LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 90

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and witness? Antonio and Marisela stood in our church, and the
whole fellowship knew of their altruistic reasons for being there.
In the Gospels, who are those who come to our Lord Jesus for the
right reasons? What percentage of them comes to the Lord for the
wrong reasons? Really . . . are we not a fleshly, carnal, physical,
tangible people? Is it not the multitude that seeks Jesus to make
Him a bread king (John 6)? Or is it the Samaritan woman saying,
“Come and see the One who knows of my past?” Is it uncounted
others who seek healing? Is it the 10 lepers who only seek healing,
of which one returns? Does this prevent our Lord from serving
the sick?
If not, how do we justify ourselves? Does our justification/reason/
excuse bear up under the scrutiny of loving another? Do we use our
reason or give sanctified biblical thinking? Are not His works just
as His miracles meant to point to Him? Is this a good starting place?
What of this Levite? Perhaps you lay delegates are something like
him: committed, faithful, and a servant. He is one who hears the
Word. He cares for the temple and the priest and ensures that all
is in order. He, too, sees the man who has fallen amongst thieves
and distances himself from the victim by crossing over to the other
side. Again, there is physical distance put between one and another.
Fifty-nine, fifty-nine. There is a schedule to meet. Church services
are 59:59. A Divine Service is 59 minutes and 59 seconds. We receive
Christ through the Word of God in the Divine Service. Pastor
leads us in the service, Jesus comes through His Word, and His
gifts are given in 59:59. It is good that our Lord is so prompt about
preaching to us and giving His gifts in such a timely manner. He
is quite obviously North American and values punctuality and
independence.
Imagine my surprise when I learned in my first mission that we
needed to share the peace. I did a quick and efficient job of it and
greeted half the people. On the way out of the church, several
people asked me why I had not greeted them during the sharing
of the peace. I mumbled something about them being near the
back or time. I met only surprised looks. The following week, I
made the point of sharing and touching those people personally.
Soon, I learned that the whole Body of Christ was to be personally
greeted. My grip on time was being shaken.
I mean, to greet everyone in the church? How untimely! What
kind of germs might be shared? To think that our Lord would
give us His body and blood. There at the table, our Lord gives you,
gives me of Himself. There is a body, broken on the cross. This is
not tidy, nor clean. Neither is this timely. It took the better part
of the day for Him to die. It is messy, physical, and broken, His
blood spilled for the forgiveness of sins. Our suffering is now His
suffering, and as we are joined to Him and Him to us, we share
communally in the suffering of each other. The apostle says, “If
one suffers, all suffer,” and all of this inside of 59:59. This is better
than an action-packed movie!
What is the corporate nature of your church? I do not mean, is it
simply friendly? What of the blood of Christ? What of His suffering upon which we contemplate in the Divine Service? What
of those who suffer around us? What of the one who is hungry?
What of the poor who cry out to the Lord? What of prayers that
are more than the standard prayer of a few minutes? Is there time
to attend to the one suffering from cancer? Is there an extra hug
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2 0 1 3 C o n v e n t io n P r o c e e d i n g s

and a whispered word of encouragement as you share the peace
with one who is mourning a lost one? Do the poor have a place in
your Divine Service? Is there time? Is it convenient? Who is your
neighbor? Surely the pastor will give him something, right? To
whom are you a neighbor? Is there mercy?
Is there time as Levites to truly contemplate upon Jesus being
present in His Word, or are we trying to hurry by on the other side
of the road? Yes, we believe that our Lord, Jesus Christ, forgives
us sinners damned to hell for of all our sins. Yes, we believe His
death on the cross has forgiven you and me of all our sins. Yes, He
gave us this in Baptism. Yes, His suffering and death are ours, but
what of the suffering with the Body of Christ? Do we pass by on
the other side? After all, that is why there is a local food bank and
money for that in the line budget of the church, right? No time to
be lost. We are efficient.
Repentance: Is your congregation known for being a place of mercy?
Are the poor welcome regardless of their excuse? Do you teach
that works of mercy accompany a witness of our living Lord, Jesus
Christ? Does your church reflect a place where it is messy and all
types of undesirables enter and leave with frequency, or do you
serve your type of people? What time constraints do you put on
your service to the neighbor? What excuse is there for not serving
your neighbor? Is this simply something political upon which you
have come to reason and not to ponder upon in biblical terms?
Repentance is needed.
Along comes the Good Samaritan. This Good Samaritan is dead to
the world. He is hated by the Jews. They do not even acknowledge
his presence. A Jew would prefer to suffer than to receive help
from a Samaritan. They are an unclean people with a false god. A
prayer of the Pharisees is that they would not be able to enjoy the
resurrection. He is as dead.
Yet he has compassion, and he feels moved. In his being, he desires
to show mercy. He draws near. He does not wait for another to
approach; rather, He quickly dismounts from his animal, dirties
his hands, pulls out his first-aid kit, and begins to administer
mercy to this man who has fallen amongst thieves. He uses wine
as an antiseptic and oil to clean the wounds, and then bandages
him. Not only does he take him to a place of refuge, but he also
attends to him in the hostel. It is his time, his hands, his person,
his goods that are at the disposal of this Jew. Yet this one who is as
dead goes further. He has not only attended to him and brought
him to a place of safety, he goes further. He binds up his wounds,
gives money for his well-being over the next few days, and then
promises to come back and give yet more, should there be further
need. For he is as dead to the Jew. He is free to do as he pleases. He
is dead to the Jews. He does not live to their expectations.
As such, the neighbor is the one who shows mercy. He is given
a death certificate. Our Lord, Jesus Christ, finds Himself hated
by the Jews, and on different occasions is found to be as dead to
them. In fact, it is the high priest who says, “It is fitting that one
man should die for the nation.” His death certificate is written.
The people affirm this. Crucify Him. Pilate, a spineless governor,
washes his hands and allows a Roman justice system to condemn
him as well. The death sentence is official. He is now as good as dead.
Yet how little and how often does it escape the eye that this which is
evil is, in fact, our Good Samaritan. He has in the flesh descended
C o n v e n t io n E s s ays