Would you like some tea?

“Hospitality means primarily the creation of free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend instead of an enemy. Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place. It is not to bring men and women over to our side, but to offer freedom not disturbed by dividing lines.” ― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life

C. E. Murphy writes: “In Ireland, you go to someone's house, and she asks you if you want a cup of tea. You say no, thank you, you're really just fine. She asks if you're sure. You say of course you're sure, really, you don't need a thing. . . Well, she says then, I was going to get myself some anyway, so it would be no trouble. Ah, you say, well, if you were going to get yourself some, I wouldn't mind a spot of tea, at that, so long as it's no trouble and I can give you a hand in the kitchen. Then you go through the whole thing all over again until you both end up in the kitchen drinking tea and chatting. 

In America, someone asks you if you want a cup of tea, you say no, and then you don't get any damned tea.

I liked the Irish way better.”  (Urban Shaman)

Hospitality is not a transaction it is an interaction. American tea, to use Murphy, is a transaction while Irish tea is an interaction. The tea is irrelevant even though eventually one gets around to it. The interaction is one of mutual assurance. It is a careful dance meant to solidify bonds, work on mutual understanding, and assure commitments. The tea is good in the end but the ritual, if it is that, leads to a sharing of hearts. It leads to a mutuality of purpose of which the tea is a tangible sign. 

We consider the rest of the story of Abraham and the visitors at the oak of Mamre, a text rich in the traditions of hospitality and patronage is set against the teaching on prayer from Luke 11 in our lectionary.

Prayer and Hospitality have things in common. All the factors listed above for hospitality are active in prayer as well. What it is that you pray for is really less important than you might think. The haggling, the give and take, the coming to a mutual mind is the real heart of prayer. 

Our story from Abraham is really not clear about a simple thing Abraham prays for: Does God have a change of mind? It would seem so. Perhaps there were not 10 righteous  people in Sodom and Gomorra. Or maybe there were but God made them leave. That is the story of Lot’s flight from Sodom after all. To be honest, God knowing the content of human hearts ought be assumed to know exactly how much or little righteousness there was. Yet, knowing that, God does not cut the conversation short. The retort: “Abraham, give it up, there are not 20 righteous souls in Sodom,” is not in the scripture. 

On the other hand, God does have a change of heart in the story. Genesis 18:17-18 shows the Lord rethinking the depth of his relationship to this Abraham: “The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?”

Did Abraham change? Well, that depends on what your definition of“tea” might be. In Genesis 18 we are in the middle of Abraham’s story. Ishmael has been conceived and born. Ishmael is Abraham and Sarah’s attempt to bring in the promise by their own means and actions. Here, somehow without warning, the birth of Isaac is foretold and it will happen. It is not the “tea” that Abraham had negotiated about but it was the “tea” that was actually in his heart: Are you real or are you an illusion of mine? Am I doing this by myself or are you behind the things that happen? Is my discipleship and your purpose aligned? Will there be a kingdom with children more numerous than the stars? The “tea” is that there is indeed a covenant, a tangible relationship between the patriarch and matriarch and the Lord most high with mutuality of purpose of which the Isaac is a tangible sign.

Prayer is an act of hospitality. It is not as if God can only work in a place of welcome — ask Sodom about that. Luther — the early Luther who was still sympathetic to the mystics — likened Baptism to the marriage of soul and Lord who then took residence in the heart of the believer, taking on the believers filth and sin and giving glory and obedience in return. It is called the Joyous exchange. (Freedom of a Christian) In hospitality to that presence, goes the thinking of an early Luther and the mystic, the outer human being will be changed by the workings of the Lord within. 

So, it was not your turn to use the community oven in the village, but wouldn’t you know, friends showed up and you had to host them. Your friend next door had gotten to bake that day. Where will you get bread? (Luke 11:5-8) Again, it is in the interaction a symbol of larger hospitality is given: He will get up and give as much as needed. The hospitality that is prayer is not individual it is communal as well.They will all rise to give hospitality because by doing so, some have hosted angels.

Today, after two horrendous weeks of civil discontent worldwide, calls for “thoughts and prayers” are made and answered by many with harsh rebukes that thoughts and prayers mean nothing and are merely an excuse for inaction. “Speed the plough, I wait no more for fire from God!” Will we have another Ishmael? Will we have another Issac?

Will we get some damned tea?

The Texts for Sunday, July 17th. 2016, The 9th Sunday after the Pentecost

First Reading: Genesis 18:1-10a

1The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. 2He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. 3He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. 4Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” 6And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.” 7Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. 8Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

  9They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” 10aThen one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.”

