July 10, 2022 – Pentecost +5C, Luke 10:25-37

“An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” 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.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

But wanting to vindicate himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and took off, leaving him half dead. 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, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came upon him, and when he saw him he was moved with compassion. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, treating them with oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him, and when I come back I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” Luke 10:25-37

The “Rule of Three” — have you ever heard of the “Rule of Three” when it comes to writing a story? If you remember some of your more memorable children’s stories, you might soon understand what I am talking about. For millennia, from Aristotle to Dickens, the basic makeup of any story or fable is built using this principle of three. After all, three is the minimum number of items needed to establish a pattern. Think back to your childhood and see how many “Threes” were featured in fairy tales, books and films you enjoyed. “The Three Little Pigs”, “The Three Musketeers” “Three Ghosts of Christmas Past”….come to mind. And if we take a look at the Bible for other examples “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego” come to mind, from the story of Daniel and the fiery furnace — and we also have “The Three Wise men” — it is no coincidence. The reason it has been used for so long is the usefulness of the pattern: The first item introduces the topic, the second suggests the pattern, and the third either drives the pattern home or unexpectedly changes it.

Jesus often uses the Rule of Three in his parables. Take for example his Parable of the Great Dinner — the rule of three is used in confirming the guests’ apathy toward the invitation. “The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land’, the second said ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen,’ the third said ‘I have just been married,’…I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner” (Luke 14:17-24). Jesus also uses the Rule of Three for rhetorical effect. In the Parable of the Sower, the goodness of the good soil is driven home with the harvest that it yields — “.some thirty and some sixty and some a hundredfold” (Mark 4:8).

The first of the three introduces the topic; the second of the trio suggests the pattern; and the third either drives the pattern home or unexpectedly changes it. It is pure genius. The people listening to the story from Jesus would have expected the third to be an “Israelite” — so when they heard “Samaritan” they were initially shocked, but then, having heard it was a Samaritan, they were most likely angry. The only expectation of the Jews then would be that they figured the Samaritan would also pass along on the other side of the road. But that is not how G-d works in G-D’s Kingdom. G-d is a G-d who does unexpected things through unexpected people. And that is something we should always expect in our lives — even though life gets busy and we get distracted and often feel more like the Priest and the Levite then we do the “Good Samaritan” — G-d is going to try to do what G-d can do to break us out of our predictable patterns — patterns of behaving, patterns of living, patterns of sinning, patterns of spending. You do know, by now at least I hope you do, but our G-d is not a G-d that is easy to predict. As soon as I think I have G-d figured out in my life, G-d comes along to say: “I have come to shake up your world once again.” And he often does — week after week after week — G-d continues to show up in my life, and my wife and children’s lives in unexpected and surprising ways.

Look, I do not always do the things I should do — I do not always do the right thing, or take advantage of the opportunities to “act like a neighbor” to someone in need like I should. As such, the point of this parable is not to make us feel bad because we haven’t done enough. Instead, we are to hear this parable and realize that life is not about what you and I can get out of it — and life is not about always living in fear that we shouldn’t get involved — and especially, we should not live our lives worried that we haven’t done enough. No, the point of this parable, as I see it, is to realize that life is about what you and I can offer to all people, since there are no boundaries to who is our neighbor. And since there should be no boundaries to whom we offer Jesus’ love, mercy and grace, then what we can offer to all people will come through the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives.

Pastor Dave