Our daily travels

(When narratives need to be challenged)

I started this blog with a specific focus and then read something on social media and in my response to the person I had a Holy Spirit whisper that changed some of the context for this blog.

They (Lisa Koons) had referred to a well-known parable of Jesus and how they had learnt something so new about it in a seminary lesson that it had changed everything they understood about it. That’s the living word of God. It’s always teaching us something new with new understanding.

It was a wow moment and learning for me too, and in responding to their Facebook post is where I believe the Holy Spirit pointed something out to me that changed it even further for me.

The parable spoken about was ‘The good Samaritan’. We have heard it many times, we have had it unpacked and preached on many times. It is often used to speak to kindness and loving our neighbour or our enemy in our world.

But this seminary professor (Hill Carmichael) made the comment that this parable is really about the transformation of the world.

He went on to share - there are 3 types of people on this road – the first being the robbers, whose ethic suggests that “what is yours is mine at whatever cost!” They will take what they want through violence, coercion or whatever means necessary.

The second type of person is represented by the priest and the Levite, whose ethic suggests that “what is mine is mine and I must protect it even if it means you get hurt in the process”. These people are not bad people; they very likely follow all the societal rules and norms and sit on local boards. Crossing the road carries too much cost, so they put their head down and go about their business. They often cause more harm than good in this process. Reputation comes before relationships. Their focus is inward toward their own needs and the needs of those who are most like them. This often results in them choosing their own individual rights over the health and well-being of their neighbours. This is an area where many of us can really battle.

Then there is the Samaritan whose ethic is love. Even in the most dangerous circumstances he seems to live by the ethic that says, “what is mine is yours, if you have need of it.” My safety, security, resources, health and well-being are tied to you and your well-being.

Martin Luther King Jr preached on this often. He says the question the priest and Levite could have asked themselves was, “If I stop to help this person, what will happen to me?” whereas the Samaritan likely asked a very different question – “If I don’t stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”

I realised that this question (who is my neighbour?) that Jesus is responding to is a daily question to ask and maybe that’s why this story is based in a daily walking/traveling from place-to-place context. It was the (dangerous) road between Jericho and Jerusalem. How many times do we refer to dangerous roads or routes in our daily lives? Sometimes our daily commute is just that and sometimes going further than we normally would, could present us with more danger. But it’s all part of getting from one point to another which we do every day.

Fear has a way of making us all behave badly. When fear is the ethic of our lives, we tend to cling to our own safety, and our own individual rights. We retreat, mind our own business and rarely cross to the other side of the road to help. We forget about Jesus’s greatest commandments to “Love God and love our neighbour.”

Fear does not make us safer, even if it might make us feel safer for a fleeting moment.

We can also choose to cross the road to help our neighbour. This will give us an idea of what Jesus talked about often. We will experience a little of what following Jesus and his ways is all about. We get to see what real transformation looks like, and we get to see what the kingdom of God on earth looks like.

If the narratives we hear about countries and people make us fearful of those countries and hate the people who live there, we need to question those narratives!

Sometimes what we have come to believe as ‘truth’ is a false narrative repeated ad nauseum until it appears as truth.

If we are left with hate and fear, we are certainly not hearing a kingdom of God perspective on the issue.

We can be easily manipulated by media where the very agenda is often set up to be manipulative.

Do we question what we hear?
Do we ask questions?
Do we investigate?
Do we stay curious?
Do we line it up with the kingdom of God?
Do we line it up to Jesus’s character?

We are given pictures, words and emotions all the time.

Where do ideas and pictures come from?
How effective is repetition in selling us stories? Here's as answer to that question - it's highly effective. The same story told over and over and never questioned or challenged, will become a part of us as truth. The Holy Spirit might prompt us, but we need to respond. We get the opportunity to question the validity of any information we are hearing on repeat before we assimilate it as part of us. Once it is a part of us (assimilated) it is much harder, but definitely not impossible, to unlearn and relearn.

If it slightly stirs fear or hatred in us, we have a problem.
If we find ourselves thinking ‘we are better than someone else’ or ‘they deserve it,’ then we don’t have our kingdom of God lens on.

That’s not how Jesus taught us. He told us to love, go closer, cross barriers, cross the road, love our neighbours, love our enemies, be humble, loving and gracious.

If we are going to bring ‘as it is in heaven’ to earth, what are we bringing here if it’s got even a tinge of hate and fear on it? Should it not be about love, peace, care and joy? It seems so straightforward to do the simple equation of heaven there and heaven here – they should look the same, not completely different.

The kingdom of God breaks through onto earth from time to time and we are the ones who get to bring it here by praying and asking for it and by the way we live out our lives as followers of Jesus. The world gets to see Jesus in us. They get a taste of heaven. Well, that’s the plan. But when we bring hate, arrogance, superiority and fear, then they get a bitter taste of something else.

Do we carry an awareness of heaven with us daily? Do we allow this to shape our conversations, actions and decisions here on earth? We can lift our eyes above the temporary to the eternal. Are we being shaped by God’s truth and promises? Do we ask what matters most to God in each moment? If we fix our eyes on Jesus and his ways, it will impact how we live our lives, love others, make decisions and how we react to daily frustrations, anger, pain and injustice. Let’s refocus our thoughts onto God and what it looks like to bring heaven to earth.

God’s love is simple to copy, but not always easy to do. It is a love like no other love. A love that transforms us into a new creation. It does not leave us the same. It’s miraculous and world changing.

The words of ‘On earth as in heaven’ by Red Rocks Worship are applicable. Let’s sing them with meaning and honesty when we ask for God’s kingdom to come here. When we speak the very words of Jesus and say “Your Kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven.”

We bring our praise
You bring revival
We lift our hands
You lift our eyes up
Where your love is found
There will be no fear
God your kingdom come
Your will be done here

Chorus
On earth as in heaven
Spirit of God pour out
Our hearts are wide open
Jesus we need you now
Come have your way
In this place
Break our walls down
Spirit of God pour out
On earth as in heaven
Jesus we need you now

We bring our shame
You bring redemption
You turn our chains
Into our freedom
Where your love is found
There will be no fear
God your kingdom come
Your will be done here

Chorus repeat

Bridge:
In your presence there is peace
In your presence we are free
There’s no better place to be
There’s no better place to be
In your presence there is truth
In your presence mountains move
We forever run to you
We forever run to you

Chorus repeat

To end off, let’s pray for God’s Spirit to pour out on all of us. We need you now God. It’s a desperate need. We need your kingdom to come, on earth as in heaven. Amen.

 

Top artwork by Evelien Burger.
Photography, author’s own.
Bottom picture of some children's artwork at a local Children's Home.