“What is written in the Law? What do
you read there?”
This was Jesus' answer to the question,
“What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Answering a question
with a question is a good tactic. It allows for some wiggle room,
can keep you from getting boxed into a corner, and can lead the
original questioner to come to a place of understanding on their own.
It also might be a good way to get someone to think more broadly
about their question.
In this back and forth volley, the
lawyer must now provide an answer to Jesus' new question: What is
written in the law? What do you read there? His answer is pretty
straightforward: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with
all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and
love your neighbor as yourself.
And Jesus said, “Winner, winner,
chicken dinner. Do this and you will live.”
The answer the lawyer gave has been
around for a long time. Jesus gives this same answer when he's asked
what is the greatest commandment over in Matthew 22. He pulls from
both Deuteronomy and Leviticus to give the answer; which, I'm
assuming, so does today's lawyer. And there's a story that tells of
a wise rabbi who said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
mind, body, and soul; and love your neighbor as yourself. The rest
of the Law is just commentary.”
But then the lawyer asks, “Who is my
neighbor?” The text says he asked this to 'justify himself.' This
tells me that he already had an idea of 1) what the correct answer to
his original question was; and, 2) who he classified as his neighbor.
In response, Jesus tells one of his most well-known parables – the
tale of the good Samaritan.
Donald Trump was walking around DC one
evening alone, for he had managed to sneak out of the White House
undetected. While out he was attacked, beaten, and left for dead.
Now by chance Franklin Graham was out walking and came upon the body
who looked somewhat familiar, but since he couldn't be sure if he was
a Christian, he passed by on the other side. A little later, William
Barr strolled by, but also unable to identify the badly beaten man,
and unsure as to whether or not he was a US citizen, he too crossed
the street and continued on. A little later, after a grueling
meeting, Kamala Harris happened upon the man. Her car was parked
close by, so she managed to get him in that and drove him to the
hospital. Now, which of these was a neighbor to the president?
This is what is at the heart of being a
neighbor in the eyes of God.
Who is my neighbor? It's the
Republican or Democrat across the street. It's the white supremacist
in our city. It's the rabid nativist who wants all non-Americans
removed. It's the polite racist in our midst. It's the person in
need. It's the struggling mother. It's the dying friend. It's
children in cages and those who put them there. It's our friends and
family. Notice that we are not asked to make value judgments. We
are not asked to determine who is worthy of our care, or our
compassion, or our welcome. And this is a very hard thing to do.
Jesus must have had the baptismal
covenant in mind when he told this story, because the good Samaritan
lived into the promise we make to respect the dignity of every human
being.
Love God . . . yeah, sure, whatever.
We think this is easy, but we just trick ourselves when we think that
way; probably because we don't have to deal with God on a daily
basis.. But loving our neighbor and respecting their dignity is hard
work. Especially since we do have to look at our neighbors and deal
with them every single day. And especially when we make value
judgments about their overall worth.
When talking about what we must do to
inherit eternal life, I sometimes feel like we're answering Jesus'
question, “What do you read in the law?” We read the law, or
scripture, and we do, or try to do, exactly that. We think if we
follow/obey the letter of the law, we will be doing what is required.
It's a lot like new referees who memorize the rules book but don't
quite yet understand game situations.
I remember working a game as a new
official. Rule 7-1-5 says that no player shall encroach on the
neutral zone after the ball has been marked ready for play. Someone
did and I threw the flag. It was an obvious penalty. But it was
also the 4th quarter with under three minutes to play and
one team up by 30-some points. Rules book knowledge versus game
situation knowledge.
With this parable, Jesus is giving us a
game situation. This is what it looks like when we add grace and
mercy to the law.
So how do we go about loving our
neighbors? First of all, we can pray for them. We can pray for
those who have harmed us or those who annoy us. And I don't mean
praying, “Dear Lord, please grant them the knowledge to realize
what complete jerks they are.” Pray instead for peace in their
lives. I have found that the more I pray for their peace, the more
peaceful I become in my attitude and actions toward them.
Second, get to know your neighbor. The
Samaritan didn't know the injured man. There are plenty of people
here who don't really know each other. Change where you sit and get
to know a new neighbor here at church.
Third, combine the two. Is there
someone here with whom you have had an argument? Is there someone
here who annoys you because they sing off-key, or say words in the
wrong place or way, or just because they show up? Change pews and go
sit next to them. Apologize, if necessary. Offer to make a new
start. Offer to pray for a need they have.
This neighborly stuff is hard work. It
causes us to find compassion that we'd probably rather not find. But
hopefully, as we work hard to love God and love neighbor, we will be
strengthened. We will come to see the face of Christ in others. We
will understand that discipleship is more than simply following the
rules. And we just might make this a better place because we were
able to move beyond what is written in the law.
Love God. Love neighbor. Change the
world.
Go and do likewise.
Amen.
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