It’s not in our readings today, but it’s a familiar parable: The Good Samaritan. It’s in Luke 10, and this being year C in the Revised Common Lectionary, we will come to it this year on July 13.
But a brief summary of the parable is that a Jewish man is beaten and robbed, and after a Levite and a priest pass him by on the other side, a Samaritan cares for him, takes him to a place of lodging, and pays for his care until he returns, even though Samaritans and Jews have animosity between them.
And it turns out that the Samaritan acts as a neighbor to the Jewish man.
Let’s go to God in prayer.
God of wisdom, may the words that I speak, and the ways they are received by each of our hearts and minds, help us to continue to grow into the people, and the church, that you have dreamed us to be.
Amen.
Prophecy is not fortune telling.
Prophecy is not soothsaying.
Prophecy is not weather forecasting.
A prophet is not going to tell you how to arrange your investment portfolio for the most…
…profit.
A prophet reads the signs of the times and sees what may come from remaining on the current path.
A prophet in the midst of a bountiful harvest recognizes the possibility of a coming drought and famine and that there is little stored up for such a time, and calls it out, as Joseph did in Egypt.
A prophet points out the hypocrisy of carrying out sacrifices to and worship of a god while mistreating one’s neighbors, as did the prophets who foretold the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel to the Assyrians and the fall of the southern kingdom of Judah to the Babylonians.
A prophet looks down the road we’re on to see where it is likely to lead if we don’t take another direction.
If everything is going as it should, there is little reason for a prophet to speak.
Imagine:
Thus sayeth the Lord thy God:
Keep doing what you’re doing. You got this.
Even if a prophet were to say this, it’s unlikely anyone would bother to write it down.
Prophets bring news that is usually unwelcome. The news is usually a choice between change, which people don’t like and a consequence that people also don’t like.
People do like free stuff, though.
The Gospels are full of stories where Jesus is trying to teach people to love each other, to forgive each other, to care for each other, but the people come for the healing. The people want something to make things better now, and are impatient for long-term improvement.
In today’s Gospel reading, because Jesus is not doing miracles for them, the people of his hometown become angry and want to throw him off a cliff.
That’s the life of a prophet for you.
There’s a seminary term for the study of salvation: soteriology.
There are many different ideas in Christianity about salvation. Here are a few:
- Predestination: Before the universe was made, God decided who would be saved, and nothing can change that.
- Penal substitutionary atonement: we are all condemned to eternal suffering, but Jesus died in place of all who would believe in him
- Universalism: all are saved by the grace of God.
And for many, the primary purpose of Jesus is our salvation. He’s our ticket to heaven, our get-out-of-hell-free card. We’re interested in the healing now.
It’s his teaching that people have the most trouble with: not just loving Jesus, but loving our neighbors, and a very expansive definition of neighbor that includes:
no matter their mental health challenge
no matter their immigration status
no matter their sexual orientation
no matter their economic status
no matter their gender identity
no matter their disability
no matter their religion
no matter their race
If that sounds familiar to you, it’s because it’s the banner in front of the church right now. And it’s a difficult challenge.
Not included in this list is another of Jesus’ teachings:
Love your enemies.
Yes, love even the people who ignore you, who dismiss you, who demean you, who insult you, who oppress you, even who harm you.
That’s a tough standard. And it’s a standard that none of us have achieved, so we always have some growing to do. We’d rather not deal with these teachings, though, if we can avoid them. We would rather just be absolved of our sins and go on our way.
Our reading from First Corinthians is often used at weddings, but it’s about love in more places than just marriages. It’s about a way of life. It’s a challenge for how to live with other people.
And it’s a tall order.
Paul tells us that preaching, and prophecy, and giving are useless if not done out of love. It goes back to those prophets of old who warned that sacrifices and worship meant nothing if people were left hungry and abused. What we do has to be about more than saving our own skin: we have to actually care about others.
Likewise, if we’re looking for miracles, we have to believe they can happen.
Jesus didn’t just jump up and turn water to wine: he was asked to solve a problem. Jesus didn’t just multiply loaves and fishes: he was told the people were hungry. Before healing someone, he frequently asked “what would you have me do for you?” Even the woman who reached out to touch Jesus’ garment did so because she expected healing, and Jesus said her faith had made her whole.
We have to care about others.
We have to believe change is possible.
We are in a time where many people are distressed, and many are afraid. Some of us may be among the distressed and afraid.
The two things we need to make a difference at this time are:
- We need to care about people other than ourselves.
- We need to believe change for the better is possible.
So my challenge to all of us this week is:
How can we be the Samaritan who cares even for those with animosity toward us, and believe that change for the better is possible?
Who cares?
I hope it is us.
Amen.
Let’s sing number NCH 575 O For a World
* Scripture quotations marked NRSVue are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. https://www.friendshippress.org/pages/about-the-nrsvue
* Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James version of the Bible.
Leave a Reply