August 18, 2019

Luke 10:25-37

Throughout this last week at VBS we’ve been thinking about the question “Who’s my neighbor?” It is a question that was asked of Jesus. A lawyer asked Jesus what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus reminded him of the great commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and soul and mind and strength, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Lawyers, then and now, like to look for loopholes, and this one was no exception. Thinking he had found a possible loophole he asked, “But who’s my neighbor?”

Jesus was on to this guy. In reply, he told this lawyer a story that we have come to know as “The Parable of the Good Samaritan.” It is a familiar story about a man who was robbed and beaten and left by the side of the road. People walked by, people who you would expect would respond with compassion. Two religious leaders – a priest and a Levite – crossed the road and walked by on the other side. They did nothing to help the man in need.

We don’t know why.  Maybe they were too busy and thought that whatever else was on their schedule for that day was more important. Maybe they were fearful for their own safety.  Who knows? The person who had beaten and robbed this man might still be hanging around, so they hightailed it out of there as quick as possible. Maybe they just didn’t want to get involved. They didn’t know this guy. They figured he wasn’t their problem. We don’t know what prompted them to walk by and not offer aid.

But we do know something about the Samaritan who stopped to help. Our scripture tells us the Samaritan was “moved with pity.” He felt sorry for the guy. He took action based on the compassion he felt for the injured man.

He offered what first aid he was able to give. He cleaned up the man’s wounds and bandaged the best he could. He helped the man onto his mule and brought him to the nearest town. They didn’t have hospitals in those days, so he brought him to an inn to rest in safety, where he could heal and regain his strength.

There he enlisted the help of the innkeeper to care for the man, and he gave the innkeeper money to cover the costs. He then continued on his journey but promised that on his way back he would stop by and check on the man and reimburse the innkeeper for any expenses he had incurred in caring for him. All this, the Samaritan did for a total stranger. He got involved. He didn’t let fear or indifference keep him from doing what was right. He did all that was in his power to care for the injured stranger who he found on the side of the road.

After telling this story Jesus asked, “Who was the neighbor to this man?” The answer is clear. It’s not the priest or Levite who walked by. Even the lawyer had to admit the good neighbor is, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus than said, “Go and do likewise.”

We are commanded to get involved. We are commanded by Jesus to love and care for the neighbor in need.

I’d like to share with you a story of how a whole community responded with love and care to neighbors in need who dropped into their town. It happened on September 11, 2001. It was told by a flight attendant on Delta flight 15 that was on its way from Frankfurt, Germany to Atlanta, Georgia on that fateful day.

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All of a sudden the curtains parted and I was told to go to the cockpit, immediately, to see the captain. As soon as I got there, I noticed that the crew had that “All Business” look on their faces. The captain handed me a printed message. It was from Delta’s main office in Atlanta and simply read:

“All airways over the Continental United States are closed to commercial air traffic. Land ASAP at the nearest airport. Advise your destination.”

No one said a word about what this could mean. We knew it was a serious situation and we needed to find terra firma quickly. The captain determined that the nearest airport was 400 miles behind us in Gander, New Foundland – an island off the coast of Canada.

When we arrived in Gander, there were already about 20 other airplanes on the ground from all over the world that had taken this detour on their way to the US. After we parked on the ramp, the captain went on the intercom and explained the little bit we knew about the situation in the US. There were loud gasps and stares of disbelief. The captain informed passengers that Ground Control in Gander told us to stay put. They would provide food and water and sanitation services, but no one was to leave the plane.

In the next hour or so more planes landed, and Gander ended up with 37 airplanes from all over the world.

Meanwhile, news started to come in over the aircraft radio and for the first time we learned that airplanes were flown into the World Trade Center in New York and into the Pentagon in DC. Sometime in the evening the news filtered to us that the World Trade Center buildings had collapsed and that a fourth hijacking had resulted in a crash.

By now the passengers were emotionally and physically exhausted, not to mention frightened, but everyone stayed amazingly calm. We had only to look out the window at the 36 other stranded aircraft to realize that we were not the only ones in this predicament.

We had been told earlier that they would be allowing people off the planes one plane at a time. At 6 PM, Gander airport told us that our turn to deplane would be 11 am the next morning. Passengers were not happy, but they simply resigned themselves to this news without much noise, and started to prepare themselves to spend the night on the airplane.

Fortunately, we had no medical situations to worry about. We did have a young lady who was 33 weeks into her pregnancy. We took REALLY good care of her. The night passed without incident despite the uncomfortable sleeping arrangements.