Psalm: Psalm 15

1 LORD, who may dwell in your tabernacle? 

    who may abide upon your holy hill?

2 Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is right, 

    who speaks the truth from his heart.

3 There is no guile upon his tongue;

he does no evil to his friend; 

    he does not heap contempt upon his neighbor.

4 In his sight the wicked is rejected, 

    but he honors those who fear the LORD.

5 He has sworn to do no wrong 

    and does not take back his word.

6 He does not give his money in hope of gain, 

    nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.

7 Whoever does these things 

    shall never be overthrown.

Second Reading: Colossians 1:15-28

15[Christ Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation;16for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. 17He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

  21And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him—23provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.

  24I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. 25I became its servant according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. 27To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

Gospel: Luke 10:38-42

38Now as [Jesus and his disciples] went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. 40But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” 41But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

The Bible in an alternate Universe

"I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love."

"I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much.” — Mother Teresa

The Samaritan got off his ride. The donkey had just stopped in the place it was standing now and had begun to stare in the direction of a human shape lying by the side of the road.

It was a hot, dusty day and the Samaritan was parched. He hesitated a moment and walked over to a hulk of probably dead human body by the side of the path. Just then the unfortunate traveler let out a faint breath.

“Darn it!” the Samaritan huffed under his breath, “You are alive and now I suppose it is up to me somehow to take care of this mess.” 

He looked at the sky: “I know, love thy neighbor and all that stuff, I am not stupid.” he muttered angrily. “I’ll be happy to love my neighbor if he was just a bit less needy than this one, you hear?” 

God did not reply.

The Samaritan went to his animal and searched the saddle bags. He had wine to clean the wounds and oil to treat them afterwards. 

“I was going to use this myself, you know,” he said scoldingly in the direction of the ambushed traveler, “Oil and Wine don’t just happen, they cost me dear in the purse, but if the Lord has need of me doing this for you, I guess . . . “ He looked up, but God said nothing.

He walked back over to the victim who tried to move just then. The Samaritan grabbed his staff firmly and pointed the tip at the man: “Trying to get me, are ya?!” He yelled, but after a few hostile gesture with his staff and only the echo of his own voice to be heard he carried on. 

“O well, I suppose you are down after all, but don’t you try anything!”

He began to clean the wounds. The downed traveler moaned as the Samaritan cleaned his woulds. “Don’t by such a wimp! Suck it up. Be a man about this.”

“What are you doing traveling this road if you can’t even suck in a  little pain. I had much worse and still got myself home all by my lonesome, I have you know.” The donkey kicked the dust with its hoofs and snorted. The sun continued to burn hot as is was the 6th hour.

After he treated the man the Samaritan looked around. What was he to do now? He could not just stay there but the man in the ditch was giving almost no sign that he might be able to rise, much less walk on to safety. 

The Samaritan sighed: “So, now I have to get you out of this mess. The road is steep and guess who will have to walk it now? You better have had a darn good reason to travel here, is all I can say right now.”

He dragged the man out of the ditch and began to lift him onto the donkey. The animal winced as the man was lifted unto it.

“Darn you, help out!” The Samaritan shouted, “don’t expect me to lift you as total dead weight.” 

“I tell you, if you weren’t as fat as you are you probably would a had the skill and power to fight and fend for yourself. Do you actually ever take care of yourself? Do you know how to travel and fight? I bet not!”

It took a while and a lot of ill speech but the Samaritan got the man tied to the back of the donkey, and the three of them, Samaritan, donkey, and the man who they had dragged out of the ditch set off on the road.

The Samaritan walked with an angry slog and a dark countenance by the side of the animal. The donkey kept an obedient, purposeful gate and kept its head down. The traveler moaned now and again much to the Samaritan’s dismay. “O, shut up will you,” he muttered once or twice. “You’ll be alright. No thanks to you.” 

They arrived at a hostel by the road in the heat of the 9th hour. There would be enough daylight for the Samaritan to finish his journey today. 

He opened the door and yelled for the keeper who appeared promptly. Though he was very hospitable, the Samaritan was having none of the usual courtesy that was customary. His day had been a wreck, his wine was gone and his oil was running low. He was thirsty beyond reason and tiered from the journey. “Get this man off my animal. Now! I should not have to do everything, you know,” the Samaritan commanded. 

