What is Love? Obedience & Discipline

 

It was a hot, arid day in Jerusalem. The smell of falafel and hummus filled the air. Jesus arrived after a long journey, probably from Capernaum. This was a journey He had made this time every year since He was a boy. And I imagine, He was exhausted. Travel wears me out! When He arrived in Jerusalem, He was greeted like a King. But then the religious leaders turned on Him. And questioned Him. And tried to entrap Him. It was exhausting. And He knew what was coming. On that Thursday, He just wanted to spend time with His friends around the table, BE with them, and share His final thoughts. 

 

When they arrived in the Upper Room, something unexpected happened. Jesus knelt down and washed their feet. It was a beautiful act of humility and servant leadership. I imagine everyone was in a vulnerable, emotional state – their hearts and ears hanging on every word their Teacher had to say. Then came the Passover meal. And the best conversations and quality time always happen around the dinner table, am I right?

 

Jesus gave a lengthy, private teaching to His disciples that night. It came to be known as the Upper Room discourse. Jesus’ words were full of comfort and encouragement. He knew it was important to equip His disciples, His leaders, to live in this world after His death, resurrection, and ascension into Heaven, to guide them in how they would be empowered to live a life of faithfulness after He left. 

 

As part of the instruction, Jesus said: 

 

“If you love me,

you will keep my commandments.

Anyone who loves me

will obey my teaching.

My Father will love them,

and we will come to them

and make our home,

abide and dwell with them.

Anyone who does not love me

will not obey my teaching.

These words you hear are not my own;

they belong to the Father, who sent me.”

 

Did we hear Him, right? To love means to obey? Yes, Jesus equated love with obedience. He unmistakably meant that obedience to His commandments is both an identifier and a test of His disciples’ love for Him. If we truly love God, we will seek to know Him and keep His commands. If we’re not keeping His commands, we can’t honestly claim to love Him. Jesus made it clear – actions are the result of beliefs. 

 

With tomorrow being Valentine’s Day, what a fitting sermon series we have before us – What is Love?! If God is love, what does this mean for us? Today’s topic is Obedience and Discipline! For whatever reason, though, this an unpopular teaching in today’s society. We would much rather emphasize personal autonomy and free will! 

 

But what would it look like for you to shape your life around the teachings of Christ because you love God? What weight does your love truly have if you’re not expressing it through obedience?

 

I want to start off with a little Greek lesson. (Shocking, I know.) As I’ve told you before, the Greek language is ranked as the richest in the world, with over 5 million words and 70 million word types. When English writers set out to translate the New Testament, which was largely written in Greek, they had to use many of the same English words for different Greek words. One of those words is LOVE! I love my husband. I love to travel. I love my dog. I love University of North Carolina basketball. I love chocolate! Oh, do I love chocolate. And coffee! I love coffee! Yes, please! Those can’t possibly be the same emotions, yet we use the same word each time. How can that be?

 

In Greek, there are several different words for love, including – 

•        philia (brotherly love)
•        eros (passionate love)
•        ludus (playful love)
•        pragma (longstanding love)
•        storge (family love) 
•        agape (unconditional love)

The “love” we see in the John chapter 14, verse 23, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching,” is the same type of “love” we find in other commands, like:

•       “Love your enemies” in Matthew 5 and Luke 6.       
•         “Love one another” in John 13.
•        “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him” in 1 Peter 1.

 

In Greek, this type of “love” is translated Agape. This is love that is considered unconditional. This is the love that is most appropriate for understanding what it means to love Jesus. And this is the love that Paul describes in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. He explains this type of love by what it does and what it does not do. 

 

Agape is patient, kind, rejoicing with truth, bearing all things, believing all things, hoping in all things, and enduring through all things. In contrast, agape does notenvy, boast, or rejoice in wrongdoing; it’s not arrogant, rude, selfish, irritable, or resentful. Most importantly, agape does not end. It will not fade away like the other types of love, because agape is not based on circumstances. It is not based on emotion, but on the will. 

 

Each characteristic of agape is a deliberate choice to act in a certain manner. So, when Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments,” He was teaching that loving Him would be a demonstrable action, not an emotional feeling. If Jesus is to be loved as He commanded, then a conscious choice must be made to act according to the pattern described in 1 Corinthians 13:

•        We are to bear the fruit of patience and kindness. 
•         We will rejoice in the truth - bearing, believing, hoping, and enduring through all things. 
•         We will stray from envy, boastful pride, or rejoicing in wrongdoing. 
•        Our actions must not be arrogant, rude, selfish, irritable, or resentful. 

