Re-reading the Good Samaritan

The parable of the “Good Samaritan” is a story that is found only in Luke. It is set within a conversation between Jesus and a scholar in Jewish law. That is why the ESV calls that character a “lawyer.” The lawyer’s question “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25 ESV). In Judaism attaining “eternal life” is the utmost goal of spiritual life. This question need not be taken as one of the deep spiritual quests because Luke tells us that he was simply trying to “test” Jesus.
However, Jesus did not answer the question directly but shot a question at him so that he had to answer it. The answer is simple, in order to inherit eternal life one has to practice the supreme command to love God and love ones’ neighbour. By the time of Jesus, the Rabbis had agreed that the summary of the Law is the conflation of two commands, one found in Deuteronomy 6:5 and the other one found in Leviticus 19:18. The first one has to do with loving God. The second one has to love one’s neighbour.
That is what the Lawyer recited to Jesus.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself. (Luke 10:27, ESV)
Jesus had affirmed this already in his conversation with another Jewish scholar according to the Gospel of Mark (Mark 12:30). It may look as if the scholar and Jesus have reached a point of agreement but the scholar still insisted knowing who is the neighbour. He was demanding a clear definition of the word “neighbour.” So, he asked Jesus to define who the neighbour is (10:29). There were different interpretations of who the “neighbour” in this command is. However, ancient and modern Rabbis are almost unanimous that the “neighbour” in this command is a fellow Jew.
Jesus told the lawyer the story that we now know as the parable of the Good Samaritan. The story is centred around a man whose identity is not known. All that we are told is that this man took the dangerous road running through the steep wilderness from Jerusalem to Jericho. He was attacked, robbed and wounded and left half-dead by the roadside. A priest and a Levite who came by ignored him. However, a Samaritan whom the Jews consider as an outcast and heretic stopped, gave him the first aid, took him to an inn. He paid an advance to keep this man in the inn and promised to pay the expense in full on his return.
Then Jesus asked the lawyer a question? “Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbour to the man who fell among the robbers?” (Luke 10:36, ESV)
It is important to notice that Jesus did not answer the lawyer’s question, “who is my neighbour?” By asking him this question after telling the story, Jesus was suggesting that he has to answer a different question. That question is not “who is my neighbour” but “am I a neighbour?” It was a subversive question which demanded a new radical approach to the issue at hand.
Through this parable, Jesus was rewriting the Jewish law and its interpretation in one stroke. Jewish scholars interpreted the “neighbour” differently. But there was a consensus in their approach that the definition of the “neighbour” is crucial to its interpretation. However, Jesus questioned the methodology. It is not the definition of the neighbour that matters but being a neighbour when the situation demands!
Jesus thus demands us to re-imagine ourselves in a world full of need, pain, and injustice. That is the world of the man injured in the attack of robbers. If we limit ourselves to loving our neighbours, we will not be able to reach out to him. In other words, we will not ever enter into the world of those who are oppressed, exploited or otherwise disadvantaged. But being a neighbour opens unending opportunities and challenges in a world of pain for us to serve God’s people. That is what Jesus meant by the story of the Good Samaritan.

My bifocals

I wear bifocals. They are inconvenient in many ways. Being not very patient, I used to run up and down the stairs but I now I don’t. The stairs don’t appear to be the same as they are seen through the bifocals. Experience has taught me to slow down when I approach a step. I learnt that I should not judge reality with my own subjective vision.
Whether it is bifocals or  not, it is important that the glasses are clean. Sometimes, I am so lazy I don’t care to clean my glasses for days at a stretch. Then I wash or wipe it only when the sight is so hazy. A clean pair of glasses is important for clear vision so is clarity in life for judging others. If someone looks not so clean it could be that my view of them is simply hazy.
Whether we wear glasses or not, we don’t have control on our eyes. It is our mind that drives our eyes. Though what we see are accidental, what we gaze upon or doing a double-take is certainly the work of our mind. We can’t blame the glasses for what we chose to delight in seeing.
That is whey Jesus said, "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light...” (Matthew 6:22). Jesus was certainly talking about the eye that is driven by our minds, not just the organ. It is true that Jesus used a hyperbole in Matthew 18:9: “And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.” Though it is a bit of exaggeration to push a point home, the truth remains. It is better to have an eye that causes us to sin than not having.

Shameless Prayers

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And he said to them, ‘Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within, “Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything”? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. (Luke 11:5-8 ESV)

The story happens in Palestine of the first century. People set out on their journeys early in the morning before the sun rose and rested at noon till late afternoon. Then they plan their afternoon journey in such a way that they could reach a village where they knew someone before is dark. The traveller in this story might have arrived at midnight because he had to walk past many villages where he knew none to reach this distant village where he had a friend. He must have walked past many villages hoping that at his friend’s place he will find some food and a bed to sleep even at midnight.

Midnight was the awkward time to arrive at anyone’s place in those days. Many of us sleep late, maybe after midnight. The reasons that keep us awake late into midnight are many, besides the lack of discipline. Some of us work when our countrymen sleep because we are taking calls from people on the other side of the globe who are still awake. We have artificial lights which make the night appear as day. Modern amenities keep us awake—we watch TV, we can read late into the night, or engage in activities like having a game of badminton the lighted courts or even go for a swim.
However, the ancient man did not have anything like that. The food is cooked and eaten before sunset. Parents will put your children to bed early; there is no TV that they can watch and no books to read. And even if you have there no light! In the Mediterranean world, people went to work early in the morning to avoid the heat of the sun. So, it is you got to get to bed early at night. If you don’t sleep well after a long day’s work then your life next day is spoiled.
The sleeping friend had valid excuses to deny the request. Not one but four excuses.

1. Do not bother me. The night is a time of rest after a day of hard work. ‘Let me sleep, man!’
   
2. The door is now shut. The doors were heavy and opening them takes effort. The wooden latches that keep the doors closed are also heavy and is not easy to move them. They make a screeching sound.
   

Children are with him in bed. In ancient Palestine ordinary people lived in one-room houses. Individual bedrooms were a luxury. If he wakes up and open the door then his movements and the screech of the door will wake the children up. He might have taken a lot of effort to put them to sleep if they wake up they may not go back to sleep easily.
People would cook in the morning and go work to their workshops attached to their houses, fields to markets. They would cook for the day since there were no refrigerators to keep the leftovers and no microwaves for to warm up as we do till eternity. However, it is always possible to have leftovers and bread that may last for one or two days after cooking. That fateful night this host had none when the traveller just called in unexpectedly. To bother someone in such a situation is a really bad thing to do. It is immodesty of the highest order.

Hospitality was one of the highest virtues in the ancient world. First of all, if you find a traveller who arrived in the city and has nowhere to go then the person who found him should take him to his house, offer him food and shelter for the night. In bigger and busy towns a traveller may find an inn where they can get these for payment. Travellers who have friends will straight walk to the homes of their friends.

Making some food for the night for the traveller-guest is not the option. Cooking usually took a lot of time in those days. If he began cooking at midnight, it will be almost dawn when he finished. The host and guest cannot sleep and the guest has to set on his journey before the first rays of sunlight to avoid the terror of the heat. The only option then is to go to their neighbours and borrow some food.