A negotiation followed and it was agreed that the Samaritan was going to actually pay for the stranger to stay there. At some point the Samaritan accused the inn keep of being in cahoots with the robbers to make money off the God fearing travelers that helped the victims by the road. But the keeper had let the accusation go.

That all done, the Samaritan stomped over to his animal and rode off.

As he went along he looked up at the sky and begun to mutter: “Love your neighbor. Well I did it. And what have I to show for it? Huh? Huh!? Happy?””

God did not reply.

He arrived at the house of an acquaintance with whom he had dealings and who extended hospitality to him. They discussed the events of the day. “Strange you should come upon him,” said the host. “Strange?” the Samaritan broke into anger:  “I tell you, I saw at least two others who left on the road before me this morning, right ahead of me. Did they stop and help? No! They left it to me. I’d give them a piece of my mind if I ever meet them again.”

Calmer he continued: “But they were from Jerusalem and you know what that lot of scum is like. Yea, it is left to you and me to be the, Neighbor, to others. They must not read the Law of Moses in Jerusalem. I tell you, if it wasn’t for people like me, no one would know that there is a living God.”

The night gave him little rest but the next day, having done business, he was on the road home. 

The donkey had trotted faithfully when it suddenly stopped and looked over to the side of the road. The Samaritan looked up and said: “Really!?” 

God said nothing. 

 After he had finished telling this parable, Jesus went to the house of Mary and Martha.

Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. 

But Martha was busy with by her many tasks, making preparations for everyone and creating quite a racket. So Mary came to the Lord and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has chosen to work in the kitchen making all kinds of noise that is disturbing your lesson? Tell her to stop and sit with us.” 

But the Lord answered: “ . . . 

Well? What do you think he said?

The humble Love of God is the key to praise.

Repentant praise is the key to obedience.

Gracious obedience is the key to mercy.

Selfless mercy is the key to the love of God.

Patient love is the key to the Love of God. — Kruse

The Texts for July 10th, the 8th Sunday After Pentecost, 2016

First Reading: Deuteronomy 30:9-14

9The Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all your undertakings, in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your soil. For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, just as he delighted in prospering your ancestors, 10when you obey the Lord your God by observing his commandments and decrees that are written in this book of the law, because you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

  11Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away. 12It is not in heaven, that you should say, “Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?” 13Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?” 14No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.

Psalm: Psalm 25:1-10

1 To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;

my God, I put my trust in you; *

    let me not be humiliated,

    nor let my enemies triumph over me.

2 Let none who look to you be put to shame; *

    let the treacherous be disappointed in their schemes.

3 Show me your ways, O LORD, *

    and teach me your paths.

4 Lead me in your truth and teach me, *

     for you are the God of my salvation;

    in you have I trusted all the day long.

5 Remember, O LORD, your compassion and love, *

    for they are from everlasting.

6 Remember not the sins of my youth and my transgressions; *

    remember me according to your love

    and for the sake of your goodness, O LORD.

7 Gracious and upright is the LORD; *

     therefore he teaches sinners in his way.

8 He guides the humble in doing right *

    and teaches his way to the lowly.

9 All the paths of the LORD are love and faithfulness *

    to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

10 For your Name's sake, O LORD, *

    forgive my sin, for it is great.

Second Reading: Colossians 1:1-14

1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

  2To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae: 

  Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

  3In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 4for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel 6that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God. 7This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, 8and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

  9For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. 11May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully 12giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Gospel: Luke 10:25-37

25Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” 27He answered, “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 neighbor as yourself.” 28And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

  29But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ 36Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Luke 10: The parable of the Good Samaritan. Greek Text Studies

Luke 10:25-37

v25 νομικος (ος) "[an expert in] the law" - trained in its interpretation and application.

εκπειραζων (εκπειραζω) pres. par. "to test [Jesus]" - testing, tempting. The participle here "in order to test him", or "stood up and tested him" in the sense of putting a test question to him, not tempt - but the question is not hostile.

ποιησας (ποιεω) aor. part. "[what] must I do" - participle is adverbial, expressing means; "I will inherit eternal life by doing what?".

ζωην αιωνιον "eternal life" - "life in the land of Israel" as part of the covenantal promise common to the Old Testament, but here is it the eschatological new age is likely - "life" in all its fullness.

v26 γεγραπται (γραφω) perf. pas. "[has been] written" - passive perfect is commonly used of scripture, i.e. what has been is still.

