The Flash! – May 29, 2015
I recently saw this post by a Facebook friend. At first I laughed, rolled my eyes, and kept scrolling. Before logging off, however, I returned to it several times, each time staring at it a little bit longer. Since then I have not been able to get it out of my mind.
This picture captures a profound and timeless message about community, relationship, and justice. At its deepest level it is about life and death.
Once upon a time Jesus was challenged by a lawyer who asked him what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus responded: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all our soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. The pesky and persistent lawyer then asked:And who is my neighbor?
In response Jesus unleashed one of his most famous stories: the Good Samaritan. The punchline of the parable: all of God’s children are our neighbors and, just as importantly, we become neighbors when we offer ourselves beyond the boundaries of our defined expectations and roles.
Martin Luther King preached on this passage and offered this: The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But… the good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?’
What does a community look like in which the response to someone who is hungry, hurting, or alone is: it’s not my job? What happens in a society in which the response to injustice, violence, and oppression is: it’s not by job? What happens in a world filled with conflict, “isms”, and environmental destruction when our response is: it’s not my job?
May God grant us the wisdom to see our neighbor in everyone we meet; the courage to serve beyond the boundaries of our job descriptions; and the faith to believe that it is the accumulation of righteous actions that transform the world.
Peace,
Andy