Who
is my neighbour or not?
The
nature of teachers and students of the law is to question what they are told
and to seek clarification from others.
This is as true today as it was in the time of Jesus. The lawyer asks,
‘What should I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus asks a question in return:
‘What is written in the law?’ The fact that it is a lawyer of Israel asking the
question is evidence for the true statements that we all teach what we need to
learn. Moses, the lawgiver himself, had said back in Deuteronomy that the law
was all about life: "See, I have set before you today life and prosperity,
death and adversity. If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I
am commanding you today, by loving the LORD your God, walking in his ways, and
observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and
become numerous, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are
entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are
led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, I declare to you today
that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are
crossing the Jordan to enter and possess" (Deut. 30:15-18).
It
is clear that we are to make choices – to obey God and walk his ways or
not. One leads to life and the other to
death. A bit grim! But God is also a restorer. When the exiles return to Yahweh
in faith and obedience, he will turn to them and ‘return’ them to their
previous state. When Israel turns back
to God, he will turn back to them. SO does this mean that the threat of
punishment is undermined? Will it make them say, ‘Oh, it doesn’t really matter?
We can always repent and be restored’? Hardly! The historical books paint a
gloomy picture of both northern Israel and southern Judah: apostasy and decline,
invasion and conquest, death and exile. Those who lived through those tragic
years would definitely not have said, ‘It doesn’t matter’. And those who
survived into exile ended up dispirited and depressed (see Ezekiel 18:2). The
punishment was real and painful.
But
when we turn to God, there is Restoration – I like that word. Rest and be
restored. When the people turn back to God, he will turn back to them, turn
their fortunes around. Further, he will then give them all the blessings and
prosperity promised in the first place, and experienced in the early years. And
as always, God will be emotionally involved: it stems from his compassion and
results in his delight. It will also lead to ‘circumcision of the heart’. For
those used to physical circumcision, this is a rich metaphor of personal
commitment and heartfelt obedience, in internal attitude as well as external
form. Earlier, God commanded it (10:16) now he promises that he himself will affect
it.
This
passage show God’s knowledge of humanity, his foresight of events, and his
provision for restoration. The warning is real: no wonder this is the synagogue
reading for the Jewish equivalent of Lent, the ten days of repentance between
New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). But so is the
promise: the ‘even if’ shows that no situation is irretrievable if there is a
change of heart. This does not instantly resolve the painful issues that rear
up at the start, but it does give us a pointer for reflection.
So
‘What should I do to inherit eternal life?’ ‘What is written in the law?’ The reply of the man is part of what is written
in Deuteronomy 6:5 which says, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart, and with all your soul and with all your might.’ To this the Scribes
added Leviticus 19:18 which bids a person to love his neighbour as himself. The
Rabbis sought to define who was a neighbour and at their worst limited this to
fellow Jews; Gentiles were not counted as neighbours no matter how closely they
lived to Jews. The parable of the Good Samaritan is a challenge to our limited
care.
So
who is my neighbour?"
What
Jesus offers is not far away. It is the common event of a mugging and the also
common events of indifference to suffering on the one hand and mercy in
response to need on the other. The story is as close as the fear we feel when
someone approaches us on a dark pavement at night, as near to us as the people
we can walk past without noticing, as familiar as the smell and feel of a
plaster on a cut finger.
.
"Who
is my neighbour?" the lawyer wants to know, and so do I. I also want to
know, how do I love my neighbour as myself? What about fostering dependency in
the neighbour, or wearing myself out or just putting plasters on wounds that
need so much more?
The
story begins with a man on the downhill road from Jerusalem to Jericho. With
his back to the Holy City, he is making his way towards a place that was known
for its vice, robbers and corruption. The man is alone. Now this road was
notorious for robbers, and it is foolish to travel alone, especially if you
have anything precious. Is not life precious? The man is mugged by a bands or
robbers, stripped of his possession, his dignity and his health. He is left
half-dead and if he doesn’t get help soon he will be dead.
Lucky
man: he come a priest. Help is at hand. But when he sees the man, the priest
passes on by. Well, if the pries had gone over and touched the man and the man
was dead, it would make him unclean and he would not be able to perform his
duties for seven days(Numbers 19:11) it would seem the priest was more
concerned with ceremony rather than charity. You could hear the common cry:
‘It’s more than my job’s worth.’
The
next person to come along is a good churchman, a Levite. Surely there is hope
there. The Levite perhaps is frightened that the robbers are still near and the
man on the ground is just a decoy. He could use the same excuse of the priest
for not making contact. The law was more important than love.
Then
came along the Samaritan – a non-Jew. Surely he would not bother. But he does
because he is moved with pity for a fellow human being. He goes over to the man
and pours oil and wine on the wounds – normal usage for both, though also
symbols of peace and joy. He then lifts the injured man up and puts him on his
own animal, brings him to an inn and takes care of him. The next day the
Samaritan pays the innkeeper and says, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back,
I will repay you whatever more you spend.’
Jesus
then asked which proved to be a neighbour. When the lawyer replied, ‘He that
showed mercy’, Jesus said, ‘Go and so likewise.’
We
are challenged to accept all as our neighbour and to show concern for those we
try to avoid; those who get into trouble through their own fault; those who are
racially or religiously different, all who are in need or in trouble.
In
John 8:48 the Jews called Jesus a Samaritan. Maybe we should heed the words of
the Good Samaritan and interpret them as Jesus speaking to us: ‘Take care of
him, and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’
Questions:
1. Look at Deuteronomy 30:1-20.
What would
the Lord do for them (v3-5, 6, 7, 8-9) and why (v1-2, 10)?
What
were their options (v15, 16-17, 18) and why was choosing life the way to go
(v11-14, 19-20)?
2. Who are your neighbours? How well do
you know them?
3. Who are the neighbours you would not
necessarily become involved with? Do you have a fear, real or misguided
regarding these neighbours?
No comments:
Post a Comment