αναγινωσκεις (αναγινωσκω) pres. "do you read it" - "what does your reading tell you?"

v27 αποκριθεις (αποκρινομαι) aor. pas. part. "he answered" - a common phrase.

αγαπησεις (αγαπαω) fut. "love" – the rare imperative future tense.

σου gen. pro. "your [God]" εκ + gen. "with [all your heart]" – or from expressing source.

καρδιας (α) "heart" - the seat of intellect, not emotion.

ως "[love your neighbor] as [yourself]" - a comparison, Danker translates this "the neighbor is to be trusted with the love we have for ourselves".

v28 ποιει (ποιεω) pres. imp. "do [this]" - present durative tense expressing continued action. 

ζηση/ (ζαω) fut. "you will live".

v29 ο ... θελων (θελω) pres. part. "he wanted" - participle functions as a substantive, "the man who wished to justify himself, said."

δικαιωσαι (δικαιοω) aor. inf. "to justify [himself]" - infinitive is complementary, completing the verbal sense of "wanting". This provides the motive behind the question, but even so the motive is unclear. The sense may be "to vindicate", unlikely that such a highly charged theological word would be used so lightly, so better "wishing to put himself in the right", i.e. he wants to establish a recognition of covenant inclusion for himself by making sure he had clearly defined those to whom he has an obligation.

v30 υπολαβων (υπολαμβανω) aor. part. "in reply" - having replied. 

κατεβαινεν (καταβαινω) imperf. "was going down" - expressing the action of traveling; "going down" here expresses movement from a high place to a low place.

απο + gen. "from [Jerusalem]" - Expressing separation.

περιεπεσεν (περιπιπτω) aor. "fell" - was surrounded by λησταις (ης ου) dat. "[robbers" – brigands (anti-Roman zealots) 

εκδουσαντες (εκδυω) aor. part. "they stripped [him]" αφεντες (αφιημι) aor. part. "leaving [him half dead]" – litrally “unconscious in a pool of his own blood".

v31 κατα συγκυριαν "happened" - An idomatic expression meaning "by chance".

κατεβαινεν (καταβαινω) imperf. "to be going down" – see above. 

εν τη οδω "the [same] road/way” an idomatic expression meaning "on the road" – here a road notorious for its hazard.

ιδων (οραω) aor. part. "when he saw [the man]".

αντιπαρηλθεν (αντιπαρερχομαι) aor. "he passed by on the other side" - aorist expresses punctiliar action – being only a story, the reason for this action is usually taken as fear of the robbers or fear of defilement.

v32 ομοιως δε και "so likewise" γενομενος (γινομαι) aor. part. “by chance” – evidence of an oral source for this story, as it is formulaic and idiomatic.

ελθων (ερχομαι) aor. part. "when he came [to the place and saw him] participle, as with ιδων, "having seen", is temporal.

v33 οδευων (οδευω) pres. part. "as he traveled" - adjectival, attributive, limiting "a Samaritan", "who was travelling".

ιδων (ειδον) aor. part. " he saw"  εσπλαγχνισθη (εσπλαγχνιζομαι) aor. pas. "he took pity on him". It is right here Jesus answer the question posed above, “what must I do?”

v34 προσελθων (προσερχομαι) aor. part. "he went to him" action accompanying the verb. 

επιχεων (επιχεω) pres. part. "pouring on [oil and wine]" – adverbial expressing the manner of attending to his wounds (olive oil was used on wounds as a liniment, while wine (alcohol) was used as an antiseptic.)

επιβιβασας (επιβιβαζω) aor. part. "then he put [the man on his own donkey]" 

πανδοχειον (ον) "an inn" - a public inn - hapax legomenon.

επεμεληθη (επιμελεομαι) aor. pas. "took care of" - cared for. The picture presented in the parable is of the Samaritan taking the man to the inn, staying the night with him to care for him (rather than just dumping him off) and paying for ongoing care the next day – i.e. the Samaritan did all that he could, even exceeding the intent of the Law.

v35 επι την αυριον "the next day" - an unusual phrase literally "towards the morrow."

εκβαλων (εκβαλλω) aor. part. "he took out"

τω πανδοχει (υς εως) "to the innkeeper" 

αυτου gen. pro. "him" επιμεληθητι, "take care of"

ο τι αν + subj. "if any extra expense " construction forms an indefinite relative conditional clause 3rd. class, where the condition has the possibility of coming true.

εγω "I" - Emphatic 

v36 τις "which" - an interrogative pronoun serves to introduce a question.

