This coming Sunday we get one of the most famous of all of Jesus’ parables, the one he tells in response to the lawyer who asks, “Who is my neighbor?” We’ll examine it in greater depth and in more personal terms in coming days. Today, on the day we celebrate America’s independence as a nation – and enjoy a day of rest and cook-outs – I will keep it short and more global. In invite you to read the passage over, and reflect on our past, present and future as a nation “under God, with liberty and justice for all.” In particular, let’s jump to the end of Jesus’ story, when he asks the lawyer,
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.’
We live in a world in which whole countries are falling into the hands of robbers. We share a history in which too often we have been the robbers. We also share a legacy of mercy and providing help to those who are injured.
How might we as a nation, and as individuals, more fully live into the character of this outsider who put himself at risk to reclaim, restore and renew the one fallen by the wayside? After all, that is what God has done for us. Might we “go and do likewise?”
At the heart of it lies the truth that until we are all free and equal in opportunity, security, and peace, none of us is free. Freedom is God's desire for us - and for all creation. Happy Independence Day.
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