About 10:30, on the morning of the 12th, a convoy of school buses showed up. We got off the plane and were taken to the terminal where we went through Immigration and Customs and then had to register with the Red Cross.

After that we (the crew) were separated from the passengers and were taken in vans to a small hotel. We had no idea where our passengers were going. We learned from the Red Cross that the town of Gander has a population of 10,400 people and they had about 6,700 passengers to take care of from all the airplanes that were forced to land in Gander! We were told to just relax at the hotel and we would be contacted when the US airports opened again, but not to expect that call for a while. We found out the total scope of the terror back home only after getting to our hotel and turning on the TV, 24 hours after it all started.

Meanwhile, we had lots of time on our hands and found that the people of Gander were extremely friendly. They started calling us the “plane people.” We enjoyed their hospitality, explored the town of Gander and ended up having a pretty good time.

Two days later, we got the call and were taken back to the Gander airport. Back on the plane, we were reunited with the passengers and found out what they had been doing for the past two days.

The stories they told were amazing and inspiring. Gander and all the surrounding communities within about a 50-mile radius had closed all high schools, meeting halls, lodges, and any other large gathering places. They converted all these facilities to mass lodging areas for all the stranded travelers. Some had cots set up. Some had mats with sleeping bags and pillows set up. ALL the high school students were required to volunteer their time to take care of the “guests.”

Our 218 passengers ended up in a town called Lewisporte, about 30 miles from Gander where they were put up in a high school. Families were kept together. All the elderly passengers were taken to private homes. If any women wanted to be in a women-only facility, that was arranged. Remember that young pregnant lady? She was put up in a private home right across the street from a 24-hour Urgent Care facility. There was a dentist on call and both male and female nurses remained with the crowd for the duration. Phone calls and e-mails to the U.S. and around the world were available to everyone.

During the day, passengers were offered “Excursion” trips. Some people went on boat cruises of the lakes and harbors. Some went for hikes in the local forests. Local bakeries stayed open to make fresh bread for the guests. Food was prepared by all the residents and brought to the schools. People were driven to restaurants of their choice and offered wonderful meals. People with special dietary needs, such as kosher food, were accommodated. Everyone was given tokens for local laundry mats to wash their clothes, since luggage was still on the aircraft. Some undergarments and clothing items were given to the passengers as gifts. In other words, every single need was met for those stranded travelers.

Finally, when we were told that U.S. airports had reopened, the passengers were delivered to the airport right on time and without a single person missing or late. The local Red Cross had all the information about the whereabouts of each and every passenger and knew which plane they needed to be on and when all the planes were leaving. They coordinated everything beautifully. It was absolutely incredible.

When passengers came on board, it was like they had been on a cruise. Everyone knew each other by name. They were swapping stories of their stay, impressing each other with who had the better time. Some had tears in their eyes as they spoke of the hospitality extended to them. Passengers had totally bonded and were calling each other by their first names, exchanging phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses.

And then a very unusual thing happened. One of our passengers approached me and asked if he could make an announcement over the PA system. We never, ever allow that. But this time was different. I said “of course” and handed him the mic.

He picked up the PA and reminded everyone about what they had just gone through in the last few days. He reminded them of the hospitality they had received at the hands of total strangers, people who refused to take a penny for their generosity. He continued by saying that he would like to do something in return for the good folks of Lewisporte. He said he was going to set up a Trust Fund under the name of DELTA 15 (our flight number). The purpose of the trust fund is to provide college scholarships for the high school students of Lewisporte.

He asked for donations of any amount from his fellow travelers. When the sign-up sheet for donations made it around the plane, the total was for more than $14,000! The gentleman, a medical doctor from Virginia, promised to match the donations and to start the administrative work on the scholarship. A passenger who was a professional fund raiser for a university added her expertise. As I write this account, the trust fund is at more than $2 million and has assisted 228 students in college education and it just keeps growing.

I just wanted to share this story because we need good stories right now. It gives me a little bit of hope to know that some people in a faraway place were kind to some strangers who literally dropped in on them. It reminds me how much good there is in the world.”

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As we think about the question “Who is my neighbor?” this story provides a modern-day example of what it looks like to truly love your neighbor.  

As you encounter neighbors in need, remember this story. As you think about how to treat people coming to your school or workplace, to our church or town, to our country or southern border, think about this story.

There are choices we can make about how to treat neighbors who come to us for help. There are ways to be true to Jesus’ command “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Our neighbors to the north provided an example we could all be proud to follow. “Go and do likewise.” Amen!