details.
Here,
Jesus talks about
the Samaritan.
The Samaritan journeyed,
came where he was,
and when he saw,
I'm reading from
chapter 10,
verses 33 to 35,
he went to him
and bound
up his wounds,
pouring on oil
and wine,
then set him
on his own animal
and brought him
to an inn
and took care of him.
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.
Jesus introduces
the Samaritan.
This is very shocking
why he has to
introduce a Samaritan.
Why not a Roman?
Because the Romans
were living there.
Why not another
Canaanite person?
Someone else?
Why Jesus has to
use a Samaritan
in this story?
And the Samaritans
and Jews,
they were brothers
centuries ago.
They lived together.
They were under
one kingdom.
They were together.
But the rivalry
grew.
And when you,
after the
Assyrian conquest
of 722 BC,
the rivalry grew
and they
separated.
And Jews
believed
the only
proper place
to worship
was
the temple
in Jerusalem.
And Samaritans
believed
the true place
to worship
is one of the
mountains
in Samaria.
Not in Jerusalem.
The tension
between these
two
became a
theological
division,
theological
arguments.
It turned
violent at times.
They fought
with each other.
Jews
destroyed
the Samaritan
temple
on the
mount
around
150 years
before
Jesus
told this
story.
And also
Samaritans
also
disrupted
when the
Jews
traveling
to
Jerusalem
for their
pilgrimages,
their
rituals.
When
Jesus
brought
the
Samaritans
in this
story,
Jesus
brings
the story
of compassion
in action.
And the
Bible
says
the
Samaritan,
he
saw him,
he sees
him,
he had
compassion,
and he
went to
him.
I just
want to
underline
these three
things.
And what
we fail
to do
most of
the time,
even in
my life,
in my
walk
with people,
I refuse
to see
what's going
on,
because I
refuse to
see,
I cannot
feel what
they are
going through,
I cannot
move by
compassion,
and because
I can't
see and
feel,
I don't
go to
them.
I stay
out of
that place
because I
refuse to
see it,
I refuse
to move,
and so
I don't
go to
them.
He does
not,
when he
goes to
him,
he did
not ask
the question
about the
ethnicity of
the person
injured,
he did
not ask
the race
of that
person who
is injured,
and he
did not
ask the
question of
the religious
or politics.
And the
scripture says
he acts,
it was not
a triple
zero call
and then
to walk
away,
right?
Today,
if I see
somebody in
need,
and my
easiest
option is
to make
a triple
zero call.
This is
not the
narration
of the
secular
media
today
saying
a good
Samaritan's
act.
When somebody
calls a triple
zero,
today you
will hear
in a secular
media saying
that was
an act
of a good
Samaritan.
So it
was not
that easy
at that
point.
And the
Bible
says he
goes there,
he bandages
the wound,
uses oil
and wine,
puts the
man on
his own
animal,
in his
own donkey,
takes him
to the
inn,
and the
Bible says
he stayed
with him
and cared
for him.
And on
the next
day,
pays
two
denarii.
And if
you really
look at
it,
it's a lot
of money.
It is a lot
of money
in today's
terms.
It's
probably
around two
days of
wages.
And for
the
Samaritan,
that's
a lot
of money.
And he
says,
in the
last part
it says,
promises to
return and
pay if
you have
spent more,
willing to
reimburse.
This is
a costly
ongoing
commitment.
It is
not
something
that you
fix and
run away.
It is an
ongoing
commitment.
This
parable
gives
us
the
love
that we
show
without
limits.
And
faith
is
proven
when it
is
not
safe.
My
faith
is
proven
when it
is
not
safe.
The
faith
is
proven
when it
is
really
costly.
And I
leave
this
part
of
that
in my
conclusion.
When
Jesus
says,
go and
do
likewise,
I want
you to
remember
that
unless
I
see
it,
I
will
not
be
moved.
Unless
I
see
and
moved,
I
will
not
be
able
to
act.
Thank
you.
Thank
you for
giving me
this
opportunity.
Thank you.