Lectionary: Epiphany 4(C)
Texts: 1 Corinthians 13; (Luke 10:25-37)[1]
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| Jesus Mural of Faith, Hope, Love, and Peace: This mural places Jesus centerstage with arms outstretched, welcoming all people to him. Incorporated into the figure of Jesus is a mosaic quality that undoubtedly represents his multifaceted nature as well as the ability for all peoples to claim him as their own. Surrounding him is a diverse group holding hands in unity. One of the scripture passages listed for this image gives us the second greatest commandment: “to love one’s neighbor as oneself.” In loving one another, we stimulate peace, faith, and hope for the war-torn and unjust world in which we live. This painting reminds us that it is in our love for one another—a love that seeks equality and justice for all—that we show true, deep, and abiding love for God as well. |
Introduction
Like any good lawyer, the teacher of the Law who came to
question Jesus already knew the answer to his question. He didn’t like the
answer he knew to be correct and perhaps wanted to find out if Jesus might come
up with a loophole.
When we hear “teacher of the Law” we might assume a kind of
a lawyer or legal expert. And that is true, but only to a point. When the text reads,
“the Law”, we are to understand that this is the Torah, the entirety of the
codes and principles that guide the life of a Jewish person. This individual is
not merely versed in legal codes, but in theology, religious practices, social
and cultural traditions, and politics. We need to understand that neither the
lawyer or Jesus are limiting their questions and responses to the spiritual and
theological realm but includes the entirety of the world, life, and being.
In response to the lawyer’s question, “Who is my neighbor?”,
Jesus offers a parable – one that we often refer to as The Good Samaritan
parable.
But first, I would like to examine what love means,
since the heart of the lawyer’s question and Jesus’ response revolves around
loving God and loving one’s neighbor.
Paul’s Description of Love
1 Corinthians 13 is often read at weddings, to explain and
exhort the wedded couple to the idealized love that is found in Christ. While
not a wrong application, to limit what Paul wrote to the Corinthians to
individual couples and marital love is to miss the point of Paul’s words. The
description of love that Paul provides in this letter is the ultimate social
practice that is to be practiced and lived out by all who claim allegiance to
Jesus Christ. Love is the practice that holds Christ’s community together. It
is the foundation upon which all of Christianity rests.[2]
The first three verses of 1 Corinthians 13 tell us that no
activity, however virtuous and good they may be, is worthless if they are not
founded in love and motivated through love. A commentary explains,
These words on the primacy of love
can help the church in conflict understand that there are some things more
important than being right or powerful or honored. If those within the church
do not do what they do in a spirit of love, then all religious talk, knowledge,
piety, and sacrificial giving add up to nothing… Those who think they have
gained everything by standing on principle, dominating others, or by being
right, have lost it all.[3]
The final six verses (8-13) tell us that nothing of this
world will remain past the end of time, except for love. A commentary explains,
“All that will be left, all that will be necessary, will be the completeness (to
teleion, v. 10) of relation, human and divine, which is love.”[4]
The center of the chapter describes the characteristics of
God-like love that is to be developed and manifested in all who follow Christ.
4 Love is patient, love
is kind, it isn’t jealous, it doesn’t brag, it isn’t arrogant, 5 it
isn’t rude, it doesn’t seek its own advantage, it isn’t irritable, it doesn’t
keep a record of complaints, 6 it isn’t happy with injustice, but it
is happy with the truth. 7 Love puts up with all things, trusts in
all things, hopes for all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7
CEB)
Paul wrote to a church in Corinth that was experiencing
severe conflicts and differences among different factions within it. Each of
the attributes of love he notes is related to some conflict that is described
elsewhere in the letter and is offered as a response and solution to mitigating
conflicts.
For Paul, our capacity to flourish
as human beings is realized to the extent that we can live in the love of God
revealed in the cross of Jesus Christ. The concrete reality of this divine love
is present in our lives as described in verses 4 through 7 [above], where love
is the subject, actively expressing itself in patience and kindness, rejoicing
in the truth, and bearing, and believing, hoping, and enduring all things. This
love is not envious, boastful, arrogant, rude, irritable, or resentful, nor
does it insist on its own way.[5]
This is the measure that Christians are to use to judge
every thought, action, word, and decision, their own and those outside of them.
For Christians, all human laws, political ideologies, religious traditions,
social customs, and everything else is secondary to the standard of God’s love.
None of us are yet perfected, as Paul admits in this same
chapter, but we can judge on a continuum from clearly against God’s standard of
love to striving toward God’s ideal vision of love.
Parable of the Good Samaritan
We now return to the parable Jesus told, the parable of the
Good Samaritan.
When this parable is taught and preached, the focus is
frequently on the two that passed by the wounded and naked man or the Samaritan
who stopped to help. Today though, I would like to spend some time thinking
about the man who was beaten and left for dead and think about how he ended up
there.
Who or What is the “Thieves”?
The text reads, “A man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
He encountered thieves, who stripped him naked, beat him up, and left him near
death.” (Luke 10:30 CEB) Now this could describe someone who is literally
injured and those who are metaphorically hurt, suffering loss, in need,
helpless, and so on. But how did that happen? It was the work of “thieves”. So
who or what might be the “thieves” indicated in this text?
