So there’s this lawyer. A Torah expert. A person who knows the law inside and out… Knows what’s written. But isn’t quite sure how to live it.
“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” It’s the question beneath all the questions. How do I really live? What does it mean to be alive in the way God intended?
And Jesus, in classic Jesus form, Doesn’t answer. He tosses the question right back.
“What’s written in the Law? How do you read it?”
The man answers: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind… And love your neighbor as yourself.”
Jesus says, “Yes. Do this and you will live.”
But the man wants clarity. Actually, he wants control. Because clarity is cleaner than compassion. And control feels safer than proximity.
So he asks: “And who is my neighbor?”
That’s when Jesus tells a story.
A man… Going from Jerusalem to Jericho. Robbed. Beaten. Left half dead.
A priest passes by. Sees him. Moves to the other side.
A Levite. Sees him. Moves to the other side.
You know how this works. You’ve felt it. When compassion costs too much. When helping might stain your robes. Or ruin your schedule. Or wreck your reputation.
And then… A Samaritan.
Wait – what?
That’s not how the story’s supposed to go. Jews and Samaritans… They don’t mix. They’re oil and water. Romeo and Juliet. Montagues and Capulets.
But this Samaritan… Sees. And stops.
He kneels down in the dust. Touches wounds that aren’t his. Pours out oil. Binds up flesh. Puts the broken man on his own animal. Takes him to an inn. Pays the bill. Leaves a tab open.
The Samaritan doesn’t ask, “Is this man part of my tribe?” He doesn’t check for credentials or alignment. He just loves. Fully. Freely. Recklessly.
Jesus finishes the story. Looks the lawyer in the eye and says, “So… who was a neighbor?”
And the lawyer … who can’t even say “Samaritan” Just mumbles, “The one who had mercy.”
And Jesus says, “Go and do likewise.”
See, we think the parable is about someone else. The guy on the road. The priest. The Samaritan.
But maybe… It’s about us. All of us. Because we are the ones who walk by. And sometimes we’re the ones bleeding. And sometimes…when grace grips us… We’re the ones who stop.
The road to Jericho runs through our hearts. Winding. Dangerous. Messy.
And this Jesus… He keeps telling stories That wreck our categories. That flip the script. That won’t let us settle for religion that avoids the wounded.
He keeps asking, Not who is your neighbor… But what kind of neighbor are you becoming?
So maybe today, It’s not about what we know. It’s about what we do. And not just who we love, But how far we’re willing to cross over To love the ones we’d rather avoid.
Because that’s where eternal life lives. In the dust. On the road. In the reach.
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”
Jesus says, the kingdom of heaven is like a man who finds a treasure in a field… and sells everything to have it.
Or a merchant who sees a pearl and walks away from everything else because nothing compares.
And for years, we’ve been told: You’re the one who must give it all up. You’re the one who has to surrender. You’re the one who has to find the kingdom. Seek harder. Dig deeper. Sell more.
But… what if that’s not the only way to read this?
What if, you’re the treasure in the field?
What if, you’re the pearl of great price?
And God, God is the one who goes looking.
God, wandering the wild fields of humanity. God, searching the dusty markets of the world.
God, not stumbling, not rushing, but with eyes full of knowing and a heart full of longing… sees you.
Hidden. Overlooked. Covered in dirt. Pressed down by shame and stories that were never true.
And God says: That one.
And sells everything.
Divinity wrapped in skin. Infinite squeezed into an infant. A cross. A grave. A resurrection.
Why?
Because you are worth it.
Not someday. Not when you clean yourself up. Not once you prove yourself. Now. As you are.
That’s the twist.
The kingdom isn’t just something you find. It’s something that finds you. Because you’re the joy. You’re the prize. You’re the one worth everything to the One who made everything.
So maybe the invitation isn’t just to sell it all. Maybe it’s to believe you’re worth the cost that’s already been paid.
Good Friday reminds me that darkness must proceed resurrection.
Good Friday reminds me that pain and suffering, the blood sweat and tears of life, are part of the journey, not something to avoid, minimize or deny.
Good Friday reminds me that when life reaches the apex of darkness, the light of dawn is thinly close.
In the Garden of Eden humanity experienced the divine disconnect. There Adam chose self over God’s sovereignty, sin over God’s sufficiency.
