Eternal living
Eternal Living
Comfort zones. That space we keep around us to keep us, well, comfortable. That buffer area that keeps people, things, ideas, commitments, values, at a safe and comfortable distance. This is the difference between what we know and feel committed to, and what gets close enough to actually change and shape us. It is that zone that sometimes "protects" us from what we know actually changing who we are.
This gets even more complicated when the people who don't share our outlook on life in all of the ways we think they should actually wind up embodying a loving and compassionate lifestyle more than we (those who consider their understanding of scripture and outlook on life as superior to that of others) do. Have you ever noticed how much energy and effort goes into resisting the reality of this? Jesus, however, was having none of it, and He still does not. No matter how much we try to qualify things or explain it away, Jesus is clear. Theological articulation, no matter how "correct" it might be, is trumped by the way we act toward each other, regardless of how theologically accurate or articulate we may be. Does that offend us? It offended people then too. Still, Jesus was clear. Our challenge is still the same - whether or not we are willing to listen, and live in response to what Jesus makes clear. Maybe it is time we get over it? And not just get over it, but get into it! How ironic that over concern for the law can result in breaking it in the most profound ways.
Jesus's conversation was with an "expert in the law." Jesus told a story about an unlikely man who embodied expertise in living the law. In a world that thrives on marking out lines to measure off who is "in" and who is "out, " who is "neighbor" and who is "enemy, "Who is my neighbor?" is still the central question. Is anyone listening?
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Luke 10
NIV
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[c]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[d]”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him.35 The next day he took out two denarii[e] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”