The parable known as “The Good Samaritan” is familiar to many of us. Exploring it from different angles this week gives us a chance to hone in on details we don’t always notice. One of these is the context in which Jesus tells this story: a conversation he has with a lawyer who wants to test his knowledge and holiness. “Lawyer” probably means more a scholar of the law, such as a Pharisee, than someone practicing in the courts, 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 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 as a core commandment. 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 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. It is the free gift of one who has departed this human life, and wishes to leave her or his goods to others. Inheritance is a function of relationship, not something we work for. Embedded in this question lies the primary tension that has dogged Christianity since before it was a religion – the tug of war between God’s unmerited 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. The Law in itself was holy, a blessing, a revelation of God. The ways it became an instrument of judgment rather than love had caused it to become more oppressive than life-giving. This is a constant theme of Jesus’ teaching and way of life. He was ever calling people from the rigors of religion into the refreshment of relationship with their heavenly Father, the God who draws 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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