It would be another garden where the second Adam, Jesus, would choose differently in order to redeem and heal the brokeness created by the first Adam. In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus chose the sovereignty and sufficiency of His Father’s plan over his own safety and sustenance.
“As Adam lost the heritage of union with God in a garden, so now Our Blessed Lord ushered in its restoration in a garden. Eden and Gethsemane were the two gardens around which revolved the fate of humanity. In Eden, Adam sinned; in Gethsemane, Christ took humanity’s sin upon Himself. In Eden, Adam hid himself from God; in Gethsemane, Christ interceded with His Father; in Eden, God sought out Adam in his sin of rebellion; in Gethsemane, the New Adam sought out the Father and His submission and resignation. In Eden, a sword was drawn to prevent entrance into the garden and thus immortalizing of evil; in Gethsemane, the sword would be sheathed.”
In Gethsemane we are faced with the brokeness of our humanity.
The truth is we are more about our own safety than sacrificing it for the flourishing of others.
The truth is we don’t forgive our enemies, we conceive of ways to destroy them.
The truth is we don’t really care about the plight of our neighbor unless it somehow affects us.
The truth is we seldom forgive an offender unless they grovel for it.
The truth is we have rushed, embracing resurrection without dealing with the darkness of Gethsemane and Calvary.
You can’t live out resurrection without first crying in Gethsemane.
There is an old Lutheran Hymn that inches it’s way up into my heart each year during Holy Week, and in particular on Good Friday. It is called Go To Dark Gethsemane. As a resource to help you fully embrace the darkness in order to truly live a life of resurrection, take some time to meditate on this hymn.
Go to Dark Gethsemane
By: James Montgomery
Go to dark Gethsemane,
All who fell the tempter’s power
Your Redeemer’s conflict see.
Watch with him one bitter hour;
Turn not from his griefs away;
Learn from Jesus Christ to pray.
Follow to the judgment hall,
View the Lord of life arraigned;
Oh, the wormwood and the gall!
Oh, the pangs his soul sustained!
Shun not suffering, shame, or loss;
Learn from him to bear the cross.
Calvary’s mournful mountain climb;
There, adoring at his feet,
Mark that miracle of time,
God’s own sacrifice complete.
“It is finished!” hear him cry;
Learn from Jesus Christ to die.
Early hasten to the tomb
Where they laid his breathless clay
All is solitude and gloom.
Who has taken him away?
Christ is risen! He meets our eyes.
Savior, teach us so to rise.
The last line is the call to live resurrectionally…
“You have heard it said, ‘Whatever you do unto the least of these, you do unto me.’ ~Jesus
I’m a white guy who has been working through my lack of understanding of systemic racism over the last twenty years or so. While I have engaged and taught on injustice, reconciliation, and all “ism” themes through the years, my depth of understanding was insufficient compared to the realities of life for so many people of color. I have needed to stay engaged by doing the hard work of continual learning. I wrote previously about being complicit, complacent, convicted, and confused in an earlier post. I won’t rehash those thoughts here, what I’d like to do is offer some materials for you to begin doing your hard work of seeing the need for race equity. My journey has lead to repentance, listening, and doing more work. While the list isn’t exhaustive, it is a good starting point.
Glenn Harris, the President of ‘The Center For Social Inclusion’ notes that racism affects us all when he states:
“Racial equity is about applying justice and a little bit of common sense to a system that’s been out of balance. When a system is out of balance, people of color feel the impacts most acutely, but, to be clear, an imbalanced system makes all of us pay.”
I was one of many in the energy-filled room for an organic neighborhood church conference in Seattle several years ago. One of the speakers was Dr. Christina Cleveland, and she was speaking on her book “Disunity In Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces That Keep Us Apart.” Christina was a powerful and compelling speaker. As I began entering into her words, stories, and images, I hadn’t consciously connected how racial reconciliation and church planting might be linked. I left that day with a renewed conviction. I bought her book, and my journey of awakening went to the next, more rooted level.
Previously, I would have been one of those who said, “I see all colors the same because Jesus has called me to love everyone regardless of skin color.” Or, to put it another way, “I’m color-blind, I treat everyone the same.” While there is some truth to that, the whole “colorblindness” is part of the problem as well. My journey has caused me to see and celebrate skin color because our skin color creates a lived experience and tells the story of generations.
