The parable known as “The Good Samaritan” is familiar to many. This week we will explore it from different angles, hoping to see something new. One of these is the set-up to the story, a conversation between Jesus and a lawyer who wants to test his knowledge and holiness. “Lawyer” here probably means more a scholar of the law, such as a Pharisee, than someone arguing in court, and the reference to testing Jesus suggests this was a person of some authority.
Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’
Clearly, this gentleman knows the Law very well, for he cites not only the commonly quoted portion of the Shema, “You shall love the Lord your God…” but also a lesser injunction buried in Leviticus 19, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” which Jesus himself had elevated to the same status as the first part. Jesus commends the correctness of his answer, though in his story he will challenge him (and us) on just how complicated it can be to fulfill these words. What puzzles me, though, is the man’s initial question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Everyone knows inheritance is not earned or merited, nor can it be secured on one’s own timetable. Inheritance is a function of relationship, not something we can work for. It is the free gift of one who has departed this earthly life, and wishes to leave her or his goods to others. Embedded in this question lies a primal tension that has dogged Christianity since before it was a religion – the tug of war between God’s unmerited, un-earnable grace and our efforts to earn it.
Judaism in Jesus’ time was dominated by leaders who were experts at trying to earn God’s favor through fidelity to the Law. In itself, the Law was holy, a blessing, a revelation of God. When wielded as an instrument of judgment rather than love, though, it becomes more oppressive than life-giving. This is a constant theme of Jesus’ teaching and way of life. He was ever calling people back from the rigors of religion into the refreshment of relationship with their heavenly Father, the God who drew so near to his people.
It seems to be human nature to veer back into religion, which is something we feel we can control. The Holy Spirit exerts a contrary pull on us, drawing us back to God in relationship. We help or hinder that movement by our intentions, as we recognize when we’re trying to earn our own inheritance and yield once again to the transforming power of God’s grace.
That grace is an inheritance which is ours by virtue of our adoption into the family of God. It is a trust fund of power and love and forgiveness and healing to which we already have access. And as we begin to draw on that Life, we often become better neighbors.
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