[Propertalk] Proper 10 c - part 2

Fri Jul 8 20:16:50 EDT 2016

Part 2

Bob

	 What’s so unsettling about this parable – and, if we’re
honest, about ALL of Jesus’ parables – what’s so unsettling
about this parable is how much it can and does cut to our hearts. As
Professor Levine pointed out, “the Samaritan is not a social victim.
He has money, freedom to travel, the ability to find lodging … and
some leverage with the innkeeper. The parable, in its original
setting, is not about the type of prejudice that creates people on the
margins; it is about hatred between groups who have similar
resources.” 5 

	 Somehow, the Samaritan was able to minister without questioning. He
understood what he had; he was aware of what he could do; and he set
aside his own pride, his own feelings inculcated by his upbringing and
his contacts, and not only did he beginning the healing process of the
man whom others had beaten almost to the point of death; not only did
he step in where others could have gone, but who chose to ignore their
responsibilities; but the Samaritan also set up long-term care.
Becoming a neighbor, whatever the circumstances, means taking the time
and making the effort to reach out to and speak for others, no matter
what the cost. 

	 And if this makes us begin to shift a little uncomfortably in our
seats – our church seats, our dining room seats, our car seats –
whatever kind of seats – then Jesus is finding that there’s hope
for us yet 

	 Two short comments this week by brothers of the Society of Saint
John the Evangelist seem to help refine my thought about this story
with which Jesus challenged His people.  

	 “Loving one another can be difficult, because of the differences
that exist in each individual. Learning to accept those differences,
and to appreciate them, can be ways for us to understand how to love
one another better.” 6 

	 And, “One of the functions of religion is to help us make the link
between our inner reality and outward behavior. Our life’s work as
Christians is religious integrity. Animated by Christ’s love, our
words and actions embody grace and truth in ever-more-generous
ways.” 7 

	 So how does this work here and now? 

	 A driver travelling from the Willamette Valley to the coast ran into
problems in the Coast Range. The car engine failed and wouldn’t
restart. There was no cell phone reception. It was pitch dark and
raining heavily. Cars sped past, for what reason, no one knows. Then
one stopped. 

	 I was the driver of the car which broke down. As the driver of the
car which stopped a hundred yards beyond where I was got out, I could
hear a woman yell at him not to be a fool and to get back into his
car. It didn’t help that a month previously a driver had been
assaulted and thrown out of his car at almost the same spot. But the
man pulled his collar up and made his way down the road. 

	 It turned out that I knew him. He was one of Lincoln City’s
Baptist pastors. 

	 The Parable of the Good Baptist! You mean that there ARE Good
Baptists? 

	 But the image that came to my mind at the beginning of last week, as
I thought about becoming neighbours, about becoming the sort of people
who reach out and respond, no matter that there might be danger and
there would almost certainly be some cost and inconvenience; the image
that came to my mind was of the horrendous mess and hatred between
Palestinians and Israeli settlers. What if they discovered the meaning
of becoming neigbours? 

	 Or as Any-Jill Levine put it, “I am an Israeli Jew on my way from
Jerusalem to Jericho, and I am attacked by thieves, beaten, stripped,
robbed, and left half dead in a ditch. Two people who should have
stopped to help pass me by: the first, a Jewish medic from the Israel
Defense Forces; the second, a member of the Israel/Palestine Mission
Network of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. But the person who takes
compassion on me and shows mercy is a Palestinian Muslim whose
sympathies lie with Hamas, a political party …” which seems
totally at odds with Israel. 

	 “The parable of the ‘Good Hamas Member’ might be difficult for
people in support of Israel’s existence.” Jesus’ call is THAT
radical. “Will we,” Levine went on, “will we be able to bind
their wounds rather than blow up their cities?” 8 

	 The wounds and the grief may seem almost too close to us to comment,
but the road down to Jericho runs through Louisiana, and through
Minnesota, and through Dallas, Texas. In fact, it runs the world over,
and people are robbed, and beaten, and flung aside, and left for dead.
And people pass by. Some say they will pray about it. But where is
their oil, their loving hand to soothe the wounds of people and
society? 

	 He was lying down, straight out, looking vulnerable and defenceless.
I wonder how many people saw him. One, two, three people walked past. 

	 I wonder how he felt. Was he aware of anything – the light wind
blowing over him? The sound of footsteps, some of them quite close?
Traffic? 

	 He was lying down, straight out, his left arm extended up from his
shoulder so that he could rest his head on it. He didn’t move. And
people walked by, some without glancing. 

	 This was last Wednesday morning. He lay on the hard, cold cement
less and two feet from the door of Samaritan North Albany General
Hospital. And he was alone. 

	NOTES: 

	[1] _“Jesus through Middle Eastern Eyes”_ by Kenneth E. Bailey,
InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Ill. © 2008, pages 284 ff.  

	2 _“Short Stories by Jesus”_ by Amy-Jill Levine. HarperCollins,
New York. © 2014, page 79ff. 

	3 Levine, Op. cit., p. 80 ff.  

	4 _“Renewal of Ministry and Welcoming of a new Vicar”,
“Enriching our Worship”_ Church Publishing Incorporated, New York.
© 2007 by The Church Pension Fund.
https://www.churchpublishing.org/siteassets/pdf/enriching-our-worship-4/enrichingourworship4.pdf
[1] 

	5 Levine, Op. cit., page 112 

	6 _“Accept”_ by Br. David Allen Society of Saint John the
Evangelist [2] 1st July 2016. For _“Brother give us a Word”_
index, see http://ssje.org/word/?page_id=1475 [3]  

	7 _“Integrity”_ by Br. Mark Brown Society of Saint John the
Evangelist [4] 7th July, 2016. 

	8 Levine, Op. cit., pages 114-5 


Links:
------
[1]
https://www.churchpublishing.org/siteassets/pdf/enriching-our-worship-4/enrichingourworship4.pdf
[2]
http://ssje.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=344ed142b391b2b520df4080c&id=bcfc34ce0a&e=d3bff814a3
[3] http://ssje.org/word/?page_id=1475
[4]
http://ssje.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=344ed142b391b2b520df4080c&id=6dc923b808&e=d3bff814a3

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://stsams.org/pipermail/propertalk_stsams.org/attachments/20160708/0e642cb0/attachment.htm>