God's Good Life

  We return to the dialogue between the lawyer and Jesus. We left them when the lawyer had asked the question, “Who is my neighbor?” In response Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan. With this parable Jesus was prodding the lawyer to acknowledge a relation with God he did not know.   We will look closely at the Samaritan’s compassion, and inevitably, we will see where we have short-changed our compassion. I know them well because I have done them all.   First, the Samaritan interrupted his schedule:  “A Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion” (Luke 10:33).   He had a schedule, places to go, people expecting him. Family, jobs, tasks, times to keep. And yet he stopped.   But for us schedules are sacred objects. We have obligations to others and tasks that need attention. When we have an unexpected knock on the door, or news that something needs to be done now, we do not welcome these interruptions. We ...

  God’s Good Life   This article begins a series that will take us into the story of the Good Samaritan. The drama has given the world several well-known and well-loved phrases and people. The larger context is a conversation between  Jesus and a lawyer. In that we will see how the story brings a path to God’s Good Life.   The lawyer, a learned teacher of the Jewish religion, went to Jesus, carrying within him an uneasy inner life. He raised two questions. The first was to test Jesus. Who was he, and could he be trustworthy in essential matters of faith? The second asked for a check on his own status with God. Was his life secure and favored in the eyes of God?    We know those questions. We’ve been there, asked them, and hoped for good guidance. In the weeks ahead as we explore these questions, we will recognize the challenges that Jesus brought to the lawyer and all who would live closer to God. Turning to the parable, we will see how the Lord’s intention...

  This article takes us back to the invitation by Jesus from the end of the last article: “Anyone who comes searching for me, I will not turn away.” A lawyer has come to Jesus to test him. We will see how Jesus valued and honored the man, drew him out, and prepared him for challenges to his faith. As we move through the dialogue, we will also see how he draws us in, how he treats us and our questions with the same respect and honor.    Immediately we see the Lord’s attention and patience. The lawyer, in testing Jesus, asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” No doubt Jesus saw this as the oxymoron that it is, but the exchange was not a true and false test. This was a test of authority, a quest for direction to God’s good life. Jesus honored the man who came to him, even with such a flawed outlook. Respecting the religious standing of the inquirer, Jesus asked him for an answer. “You know the law. What do you perceive is written there?” The answer was a good one, q...

  The Priest and the Levite   Last week I described the contemporary “man in the ditch” as four groups: indigenous people, the unborn child, nomads, and Muslims in our neighborhoods. This week we bring in the priest and the Levite of today. These two men “passed by on the other side.” What would that look like today?   We should note that the priest and the Levite had stature and experience. They were clever with power and deft with the public. Their responses would seem plausible and reasonable. Those standing by would be nodding their heads in approval.    The Indigenous People . They live under the crushing influence of the “Doctrine of Discovery.” That authenticates the right of the dominant culture to take whatever form of riches are found among the original inhabitants.    This decree has evolved from government and church settings to most hearts and minds, welcomed without objection.  Anyone of the dominant niche assumes the rights of ...

  We now turn our attention to the parable of the Good Samaritan and the central character of the story --  the man in the ditch. Jesus described him with terms that are brief and grim. The man was “stripped, wounded, and left half-dead.” This was not a pretty sight! No wonder the priest and the Levite saw him and “passed by on the other side.”    In today’s world the man in the ditch would be a people ignored, trodden upon, severely crippled, and near death. I will describe four groups that fit him today, each linked to one of these conditions.   Those Stripped: Indigenous People.  These are the original habitants on their lands. They are the American Indians, the Baka pygmies of Cameroon, the Masai of Kenya, the Maya of Mexico, and millions like them.    The invaders arrived, equipped with better armament and selfish intentions. They also carried the unchallenged authority of the papal bull of 1455 known as The Doctrine of Discovery. This d...

  The Priest and the Levite   Last week I described the contemporary “man in the ditch” as four groups: indigenous people, the unborn child, nomads, and Muslims in our neighborhoods. This week we bring in the priest and the Levite of today. These two men “passed by on the other side.” What would that look like today?   We should note that the priest and the Levite had stature and experience. They were clever with power and deft with the public. Their responses would seem plausible and reasonable. Those standing by would be nodding their heads in approval.      The Indigenous People . They live under the crushing influence of the “Doctrine of Discovery.” That authenticates the right of the dominant culture to take whatever form of riches are found among the original inhabitants.    This decree has evolved from government and church settings to most hearts and minds, welcomed without objection.  Anyone of the dominant niche assumes the rig...

  Testing Jesus   1 st  (Actually 2 nd ) in series on the Good Samaritan   We enter the story of the Good Samaritan with the beginning of the dialogue of Jesus and the lawyer. This was a well-educated man, steeped in Jewish law and faith. Into his world has come this rabbi who has drawn crowds and alienated many in the religious establishment. He cannot resist. He wants to know who this man is. But it is not as a profile that he wants; no, he wants to test this man and see what he is made of.    Last week I described Jesus as the world’s most successful cash cow. That is probably not the way he wishes to be remembered, in spite of the commercial voices we hear this month. He deserves a wider platform. I hope I give that in the following article.   Most tests that I have taken present a list of questions and asks for comments. That is the format that I wish to follow. Through these we may not find conclusions to our questions, but we will find more abou...