Controversy leads to God's shocking answers

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/100818.cfm
Galatians 1:6-12
Luke 10:25-37

In today’s gospel from Luke Jesus confirms the traditional Jewish path to eternal life. Love God with everything you’ve got, love your neighbor as you love yourself, and do it through the mercy that you’d hope for from others.

This is not a new idea. Jesus doesn’t introduce some modernized mantra but confirms the millennial-old Shema Yisrael. Shema Yisrael translates into “Hear, O Israel.” The Shema calls for the Jew to hear what God says for us to inherit eternal life. This is the most ancient of Jewish requirements. Love God and tell your children to do the same.

Jesus, however, does not cite the Shema himself. A lawyer, a scholar of Jewish law, is put to the task. He asked for Jesus to clarify a great argument among Jews. This same argument is with us today. What must we do; what is our part in claiming the gift of eternal life promised by God? The ancient scriptures of the Old Testament are used by Christians as well as their authors, the Jews. Throughout we are told God offers us eternal life. There is an important part in claiming our inheritance.

Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength. Take to heart these words which I command you today. Keep repeating them to your children. Recite them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deut 6:4-6.)

You wouldn’t think there is controversy in this text. It sounds reasonable, if God is who God is. In every word, though, there can be controversy, conflicts in meaning. This is at the root of the lawyers dilemma, and question to Jesus. For example, in the verses above "The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.”

The Lord is alone? The words seem to say so, according to the NAB, our Catholic translation. The Lord alone is our God is what the translation means, however. Other translations say — The Lord is One. That’s perfectly OK to have another phrasing of the verse. The word used in Hebrew in this verse from Deuteronomy has dual meanings. Echad means both “one" or "alone.” Echad actually translates something deeper about the status of one — “a compound oneness.” God is one, but a compound one, say Hebrew scholars. 

Controversy and conflict arise from just this one word. God is not actually “alone” as we understand his solitary existence. God is complete, and cannot be alone. Jewish apologists suggest that Christians tend toward idolatry for believing in a Trinitarian God. Yet we find support in Echad for our belief in the one God as a complex trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Shema tells us our God is a compound, one God — both one and the only God. So do we Christians. 

Ample controversy abounds in scripture. Is God as one and the only God the controversy on the mind of the lawyer, or just us later Christians in our disputes regarding Jesus’ divinity? No, probably not. Though Jesus said rather clearly in total that he was the Son of God and one with God, the lawyer wasn’t going after this issue. Let’s hear what the lawyer said.

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test (Jesus) and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?”

He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

(Jesus) replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” (Luke 10:25-28)

Loving God completely sounds pretty important. But another controversy exists here that sits on the mind of the lawyer in his "reading" of the law. Jesus heard the controversy and approved of the lawyer's understanding.

First of all we need to grasp the lawyer’s request of Jesus as a "test." Testing questions are the typical Jewish approach in just about any discussion, especially if you’re a Jewish lawyer! To test means also to clarify. The man had something particular in mind when he questioned Jesus. He wanted to know what Jesus thought about a prevailing challenge to Jewish thinking at the time. 

The lawyer added the words “And love your neighbor as yourself.” This is not technically a part of the Jewish Shema. The Shema centers specifically on loving God. The addition about loving our neighbor, added by the lawyer, comes from Leviticus. “Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your own people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.” (Lev 19:18)

The test for Jesus regarded a controversial position within a line of thinking in those of serious scripture study. The prevailing legal view of the Jew was rejection and contempt for non-Jews. The sticking point for the lawyer arises from, “no grudge against your own people.” Jews should take no revenge and cherish no grudge against their own people. And then, the scriptures admonish the Jew to love their neighbor as themselves. So, does the admonition to "love your neighbor as yourself" include only the neighbor within the confines of the Jewish people? Or, is it all-encompassing. Is the text referring to "no grudge" toward their own people as a premise for how they should treat others, or as a discrimination against non-Jews?

This was a serious argument at the time. The lawyer was not frivolous or arrogant in his addition of loving our neighbor. He was being precise. He wanted to know where Jesus stood. The lawyer belonged to a group of folks who did not read in scripture that Jews should be totally dismissive of Gentiles. He thought — better, he hoped — Jesus would agree with him.

