Loving God and Neighbor

Some years ago the church I served bought Stations of the Cross for the new sanctuary. They are nice; brass renditions of each of the 14 stations each on a piece of wood about one-foot square. We planned to have seven on each side of the sanctuary. I happened to be in the sanctuary when our contractor’s supervisor mounted them. I was amazed.

If it were me, and thankfully it wasn’t, I would have mounted the first one, getting it the right height and so on. I would have then moved to the second one and done the same. I would have been very careful and it would have taken me a long time, maybe a day or two. In all honesty I would probably have had to re-hang a few along the way.

The contractor did it a little differently. He determined the right height, marked a  spot for the first one and the last one and put in an anchor and screw. Then he pulled a chalk line between the two, popped it, and marked the intervals for the other five spots. Out came his cordless power drill, zip, zip, zip and one side was done. Then the other side was done. The whole job took him maybe 30 minutes.

That’s how I see this summary of the Law. The first anchor is to love God, which means to put His perfection and goodness that is so good and right and true that we cannot expect to ever truly grasp it, but we know it’s the right direction. Its source is clearly rooted in the First Commandment and the Shema from Deuteronomy chapter 6, specifically verse 5.

The second part is a little more obscure in the text but also absolutely clear to anyone who studies the letter and the spirit of the Law. Love your neighbor as yourself is from Leviticus 19:18. Now I know there is no word you’d rather hear on a warm and beautiful summer morning than Leviticus, but there it is. And it’s not even a whole verse, but it summarizes how we are to deal with each other.

On one level it is very helpful to have those two anchor points and pop a chalk line between them as you are trying to sort through whatever issues or challenges we face. That is infinitely better than taking each issue or moment and trying to gauge how to hang it, like I would have done hanging those items.

I see it all the time, people debating a point or issue and grasping all around for reference points. Love God, love your neighbor works. It just works. It’s just true. We certainly struggle with it, we debate and argue, but that’s the line, that’s where the struggles must be eventually resolved.

And there’s more to it. Note the lawyer’s question is about eternal life. After his response, Jesus says he is right and, “Do this and you will live.”

We tend to think about eternal life as synonymous with the afterlife. But it’s more than that. We are consigned to work through time along a timeline. We know our mortal bodies have a beginning and an end, but us and all of the history of this earth and the universe flow along that timeline as far as we know.

Jesus is preaching and teaching and has just sent out his 12 disciples to preach about the Kingdom of God which has come near but is not of this earthly timeline. Eternity is above and beyond it. So our chalk line is more of a baseline and our calling is to live as citizens of the Kingdom, above the line.

That’s challenging. We say things like “Love God” and we have to sort out what love truly is and our best effort to approach God. The lawyer has already answered his own question, so to avoid looking like a jerk he follows up with “Who is my neighbor?”

Jesus’ response is brilliant. The parable of the Good Samaritan is probably the most familiar parable, that it is so familiar, so foundational to our faith that we feel like we know the deal. It has become an archetype in our language and culture beyond the church.  It’s a catch phrase – everyone gets it – it means someone who does something unconditionally kind for a stranger.

And so there is an automatic reminder that springs to mind when we hear the Good Samaritan parable:  show compassion, particularly to the helpless, no matter what.  Good words to live by. And you already know that so no point preaching on it. (If you didn’t know it, I just said it.)

The beauty of the parable is that and will argue a declarative statement like, “Whoever God puts in front of you.” With a parable, your story interacts with the parable. Who do you think of as a priest, a religious leader who is supposed to serve as a mediator between God and his people? Who do you think of as Levites, the people who serve in and around the Temple in support roles?

Who would be your Samaritan – a person from a distinct culture at odds with yours on issues of faith, worship and standing before God? The Jews claimed the Samaritans were transplanted Babylonians, usurpers of land and traditions they did not deserve for over 800 years.  The Samaritans claim they were the true descendants of Moses - those not exiled at all, and it was the Jews who moved worship from Mt. Gerazim to Mt. Shiloh then erected a temple in Jerusalem. Yet the despised Samaritan does the right thing. Who do you despise, or have you despised in the past? What if one of “them” were the hero of your story?

The guy beaten and robbed could be anyone. Have you ever been or can you put yourself in his place?

But you see this story is not merely about being better people for this life. It is about taking up citizenship and residence in the Kingdom of God. Hear again what Paul wrote to the Colossians, “He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”  (Col. 1:13-14) He has rescued us. Has transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son. Not “he will” but “he has.”

None of this is new. Leviticus and Deuteronomy are at least 3,500 years old and God knows how long and hard he has tried to get us to live right with Him. The Word is very near to you, it is in your mouth and your heart to observe.

If you’re anything like me it’s hard. I get tired and frustrated, more with myself than any of the mess out there. I worry – Lord we have plenty to worry about! I get angry and defensive. I get afraid. Live above the line, in the Kingdom by his grace.

AMEN