Modern Good Samaritan parable

20 Wednesday Jul 2016

Posted by laceduplutheran in Politics, Theology

Tags

Bible, candidate, Good Samaritan, Jesus, neighbor, politics, prayer

good-samaritan

Luke 10:25-37 – A modern interpretation of the Good Samaritan parable. One you’re going to hate. Embrace that feeling because it’s probably how the religious lawyer in the original Gospel lesson felt upon hearing Jesus tell it to him. Here we go:

Just then a devout US Christian who was also a political party activist stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher’ he said. ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘What is written in the bible? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ Jesus replied, ‘A candidate was running for office, and fell into the hands of political enemies, who stripped the candidate’s credibility and integrity, berated the candidate verbally, and went away, leaving the candidate dehumanized and the nation divided. Now by chance an activist of the same party was going down that road; and when he saw the candidate, he passed by on the other side because the candidate wasn’t ideologically pure. So likewise an elected official of the same party, when he came to the place and saw the candidate, passed by on the other side, not wanting to be dragged down by the reputation of the candidate. But an activist of the opposition party while traveling came near the candidate; and when he saw the candidate, he was moved with pity. He went to the candidate and bandaged the candidate’s wounds, having asked for forgiveness for his own past dehumanizing statements and offering a prayer of peace. Then he put the candidate on his own prayer list, gave the candidate respect all humans deserve, and took care to ensure that he only spoke respectfully of the candidate even when they disagreed about policy. The next day he wrote two articles, posted them on social media that said, “Take care of this candidate for the candidate may win and we will need to be a country that espouses forgiveness, mercy, peace and love in order to face the challenges that will come.” Jesus asked: “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the candidate who fell into the hands of their enemies?’ ³⁷He said, ‘The one who showed the candidate mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’

If you want to really understand the message that Jesus was conveying to the religious lawyer in the original version of the text (and how upsetting it would have been to hear it), then try rewriting the parable into your own context like I did. If it helps, substitute in specific names. i.e. in place of “candidate,” put in your presidential choice. For “activist in the opposition party,” put in Republican or Democrat – whichever you are not aligned with. I tried doing just that with this modern interpretation. My reaction was “ouch, that hurts. Boy have I failed here plenty of times.”

We can justify attacking political opponents – “They are wrong, don’t you know? Don’t be an idiot, can you see how wrong they are?!?”

We can offer “prayers” to God that ask Jesus to empower worldly rulers and politicians to defeat our political enemies and opponents for the sake of country and party unity. We pray that all people will be enlightened by the purity of our ideological beliefs – how God must get a kick out of some of our prayers!

We can call our political opponents names and give them vicious labels that we believe they so readily deserve for what they have said and what they supposedly stand for.

We can show how our side is right and the other side is wrong. And not just wrong, but dangerous, possibly even evil because of what we believe they stand for.

We can dehumanize, degrade, and diminish them all in the name of defending our own version of the truth and defending the country. And we can say that the other side started it – we have to finish it. We can point out how they and their policies are the reason we are screwed up and so divided. If only they would see the light and believe our beliefs and do what we think is right.

We can do all of these things and we do so very often. This week and next are prime examples that jump in our face. The conventions of these two political parties will shout out the doctrines of pure belief in party and leader. They will preach to us how their anointed one will save the nation and defeat evil incarnate represented by the opposing party and candidate. They will define who is our neighbor and who is not our neighbor. They will use the language of religion and use God – claiming that God is on their side and against the enemy.

But we don’t have to be this way. We are called to something much better. We Christians are called by Jesus to be a neighbor to all, even, and especially our political opponents. That might suck because it means we have to be the ones who start treating our opponents and enemies differently – not waiting for them to start. It would be great to get a last dig in, but that’s not what Jesus calls us to. No, instead he calls us to a different life – outside of the bickering of left vs. right. He calls on us to be a neighbor to all, regardless of human labels and divisions, because we are all part of God’s creation and whether we like it or not, we are God’s children. He calls us to take up our cross and follow him. He calls us to be a neighbor to all, regardless of what they would do to us or the country. We don’t get to decide who’s in and who is out – that’s not ours to decide. In the kingdom of God, there is no us vs. them. Jesus calls us to be a neighbor, especially to those we are taught are our enemies. It’s being a peacemaker. It’s dying to self. It’s what it means to follow. It’s not fair, but then again, Jesus and God aren’t interested in what’s fair. Instead, it is a very real example of the kingdom of God unfolding right before our eyes.

Thought experiment: Christians and politics edition

15 Friday Jul 2016

Posted by laceduplutheran in Politics, Theology

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candidates, Christian, Evangelicals, Good Samaritan, Jesus, partisan, politics, questions, thought experiment

religion-and-politics

Every once in a while I like to play with some thought experiments. Today is one of those days. Play along with me, won’t you?

What if pastors all became non-partisans? What if they detached themselves from the political parties of the country? No more being tapped by candidates for office to be part of their Evangelical outreach campaign? No more being tapped by candidates for office to be part of their Mainline Protestant outreach campaign?