In actuality, being “colorblind” continues systemic injustice towards people of color. When I acknowledge color, I recognize a real human story, a tangible experience, a reality that our neighbors of diverse ethnicities encounter every day, and their stories are heartbreaking.
But, once you see, you can’t ever unsee.
As I began to grasp the more significant, accurate picture, I knew I had two choices. I could decide to live for justice and inclusion, or I could play it safe and try to keep everyone happy. I chose the former because the truth of the latter will leave us blind and numb to the plight of our brothers and sisters of color, and that is not the Gospel Jesus proclaimed. A Gospel devoid of social justice implications is a truncated Gospel at best, a half-Gospel that continues the generational curse rather than inaugurating generational blessings. I long to be prophetic, not political.
If you are a white person, and especially if you are a white pastor, it is time to do your homework. It’s your responsibility to educate yourself on these issues. Please don’t expect those who have experienced the boot of systemic injustice to try to teach you, that is not their job.
Let me list some things you can do to begin this journey, as well as some great resources to consider. There are many more books than the ones that I have read (I am still in the process), so if you have some that have impacted your life, please post them in the comments.
Things You Can Do:
1. Read books that make you squirm.
2. Watch documentaries and films that make you uncomfortable.
3. Shut down racist tirades by your friends, family & co-workers.
4. Share what you’re learning with the people you know.
5. Listen to the voices of People of Color without diminishing their story.
6. Let the lament of people of color become your lament.
7. Do life with POC, not as projects but as friends.
8. Start a discussion group using any of the resources I will list.
9. Speak out, show up, and say no to the status quo.
10. Never stop learning.
11. Repent and confess the bigotry and racism that you begin to see in your life.
Learning to “see what you don’t see” is an uncomfortable process. You will lose many of the illusions with which you have lived. Your pre-suppositions and pre-understandings will shake to the core. But lean into the disruption anyway, it will benefit us all.
As we begin to see every person as Jesus in disguise, as divine image-bearers, we will fulfill Jesus’ commands of the high ethic of love and Micah’s prophetic vision revealing how God desires we live:
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Micah 6:8 (NIV)
Some of the Books, Documentaries & Films I have learned from:
Powerful: Ava DuVernay’s documentary explains the prison industrial complex from the 1800’s to the present.
Classic: To Kill A Mockingbird. Harper Lee’s book turned into an Academy Award winning movie.
Eye-opening: This is Angie Thomas’ 2017 young-adult novel about a young black girl growing up turned into a movie.
Wow: This Netflix series follows five teens from Harlem become trapped in a nightmare when they’re falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park. Based on the true story.
Another good Netflix series that follows a group of black students at a predominately white university.
This movie won Best Original Screenplay. I think my jaw hit theground a number of times. This is white-supremecy turned into a horror flick.
The Spike Lee film based on a Biography ofMalcolm X. Covering key events in his life including incarceration, conversion to Islam and starting the Nation of Islam movement.
The Spike Lee film that shows escalating tensions that ends with civil unrest. Patterns we are still seeing today when our focus is on the destruction of property over the loss of human life. The film ends with contrasting quotes on the use of violence as self-defense vs. the use of non-violence with Malcom [X] and Martin [Luther King, Jr.]
This is Ava DuVernay’s historical drama about the 1965 Selma to Montgomery Marches, starring David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King, Jr.
USA Today noted that: “There’s a moment in the film when one of the racist Southerners slaps him and he quickly slaps him back. I call it the ‘slap heard ’round the world,’ ” Boyd says. “So instead of standing there, taking the slap and turning the other cheek, he fights back. “That scene is really satisfying because it ties to the politics of the late ’60s after the assassination of Martin Luther King – a lot of people are no longer willing to be so peaceful.”
TIME’s critic Stephanie Zacharek wrote that “Peck’s aim seems to be to reintroduce Baldwin and his way of thinking to the world. Not that Baldwin is forgotten, but sometimes we need a bold red arrow to help us redirect our thinking, especially in a media world as cluttered and noisy as ours.”
imdb notes: “The extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman‘s escape from slavery and transformation into one of America’s greatest heroes, whose courage, ingenuity, and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history.”
These titles are an excellent starting point. I would appreciate hearing what resources have helped you grow in your understanding. Please leave your suggestions in the comments below.
I’ll leave you with a quote from Archbishop Desmond Tutu:
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”
