1 00:00:00,880 --> 00:00:04,130 Hey, friend, welcome to another episode of the Sunday Sit down. 2 00:00:04,140 --> 00:00:07,250 And it is not Sunday. We are sitting down. 3 00:00:07,260 --> 00:00:10,050 We're talking about Luke chapter 10, the parable of the Good 4 00:00:10,060 --> 00:00:12,430 Samaritan today. And we hope that this 5 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:17,490 conversation finds you in the midst of what is a good fall 6 00:00:17,540 --> 00:00:21,590 week. It's cold now, and I can wear 7 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:23,590 sweaters and not sweat through them. 8 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:27,080 I switched into fall mode. And there was a heat. 9 00:00:27,090 --> 00:00:28,350 Wave. And then we had that heat wave 10 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:30,360 and I didn't switch out of fall mode. 11 00:00:30,370 --> 00:00:35,100 I just kept dressing like it was still fall and I'm just stubborn 12 00:00:35,110 --> 00:00:39,660 I guess, and I just couldn't mentally flip back to shorts and 13 00:00:39,670 --> 00:00:43,760 AT shirt and so I kept wearing wool jackets and stuff. 14 00:00:43,890 --> 00:00:46,800 I like parties. Yeah, I like, I'm, I'm a hoodie, 15 00:00:47,110 --> 00:00:49,300 hoodie guy through and through. Have been ever since my my 16 00:00:49,310 --> 00:00:53,420 teenage years from like the days where I'd go to concerts and buy 17 00:00:53,430 --> 00:00:56,830 band hoodies. That was so when fall comes 18 00:00:56,840 --> 00:00:59,060 around, I get very happy. OK, so the question of the day 19 00:00:59,070 --> 00:01:03,910 is, do you have all of the concert bodies still in your 20 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:07,770 closet somewhere, or was that one of the things that you gave 21 00:01:07,780 --> 00:01:14,180 up when you got married? There was a slow removal process 22 00:01:14,190 --> 00:01:18,590 over the course of many years, although I still have one of my 23 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:25,500 own band cities that my daughter now wears to school sometimes 24 00:01:25,770 --> 00:01:28,760 because I, I think it was, it was not one that ever fit me, 25 00:01:28,810 --> 00:01:31,710 but it was one that would like when we, when we broke up, like 26 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:36,160 there was a whole bunch of my band, not when we broke up. 27 00:01:36,170 --> 00:01:40,670 There was a whole bunch of extras in, in our like storage 28 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:42,620 space or whatever. And we just kind of divided them 29 00:01:42,630 --> 00:01:43,890 up. And I was like, oh, this one's 30 00:01:43,900 --> 00:01:48,710 like a, like a youth medium that's never gonna fit me. 31 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:51,880 But, and I just held on to it for like sentimentality sake. 32 00:01:51,950 --> 00:01:55,020 And then I pulled it out and I was like, ah, this would fit you 33 00:01:55,030 --> 00:01:57,240 perfect. And she was like, yeah, it fits 34 00:01:57,250 --> 00:01:58,300 me great. So anyway. 35 00:01:58,570 --> 00:02:01,460 I love that. I absolutely love that. 36 00:02:01,470 --> 00:02:03,460 That is great. So slow removal. 37 00:02:03,910 --> 00:02:10,850 Yeah, not surprise. Anyway, Good Samaritan, so this 38 00:02:10,860 --> 00:02:13,550 passage and you kind of touched on this a little bit on Sunday, 39 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:16,990 like is one of the most like well known. 40 00:02:17,460 --> 00:02:23,230 It's, it's so it's, it's, it's a, it's a cultural, it well 41 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:25,730 transcends culture. It's, it's something that has 42 00:02:25,740 --> 00:02:28,980 made its way into all of our modern verbage. 