"Who Is My Neighbor?"

A Sermon of The Rev. Dr. David A. Killian, Rector
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, July 11, 2004
Text: Luke 10: 25-37

I

Today's Gospel passage is the well-known parable about the Good Samaritan. There is a seminary where seminarians go out on Sundays to preach in small rural congregations that do not have a resident pastor. The seminarians are allowed to preach about any part of the Bible except they are not allowed to preach about the parable of the Prodigal Son and the parable of the Good Samaritan. The reason is that the churches complained that every time they got one of the seminary students to preach for them, the only sermons they ever heard were sermons about those two parables.

The Good Samaritan is one of the best known figures in the entire Bible. The Samaritan has the quality of empathy, the ability to feel and understand what the traveler experienced. Why does the Good Samaritan and not the others in the parable respond so effectively to the man who fell into the hands of robbers? I wonder if perhaps the Good Samaritan had himself once been a victim of some misfortune so that he was more sympathetic to the pain of others. Perhaps this explains his willingness to reach out to help someone in distress.

II

Most of us have not been physically assaulted like the traveler in the parable. However, we may feel beaten down in other ways. For me, it was when I was unemployed for a period of eight months from October 1983 until June of 1984. I had just left a Roman Catholic religious order where I was a member for 24 years. Previously, I had a very secure life, where food, clothing, and all necessities were provided. When I left the order I felt alone and insecure. I needed to get a job and so I did what unemployed people do. I read the want ads, wrote a resume and tried to translate my experience in religious life into secular, business terms, read several job-hunter's guides, started calling friends who might help, and applied for several jobs. Several of the places where I applied didn't even acknowledge my application. Once or twice I was a finalist and actually had some interviews. On those occasions I role-played the interview, got friends to write letters of recommendation, and accepted advice on the clothes and image I was to present. Then the rejections came back: usually they were polite letters saying that I was over-qualified or under-qualified or that they had found someone who was a better match for the position.

As the months dragged on I felt vulnerable and unsure of myself. While not being physically assaulted and robbed like the traveler in Jesus' parable, I felt emotionally battered by each rejection and I felt robbed of my self-esteem and confidence. I began to doubt my gifts and abilities. I felt like a victim lying by the side of the road.

In my distress, who was a Samaritan to me? Well, one major Good Samaritan for me was a man who ran a career counseling company, called Action, Inc. His name was Proctor Coffin and he was member of Trinity Church in Copley Square. I will always remember what he told me in our interview. He said, "Two good things are going to come to you in this time you are unemployed." Of, course, I was all ears wondering what those two things were. He said, "First, you are going to meet some interesting people that you never would have met otherwise. Second you are going to become an expert on finding a job." He was absolutely right -- I met many, wonderful new people that I never would have met who were Good Samaritans to me. Two people I met were men who invited me to join their Cursillo group that met in Topsfield every Monday night. I was a part of this group for a couple of years and was supported in numerous ways by their prayer, fellowship, and example as lay men who lived their faith in the world. And I did develop an expertise in finding a job -- which I would need because I had three jobs in the secular world between 1983 and 1988, for the City of Boston, for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and for a pastoral counseling agency -- until I realized that God was calling me to return to the active ministry.

III

Another new person I met when I was unemployed -- not in person, but through his book "What Color is Your Parachute?" -- was Richard Bolles, an Episcopal priest who was canon pastor of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, who lost his job during a budget crunch in 1968. He learned how to find a job and got so good at helping others find employment that he wrote the book that is regarded as "the bible for job-seekers" and which has sold millions of copies. Whenever I got discouraged in my job search I would go back to "What Color is Your Parachute?" to read again that it is normal to feel dejected, assaulted, and beaten down when you are unemployed -- but this does not make you a bad person. You have a worth and value that comes from God apart from your occupation or career. As today's reading from Colossians tells us: "May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from God's glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father."

Proctor Coffin also taught me that the sign of a good interview is not that you get a job offer, but that you get two new names of people to interview -- so that you can extend your network, which will eventually lead you to the job that is right for you. When I asked him about his fee so I might pay him for his services he said, "You don't have to pay me anything. However, once you get a job -- and you will get a job again -- whenever someone comes to you needing help, especially someone who is out of work, always agree to meet with him or her and always try to give two names for that person to meet."

As you reflect on the parable of the Good Samaritan, I invite you to think about a time when you were a victim -- attacked by robbers who stripped you, beat you and left you half dead -- emotionally and spiritually. And think of the persons who were Good Samaritans to you, who bound up your wounds, took you to an inn, and helped you get back on your feet. And then think of how Christ is inviting you to be a neighbor now to someone in need. Amen.