Seeing Jesus
Luke 10.25-37
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘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, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
As I was thinking about the places we see Jesus I was drawn back to this parable. Jesus speaking about the way to eternal life gives us the picture of a person who is beaten and wounded. That is the picture of us. And we see the ones we should have expected to bring us mercy walk by. Priests and Levites would have told the people to care for others as they taught the law in the temple and in the synagogues. But it was the enemy who comes to me to care for me. Not me for my enemy, but the enemy for me. And then Jesus challenges us to be like the one we saw as our enemy.
It also reminds me of what took place in World War 1. A Christmas cease fire left the troops along the front a time to hold to Christmas celebrations. It ended up being that the troops from both sides joined in worship, singing and eating together. In the days that followed each side in turn warned their “enemies” of incoming attacks. Even hiding their “enemies” in their own bunkers. After their time of worship and fellowship together, they could no longer see each other as an enemy. And each regiment was reassigned so that war could continue.
When we see Christ in the eyes of people we meet we cannot hope for harm, or bring, harm. We can only hope for, and bring, what is best for all. Jesus told us in Matthew 25 that as we do things for the least of the brothers and sisters we see around us, we do it for him. Remember that we are seeing Jesus in so many more faces than the one in the mirror. He walks among us, he lives next door, as well as with us. He sleeps in the streets, as well as in our homes. He is hungry and thirsty, even as we have an abundance. See Jesus in the eyes of those we can never again call an enemy, or simply “the others”.