On Line Bible Study - for the week November 1 -7, 2010
Lesson 464
More thoughts on The Good Samaritan ...
"Thou shalt not kill, but need'st not strive
Officiously to keep alive." - The Latest Decalogue, by Arther Hugh Clough
More thoughts on The Good Samaritan ...
"Thou shalt not kill, but need'st not strive
Officiously to keep alive." - The Latest Decalogue, by Arther Hugh Clough
In the previous lesson we discussed the two questions that led Jesus to telling the parable of the Good Samaritan. The question: Who is my neighbor? merits further comment. (The full text of the Good Samaritan parable can be found here.) The issue is a most contemporary one for the church. The question cuts both ways - Is the person in need my 'neighbor'? Are the people who actually help us our true neighbors? (as opposed to the ones who ought to help us but don't!)
In Brennan Manning's classic book The Ragamuffin Gospel we read the story of the man who went to the doctor with a severe headache. After questioning the man and his personal habits - Do you smoke? Drink excessively? Are you sleeping around? The answers are "No!" to each of the questions. The doctor continues: Is the pain a sharp, shooting kind of pain? "Yes," answers the man, excited that some progress is being made in the visit. The solution is simple, says the doctor. All we need to do is loosen your halo - it's on too tight! (Published by Multnomah Publishers. 1990. Kindle location 774.)
It's hard to be a good neighbor when we wear our halo so tightly - and so low over our eyes! - that we are blinded and dulled to the pain of the people around us. Religious people struggle with their halos all the time. Our beliefs offer us strength; they also constrict our vision. Our sacred texts offer us guidance; they also write others out of the script of God's love.
This lesson is less an exegesis and more an interpretation - Who are the unclean people we refuse to love unconditionally? Who are the unclean people we refuse to learn from, assuming they have nothing to teach us?
Darrell Bock writes in his commentary on Luke that, while we can speculate why the priest did not stop to help the man, the story doesn't offer any reason. Becoming "ritually unclean" is a fear that is often suggested - that's why he did not stop. But there is evidence in the Mosaic Law to suggest that this situation would not have rendered the priest unclean. The priest simply chose to continue on his way.
The text tells us a Levite came along next - a member of the tribe of Levi. This individual would have worked in the temple as an assistant to the priest. The way the text reads it is possible to assume the Levite took a closer look than the priest. Did the beaten man on the side of the road feel his hopes rise? But the closer look did not result in any assistance.
The Samaritan is the sinner in the story. The sinner offers what the religious refused to offer.
Manning tells another story in the above-mentioned book. This is a true story of an alcoholic who attended his weekly AA meeting. He stood and faced his friends and admitted that, after seven years of sobriety, he had gone on a five-day drunken binge. The room was absolutely silent as he told his story. As he spoke, the man's voice faltered, and he hung his head in shame. As he concluded his story, his eyes were not the only ones filled with tears.
"The same thing happened to me, Phil," piped up one of the men in the crowd. Another voice spoke up: "Thank God you are back!" Still another called out: "That took a lot of guts to come and share this with us, Phil!" "I'm proud of you," yet another shouted out.
Sinners loving sinners. The greatest sin we can commit is the assumption of our own righteousness. I recently heard a pastor say they begin their worship service with the phrase: "I'm not OK. You're not OK. And that's OK."
Even as I write this lesson there can be no assumption of righteousness! There can be no hint of anyone being right or wrong here. We don't get to heaven by being right; we get there because we are loved. The parable of the Good Samaritan is one of scripture's strongest and loudest - and most desperately needed - wake-up calls.
None of the people at that AA meeting ever hinted that Phil getting drunk had been the right thing to do. What they did avoid was any sentiment suggesting they were right or righteous.
Love without judgment - that is the posture I struggle to assume. That is the challenge of the Christian life.
This lesson is less an exegesis and more an interpretation - Who are the unclean people we refuse to love unconditionally? Who are the unclean people we refuse to learn from, assuming they have nothing to teach us?
Darrell Bock writes in his commentary on Luke that, while we can speculate why the priest did not stop to help the man, the story doesn't offer any reason. Becoming "ritually unclean" is a fear that is often suggested - that's why he did not stop. But there is evidence in the Mosaic Law to suggest that this situation would not have rendered the priest unclean. The priest simply chose to continue on his way.
The text tells us a Levite came along next - a member of the tribe of Levi. This individual would have worked in the temple as an assistant to the priest. The way the text reads it is possible to assume the Levite took a closer look than the priest. Did the beaten man on the side of the road feel his hopes rise? But the closer look did not result in any assistance.
The Samaritan is the sinner in the story. The sinner offers what the religious refused to offer.
Manning tells another story in the above-mentioned book. This is a true story of an alcoholic who attended his weekly AA meeting. He stood and faced his friends and admitted that, after seven years of sobriety, he had gone on a five-day drunken binge. The room was absolutely silent as he told his story. As he spoke, the man's voice faltered, and he hung his head in shame. As he concluded his story, his eyes were not the only ones filled with tears.
"The same thing happened to me, Phil," piped up one of the men in the crowd. Another voice spoke up: "Thank God you are back!" Still another called out: "That took a lot of guts to come and share this with us, Phil!" "I'm proud of you," yet another shouted out.
Sinners loving sinners. The greatest sin we can commit is the assumption of our own righteousness. I recently heard a pastor say they begin their worship service with the phrase: "I'm not OK. You're not OK. And that's OK."
Even as I write this lesson there can be no assumption of righteousness! There can be no hint of anyone being right or wrong here. We don't get to heaven by being right; we get there because we are loved. The parable of the Good Samaritan is one of scripture's strongest and loudest - and most desperately needed - wake-up calls.
None of the people at that AA meeting ever hinted that Phil getting drunk had been the right thing to do. What they did avoid was any sentiment suggesting they were right or righteous.
Love without judgment - that is the posture I struggle to assume. That is the challenge of the Christian life.
posted by Mark D at 11:17 AM
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