'Go and do likewise ... '

A lot of times we'll read the Bible and say, "Awww. Nice story!" And that's OK ... kind of. Because usually if we look at Scripture that way, it usually means we've missed (or worse, ignored) a key point. You know, like when we read about how Noah got the animals on the ark two-by-two ("Awww. Cute!") but miss or ignore the part about the people in the world drowning from the great flood. ("Whoa! That was in there, too?!")

Another one of those passages is the parable of the good Samaritan. Most of you know the story, but just in case:

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"

He answered: " '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.'"

"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"

The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."

Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

Luke 10:25-37

So we know of the priest (meanie!) and the Levite (meanie!) who passed by the man who was beaten by robbers. We know of the good Samaritan (yea!) for whom hospitals have been named. Good. We should know of them.

But, do we remember the "expert in the law" who asked the question of Jesus? And do we remember Jesus response outside of the parable? This expert, this teacher, knew the law, summing up the teaching of the Ten Commandments, to love God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, all your strength, and to love one's neighbor as himself (because what right-minded, rational person hates himself?).

Jesus tells him the first time, good, you understand, now go it.

And the teacher, as Luke records it, asks who his neighbor is, probably because he was intellectually full of himself, and Jesus hits him with the parable in which one of the lowliest of people, in the mind of the Jewish religious leaders of the day, helps the person in need. Not the priest (you would think, yes?), not the Levite (you would think, yes?).

Jesus hits the teacher again with "Who was the neighbor of the victim?" The teacher says, "The one who had mercy on him." I find it interesting the teacher didn't say "the Samaritan."

And Jesus says, "Go and do likewise."

My point: Don't miss out on the expert in the law, who knows the Bible, can recite the Bible with no problem, but when asked to follow the teachings of the Bible -- especially those passages about sharing compassion and love (not just with our wallets) -- with "the least of these" and the lost, tries to qualify it with,"Yeah, but who is my neighbor?"

Then ask yourself (yes, me, too): "Am I like that expert in the law, who knows all this stuff that I'm supposed to know, but when asked to go and actually do it, when asked to live a life that reflects my faith, when asked to walk as Jesus did, do I hem and haw and try to justify my complacency?"

Questions, comments, yes, even criticisms, leave 'em below the video of Jars of Clay's "Two Hands" ...



(Link for the Facebook note: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCC6E7Ptnyc)