You have probably
heard a dozen sermons on this parable. You know what it’s about, I don’t need
to tell you. Maybe we should just skip ahead to our next hymn and get out of
here early today. It’s one of the most familiar stories in the Bible. Everyone –
whether or not they ever go to church – knows what a Good Samaritan is: a do-gooder; a helpful person. It’s the name of hospitals and counseling
centers and homeless shelters and more.
Never mind that it once was an oxymoron, as much as “jumbo shrimp” or
“boneless ribs” or “entertaining sermon.”
We all know that
the point of Jesus’ story is that people should be like that – the Good
Samaritan – helpful to those in need. It
isn’t something I need to tell you today: you know this – and what’s more, the
legal expert who approached Jesus knew it.
I don’t know
exactly what was up with that legal expert.
Sometimes I think this young man was earnestly seeking to know what he
must do to gain eternal life. And other
times I think that he was just trying to show off – the way we sometimes do in
school when we try to ask the really good question that will make the teacher
raise her eyebrows showing how impressed she is.
I guess I just
want to give him the benefit of the doubt – in both cases. Being earnest is good, and even being a showoff
is not really that bad. Not as bad as
what he was really up to. And we know what he was really up to.
The text actually
tells us: he was testing Jesus. And I
don’t think he was testing his knowledge or his compassion. It was something else.
I like this story
in the Common English Bible because it uses this term to describe him: a legal
expert. It really drove home for me just
what kind of person we are dealing with.
Knowing who this man is gives us a framework for beginning to understand
his motivations and his mind. We see
that the conversation he strikes up with Jesus presents itself almost like a
courtroom scene. The lawyer stands up,
legal pad in hand, to question the witness – Jesus. The lawyer takes a step toward him and
begins. His first question is very
direct: What must I do to gain eternal life?
Eight simple
words: What must I do to gain eternal life? Meaning that there is some thing, which is required, for me to do to
acquire something desirable – eternal life.
So, Jesus, tell me what it is please.
Any lawyer will
tell you that when you ask a question of a witness you should already know the
answer because you don’t want to be surprised.
Surprises can really mess up your case.
So when the lawyer asks this question of Jesus, he already knows the
answer.
He knows because
he has done his homework; he knows because is an educated man; in fact, he’s a
legal expert so when it comes to matters of what is required by law, he
knows. He is not asking Jesus because
he is curious or because he is lacking this important piece of
information. And he is not asking Jesus
because he would like to be sure that Jesus has sufficient knowledge. He is asking Jesus because he wants to see if
Jesus’ response will be sufficiently orthodox.
This is a test.
Of course, Jesus
surely knew all that too. And, in any
event, Jesus didn’t seem interested in schooling this legal expert, or in
playing any games. So he does what he
does so well: he reframes the
conversation; he answers the man’s question with another question. “What is written in the law?” You are, after
all, a legal expert. “How do you
interpret it?” Isn’t that the job of a
legal expert? Interpreting the law for
others who are not expert? You tell me
what it is!
And of course the
lawyer knows; he knows the Law of Moses inside out. He gives a wonderful answer: Love the Lord
with all that’s in you and love your neighbor as yourself. This is the essence of the law. The Law of Moses contains over 600 laws,
spanning four books – Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy – and on these two hang all the rest. The man got it right, so Jesus said, “Correct. So do it.”
Now we know we’re
all on the same page. We all know that
this is the answer to the question – love God and love your neighbor. End of story.
We should all be like this. But –
As it happens,
that wasn’t what this was all about.
That wasn’t the point of this conversation. So far, this lawyer has just been laying the
groundwork. Now he gets to his follow-up
question. He asks, “And who is my
neighbor?”
Who is my neighbor?
Whom does the law say that I need to concern myself with and offer my love
to? Who is it that is worthy of at least
as much love as I am? What is the
definition of neighbor? This is an
important question, because the flip side of the question is this: Whom can I exclude? Whom can I throw under the bus? Who is
expendable?
We need to know
how to form the categories … we need to know where to draw the lines – the
boundary lines. Because it seems
important to keep an accurate account of who’s in and who’s out.
It was certainly
an important topic for the community in which Jesus lived and worked – a
community that divided the world into Jews and non-Jews.
Samaritans were
in the latter category. Yes, they
thought of themselves as Jews, but the Jews did not. They believed in the God of Israel and lived
by the Law of Moses and thought this was good and right, but the Jews did
not. The Samaritans might have said to
the Jews, “Hey look! We’re just alike,”
but the Jews said, “No, we’re not.”
But, of course,
it would be wrong for me to just pick on the Jews.
There was a time
in the not-too-distant past when African Americans were not welcome in the
Presbyterian Church – a truly shameful part of our history. There was a time when women were not
permitted to be ordained – as deacons … as elders … as ministers – and, of
course there were several precise reasons for drawing that line.
We always have
reasons when we make these distinctions. In retrospect we can see how flimsy
they often are. I am grateful that we no longer promote those particular
things, that we have moved beyond those prejudices.
But the thing is,
we can’t leave this story in the past.
This story is why we cannot in good conscience ignore the crisis that is
going on at our southern border.
People are being
locked up in inhumane conditions – without adequate space, without adequate
food and water, without the means to wash themselves. Children, even babies,
have been separated from their parents and left uncared for. They are languishing
in these facilities for weeks on end. And people are dying.
So the question
is this: are these people our neighbors? And if they are, is this the way we
love them?
Christians don’t
need to agree with one another about the best way to address border policy.
These are complicated matters. But all Christians must stand together and say
this treatment of human beings is unacceptable.
Just as it was
unacceptable for a priest or a Levite to walk past a man who was left for dead
on the road from Jerusalem.
We all know this
story very well, from more sermons and more Bible studies than we can count.
Maybe there is nothing new I can tell you about the Good Samaritan. But today I
just want you to hear one thing: This legal expert wants Jesus to tell him
where the line falls. He wants Jesus to tell him who is his neighbor and who is
not his neighbor. But Jesus just wants him to be a neighbor.
Such a small
difference. But it makes all the difference in the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment