This year has been one of the most disruptive experiences for us. Many of the "givens" in life became fragile and unpredictable. We discovered how vulnerable we can be to an unseen virus. Injustice, long kept in power, is being confronted. What lessons in life, faith, and love can we learn from our 2020 experiences?
This week we explore the love issues of 2020. The love we are examining is love of neighbor. In the midst of a global pandemic, we were also confronted with images of protest in response to racial injustice. For some it is not unlike the civil unrest of the late 1960s.
Racism and white supremacy are sin.
No asterisk.
No "but."
Love your neighbor is the command.
No asterisk.
No "but."
Jesus encounters a "lawyer" who is seeking eternal life. It is actually a test. He knows the best answer: Love God. Love Neighbor. The gospel of Luke reveals his motives: he wants to justify himself.
So Jesus reveals the limits of justification: with a Samaritan. Forget "good" from the equation. Shock is the better descriptor. Someone universally seen in the first century as a non-person, becomes the one who shows mercy. The lawyer cannot even say "Samaritan," let alone "good."
No one needs justification to be a recipient of our love.