Jesus was clear that loving Him is a service, and that disobedience is evidence of a lack of love. 

 

So, to love Jesus is to willfully act in such a way that our devotion to Him is proved through our actions toward Him and our obedience of Him. To love the Lord is to follow Him wherever He leads, to obey Him in whatever He asks, and to trust Him whatever the trial.

 

I feel at this point, I need to confess something to you. I am a self-proclaimed rule follower. If there is a rule, I will follow it. But… in my younger years, I was not very good at the whole obedience thing. There may have been some broken curfews. Perhaps climbing a fence to go into a park after hours. A skipped class here and there. And pranks. Oh, the pranks! Kool-Aid powder in the shower heads. Saran wrap over the toilet seats. Sneaking out in the middle of the night to drop a tractor load of cow manure in the boys’ bathhouse! Oh, Quaker Lake Camp will never be the same! Basically, I held a general belief that rules were made to be broken, and it was better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission. 

 

Even as a young woman of faith, I found the word “obedience” to be archaic and old-fashioned. So “spiritual obedience” was a bit problematic for me.

•        Trust God? Absolutely. 
•        Love God? Not a problem. 
•        Seek God? My lifelong desire. 

But obey Him? About as compelling as writing 500 times on the youth room chalk board, “I will not roll my youth pastor’s house the night before Easter…” “I will not toilet paper my youth pastor’s house the night before Easter…” “I will not…” Well, you get the idea.

But as a Christian, I can’t avoid that four-letter word “obey.” It pops up in hymns. It's all over the Bible. Like stewardship and justice and mercy, it creeps into sermons. Yet to many of us, “obedience” insinuates dutiful, unquestioning, grin-and-bear-it spirituality. It means following rules, doing the “shoulds” rather than what gives life, or following duty rather than pursuing passion.

So, what’s with this word? When words endure for two thousand years as part of the language of faith, there’s probably a reason. So, I blew the dust off this stodgy word, and pulled it from the shelf of worn-out Christian history, to see that obedience in our day and time must have more to it.
From the writings of my favorite, humble, loving theologian named Henri Nouwen, I realized why this word endures — and the significance I long found elusive. He wrote this… “Obey” comes from the Latin word audire (ow-dear-ie) AUDIRE, which means to hear. 

It’s the root of our word “audible.” Going back several centuries, to “obey” God simply meant to do what it takes to “hear” His voice. And to “pray” is to listen to that voice of love, to listen with great attentiveness. “Hearing” God implies relationship, intimacy, stillness. To hear someone, we have to be close and attentive enough to respond. 

 

That’s what obedience is all about. Without listening, we become “deaf” to the voice of love. The Latin word for “deaf” is surdus. SURDUS. To be completely deaf is to be absurdus. ABSURDUS. Yes, that’s where we get the word “absurd.” When we no longer pray, no longer listen to the voice of love that speaks to us in the moment, our lives become absurd lives, in which we are thrown back and forth between the past and the future, the wandering and the paralyzed. 

 

This is where Christ steps in and calls us to simply be, to abide with Him, and to rest in His presence through prayer. When we are fully present where we are, we discover that we’re not alone, and that the One, who is with us, wants only one thing: to give us LOVE. So, the spiritual disciplines that ground us — prayer, study, contemplation, confession, Christian community — are, in essence, our seeking to “obey” God. All are forms of spiritual obedience.

 

This connection between Agape love, love for Christ, and obedience to Him is a recurring theme in the apostle John’s writings, which is rather appropriate as John is traditionally known as the “Disciple Jesus Loved.” 

 

In the Upper Room Discourse we spoke about earlier, John quotes Jesus saying, “If you love me, keep my commands,” and then a few verses later repeating himself, saying, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.”

 

Keeping His Word, keeping His commands, means always referencing His written and spoken Word toward us when we make decisions, which lead to actions. We are to meditate on His Word, so His thoughts become our thoughts, and then our attitudes and actions will be like His. 

According to 1^st John chapter 2, obeying God actually “completes” or perfects our love of God. Without obedience to His Word, we are not fully loving God. We are only partially loving God.

