“Asking for the impossible”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Thursday, October 24, 2024
Luke 10: 25-37 (Forward, p. 87) CEV p. 1073
My present translation, the Contemporary English Version, soft-pedals what this expert in the Law of Moses was all about, in saying he ‘stood up and asked Jesus a question to see what he would say.’ Other translations spell out his intentions more pointedly, “he stood up to test him” (NRDV) and he “came up and tried to trap Jesus” (GNB). He was anything but a sincere questioner. Even so, Jesus still engages him in a dialogue.
This gentleman asks a question of Jesus, “Teacher, what must I do to have eternal life?” It’s the wrong question, and erroneous one, but well within the normal thinking of the times. Most people, including the future apostle Paul, thought that they had to ‘earn’ their salvation. Perhaps that is why he was so ‘driven’ to perfection! Anyway, Jesus just lets that pass, at least for now.
Instead, Jesus answers the legal expert’s question with His own question. “What is written in the Scriptures? How do you understand them?” (In other words, ‘How do you interpret them?’)
Here the man answers with something that, ironically, has become enshrined in the public liturgy, something that has been labelled the Shema but is actually more than just that:
“The Scriptures say, Love the Lord your God will all your heart, soul, strength, and mind’. They also say, ‘Love your neighbours as much as you love yourself.’
Interestingly, here he combines two passages from the Torah, the Law of Moses, Deuteronomy 6:5 (the Shema, repeated every day by observant Jews), plus Leviticus 19:18. It brings together our responsibilities to both our neighbour and to God, and in a very challenging way.
Jesus then affirms the legal expert in his answer and says, “You have given the right answer. If you do this, you will have eternal life.” But the man is not content to leave it like that. Now is where it gets ‘interesting’, particularly in terms of what the Bible says about his motive in so doing:
-the CEV says that he ‘wanted to show that he knew what he was talking about.’ In other words, he wanted to show off.
-many other translations, the GNB and NRSV for instance, say that he wanted to ‘justify himself’, that is, show that he was already on the right track.
-but neither of these make that much sense in terms of what he said next, “And who is my neighbour?” (‘And just how do you define ‘neighbour’). Here Eugene Patterson’s suggestion that he was ‘looking for a loophole’ makes abundant sense. Is that not exactly what we have all too often come to expect of certain people and professions, whether they be legal experts or insurance adjusters or people tasked with honouring a warranty?
Generally observant Jews only thought of their neighbours as being their fellow Jews, people from same faith community. That is probably this man’s hope. But clearly the parable goes beyond that. Clearly, it stretches his responsibilities. Firstly, the man identified as his ‘neighbour’ is a Samaritan, the very last sort of person that he’d ever want to love. And secondly, he is to do more than simply love this sort of person that he normally despised and avoided, he was to imitate him, to ‘go and do likewise.’ In other words, he was to expend himself in risky and demanding service to others.
Many commentators have looked at this passage with a sense of ‘askance’ or disapproval, suggesting that it was promoting a life of good works in place of faith. But clearly Jesus was asking something of the man that was far beyond his ability, and certainly far beyond his inclination or training or preference. To love God with all his being, and to love others sacrificially was asking for something he could not do on his own, something that was manifestly impossible for him. He would need God’s grace and help if he could ever hope to do as Jesus said.
Forward. Notes: “He asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’” (verse 29a)
“We seem to be always looking for a reason not to love because loving our neighbour is such a difficult commandment. I once preached a sermon about how we are called to love our neighbours and pray for our enemies— genuinely wishing the best for our ‘enemies.’ After the service, a parishioner came up to me and said, ‘I pray for my neighbour all the time, but thanks to you, I think I need to change how I pray for him.’ Curious, I asked, ‘How did you pray for him before, and how are you going to pray for him now?’
“’Well, I used to pray every day that he’d go to hell, but now I’ll really try to pray that he has a healthy and full life.’
“Jesus’s method of ‘destroying’ our enemies is to love them in such a way that they no longer are enemies but become our neighbours. Maybe even friends.”
Moving Forward: “Do you need to change any of your prayers for your neighbours—or enemies?”