Luke 10:23-37
The Eighth Commandment
You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God
so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor,
betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation,
but defend him, speak well of him,
and explain everything in the kindest way.
Our text for our meditation this morning is the Gospel
reading of the day, the Good Samaritan. A lawyer was trying to justify himself.
Trying to show that he was a good neighbor. He asked Jesus, “And who is my
neighbor?” Answering, Jesus tells this story.
Jesus is the best storyteller; his stories are so easy to
relate to. Because he was able to know human nature perfectly, his stories have
these characters that seem more real than real life.
You can just know what that priest in the story was like. He
was dressed well, clean and proper. He comes across a bleeding, needy victim of
an ugly crime and he says, “Ew! I’m going to pretend I don’t even see that.”
You can picture that scene vividly, can’t you? Because you know someone like
that. You can be taken aback a little by that scene, can’t you? Because you’ve
at times acted like that, for whatever reason, reluctant to help a poor,
pitiful neighbor in need. It’s all too relatable.
But I tell you, I can’t relate exactly to one aspect of this
parable. I don’t know about all of you, but it’s been years since the last time
I was walking along a road and came across somebody laying in the ditch,
unconscious, bloody and bruised. Fortunately, we live in an easier world, with
less violence and crime than in some places and at other times.
But of course, Jesus’ lesson here can be applied to many
situations in life. Every day we have opportunities to answer the question, “Who
is my neighbor?” and “How can I show mercy to him or to her?”
I hope it’s rare or never that you have to help someone who
has been beaten up by robbers. But I’m sure you will have many times where you
can help and show mercy to someone who has been beaten up by just life and the
problems of life in this world.
It’s unlikely that in the near future you’ll need to use
your first aid knowledge and skills on someone who has been beat up with fists
and clubs and has been left half dead. But it’s very likely that you’ll hear
someone, some neighbor get beat up with words, until his or her reputation is
half dead.
Good Samaritans help their neighbor, according to the 5th
commandment, by tending to the needs of the neighbor’s life and health. Good Samaritans
will also help their neighbor according to the 7th commandment, by
helping with the needs of possessions and property. And Good Samaritans will
help their neighbor according to the 8th commandment by protecting
and defending the neighbor’s good name and reputation.
We should fear and love God
so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor,
betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation,
but defend him, speak well of him,
and explain everything in the kindest way.
The easiest thing always is to do nothing. To be like the
priest and the Levite, who say, “This is none of my business”, turn and walk
the other way. But the 8th Commandment instructs you to do what’s
uncomfortable, what’s risky. It’s hard to speak up for someone when the crowd
is tearing them apart. It’s uncomfortable to speak well of him, when everyone
else is enjoying the juicy gossip.
The Good Samaritan used medicinal oil and bandages to help
the wounded, he got him to shelter, and got him cleaned up and fed. How do you
help out someone who is being attacked by gossip. I’ve got three examples of
things you can say.
1.
“Are you certain about that?” In this world of
sin, lies get more traffic than truth. Let’s agree together that we are going
to no longer let lies stand, nor half-truths. If we aren’t certain about the
story, let it go untold.
2.
“Maybe you should talk to so-and-so about this?”
When people are complaining about so-and-so, behind their back, the right thing
to do is stop the gossip and lead it toward a conversation of reconciliation.
Jesus says, If you’ve got something against another, Go, show him his fault, “just
the two of you, and if he listens, you have won your brother” (Matthew 18:15).
Let’s agree to no longer be partakers of gossip, but instruments of reconciliation.
Direct those with complaints and grievances to work it out face-to-face. Behind
the back, it won’t get fixed.
3.
“I think you’ve been talking to the wrong
people.” This is a wise one I just heard recently. A good neighbor was hearing
some gossip that was just not even believable. So she stopped the gossiper and
told them to consider the source of the gossip. Let’s all agree to strive for such
wisdom. Realize that there are going to be some around us who love to spread
gossip, whether true or not, doesn’t matter as much as if it’s juicy. Choose
carefully who you listen to. Gossip spreads worse than contagious diseases. We
got some good practice on social distancing a couple years ago. You might
consider how to keep a safe distance from those who spread mean lies.
With the 8th Commandment we hear how words can be
powerful for evil or for good. Know that your good Lord in heaven wants you to
use words for the good, even as He constantly speaks good words to you and for
you. At the end of the service he are going to sing “MY HOPE IS BUILT ON
NOTHING LESS”
His oath, His covenant and blood
Support me in the raging flood;
When ev’ry earthly prop gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
“His oath, His covenant and blood.” Christ speaks good words.
His oath and covenant are that he will care for you, forgive you and love you forever.
His words, are coupled with his actions, referred to in the song as “his blood,”
his sacrificial dying for us. His words and his actions are powerfully good to
save us and sustain us. That’s his mercy.
He calls us to show mercy to others.
When we show mercy, we’re showing Christ’s mercy. We’re
showing that we get it. And we want others to get it, too.
Amen.