τουτων των τριων gen. "of these three" δοκει (δοκεω) pres. "[do you] think"  

γεγονεναι (γινομαι) perf. inf. "became" πλησιον adv. + gen. "a neighbor"  or neighborly του εμπεσοντος gen. aor. part. "to the man who fell.

v37 ο ποιησας (ποιεω) aor. part. "the one who had" το ελεος met + gen. "mercy on [him]" A nSemitic idiomatic prepositional phrase takes the sense "to show mercy to."

συ " YOU emphatic ποιει, "go and do" takes the present durative tense, so the command is "you yourself adopt the Samaritan's way of behaving" and once again answers the original question “what must I do?”  This is not a judgment on degree on intent, but a specific on action, “Act more like the Samaritan, less like the others”- might be one moral of this story. And, I might add, this is not meant as a commentary on wither salvation or righteousness.  Also notice that while Jesus implicitly praises the Samaritan, he does not do so explicitly, nor does he judge the actions or intents of the others.  Each act is left to speak for itself.  Perhaps we should do the same? 

Living at less than the speed of Life

“We are all “out” on our own recognizance.” — George Carlin

Clothes make the man, goes an old saying. That is to say, people draw conclusions about others based on how they present themselves to them and clothes play a part in that. It is part of human nature. It allows us to live at the speed of life. We know who is who and what to expect of them. We invented uniforms and traditional dress — like kilts that by their very cloth tell what clan you are from —  exactly for that purpose: To make a statement what to expect from the person wearing it. 

But what if all distinguishing marks are removed? What if one was robbed, stripped and left naked by the side of the road? (10:30) All distinguishing marks are now gone. Are you from Jerusalem? Jericho? Chorazin? The villages at the foot of Mt. Gerazim?

And if you are unconscious: No chance of you saying Shibboleth, is there? (Jd 12:6) How will we know who you are? 

And what will we do with you? If you are dead, that would be one course of action, if you are yet alive that would be another. 

Suddenly, the speed of life must slow down a lot as you are not clothed with identifying marks of what you are and neither are you clothed with the normal functions of life that tell us that you are even alive.

To make matters worse, your very lying there is a warning: There are robbers about! Beware! Are you bait for the next unfortunate victim?

This is what is lying by the road between Jericho and Jerusalem is like. Good Luck!

Ah, but what if you were the second one to get to the scene and you knew one of your wise leaders had just passed by here as well? Well, if he has seen fit to leave the scene as is, then certainly it is OK for you as well. One must not pretend that one knows more than ones betters.

And what would happen if one helped? Surely, when the man by the side of the road awoke he was told that a Samaritan had tended to him. What if he was a Judean? Even the oil of the Samaritans was abomination. Would he be furious? Would he have waited for the Samaritan’s return in ambush at the inn?

If he had died at the inn, even if he had been from Samaria himself, would his family have sought out the Samaritan traveler with revenge in their hearts, believing him to be the reason for their brother’s dying? 

Wisdom says, on the road between Jericho and Jerusalem, that perhaps it is better to move on. Custom and etiquette agree. The need not to interrupt life already in progress gives assent. (10:31)

This is a tough place to be lying near dead and without ID by the side of the road. 

This traveler is lying by the side of the road much like Israel lay by the side of the Nile, or the Euphrates for that matter. Found utterly desolate and near demise. The traveler is found much like all humanity is found by the heavenly hosts and those who, on heaven’s behalf, would wield heaven’s power over the forces of evil and decay. It is the way Jesus finds all of us, really. 

This simple reality, that we are all incapable of uttering a simple “Shibboleth,” escapes most of us. We are out under our own recognizance but ultimately a hammer will fall. We are gamblers with no bankroll, hobos smiling at the sunrise. (T. Garrod)

Yet, Jesus’ disciples seem to travel the land without regard for the common wisdom. They have gone out without purse, bag, or sandal. (10:4)  They are of a new way and they travel the road differently. A different wisdom attends them:  “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children.” (10:21)  Yes, children, the ultimate “unwise.” The ones who might actually go over to the traveler and see if he was alright, and do so — being devoid of the fears of common wisdom that certainly also had grasped the Samaritan — without fear but in the sense of natural human curiosity. 

The lesson of the parable of the traveler and the Samaritan is obvious: You become neighbor, human in a sense that matters, when your curiosity and fascination with life always gets the better of you and you seek out the other. 

This road between Jericho and Jerusalem is navigable, but treachery awaits. What force will make travels bearable? (10:27)