Thursday, July 7, 2016

PENTECOST VIII Proper 10 2016

The Good Samaritan - Vasily Sukirov
  • Amos 7:7-17 and Psalm 82  • 
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  • Deuteronomy 30:9-14 and Psalm 25:1-10  • 
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  • Colossians 1:1-14  • 
  • Luke 10:25-37

    • The Gospel for this week is one of Jesus' most famous, and familiar, parables -- the story of the Good Samaritan. Its sheer familiarity  means that some of its implications are easily overlooked. This parable is not simply a morally improving lesson about how much better kindness and generosity are compared to selfish hardheartedness. For the devout Jews to whom Jesus told the story, ‘the priest’ and ‘the Levite’ were pillars of orthodox respectability. Their passing by on the other side was not simple hard heartedness, but the desire to avoid the religious pollution that would result from contact with a (possibly) dead body, something that would be widely appreciated. It is also important to remember that the Samaritans were regarded as second class Jews, because they subscribed to a debased form of Judaism. These facts intensify the meaning of the story, and make its subject matter true religion rather than moral rectitude. 

      Equally important is the fact that ‘the Good Samaritan’ is not a free standing story with a moral, like one of Aesop's fables. It is Jesus’ answer to a question. A lawyer raises a characteristically legal question. He does not dispute the ancient moral law of the Jews – ‘love your neighbor as yourself’ – but asks for a definition of terms – Who is my neighbor? This is not mere quibbling. The definition of terms is crucial to the law and its application. What the story shows, however, is that while legalism has its place, it can become a barrier to the life of the Spirit within us.

      Heaven and Earth - Ronnie Landfield (1967)
      These few verses thus take us to the heart of the Gospel. This sincere and faithful Jew wants to place the law of God as inscribed in Leviticus at the center of his life and obey God in all things. That is one, admirable, conception of ‘the Kingdom of God on earth’. But Jesus offers a radical alternative – a willingness to go beyond the rules to the point where our human concern with religious integrity is itself overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit acting within us. In short we are called to participate in Divine life, and as the reading from Deuteronomy affirms, ultimately, this is a matter of looking deep within our own souls.'Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away. It is not in heaven, that you should say, "Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?" Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, "Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?" No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.'

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