Jesus Teaches the Lawyers Neighbor Hood Skills
Scripture Lesson
Luke 10:30-37 (The Parable of the Good Samaritan)
This parable is packed with invisible truths of our lives.
Jesus Teaches the Lawyers Neighbor Hood Skills
Scripture Lesson
Luke 10:30-37 (The Parable of the Good Samaritan)
This parable is packed with invisible truths of our lives.
In the aftermath of violent deaths this week in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Dallas, Texas, I thank the church has to respond and provide a word on what it means to be a good Neighbor.
The deaths of young black males in encounters with white police officers call for the need of a bi-partisan political and legal response, beyond (but including) the statements and prayers of the church.
Speaking of Bi-partisan is there any socieital devid any worses then that Hatred between Jews and Samaritans it was fierce and long-standing. In some ways, it dated all the way back to the days of the patriarchs. Jacob (or Israel) had twelve sons, whose descendants became twelve tribes. Joseph, his favorite, was despised by the other brothers (Gen. 37:3-4), and they attempted to do away with him.
Later, Israel divided into two kingdoms. The northern kingdom, called Israel, established its capital first at Shechem, a revered site in Jewish history, and later at the hilltop city of Samaria.
The people who now inhabited the former northern kingdom—the Samaritans—vigorously opposed the repatriation and tried to undermine the attempt to reestablish the nation. For their part, the full-blooded, monotheistic Jews detested the mixed marriages and worship of their northern cousins. So walls of bitterness were erected on both sides and did nothing but harden for the next 550 years.
There are countless modern parallels to the Jewish-Samaritan enmity—indeed, wherever peoples are divided by racial and ethnic barriers.
In the text it tells us that That The Main Chacter is a Samaritan and out cast. Growing up and attending seminary in ATL I am a life long fan of OutKast wthey often remind me that at sometimes its ok to be proud of being an outcast.
But be fore we get to the Healing story we have a set up!
“Just then a religion scholar stood up with a question to test Jesus. “Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?””
Luke 10:25 MSG
http://bible.com/97/luk.10.25.msg
This however was not just a question it was a test, the lawyer wanted to show the Jesus couldn't not handle the law so he yelled out bible 101? Jesus tell me about eternal life how does someone get into heaven. This is key because Jesus ministry was focused on earthly situations the here and the now. They wanted to move Jesus from the here and now to the pie in the sky and Jesus's turns it on their heads. But Jesus focuses the question on the idea of neighbor hood our Neighbors in the hood.
“He answered, “What’s written in God’s Law? How do you interpret it?” Luke 10:26 MSG
http://bible.com/97/luk.10.26.msg
Well in all the conversations this week around the killing of young black males. The real question is what does the law say? What is expected of a young black man in the country and how is he supposed to respond to the powers that be!
We are not dealing just with the law. Your would understand that if you knew the letter of the law that it's the interpretation of the Law that can make the real difference in all these senseless killings.
Point number one its not about the law it's how you interpret the Laws that matters!
When will we realize that it's the persons that make the law, and the persons that determine the meaning of the law and the persons that Carrie out that law that matters. Just because God said it until we do it, it ant gonna make a lot of difference. No matter what's on Books or on the scroll it how the law is applied to the real world
“Our courts and juries aren’t impartial arbiters — they exist inside society, not outside of it — and they can only provide as much justice as society is willing to give.” . (Jamelle Bouie opines on the consequences police officers commonly never face after using deadly force on citizens. In a separate article, Bouie critiques the officer Wilson’s and the grand jury’s image of “black brute” Michael Brown. [Link, link])
If you don't give folks the ability to change the entire system.
“When we blame private prejudice, suburban snobbishness, and black poverty for contemporary segregation, we not only whitewash our own history but avoid considering whether new policies might instead promote an integrated community.” (A report by the non-profit Economic Policy Institute explains how discriminatory policies in real estate, banking and finance over the past century contributed to the formation of mostly black, low-income neighborhoods like Ferguson. [Link]
Jesus didn't sit there and play he legal eases with the lawyers. Jesus knew that the games don't change anything. Jesus by passed all that he went into story mode there was a certain man that went down a certain road and the crooks got a hold of him.