43 00:02:28,990 --> 00:02:31,590 When you talk about like a Good Samaritan, which is kind of just 44 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:35,650 code for like a good person who does a good deed, you know, 45 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:40,880 which is not the meaning really as well into a little bit more, 46 00:02:40,890 --> 00:02:45,780 but like it is something that that we we want to have a better 47 00:02:45,790 --> 00:02:48,120 understanding of. And and so you touched a little 48 00:02:48,130 --> 00:02:51,420 bit more on the on the expert in the law. 49 00:02:52,850 --> 00:02:54,470 And I do want to start there. Yeah. 50 00:02:54,550 --> 00:02:57,760 But we should we should actually a little bit later on dive a bit 51 00:02:57,770 --> 00:03:01,660 more into some some of what's happening in in this parable, 52 00:03:03,030 --> 00:03:06,920 the expert in the law, he does a couple things. 53 00:03:07,220 --> 00:03:10,710 So first, he, you know, he comes to Jesus, addresses him as 54 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:12,050 teacher. Good for him. 55 00:03:12,340 --> 00:03:16,650 He asks this question and I want to start here is what must I do 56 00:03:16,660 --> 00:03:23,700 to inherit eternal life, which is, I mean, that's kind of an 57 00:03:23,710 --> 00:03:28,540 Evergreen question. It's it's a question that, you 58 00:03:28,550 --> 00:03:32,440 know, people across spiritual spectrums are asking what like, 59 00:03:32,450 --> 00:03:38,310 what does it take for me to what whatever, you know, whatever 60 00:03:38,510 --> 00:03:42,140 culture's version of of the afterlife is, what does it take 61 00:03:42,150 --> 00:03:45,100 for me to get there? You know, and, and even today, 62 00:03:45,110 --> 00:03:47,980 you know, is reflecting on this, you know, like you have the 63 00:03:47,990 --> 00:03:50,640 president of the United States who's been like, you know, 64 00:03:50,790 --> 00:03:54,970 asking these questions about his his eternal fate and wondering 65 00:03:54,980 --> 00:03:58,410 whether he's done enough to to make it there and, and do that 66 00:03:58,420 --> 00:04:02,610 Like and and it's it's a weird moment where to find anyway. 67 00:04:02,660 --> 00:04:06,210 But this guy is, you know, 2000 years ago is asking a similar 68 00:04:06,220 --> 00:04:08,030 question. Yeah. 69 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:10,090 Yeah, it's, it is. You're right. 70 00:04:10,100 --> 00:04:13,450 It's an interesting day where you have one of the most public 71 00:04:13,500 --> 00:04:19,110 figures in the world openly wondering about his own 72 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:20,410 salvation. Right and. 73 00:04:20,420 --> 00:04:22,950 Questioning and questioning like I don't think I've done enough 74 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:26,310 right, like that in in kind of a negative way, like I don't think 75 00:04:26,380 --> 00:04:29,430 I will go like I don't think I'll make it. 76 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:32,670 And so I do think like this is a question that every single 77 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:37,440 person wrestles with at some point in their life, Be it when 78 00:04:37,450 --> 00:04:39,850 you are confronted with death, be it when you're confronted 79 00:04:39,860 --> 00:04:44,020 with your own, like the death of somebody else, your own 80 00:04:44,140 --> 00:04:46,670 mortality. You go through seasons of 81 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:50,270 illness, Maybe you come by it naturally and you've been asking 82 00:04:50,280 --> 00:04:53,270 this question your entire life. You know, people who are a 83 00:04:53,280 --> 00:04:57,350 little bit more like existentially angsty and, and 84 00:04:57,360 --> 00:04:58,850 just naturally wonder these questions. 85 00:04:58,860 --> 00:05:01,290 Some people just don't think about it at all. 86 00:05:01,300 --> 00:05:02,830 And then something blindsides them. 87 00:05:02,840 --> 00:05:03,730 And there we go. Oh my goodness. 88 00:05:03,740 --> 00:05:06,430 Like we do, we wrestle these things out. 89 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:11,190 I think it's interesting that like for this teacher, so sorry 90 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:14,270 for the for the expert in the law, he names Jesus teacher. 91 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:20,570 And so Rabbi teacher for the expert in the law. 92 00:05:21,310 --> 00:05:24,670 Yeah, yeah. Who who rises to test Jesus? 93 00:05:25,140 --> 00:05:28,790 What he's saying is, oh, you're like, you're a teacher. 