I think I am safe to assume that we understand that
“thieves” does not mean literal thieves and literal stealing. I think we
understand that the word is a metaphor for something else. In John’s gospel,
Jesus speaks of himself as “the gate”:
7 So Jesus spoke again,
“I assure you that I am the gate of the sheep. 8 All who came before
me were thieves and outlaws, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. 9
I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and
go out and find pasture. 10 The thief enters only to steal, kill,
and destroy. I came so that they could have life—indeed, so that they could
live life to the fullest. (John 10:7-10 CEB)
Taking this text into account together with who Jesus was
addressing, “thieves” can mean civil, political, and religious authorities and
powers. It can be rules, laws, policies, traditions, beliefs, etc. that
ultimately accrue benefits to the authorities and powers who are imposing laws
and policies, collateral damage to anyone else be damned in their minds.
Identifying the Thieves
We are living in a time when ruling powers and authorities, corporations
and those who run them, and even leaders of churches and religious groups are
acting like the “thieves” alluded to by Jesus. Through policies, laws, economic
actions, and even through religious appeals, they hurt and harm, they take
lives and livelihoods, and using lies and fear they seek to confuse and
control.
For most of our lifetimes, the moral and ethical divide
between the broader society, government, and religion vs. the way of God’s love
has not been quite so wide. But today, the differences are stark. We cannot
have it both ways anymore. We must make a choice: the world’s way or God’s way.
Do we choose to maintain self-interest, go along with what the powers and
authorities of the world demand, do we acquiesce to them? Or do we stand up for
the way of God’s self-sacrificing love?
Do we define “neighbor” narrowly as the law expert wanted to
do? Do we limit “neighbor” to those with a specific nationality, ethnicity, immigration
status, gender, socioeconomic status, political affiliation, religion, and beliefs?
Or do we accept and believe what Jesus taught and
courageously accept everyone as our “neighbor”? Do we accept and treat those
unlike us as neighbors? How about those that hold opposite views and ideologies
from us? Or how about those that the laws and policies of the land declare as “not
belonging”? And how about those whose words and actions don’t show any signs of
love and mercy? How about those that we think don’t deserve love or mercy?
Power and Primacy of Love
Love got Jesus crucified. Are we courageous enough to let the
persuasive and sacrificing power of love do its work? It may take time beyond
our own lifetimes. Yet simultaneously, are we willing to love one’s neighbor by
doing work now to protect those that are targets of scapegoating, prejudice and
hate, unjust policies and laws, intolerance, bigotry, discrimination, and
resentment? Are we willing to set aside our own interests and our own security
to do work to stop and change actions, official or otherwise, that cause harm,
injury, and loss to someone, whether that harm and loss is physical, relational,
or emotional?
In a post on the site Whosoever, Candace Chellew
writes, “We either believe that love is stronger than hate, or we don’t. We
can’t waffle on this issue…”, and “we must double down on our inner work of
rooting out hatred and fear from our own hearts and minds.”[6]
“Who is my neighbor?” is perhaps a misdirected question.
Returning to one of the commentaries from earlier, the
author writes,
The lawyer had wanted to know, “Who
is my neighbor?” The question seeks definition. Where are the limits of one’s
legal responsibility to love another as oneself? Is “neighbor” a geographical
term? Is it an ethnic or tribal term? To answer the question of limits is also
necessarily to comment on who exists beyond the definition. Maybe that is why
Jesus does not answer the question asked by the lawyer. In the parable Jesus
tells, he defines “neighbor” not as someone worthy to receive love but
as someone able to offer it. Jesus leads the lawyer to the conclusion
that neighbors are those who act in love toward others.[7]
Jesus told the lawyer and by extension, us, “Go and do
likewise.” (Luke 10:37b CEB)
Offering your love, mercy, and compassion to your neighbor
was an act of dissent then as it is now. It is a sign that Christians do not acquiesce
to unjust leaders, laws, and demands.
In the name of God who Creates,
In the name of God who Loves,
And in the name of God who comforts the discomforted and discomforts
the comfortable, Amen.
Works Cited
Bartlett, D. L., & Taylor, B. B. (2009). Feasting
on the Word: Year C, Volume 1 (Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary).
Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.
Chellew, C. (2025, January 25). Be the Change...
Within. Retrieved from Whosoever.:
https://whosoever.org/be-the-change-within/
Dunn, J. D., & Rogerson, J. W. (2003). Eerdmans
Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co.
Jarvis, C. A., & Johnson, E. E. (2014). Feasting
on the Gospels: Luke, Volume 1, Chapter 1-11. Louisville, KY: Westminster
John Knox Press.
Smith, E. (2025, January 29). What would a federal
freeze mean? Retrieved from Friendly Neighbor Epidemiologist:
https://emilysmith.substack.com/p/what-would-a-federal-freeze-mean
[1]
I modified the readings and sermon topic after reading “A Note to Clergy” at
the end of
[2]
Let us recall 1 John where God is described as love itself.
[3]
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