Sermon Transcript: March 9, 2025
Luke 10: 25-42:
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.”
Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at Jesus’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her, then, to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things, but few things are needed—indeed only one. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
For the Word of God in scripture,
for the Word of God among us,
For the Word of God within us,
Thanks be to God.
***
Barbara Brown Taylor tells about the time she was driving around lost in the countryside. This was before the days of cellphones and GPS. She was late for an appointment and had no way to reach out to the person who was expecting her. Mild panic started to set in as she drove around trying to find her way. Then she saw something that made the whole situation even worse: blue lights in her rearview mirror. She was being pulled over. She realized she had not been paying attention to her speed.
The officer approached her window and she immediately started to explain herself: “I am sorry officer, it’s just that I am lost.” The officer replied, “What made you think driving too fast would help you find your way?”
Lent is a time for us to slow down, to take stock of our living, of our relationships with one another and with God. In terms of our scripture lesson for today, it is time for us sit at Jesus’ feet like Mary.
Now I know what you are thinking because I am thinking it too. There is too much to do. The world seems to be falling apart. This is no time to slow down, no time to sit and be all religious and pious.
But what makes us think that rushing around is going to help us find our way?
“Wisdom is not gained by knowing what is right,” Taylor writes. “Wisdom is gained by practicing what is right and noticing what happens when that practice succeeds and when it fails.”
That is essentially what Jesus tells the expert in the law who tried to test Jesus. He knew what was right. He already had the answer. But knowing the answer and actually doing the right thing are not the same.
In the story Jesus tells the first two travelers know what is right, it is only the third one who slows down and does it.
Our lives are so fast paced. Speed is the ultimate commodity. We want faster travel. Faster information. Faster food. Why are we always in a rush? What makes us think that all this speed is going to help us find our way?
I think we rush because we are afraid. We are afraid of what we might learn if we slow down. We are afraid of silence not because we won’t hear anything but because we will. We will hear our own longing. A longing that cannot be satisfied by accumulating more and more. A longing that we can’t fix. A longing that only God alone can fill.
And so we go faster and faster and we get more and more lost. We lose the capacity for mercy and kindness. We lose the ability to know and be known. We lose our connection with one another and with our source.
So if you do nothing else this Lent, I invite you to do this one thing: slow down.
Slow down and pay attention to what happens. Pay attention to the discomfort. Pay attention to the people around you. Pay attention to your needs. Listen for God’s call on your life. Know that you are loved and that you do not have to accomplish anything to make that any more true than it already is.
Amen.
