Today, an expert in the law tests Jesus, but it's the disciples and the expert who get schooled.
On
one occasion an expert
in the law
stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to
inherit eternal life?”
“What
is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
He answered, “‘Love the
Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor
as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied.
“Do this and you will live.”
But
he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my
neighbor?” Luke 10:25-29
Wanting
to justify himself, the expert in the law presses his luck with one
more question. With an upraised brow and a smug little smile he asks
Jesus to clarify – Who is my neighbor? A short story, an
unexpected hero, and a rhetorical question later, Jesus awaits the
expert's answer. “The one who had mercy on him,” he answers
correctly, if not begrudgingly. For the word Samaritan never
crosses his lips.
The Good Samaritan by Vincent van Gogh
Most
regular Bible readers acknowledge a strong animosity between Jews and
Samaritans because of a vague notion that something happened
in their shared history. Here's a brief accounting:
In 722 BC, the
Assyrians destroyed the land of Samaria, then occupied by the kingdom
of Israel. The king of Assyria resettled the land with people from
Babylon and other nations who worshipped other gods to replace the
Israelites (2 Kings 17). Eventually becoming a racially and
religiously mixed nation, Ezra rejected their help to rebuild the
temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 4). Insulted by the snub, the people of
Samaria build their own temple on Mount Gerizim. (Remember the
conversation between Jesus and the woman at the well in John 4?)
Resentment deepened between Jews and Samaritans in 128 BC, when
leader and High Priest, John Hyrcanus invaded Samaria and destroyed
their temple. Not to be outdone, a century later, the Samaritans
defiled the Jerusalem temple with dead bodies.
Suffice it to say, by
this time, the Jews and Samaritans despise each other. And in the
opinion of the expert in the law, Jesus' good Samaritan would
have sounded like an oxymoron.
Yet, it's not only the
expert in the law who needs to hear this story – to rethink and
reconsider the question, Who is my neighbor? Not hardly. Luke
strategically places the telling of this parable after an unfortunate
interaction with his disciples in the previous chapter.
The Good Samaritan by Paula Modersohn-Becker
As
the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus
resolutely set out for Jerusalem. And he sent
messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things
ready for him; but the people there did not
welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. When
the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you
want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?”
But Jesus turned and rebuked them. Then
he and his disciples went to another village. Luke 9:51-56
Soon,
Jesus will give his disciples a mandate to go into all the world
and preach the good news everywhere.
Everywhere? Jesus can't even trust these guys to go to a neighboring village. Want
to flunk Missionary Training 101? Threaten to kill foreigners who reject
Jesus.
For
now, Jesus directs his disciples to another village. Not to protect
himself from the Samaritans, mind you, but to protect the Samaritans
from his disciples. No wonder Jesus recounts the parable of the good
Samaritan in the next chapter – his own disciples needed its lesson,
too.
Sometimes I wonder, How was it possible for the disciples to sacrifice everything for
Jesus, learn from him daily, love him wholeheartedly, and yet harbor racist
attitudes? I don't know. It seems impossible to hold such contradictory beliefs and behaviors in tension.
Then again, I also wonder, How
is it possible for Christians today to pray fervently, give generously,
worship extravagantly, and yet despise the stranger, fear the
foreigner, hate the immigrant, and be inhospitable to the
refugee? I still don't get it.
As Christians, we long for that day when every tongue, and tribe, and nation will sing
his praise, yet we reject the humility, the courage, and the kindness necessary to create an environment to live that reality presently. In the process, we forfeit God's design and God's community to our own detriment. It's not as if God left us powerless to complete the task he set before us. Or is the day of Pentecost just a fond memory for the Church?
I made a promise a few weeks ago to prove to you that living in the diverse community God has designed for us is essential to our health as the body of Christ. I haven't forgotten. Return next week for the final installment. Until then, let's remember ...
When
we care for the stranger, love the foreigner, embrace the
immigrant, and welcome the refugee, then we can begin to live fully in the community God has
designed for us.