What if pastors just stopped listening and buying the rhetoric of either political party?

That might be easy to play with, poke holes in, etc. Here’s a better one. One that I can imagine will raise plenty of criticisms and objections.

What if all Christians became non-partisans? Whoa. Hold the phones a minute. Did I just suggest something that many would think is unthinkable? What if we collectively decided that partisan politics focused too much attention on asking “Who is my neighbor?” Who is on my side and who is on the other side? Who is with us and who is against us? You know – us vs. them. What if Christians actually took what Jesus was saying in the Good Samaritan parable seriously and started being neighbors to those they disagree with (and maybe even hate) and those that they have been told are their enemies? What if? I wonder how politics would change. I wonder how lives would change?

Let me clarify something because I can hear the wails and gnashing of teeth over these questions – I’m asking about party affiliation, not removing oneself from politics completely. Those are two different things.

I wonder, maybe the thought experiment is reversed in it’s thinking. I wonder, if Christians started being neighbors the way that Jesus calls us to be, would they leave partisan politics behind? Not reject it, but see it as worthless maybe? Or just not that important anymore? Maybe not. Would they see the message of partisan politics as a message of division and scapegoating? Maybe being a neighbor would have more of an impact on how the nation and the world changed than worrying about which candidate won, what they were saying, who they were blaming, and who would “save” the nation.

Maybe. I don’t know. Or maybe I’m not being realistic here because this is the way it’s always been. Except it hasn’t. That’s the fun of playing with a thought experiment – you can come up with crazy ideas and play with them.

What if Christians took Jesus’ message seriously enough to actually believe that it is a life changing and world changing message? I mean really bought into the idea – hook, line, and sinker – not just mouthed the words on Sunday in church. I’m talking about about buying the message enough that your life is changed and so you change what you do, how you talk, how you act, etc. I wonder what would happen if we spent as much time thinking about, tweeting, posting memes on social media, having discussions, debates, etc. about what Jesus said as we do with what the candidates say? What would that look like? What would our nation look like? What would world look like? I don’t know. It’s never been tried before. Could be better. Could be worse I guess. Might be just the same.

I wonder if Christians just stopped buying the empty partisan rhetoric that claims that a person in a specific office will bring salvation (or peace, or prosperity, or security, etc.) by destroying our enemies. I wonder what it would look like and sound like if Christians just stopped believing the scapegoating rhetoric that partisan candidates and loyalists use. I wonder what it would look like and sound like if Christians spent as much time, energy, effort, and money living out what Jesus called us to, rather than trying to get someone elected to office.

I wonder.

Is being right most important?

11 Monday Jul 2016

Posted by laceduplutheran in Humanity, Society, Theology

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costly, dehumanizing, Good Samaritan, idol, Jesus, just war theology, Luke 10, neighbor, right

Is being right the most important thing in the world?

Our pursuit of being right over living rightly has been costly. We have had wars, revolts, killings, terror, and devastation as a result of being right. Being right has ended numerous relationships.

The fruit of making being right an idol is division, anger, conflict, belittling, dehumanizing, and insulting.

Being right is what props up the Just War Theology – you can kill your enemy in order to save them.

Being right allows you to impose heavy burdens and demand compliance with the letter of the law.

Being right means we can label those who won’t see the truth as we see it.

Being right means there are people on our side and then there is the other side. Those people aren’t just wrong, they are stubborn for not hearing the truth. Let’s damn them. Let’s label them. Let’s call down fire or missiles from the sky and destroy them. They deserve it. We’re right and their are so clearly wrong. They are evil.

And then we’re confronted with a story:

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.” Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’

– Luke 10:29-37

Making being right an idol means asking the question – who is my neighbor? Who is on my side and who is on the other side? Who is with us and who is against us?

Being a neighbor is different. It’s costly. It looks past the labels. It doesn’t see enemies but rather people of God’s creation. It costs control over your own schedule and plans. It costs you time, money, and energy. It costs you when your friends and family and countrymen see you being a neighbor to the one they taught you was an enemy since you were young.

And it’s what we are called to be.

Being right is important. Wandering through life without a foundation or a rudder to direct you is not what we are called to. And there are limits to it. Being right at the expense of living right is not being right at all. Belief that is not carried out is empty. Faith that has no follow-up is worthless.

But I get it. It’s so much easier and you can feel so much more self-righteous when you post a meme on social media declaring how right you are and belittling those who disagree with you. I get it. It feels so much better to hold the right beliefs and keep them pure, rather then risk getting messy with someone who is lost. Much better to either avoid them or criticize them. You wouldn’t want to open yourself to their story and the possibility that you would see the world differently. It might cause you to change what you see as right. Wouldn’t want that, would we?

Being right and being a neighbor are both costly. Being right costs other people a great deal. Being a neighbor costs you a great deal. And it gives life to the one who you were a neighbor to.

Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’

-Luke 10:36-37