 

The best example I could think of is the relationship between a child and parent. We may obey a parent out of fear of punishment, but as parents, wouldn’t we much rather our children obey us out of love? This week, I was talking with Olga and Igor, our Russian global mission partners. They’re expecting a baby girl in three weeks! And I asked how their toddler son, Ivan, was doing. Igor quickly spoke up, without knowing what I was preaching on today, and said, “Ivan is a good boy. He is very obedient. We know he loves us and will love his sister, because he is obedient.” 

 

Children, and adults alike, often struggle internally between their own self-serving desires and their desire to please and do the right thing. It’s the same with us and God. Our obedience is outward proof that our profession of love and admiration and trust in Him is not just lip service. The daily struggle becomes… Do I REALLY love God enough to give up my own selfish desires and demands to obey Him? Do I REALLY love God enough to follow His commands, His teachings, His Gospel message? 

 

These commands involve the full scope of Christ’s revelation in John chapter 8, where Jesus said, “If you hold on to my teaching, you really are my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a child belongs to it forever. So, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

 

Friends, once we believe and receive the truth of who Jesus is, we are set free. As we read in our communion liturgy, once we confess and leave our sins at the foot of the cross, Jesus frees us for joyful obedience. It’s pure delight to delight in the ways of God. To follow Christ’s commands is not burdensome, but a blessing. 

 

In fact, that is our memory verse for today. First John 5:3 says: “Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.”

 

To be a humble child of God is to love, trust, and obey our heavenly Father. Joyful obedience flows from a heart that loves the Lord. So, when we gladly obey and do not murmur, just going through the motions, we honor God. Obedience joyfully expressed fulfills our souls. Delayed and disgruntled obedience endangers the health of our souls. We’re not just checking the box of good behavior; we’re cheerfully following Christ.

 

Jesus knew pure joy came from staying pure to His purpose - the shame, scorn and suffering of the cross. Joyful obedience is not always easy, but it endures into eternity. It’s not always met with man’s approval, but we know it makes our Savior smile. Joyful obedience is its own reward. Christ kept His grace filled composure and followed the command of His heavenly Father to completely obey by His death on the cross. Complete obedience consummates complete joy. Yes, it’s the joy of Jesus that resides in His followers. Our obedience releases Christ’s love and joy within us.

 

Friends, perhaps you fear the thought of obedience, especially to the almighty, all-knowing, and all-powerful Creator of the universe. Perhaps you cannot seem to find a way to consistently choose Him over yourself. Perhaps you cannot seem to be able to live for His affections over those of the world. As hard as you try in various seasons, you just can’t be obedient.

 

I’ve been there. I’ve had those seasons. But obedience is the key to spiritual vitality. God’s desire is always to love us to a place that our obedience would be a natural overflow of our love for Him. He longs for us to live a lifestyle of love-based obedience. 

 

And me? Once I finally came to know and love the word obedience, my heart yearned to obey. I long to grow to the place where I am so in love with Jesus that I long to choose Him in every situation. I long to be a servant so in love with my King that I would die for Him, or anyone else He asked me to. 

The love of God and for God is so real, so powerful, and so transformational, that it can mold and shape us into people who no longer live for this temporary world, but seek first an everlasting kingdom. If we will simply be people, who let God love us in every moment, we will naturally be people who are obedient to God’s perfect will for us.

Take time today, this week, to be attentive to God’s presence and voice and to receive the transformational love of your heavenly Father. Allow His love to lay a foundation on which you pursue wholehearted obedience. May you be filled with affection for your King today, as you receive the wealth of unconditional agape love He has for you.

 

 

Lord, we praise You because when we fully obey with our hearts, 

we experience Your best 

and enjoy the satisfaction of pleasing You 

because obedience always leads to Your blessing. 

Jesus pointed out that Your blessing comes from obeying the truth, 

not just knowing it. 

Father, help us not to just wonder about obedience, 

but to continue to pursue it

all of the days of our lives. 

Amen. 

Get in the FIGHT: Take Initiative

A sorry sap was sauntering slowly, side-to-side 

when suddenly six serious assassins 

set themselves to smash that silly sap.  

 

Stripped, stunned, and shaken, 

he stumbled and sank to the solid slate of the sidewalk.  

 

After seemingly several seconds slipped by, 

a sanctimonious sort of celibate 

saw the simple soul seething on the sidewalk; 

so, he stopped, and then simply strolled by. 

 

Soon a selfish shepherd, who subsisted on a small salary, 

stalled a second, but left the sorry simpleton stranded.  