Now, let me try to narrate a contemporary parable. You were in a hurry and did not pack your lunch when you sped off to the office. In your hurry, you also left your wallet with all the money and credit cards. On arrival at the office, you realized that the canteen is closed so that you cannot buy food on credit. You had skipped breakfast as well. You are hungry and is at the point of passing out.
In your desperate situation, you see colleagues in the other cabins opening their lunchboxes. Some have gone out to the fast-food shop across the road and got their sandwiches. There is the smell of food all over the place. Your tummy grumbles. What will you do? Will you walk to the person in the next cabin and ask her to share a bit of her sandwich? If you do so will you get a piece of it? Why do you expect that person to give you that? I am pretty sure that if you asked your friend will certainly give you some food out of her lunchbox. The reason is simple—you are so shameless to ask!
Jesus made the same point when he said, ‘I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence’ (Luke 11:8 ESV). The reason for granting is not friendship, that is clear. It was not his persistence since he did not repeat his request. The word translated as ‘impudence’ in ESV is a unique word found here only in the Bible. It means ‘shamelessness’ variously translated as ‘impudence’, ‘importunity’ etc. The word occurs only here in the NT which according to Gringich Lexicon the literal meaning is ‘shamelessness.’ Arland J. Hultgren defines shamelessness as ‘being or acting without sensibility to shame or disgrace.’

It is the shamelessness of the man who approaches a sleeping friend is in focus. This man has no regard for his shame or disgrace. He is not ashamed of bothering a friend. He is not worried about hearing excuses to deny his request. He just approaches him with absolute disregard to all these concerns. What would have happened if the friend did not get up and give him the bread? He will have to return home to face another friend who is hungry and tired. He will lose his face before him. The friend will have to go to bed hungry. That will be the most shameful experience in his life. So, what is better. Tell the visitor there is no bread, have some water and go to bed. Or go and knock at the door of a friend who is likely to have some leftovers? His choices were limited: surrender his dignity before one of them—either the traveller or his friend in the village. He chose the latter, that is the sleeping friend.

Who is the sleeping friend in the parable? The larger context of the parable sheds light on its interpretation. Jesus used the principle of lighter to heavier or simple to complex principle. If earthly friends will budge at the request of a shameless person then how much more will God? God will certainly grant what we ask. The same principle is applied in the saying that follows in 11:13 which reads,

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!

The friend in the story is God the father. This story is part of a larger unit which begins in 11:2 and ends 11:13. The Jesus taught them to pray to the Father. Then having told this story he assures them that the heavenly father is much better than all earthly fathers. Luke thus suggests to us that this story (which is unique to him) must be read in the light of father-children relationship that we have with God.
The saying in 11:9-10 also provides an interpretation of the parable. It talks about the certainty of the answer. Those who ask will be given, those who knock will find doors opening, those who seek will find what they are seeking. However, it is not a general principle but works only in the framework of the father-child relationship that we have with God. That is what the context of the parable suggests.
So, the point of the parable is clear. In the context of assurance of being heard (11:9-10) and the confidence that heavenly father is always better than earthly father we don’t have to be ashamed. There is no room for shame because there is no room for fear of consequences. Our dignity is also intact since we are asking our father and not a stranger.
The context of the parable also suggests one more thing. Our requests have to fair and reasonable. In the Lord’s prayer, Jesus taught them to pray for ‘daily bread.’ The man who approached his friend at midnight limited his request to ‘three loaves.’ Scholars point out that three loaves (each loaf the size of a man's palm) are just one serving of food. He was asking just for one meal for one person. Nothing more. It is a fair and reasonable request just as ‘daily bread’ is.
The context of the parable also sheds some light on the nature of the shameless behaviour. Shame is a result of sin, doubt, fear, and lack of intimacy. For example, Adam and Eve never felt shame before their sin, they walked even with God without clothes. They were not hiding they were naked. Shame sets in when we lose confidence in each other. For example, littler children run around the house without any clothes but when the doorbell rings they hide behind the doors. Their shame is relative—not ashamed in the presence of their parents. This means that shamelessness stems from a relationship of intimacy. That is why this parable is sandwiched between two mentions of the father in heaven. The prayer is to the father in heaven—our father and later our heavenly father.
So, our prayer must result from our intimacy with the father, an intimacy that leads to confident shamelessness. Our prayers should be confident—whatever is knocked at will be open and asked for will be given and sought after will be found. Our prayers should be fair and reasonable.