Point number two there are always gonna be crooks!
Just like you have lawyers, judges and preachers there are also always gonna be people the abuse and misuse the system. There are always gonna be crooks folks that because of their up bring in because someone didn't love them as a child they way they should have been loved. You are always gonna have folks that try to find the hold in the system. Just like you have good cops you gonna find that there are some law officials that don't have the best interest of the citizens at heart. You will find that some of the legislators have been brought out by big business to develop laws that put our brothers, fathers, cousins, and lovers into the prison system to make money by feeding the system no matter what the crime.
Yes there are crooks on every side but that doesn't mean that every white cop is hateful nor does it mean that behind every black face is hatred and malice.
Point number three the people in the ditch are real!
What has happened is we have gotten use to seeing folks in the ditch, many of us are not passing by because we don't see the brother or sister In trouble, it's not that we haven't seen Sheika and Megan beaten and bruised and in the ditch no the problem is we have grown accustom to blaming he victims and saying they are always having another baby, saying that ray Ray is always getting locked up and that this time instead of trying to help I'm passing by to take care of my stuff. It's not that we don't see them but we have just come to the place where we have become num to so much wrong that we expect the cops to do wrong, I don't mean no harm and I know we need it but if I see another video telling black boys that when they get pulled over to put their hands up on the dash board and to lock there fingers and don't reach for anything. How about some videos to tell the cops to stop pulling over all our sons and daughters when they are not doing anything. How about some videos to tell polices that in this day and time a young black male driving a BMW is more likely to be someone's son or grand son then a criminal. Our more likely to be a black man working en a thug.
“Indeed, in America there is a strange and powerful belief that if you stab a black person ten times, the bleeding stops and the healing begins the moment the assailant drops the knife. We believe white dominance to be a fact of the inert past, a delinquent debt that can be made to disappear if only we don’t look.” (Ta-Nehisi Coates’ lengthy feature in The Atlantic, “The Case for Reparations,” illustrates the ways in which slavery and its aftereffects helped build the world’s largest democracy. Coates, who did not always support the idea of reparations, primarily dissects the history of housing discrimination. [Link])
Can I be real my wife and my mother are a little more up set then I am this time because I don't really get it, like the priest and the Levi in the text I'm not all that shocked be cause everyday I drive by the hood and see brothers laying in the ditch. Every time my phone rings it's from another grandmother telling me her grand has gotten locked up for doing something stupid. You see I've walked trough the valley of the shadow of death and I've seen the face of evil so please forgive me if I'm not shocked that they shot someone laying hand cupped after being tazzed. Because I've seen some much that it's almost not real anymore. But church we have to remember that the folks in the ditch are very real and some of them are still alive even thought they look dead it you could only reach them you might be able to pull the. Out.
Point number four you might need to invest in your neighbor!
You see real community involvement has to be tied to economic investments if you are not willing to put your money were you mouth is you are not gonna every really heal he problem. Healing takes investment, we keep reading the text all wasn't it nice that the Good Samaritan said when he got back if he had to pay more he would. What we miss is that Jesus's shows us in the story that some times you might not even have enough to bring about the change that you need but it you trust in God you might have it right now but with God you know you vacant get it.
You see church Jesus was teaching the lawyers that it's not just what's on paper our what's in the video or in the Facebook live that makes the difference it is half you interpret the had of God it's how you let God use you and the folks around you to change the situation. Yes church it's about more than seeing the video of someone getting killed by cops it's about realizing that you are called to stop the cycle and break the chains and heal the brokenness in our neighborhood.
You see Mr Rogers don't care about trayone nor Mya but if we get onto his trolley and get our hands on King Friday XIII that fake imperious monarch of the neighborhood. Oh if we get to King Friday that egocentric, irrational, trump like bully then we can make a change.
Y'all don't hear me if we tear this kingdom of injustice and racism and inequality down and make room for the kingdom of God and put the puppets away then and only then will we be neighbors in the neighbor hood
So I ask you?
How do we identify the ‘neighbor’ in our own lives?
How do personal prejudices or cultural norms determine the actions we take?
How can we relate this parable to stories in our present culture?
How can we encourage a response of hospitality to all in and outside of our churches and communities?
