The "Good" Enemy?

Scripture Text: Luke 10:25-37

The parable that we read today is commonly referred to as the “Good Samaritan” سامری نیکو but what we often lose in this designation is the shock that this parable would present to Jesus’ audience. Because Jews and Samaritans were more than simply different tribes, they were enemies. Like many of the other parables we have heard, Jesus tells this one in response to something. In this case a scholar has asked him a question.

The text says that a scholar of the law comes to Jesus “to test him.” We don’t know why he wants to test Jesus, but he asks what he must do to receive “eternal life.” In the question the scholar is thinking of “eternal life” as a commodity to be earned or bought, and he assumes he just needs to do the right thing to earn it.

How often do we approach faith the same way? We try to figure out what exactly we need to do to please God. Maybe we think faith is simply about securing a place in paradise after we die? Or securing a place in this country to avoid deportation? But Jesus doesn’t offer a simple answer, instead he asks a question in return.

In response to Jesus’ question, “what does the Law say?” the scholar summarizes the law with the common interpretation that we also hear Jesus use, “Love God with your whole being, and love your neighbor as yourself.” And notice Jesus’ response, “do this and you will live.” There are two things in this short response. First, Jesus redirects the man from thinking about life after death to the present life. Our search should not be about something in the future, but about life now. Second, in Jesus’ response he directs the scholar away from trying to find the one right thing to do to follow God, to understanding faith as ongoing actions that extend God’s love to our neighbor.

But the scholar doesn’t seem totally satisfied so he asks one more question. The question is, “but who is my neighbor?” He knows he is suppose to love his neighbor, so his question really means, “Jesus, who do I not have to love?” I don’t know about you, but I find this very convicting. Sure I can love my family and those like me. And over time and through our ongoing relationships I have developed love for you all. But others? Really God, do I have to love the homeless person who smells and is asking for money? In response to this, Jesus tells a story.

The story is about a person in need. Jesus says it in a way that we could think of ourselves as this person in need. You have been attacked, robbed, and left for dead. It is a matter of life and death. You are lying on the road and if no one helps you, you will die. Fortunately, there are other travelers on the road. First, comes a priest, and then another religious man, a Levite. These were people respected in society. We might think, first comes an engineer and then comes a doctor. But neither of them stop to help you. Despite seeing you lying there and knowing it is their obligation to help, they pass by. But hope is not lost, because then comes a third traveler and this one will surely help. 

For Jesus’ Jewish audience, when they heard a priest and a Levite in a story, they would assume the next character would be an Israelite. These were a common set of three, the priest, Levites, and then all people of Israel. But Jesus shocks the audience by saying it is a Samaritan who comes. Now there weren’t just small disagreements between these groups. They both claimed Abraham as their father and they had all been united under King David. But there were religious disagreements, and these had led to battles and violence against one another. To hear a Samaritan is coming down the road, means certain death. In each of our contexts the enemy may be characterized as someone different. A Sunni-Arab. A member of IS. A member of the North Korean military.

But the enemy stops, sees you in need, and in his gut feels compassion. Instead of killing you, or simply leaving you for dead, the enemy goes to you and offers aid. The enemy offers life and is the one who extends the love of God. The thought is so appalling that after the story when Jesus asks the scholar who was a neighbor, the scholar can’t even say “Samaritan,” only, “the one who showed mercy.”

The thought of an enemy extending hospitality is startling. Jesus’ story and question make us think, “Is our enemy capable of compassion? Are they human like me?” This is an extension of Jesus’ difficult commandment to “love our enemies.” When we remove the labels we use to dehumanize the other, we are forced to see that they are like us. And that yes, even they can show the love of God. But would we be willing to accept it? And would we be willing to reciprocate it?

Jesus’ challenge to the scholar, and to us, is to rethink what faith means. Faith is not insurance to paradise. Faith is a way of living now. When we allow God to transform us through the Holy Spirit. When we allow the Scriptures and stories to reframe our way of thinking. Then we are able to actually live out God’s love to one another, perhaps even towards our enemies. It is a process that takes time. It requires being formed through worship and prayer. Gathering and studying together. Praying together. And being receptive to God’s Spirit moving and transforming our lives. Alone this is not possible, but through God all things are possible. خدا را شکر Amen. 

*material from Amy-Jill Levine, Short Stories by Jesus. Harper One, 2014.