The title of this sermon is a question, Who Is My Neighbor? However, that is not the only question that arises in the story featuring the Good Samaritan.
First, where were the police? Where was the protection for the traveler? Modern day police forces are, well, a modern-day invention … starting, I think, in London in the 1800s. Various piecemeal solutions were adopted in towns and cities throughout history. However, in Jesus’ time travel between towns and cities fell between the cracks. There was likely to be no one in charge of public safety on the roads and highways. Protection for travelers came from traveling in groups. The larger the group, the greater the safety in fending off individual bandits or gangs of bandits.
A second question … what did the lawyer mean when he asked Jesus about inheriting eternal life? I grew up, as have many of us, thinking of eternal life as sitting around on clouds, playing harps, and getting comfortable with our new wings. The prospect of such a life, going on forever, was enough to cause Mark Twain to say he preferred going to hell.
We tend to think of “eternal” as lasting forever, something with no beginning or end. Not having reached this eternity, I cannot speak with authority on the subject. However, suppose we think of eternity not only in a temporal or timeless sense but also as a quality of life with God. Participating in God’s love and grace could be a timeless moment, a moment that could well feel like the eternal. I believe that such moments may be accessible to us in the here and now through prayer, Bible study, worship, music, and through appreciation of the variegated beauties of God’s Creation. Read more…