A lot of us are like this man who questioned Jesus’ ideology and philosophy. We feverishly hope Jesus agrees with us. 

How do we question Jesus, though? Are we thoughtful and truly open to what the Holy Spirit will tell us about Jesus, who speaks only from the Father? Do we believe God is listening to us? And then, are we prepared to be taught by God? Or, do we just have an agenda. Are we looking for God to agree with us, and then further our understanding of the truth? Do we read the scriptures with that depth of communication with God? 

More often we throw questions at God from arrogance and frustration, not from deep thought. “What in the dickens are you going to do about (this or that) God? Are you paying attention?” Of course God is paying attention. We must not be spending our time with him and his Word, carefully discussing with the fellowship of our Catholics brothers and sisters, and the authorities whom God sends us, to blurt out such a ridiculous thing.

“How can you let (this or that) happen? What is going on with you?” Well, gee. If we studied a few hundred years and plowed through the full matrix of cause and effect, foundations of the universe, and the syncopation of love and mercy, what do we think should happen? Are we meant to know such details? Is it even possible? How much is enough time for us to figure out what’s going on in all of the universe, and how all things work together? 

Jesus surely could have dropped those kind of responses on the lawyer if he considered him to be questioning God in arrogance and anger. The lawyer, however, wasn’t railing against God. He wanted to know a specific detail about something to which he had given great thought. Instead of preaching about what God should do, or questioning God’s motives, the lawyer asked Jesus a relevant question. 

This is the way to approach God. Even though we cannot understand every associated intricacy of the universe, God will turn our controversial worries into wonderful, though yes maybe painful, truth.

If we want to know why God allows war, for instance, we should be prepared with a logical background to what we think. What is the big question for us? Are we ready for an answer we may not agree with? And, if he agrees with us what does that mean for our lives?

In the lawyer’s case, Jesus answered him. Did the lawyer think so? No. He still wasn't clear on Jesus' answer. He had a specific question. He wanted more details on the breadth of his neighbor. Who does Jesus think is our neighbor? Only another Jew; or maybe others are our neighbors, too. This is the man’s sticking point. Should Jews deal with non-Jews just like they do with themselves? 

The lawyer, a well-formed and insightful man, had summarized how he reads the scriptures on the subject of inheriting eternal life. He added the neighbor verse to plumb the depths of Jesus' thinking. And, Jesus agreed with him. But did Jesus mean neighbor in the sense that the lawyer was hoping? The lawyer had to be sure.

Jesus answers by telling a radical story, a shocking controversy of who is merciful and on the path to eternal life. He leaves no doubt for the lawyer. He places a Samaritan, a non-Jew, in the position of taking care of a Jewish victim who had been robbed and beaten. A priest and a Levite — both who know they should care for others, especially a Jewish brother in peril —ignore and abandon the beaten and robbed man. He is a Jew that they might even know! A non-Jew, however, stops and cares for him. He goes to great lengths in loving his neighbor. 

Jesus’ point completes the picture for the lawyer. Yes, love God fully, but also you must love your neighbor in all of their skin colors, clothing, religious upbringing and nationalities in order to inherit eternal life. They too must, and likely will, do the same. The law can be written on their hearts. Eternal life is known to many. And, the key to recognizing the motivation for loving one's neighbor? Mercy.

We know we do not actually earn the gift of eternal life through barter, negotiation, or a graded scale. The gift comes with a requirement, though. Change our fundamental ideas of life's dealings and death's consequences. As much as we want to be loved, so we must love. Our love comes with the price of mercy. The gift of eternal life can come even to those whom we do not believe are worthy. Maybe even especially so.

Jesus doesn’t mess with us, and confuse us. He will be as specific as we want him to be. It’s best, however, if we know where we are coming from in our requests of Jesus. God knows our hearts, and he has given us his Son, speaking through his Spirit, to assuage, comfort, challenge, and teach us.

The controversy in our conversation with God may not be what we think. We must be willing to ask. We must also know how to listen.