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Crime and Punisment--A Contemporary Version

His life is a real life commentary of Proverbs 1:10-19. This passage warns young men to keep away from bad company, especially people who plot violence against others. The first two verses rather summarize the whole:
"My son, if sinners entice you,
do not consent.
If they say, Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;
let us ambush the innocent without reason; (Proverbs 1:10-11, ESV)."
He was a handsome young man. His good looks and talents had taken him to act on TV serials though he didn't have a career as an actor. He had a good job as a sales manager in a reputed firm.
Everything turned around when his friends decided to take revenge on another person. His friend was offended by this man and they all decided to support their friend who was insulted. Though they probably did not plan it that way their opponent died in the attack.
Then there was arrest, imprisonment, trial, appeals.... The legal juggernaut started rolling but it kept rolling for long years. Finally, it stopped as many of the gang including this young man was acquitted by a higher court. But by the time, it had crushed under its wheels their reputation, their jobs and lot of money.
He had already lost his job during the trials. No one was willing to employ a person once implicated in a crime though he was later exonerated by courts.
He ended up as a cab-driver to provide for his family.
After many years, he invested all his meagre savings for an employment visa in a foreign country and air tickets with the hope of rebooting his life. On the third day of his arrival in that country, he died of a massive heart attack at age 32! He was leaving behind a young wife and two small helpless kids.
The ruin began with a wrong decision, taken under peer pressure, the pressure of bad company. Wisdom is to avoid such company and such counsel. The Bible is not all about life after death, but it also helps us to live our lives here on earth in a meaningful way.
You may like to read rest of the Book of Proverbs and the rest of the Bible as well. It is full of wisdom for us today.

The "how" and "what" of life.

What we live our lives for rather than how we lived must have supreme importance. Yes, this statement needs explanation.
Many times the natural tendency is to focus on the standard of our lives than the very purpose for which we live. We worry too much about our dress, food and dwellings. That explains why we buy expensive clothes, like to dine in the best restaurants and keep modifying our houses and buy more gadgets. Dressing in a manner suitable for the job is sometimes forced on us by our employers. We don't think about the effect of food on our performance when we eat, we eat for pleasure mostly.
The goal of life is not the standard of life itself. Quality of life should not be confused with the standard of life. They are diffferent. Quality of life is not decided by the standard of life. However, standard of life should serve the pupose and enhance the quality of life.
I heard this story about Mother Teresa years ago. I am not able to verify the historical facts but even if it is a parable someone made up it has a point. Pope presented Mother Teresa with an expensive car on his visit to Kolkotta. Mother Teresa just waited for the Pope to leave India to auction it out. She never entered that car but used the proceeds from the auction to support her seervice to the poor.
Now, what if she used the car for her work? She could have moved around the slums of Kolkotta in her luxury car. She didn't buy it, he did not covet, it was just a present from a well intentioned person who is wiser than her.
However, life with that car would be a great contradiction for Mother Teresa. It would contradict with the message of simplicity and love that she symbolised. That car would create a gap of light years' length between her and the people who she loved. Her life-style and service will be out of sync with each other. In other words, the standard of her life with that car will destroy the very purpose for which she lived.
So, it comes as a challenge to us to prioritize--how we live and what live for. What we live for must not only have top priority but our lifestyle should be subordinate to it.

Taste and See!

As you walk past the aisles of Duty-Free shops in airports, the sales girls plead to try the new perfume that has just arrived in the shop. Sniff and decide they suggest. At the entrance of the grocery shop is a small counter where sales persons offer you a new type of tea free though in tiny cups. Taste and see if it is better than the teas that you have tasted so far.
Most of the time our choices are not based on our primary experience but hearsay and experiences of others. For example, most of the time our decisions are based on what others suggest or what the brand ambassadors promote. Our decisions should not be based on hearsay but on experience. That applies to Christian faith as well.
The psalmist who sang 'Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good' (Psalms 34:8) was recommending his faith in God. However, his invitation is not to follow his faith blindly but to experience God first before committing. There is some place for the logic 'It works for others so it must work for me too.' However, it should not be based on such blind trust but we should experience God on a one-to-one level. First-hand experience of God is important.