That Good Samaritan
Published with https://preservingbibletimes.org
"That Good Samaritan," by Doug Greenwold, is a timely book. It has been said that America has not been this divided since The Civil War. This is why we need to explore the questions this book addresses, which are: "Who is my neighbor?" and "What does it mean to be neighborly?"
Religious, cultural, ethnic, political division, and polarization was the first century context of Jesus telling the Parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37.
When Jesus was asked what must be done to inherit eternal life by an expert in the law, Jesus affirmed the man's answer, “‘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.’ Jesus said, 'You have answered correctly, do this and you will live.'” (Luke 10:27 and 28, ESV).
In "That Good Samaritan," Doug Greenwold points out the profundity of this opening question and puts it in context, saying:
It is an intriguing question this religious expert poses to Jesus – what must I do to inherit eternal life? Three key words/phrases jump out – do, inherit and eternal life. In terms of do (and the verb tense here is to keep on doing), we need to remember that this is a religious culture focused on doing the right thing to honor God in every aspect of life. These observant Jews are not philosophical in nature. They have no Apostles or Nicene (intellectual belief) creeds to assent to as a litmus test. To them believe is an action verb. It is something you do. Note that this expert in the Law tries to limit the open-ended nature of keep on doing by framing his question using the more limited verb tense of by having done. (Greenwold, Doug., That Good Samaritan, p. 18)
Having the right answer, knowing the law, and living out the law are two very different things. While the expert in the law understood what he was supposed to be doing, he was not obeying and applying God's law. The text tells us, "But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?'” (Luke 10:27, ESV).
It is in this context that Jesus tells The Parable of the Good Samaritan, which paints a Samaritan, those despised by the Jewish people, as the unlikely hero who loved his neighbor, unlike the priest and the Levite who neglected the law of God and "passed by on the other side."
As followers of Jesus, we are called to love our neighbor as ourselves, to engage the culture in respectful, prayerful, and missional ways, and to do our civic duties, including voting Biblical values, as we are God's Kingdom agents in the world.
Instead of "seeking to justify ourselves" or "passing by on the other side", we should pray in this critical point in history of division and war, in this time of a post-Christian sentiment in the world, and in this very important election year, and we should commit to doing our part in setting a united and charitable tone as we do our civic duties and seek to love our neighbor?
Seeking to love my neighbor,
Robbie
A Prayer in Times of Social Conflict or Distress: “Increase, O God, the spirit of neighborliness among us, that in peril we may uphold one another, in suffering tend to one another, and in homelessness, loneliness, or exile befriend one another. Grant us brave and enduring hearts that we may strengthen one another, until the disciplines and testing of these days are ended, and you again give peace in our time; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” (#44., Book of Common Prayer, 2019).
Originally published with https://preservingbibletimes.org
