Mercy In The Neighborhood

Luke 10:25-37
The meaning of the word neighbor is radically challenged by Jesus in our reading from Luke this morning. “’Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise’” (Luke 10:36-37). In Hebrew and Greek, as in English and many other modern languages, a neighbor is either someone who lives nearby (a nigh boor, with boor drawing on an earlier form of the English buan, to dwell) or, in very general terms, a fellow human being. Jesus, in his conversation with a lawyer, pushes well past both the specific idea of the guy next door and the general idea of any other person to provide a godly definition of neighbor: one who shows mercy.

Most of us understand this idea at a rational level. We hear what Jesus is saying, that we should love and care for others regardless of how we are related to them. Where I think we break down is in the practice. “Charity begins at home” is an adage I hear often, even in the church. “We should care for our own first,” we say. Jesus will have none of that. According to him, “our own” are whoever need us. To be a neighbor is to respond in times of duress no matter who may be lying in that ditch. Jesus says that we must be guided by mercy to respond to others, and in doing so create a new community, a new neighborhood.

In these final days of the presidential campaign in the United States, I wonder how Jesus’ radical redefinition of neighbor might affect the way we see those around us. Can it serve to blunt some of the harsher language of politics? Can it allow us to seek common ground where the trend is to vilify and demonize those who disagree with us? Indeed, once we have heard Jesus confirm mercy as the essential criteria for neighborliness can we ever again justify the “win-at-all-cost” mentality that permeates our political process? Here’s a little experiment to try. Imagine yourself in Luke’s account, not as the Samaritan or as the man in the ditch, but as the lawyer who addressed Jesus. At the end of their conversation Jesus instructs him to “go and do likewise.” When it comes to mercy, that’s a pretty clear message. But will we do it?

Prayer: Lord, may we speak with justice but also with compassion this day, so that like Jesus we may sow the seeds of love and kindness and not those of suspicion and hate. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

No Way to Run a Campaign

John 6:1-15

Maybe it's because the lengthy process for electing a president is in full swing here in the US, but I found one verse from our gospel reading today to be poignant. "When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself" (John 6:15). While we in America are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to determine the next president, Jesus, who could have been king by acclamation, ran away and hid from the crowds.

I think if I had 60 seconds in which to speak to each of the major candidates for our highest office I would point to this verse and say, "this is what leadership is about. If you really want to make a difference in lives, then follow this example of love and self-sacrifice." But I know that if I really did have the chance to say these things to the major candidates every one of them would thank me for my time and interest and shake my hand. As they did so the honest ones might actually say what they were thinking. "How utterly naive! Don't you know just how complex and challenging the world really is? How can you come to me, point to one verse of scripture, and tell me that's what it's all about?" And they would be right. It is a very naive thing to say in terms of modern politics. But what could possibly be more important than the righteousness of God and the truth of the coming kingdom? And why shouldn't love, self-sacrifice, and a healthy dose of humility before God be requirements for elected office?

And then it hits me! What have I done today to foster love and self-sacrifice and humility? What have I done today to follow in the steps of Jesus Christ? So while I long for someone to follow Christ’s example as a public leader I know that I, too, have a role to play in my own life; we all do. So lead on, Lord, but don't get too far ahead. Your people are awfully slow to follow.

Prayer: Lord, may those who seek to lead do so with true humility and with justice and with love. In Jesus' name. Amen.

God's Concern Is Always About Justice

Nahum 1:1-14
Luke 11:37-52
The oracle of the prophet Nahum against Nineveh makes two distinct claims about God. One is that “the Lord is good, a stronghold in a day of trouble; he protects those who take refuge in him, even in a rushing flood” (Nahum 1:7-8a). But Nahum also asks, “Why do you plot against the Lord? He will make an end; no adversary will rise up twice” (v. 9). Can there really be such a divergence in God? Can God really be a source of such comfort and of yet of such judgment?

Luke’s account confirms that in Jesus Christ God is quite willing to make such a distinction. “Woe to you Pharisees!” Jesus says (Luke 11:42, 43, 44). And “Woe also to you lawyers!” he adds (vv. 46, 47, 52). Why does Jesus condemn these prominent members of his society? Because they do not “give for alms those things that are within” (v.41), “and (they) neglect justice and the love of God” (v.42), and “do not lift a finger to ease” the burden of the people (v.46) and have “taken away the key of knowledge…” and “hindered those who were entering” (v.52). God’s concern is always about justice. Divine judgment upholds it and God’s grace provides for it.

The temptation is to decide who in Luke’s account best represents us, and, frankly, few of us would ever willingly identify with the Pharisees or lawyers. But just as God offers judgment and grace, we as individuals and communities stand in need of both. As sinners we need God’s corrective judgment, and unworthy as we are, God remains faithful in the covenant relationship between God and God’s people. When we read scripture, when we pray and seek God’s guidance, when we participate in the life of the community of faith, we should expect and respond to God’s judgment and grace alike. It should inform our politics, our economic choices, our family relationships, our view of others, our understanding of patriotism, and every other facet of our lives. Indeed, as Americans enter the voting booth this coming Tuesday, it would behoove us to pause a moment to ponder where our nation stands in God’s judgment and how we can best reflect God’s grace in our policies.

God’s concern is always about justice. Our concern should always be about justice, too.

Prayer: O Lord, help us to receive and respond to your judgment while rejoicing in and reflecting your grace at all times. In Jesus’ name. Amen.