 

Surprisingly, a spiritually substandard Samaritan 

slid straightway to the subdued subject, who was stunned.  

 

Seeing the seriousness of the situation, 

he restored the strength of that sorry soul 

and sitting him in the saddle of his staunch stallion, 

surveyed him safely to some sanitarium,

where he secured some substantial sustenance 

for that stranded sojourner.

 

“So,” said the Savior, “Seeing such circumstances, 

who seems to be the sympathetic saint in such a situation?”

 

“Surely, the Samaritan,” stammered the scribe.

 

“Superb,” said the Savior, “So must you shape yourself.”

 

 

Good morning, Friends! If you’ve been with us the last few weeks, you know we’re in the midst of a sermon series called Get in the Fight. And FIGHT is an acronym, where we’ve explored Christ’s calling for us in this New Year: 

F – Follow the Golden Rule
I – Instill Trust

G – Give Your Best

H – Hold Yourself & Others Accountable

T – Take Initiative

 

Yes, today is all about taking initiative. Following Jesus was never meant to be a passive religion; it is meant to be an active way of life. 

 

Now, I’m a bit of a word guru. I like to know what words mean, and my study of initiative this week led me to this: 

 

Initiative is expressed in two ways - by thoughts and by deeds. 

·      The Hebrew word chashab defines the thinking phase of initiative. It means to “plan, calculate, invent, imagine.” 

·      The Greek word poieo is most frequently used for the doing phase. It describes the action phase of initiative, meaning “to make, produce, execute, institute.” 

Consider some of these other definitions of initiative: 

·      Taking steps to seek after God with our whole heart, to personally apply what we read in the Scriptures.

·      Making the best use of opportunities to share our stories.

·      Assuming responsibility for the physical and spiritual encouragement of those around us.

·      Recognizing and doing what needs to be done before being asked.

·      Not putting off until tomorrow the things I can do today.

·      Being part of the solution, rather than the problem.

Initiative, it seems, is foundational to all other qualities. It’s the first quality that God used to demonstrate His love to us. And it’s the first quality that we must use in responding to His love. Initiative is using the grace of God, to achieve the will of God, as directed by the Spirit of God. 

 

Initiative, it also seems, is required to carry out every other character quality, including gratitude, forgiveness, punctuality, diligence, and joyfulness. It’s also essential to fulfilling commands in Scripture, such as “pray without ceasing,” “follow the golden rule”, “lay up treasures in heaven,” “maintain good works,” and “go into all the world.” 

The more I mulled initiative, the more one story came to mind. It’s one of my favorite stories Jesus told, the story of the tongue-twister! Rather, the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Parable, in Greek, means “to come alongside.” And certainly, this is a story Jesus used to encourage His listeners to take the initiative and come alongside their neighbors. While you heard it via tongue-twister, why don’t we also read this parable from Luke chapter 10: 

 

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?”

 

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 

But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

 

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

 

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

 

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

 

The lawyer asked a straightforward question. Except it isn’t.

 

For one thing, as we read the text, we have no idea the emotion behind the question. While Luke speculated the lawyer asked the question for his own benefit (so that he may be “justified”), we are left to wonder:

·      Did he ask the question out of exasperation?

·      Or curiosity?

·      Or cynicism?

·      Or anger?

·      Or entrapment?

 

What words in the question did he emphasize? How would it have sounded?

Did he ask,

·      “WHO is my neighbor?” Or,

·      “Who IS my neighbor?” Or,

·      “Who is MY neighbor?” Or,

·      “Who is my NEIGHBOR?”

 

Then, Jesus complicated the entire situation by telling a story instead of giving a straightforward answer. If Jesus had been a Methodist, He would have known the correct answer to the attorney’s question is, “Everyone is my neighbor!”

 

Of course, Jesus knew the human condition. He knew that if “everyone” is our neighbor, then no one is. The love of neighbor is either lived out in relationship and proximity to another person, or it’s no love at all. The story we have before us today is one of both relationship and proximity.

 

To this day, the road from Jericho to Jerusalem is steep, long, winding, and desolate. I’ve traveled that road. It’s in a mountainous, arid desert. You actually pass by the “Valley of the Shadow of Death.” There are many places for robbers to hide. In fact, the name for the road was “the way of the blood.” So, this was a VERY believable story for those who were listening. Although Jesus does not identify the man going down to Jericho, since this was a Jewish lawyer and Jewish audience, they more than likely imagined a Jewish person. The man is robbed, wounded, and left for dead. He needs help.

