Looking (10.16.2005)

Last week, we looked at how Jesus demonstrated compassion toward the Widow of Nain. This week, we look more indepth at the first step in the process -- the act of looking.

JESUS' ENCOUNTERS WITH PEOPLE

Read the following brief passages about Jesus' encounters with people:

• Matthew 9:36 – Traveling around teaching/healing
• Mark 6:34 – Feeding the 5,000
• Mark 10:21 – Rich young ruler
• Luke 7:13 – Widow of Nain
• Luke 19:41 – Seeing Jerusalem
• John 11:33 - Lazarus

In these passages, we see a pattern of Jesus' looking followed by His compassion.

THE COST OF LOVE

Read the parable of the Good Samaritan – Luke 10:25-37

Background information on the Jews and Samaritans:
To a 1st century Jew, the term "Good Samaritan" would have sounded like the term "Good Terrorist" or "Good Al Qaeda" sounds to us today. It goes against everything we have experienced or believe.

• Samaritans were a Jewish subculture that held sacred only the five books of Moses and worshipped in a temple they had erected rather than in Jerusalem

• Jews would not eat from a bowl that had been touched by a Samaritan

• Samaria was between the two major centers of Jewish population – Galilee to the north and Judea to the south. However, Jews would take a detour through the Jordan River valley to avoid setting foot in Samaria.

Reasons To Look The Other Way:
What reasons could each of the passersby have to look the other way?

• PRIEST AND LEVITE -- would disrupt their schedule; may get their clothes dirty or bloody; limited or no capacity to carry the man; may be a set-up for an attack; may be too prideful to do the "dirty work"; if the man were dead, touching him would make them ritually unclean

• SAMARITAN -- would disrupt his schedule; may get his clothes dirty or bloody; limited or no capacity to carry the man; may be a set-up for an attack; as a Samaritan, would risk possible revenge from the Jewish man's family

Regarding the risk of revenge the Samaritan may have feared ... imagine a sunny day in Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1800s. At high noon, a Plains Indian rides into town and checks in to the hotel room over the saloon. He's carrying a cowboy who has been scalped and in desperate need of medical attention. The Indian plans to take care of him and nurse him back to health. But what do you think was going through the minds of the saloon patrons? They probably assumed that the Indian had scalped him -- or perhaps some members of his tribe did. They would most likely seek revenge against the Indian. That's how the Jewish man's family would likely have responded if the Samaritan were to carry the man into town. But he did it anyway.

The Love Exchange:
Love involves an exchange between the parties involved. In the parable of The Good Samaritan, here's what we see:

This exchange summarizes what Jesus did for us on the cross, too. He gave up His life so that we could receive eternal life. We gave up death, and Jesus endured the cross so we could do so.

LOOKING FOR LOVE

The priest and Levite see a problem. The Samaritan sees a person.

To “look” at something is to turn your attention toward it.

Love begins with looking. Here’s what Jesus says about using our eyes inappropriately:

• “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.” (Matthew 6:22-23)

• “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away.” (Matthew 5:29)

TABLE TALK: In what situations in our lives might we look away – and why? Here's what some people shared in class:

• Seeing individuals in the emergency room at work as just "patients" and not as people
• Avoiding eye contact with homeless people at street intersections
• Coming across someone with a physical handicap and not knowing how best to interact with them
• Avoiding conversations with people who I know are emotionally needy
• Not ministering to co-workers who are in need (health problems, emotional issues, etc.)

Why might we look away?

• It's easier to look away than to get involved
• May disrupt our schedules
• Do not feel that we have anything to offer
• Fear for our safety
• Culture deems it inappropriate
• Fear of getting into a situation in which there is no way to gracefully walk away

The list of reasons why we might look away could go on and on -- but how many of them are valid excuses for us to not be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ?

ONE LAST LOOK AT LOOKING

Read the parable of The Prodigal Son – Luke 15:11-32

The father was intentional about looking for his son. In verse 15:20, it says that the father saw his son and was filled with compassion for him even "while he was still a long way off." The father did not happen to see him in his peripheral vision; he did not stumble across his son while tending to the fields. Rather, he saw him because he was purposefully looking for him. As we go about our daily lives, perhaps it is not enough to look only if we happen to find ourselves in a situation. Perhaps we should purposefully look for and toward people in need.

PRAYING GOD'S WORD

Use the following passages to pray God’s Word back to Him, either on your own or with others:

• Turn my eyes away from worthless things, Lord; preserve my life according to your word. (Psalm 119:37)

• My eyes are the lamps of my body. Make my eyes good, Lord, so that my whole body will be full of light. (Matthew 6:22-23)

• Lord, open my eyes that I may look at the fields around me – the fields that are ripe for harvest! (John 4:35)
  

BEING THE REAL DEAL

Here are some ways to apply this message from God’s Word:

• Ask God to turn your eyes toward someone you may otherwise overlook. Ask Him to make you look in their direction – and then notice how God stirs in your heart as a result.

• Keep bottled water or snack items in your car. If you see a homeless person at an intersection, be intentional about looking at them and offering something to eat or drink.