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The parable of the Good Samaritan.  We all know the story.  We know the main character so well, we've named hospitals, nursing homes, relief agencies, and philanthropic organizations after him.  The Wildflower Medical and Dental Clinic on Herbert Street in West Augustine had its beginnings in the building right behind St. Cyprian’s … what is now the Church Office … and the official name of Wildflower is the Good Samaritan Health Clinic.  

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Let me begin by saying that this sermon is about a verse that is not included in our reading.  As a matter of fact, it is not even included in the Bible we read from.  But first, let me set the stage.
 
In our reading from Luke this morning we hear that Jesus is traveling through Samaria.  Elsewhere in the gospels we also hear of the Samaritans, and it always seems to be in adversarial or pejorative terms.   Obviously, the Jews and the Samaritans didn’t get along.  So, why did they dislike each other … even to the point of prejudice and bigotry?  What is so repugnant about a Samaritan to a Jew, and a Jew to a Samaritan?

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​The gospel this week about the Gerasene demoniac is really a bizarre story.  A nameless man has been exiled to the margins of human existence.  He's filthy naked in public.  He can't control his speech.  He is so violent that people can't come near him.  All attempts to restrain him have failed.  He lives in a graveyard.  He exhibits the most common form of self-harm even today … self-mutilation.  The people of the time added it all up and using the language of the day called it demon possession.

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Today, in the Christian calendar, is Trinity Sunday, the Sunday after the Feast of Pentecost.  It is devoted to the theological concept of the Triune God … One God in Three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Although the roots of the Trinitarian formula are found in the Hebrew Scriptures, the theological principal was not formalized until the Council of Nicea in 325 of the Common Era.

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A couple of months ago my laptop computer finally called it quits, and I realized that it was time to upgrade to a new one.  There is a nonprofit organization called TechSoup that sells computer hardware and software at huge discounts to other nonprofits, so I went looking for a replacement laptop on their web site.  I found a deal I couldn’t pass up … a computer with state-of-the-art processor, a solid state hard disc, lots of memory … all the bells and whistles.  However, the computer was a refurbished model … Grade B which meant that it had visible blemishes, and they wouldn’t … or couldn’t … tell me who made it the computer.  It seems that the make of the computer was dependent upon what laptops were available for refurbishing.  Yet, at less than $200 … with a 20 percent discount off of that … I figured I’d take the chance.