 

It helps to understand the culture here, too. Anyone who touched a dead man would be considered unclean. He wouldn’t be allowed into the synagogue, and he would have to quarantine for a time. The priests could have used this excuse for not attending to the hurt man. It would have kept them from serving God in the temple. BUT, if you read the text carefully, you see the priest and Levite were going "down on the road." Jerusalem is on a hill! So, they likely were leaving Jerusalem, where the temple was, which doesn’t make this a valid excuse. They had already accomplished their duties and were heading home. 

 

Whatever the case, the priest and the Levite were in a hurry to get where they were going. It was too bad about the half-dead man in the road. Someone else would have to attend to him. Touching this bleeding man would make them ritually impure. Plus, they just did not have time.

 

Then came the Samaritan. Belonging, as he did, to a heretical sect, his theology was all wrong. Ethnically, he was not even a pure Jew; he was a Jew/Gentile mongrel. He was considered to be less than human. Many Jews would have welcomed an “ethnic cleansing” campaign to purge the holy land of such persons. The Samaritan, of course, knew this. As he saw his bloodied enemy lying there in the road, he could have smugly said, “serves him right”, and kept walking.

But he couldn’t. Compassion for the suffering of a fellow human being won out over partisan theology, ethnicity, and the demands of his schedule. If this had happened to his dad, his mother, or his child, he would want a passing Jew to stop and help. So, he went way out of his way, blowing his schedule to bits, and spending money that he perhaps couldn’t afford to spend.  He even made plans to follow up later, on his way back from his trip.

 

The challenge for us in hearing the story is to resist our certainty about it. This story is NOT a morality tale. Jesus is not simply telling the lawyer and other listeners to “be kind to the downtrodden.” While the world could certainly use a lot more kindness, and Christians have certainly failed in the kindness department through the centuries, this sort of summary completely misses the scandal of the story!

 

The first thing to remember is this: The hero in the story, the good neighbor, the Samaritan, was a member of an ethnic group the Jews hated. And to be clear, the Samaritans hated and distrusted Jews just as much. The animosity between Samaritans and Jews went back for centuries. The Jews of Jesus’ day had such disdain for the Samaritans that when traveling from Judea to Galilee, or vice versa, they would literally cross the Jordan River twice, in order to walk entirely around the region of Samaria  — just so they could avoid getting Samaritan dirt on their sandals.

 

But nevertheless, this Samaritan took initiative by showing compassion. In the Greek text, this stands out because of the prepositions. (Y’all remember prepositional phrases from English class?!) The Greek language uses two different words that we translate to the preposition “by” to differentiate these actions.

 

While the priest and Levite passed BY on the OTHER SIDE, the Samaritan passed BY, moving TOWARD the injured man. This is significant because we must move toward people in order to love them, in order to build relationships. It doesn’t just happen. We have to take initiative.

 

The Samaritan moved toward someone who despised him. The victim was likely someone who wouldn’t do the same if the situation were reversed. He likely would’ve flinched, had he been conscious. But love means moving towards others. It’s often inconvenient. And it means giving, not just out of our abundance, but at times, out of our substance.

 

The second thing to remember is this: the heartless people in the story are the supposed “holy people”  — the priest and the Levite — and they were the victim’s own people! A fellow Jew had been robbed, beaten to within an inch of his life, and they simply walked on by. The Jews in this story missed the opportunity to be different, to show initiative, and to extend a hand of love and care. Every time I read this story as a pastor, or as a global missions director, I can’t help but wonder… who am I walking past day in and day out? How often do I make excuses, or rush by, just because I don’t have the time? 

 

The third thing to remember is this: everything about being neighborly in the story was time-consuming and costly. The Samaritan took the initiative when the others did not. He delayed his own journey, offered first aid, provided transport, arranged for room and board, and paid the bill. Remember that this is a Samaritan in enemy territory. And he told one of his enemies, the Jewish hotel manager, “Here is my VISA card. Do whatever you need to do to take care of him!!”

 

Mercy is a hallmark of neighborliness. Mercy isn’t simply a feeling of pity! Mercy is a series of definitive acts for the benefit of the one who is helpless, and the one who will likely be unable to repay the mercy shown by the benefactor.

 

Now, here’s the hard part about this parable. Whenever we hear it, we immediately want to identify with the Samaritan. And why not? He’s the hero! We want to think that, if faced with a similar circumstance, we would behave like he did . We would be helpful to the person in pain. Or, at the very least, we would dial 911! Right?

Plenty of sermons on this text have encouraged us to be more attentive to the needs of others. Plenty of sermons call out the religious hypocrites, and praise the virtues of the Samaritan. In these sorts of sermons, though, the victim becomes little more than a prop. The victim loses his identity, as we hustle to distance ourselves from the hard-hearted religious people, and embrace the virtue of the Samaritan.

 

But what if there’s something more subversive going on in Jesus’ story? Something more unsettling? What if we’re meant to identify with the victim?

 

Think about it for a minute. Try to imagine yourself lying in a ditch beside the road in the scorching heat of the midday sun. You know you’re bleeding. You think you have a couple of broken ribs, maybe a broken nose, and perhaps even a dislocated shoulder. Your eyes are swollen. EVERYTHING HURTS! You are thirsty. And you simply can’t move. You’re naked and unidentifiable. 

 

Then, through the haze of semi-consciousness, you begin to feel the touch of hands. You feel the sting of wine being poured into your wounds, followed by the soothing feeling of oil. Bandages are applied. You are hoisted onto the back of a donkey, and you are steadied in the saddle by your rescuer, as you weakly wobble back and forth. After a while, you are laid in a bed. Exhausted, you drift off to sleep.

 

When you awaken, still in pain, you are confronted by a detail which had not mattered to you when you were in the ditch. The person, who has been so attentive to your needs, is a SCUM BAG Samaritan! You hate those people! They are infidels! They don’t worship the right God! They are racially inferior! Nothing about them is good!

 

And now… Now you owe your life to one of them!

 

Now, think about this: bring this story forward 20 centuries.

 

·      Who are the people we don’t want as our neighbors?

·      Who are the people from whom we’d prefer not to receive mercy? 

·      Who are the people with whom we simply cannot abide?

·      What nationality?

·      What religion?

·      What family member?

·      Democrats? Republicans? 

·      Maybe the maskers? The anti-maskers? The vaxxers? The anti-vaxxers?!

·      Who are the people we’ve so demonized as evil that the thought of even being in the same room with them fills us with fear, or hatred, or both?

·      Who are the people we have so dehumanized, with various sorts of labels, that their suffering barely registers with us? Or worse, we somehow believe they brought their suffering upon themselves?

In today’s Gospel story, the wrong sort of person turns out to be the hero. The religious folks are impervious to a fellow citizen’s suffering, and fail to live up to their own chosen ethic. And the helpless victim is restored to wholeness because of the mercy of a passerby, who, had the tables been turned, would have likely been left to die by the very person he rescued. Rather than a simple story about being nice, this is a complex narrative of the human soul.

The challenge in the story is to sit with the discomfort it evokes…

 

The story compels us to explore our own tendency to ignore those who lie helplessly in the ditches of life, and then to justify our inaction by blaming the victims for being in the ditch in the first place.

 

The story dares us to think deeply about the groups and individuals we’ve cordoned off as unworthy of our neighborliness.

 

The story implores us to confront, with honest humility, our preference for the ease of generalizations over the intentional effort of relationships.

 

The opportunity in the story is to see it, not as a call to “do better,” but as an invitation to take action in our lives, to seek God’s mercy and forgiveness, to take initiative, and to be the example Christ is calling us to be. 

 

Christ asked the lawyer, “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”

 

He answered, “The one who showed him mercy.”

 

Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

 

And how do we go and do likewise? 

 

We get in the fight, live as Christ taught us to live, and take the initiative with compassion, with mercy, and with care. 

 

Friends, that’s what the cross is about. 

 

The Divine Samaritan saw the entire human race bloodied on a desolate road to nowhere. He got involved. And to rescue us, it cost Him more than a couple of coins and a few hours’ delay. What He asks of us, who wish to be known as Christians, or “little Christs,” is to love with His love, and be true to His Name. Friends, it’s time we get in the fight and take initiative. 

 

Let us pray:

Good and Gracious God,

we know that You have made us for Yourself,

to love You and to love our neighbors. 

Yet still we cannot help but live for ourselves, 

and every day we justify ourselves by our own standards, not Yours. 

But Lord, You have found us in the ditch, 

and You have rescued us. 

Now soften our hearts to Your will,

and make us to love others as You have loved us; 

and take the initiative to see others as You see them. 

In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.