94 00:05:29,590 --> 00:05:31,600 Are you going to give me the right answer? 95 00:05:31,670 --> 00:05:35,900 Like these experts would sit around debating this question. 96 00:05:35,910 --> 00:05:39,500 This is a common question for these lawyers, these experts in 97 00:05:39,510 --> 00:05:46,240 Jewish law to sit around just batting back and forth And that 98 00:05:46,250 --> 00:05:48,800 that would be a regular like occurrence. 99 00:05:48,870 --> 00:05:53,310 And really, I think in some way what what he's asking is, hey, 100 00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:56,730 are you going to give me the right answer or like, are you 101 00:05:56,740 --> 00:05:59,470 gonna stay within Orthodoxy, right? 102 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:02,260 Or are you gonna push the kind of envelope you're gonna push 103 00:06:02,270 --> 00:06:04,830 the limits? Are you going to give us really, 104 00:06:04,840 --> 00:06:08,170 are you gonna, am I gonna catch you saying something heretical 105 00:06:08,180 --> 00:06:13,530 or something technically, theologically wrong according to 106 00:06:14,100 --> 00:06:17,590 his particular view and interpretation of, of the law? 107 00:06:17,840 --> 00:06:20,610 So on the one hand, it's this question that like he rises, he 108 00:06:20,620 --> 00:06:22,930 says, teacher, he's priming Jesus. 109 00:06:22,940 --> 00:06:24,780 You see this happen all throughout the Gospels. 110 00:06:24,790 --> 00:06:27,900 Or, like, you're a teacher, you're a good teacher. 111 00:06:27,910 --> 00:06:29,160 Gotcha. Uh huh. 112 00:06:29,170 --> 00:06:30,600 Yeah. He's like, I'm setting you up. 113 00:06:30,610 --> 00:06:33,190 It's like, yeah, I'll butter you up and then I'll Wham, I'll give 114 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:35,870 you the, you know, I'll launch this question and you get stuck 115 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:39,800 with it. But like, Jesus doesn't bite at 116 00:06:39,810 --> 00:06:44,080 that, which is brilliant. So on the one hand, I see this 117 00:06:44,090 --> 00:06:46,790 question as, yeah, it's that kind of test. 118 00:06:47,190 --> 00:06:50,680 But on on a deeper level, I think it's exactly what you 119 00:06:50,690 --> 00:06:55,800 named, which is this question is something we all need to wrestle 120 00:06:55,810 --> 00:07:00,520 out at some point in our life. And I honestly think, you know, 121 00:07:00,530 --> 00:07:02,460 within reason, the sooner the better. 122 00:07:02,470 --> 00:07:05,620 Certainly if like, if you're an adult listener, you listener, 123 00:07:05,850 --> 00:07:09,450 like, the sooner you adult listener wrestle this question 124 00:07:09,460 --> 00:07:16,570 out, the the better for here and now and into the remainder of 125 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:19,610 your earthly life and existence and beyond. 126 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:25,460 So it's I. Really are getting existential 127 00:07:25,470 --> 00:07:27,760 on a on a Wednesday morning. Yeah, absolutely. 128 00:07:27,770 --> 00:07:29,900 I I think it's a great question to wrestle at. 129 00:07:29,910 --> 00:07:33,430 What Like what must I do to inherit eternal life? 130 00:07:34,510 --> 00:07:39,450 It's so interesting in Matthew, we get this similar question and 131 00:07:39,460 --> 00:07:45,330 I was just pulling it up earlier, but it's Matthew 19 and 132 00:07:45,550 --> 00:07:51,540 here it is. Ah, it's, it's so in my Bible, 133 00:07:51,550 --> 00:07:54,090 it's called the rich and the Kingdom of God. 134 00:07:55,250 --> 00:07:58,320 And so in this instance in Matthew, it reads like this, 135 00:07:58,330 --> 00:08:02,440 says just then a man came up to Jesus and asked teacher, what 136 00:08:02,510 --> 00:08:07,300 good thing must I do to get eternal life? 137 00:08:08,380 --> 00:08:12,950 It's a different tone to it and and like he's asking a specific 138 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:16,390 like what what deed, what what must good, what good thing must 139 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:20,460 I do like that's. So I, yeah, I flipped to this 140 00:08:20,470 --> 00:08:24,590 expert in the law. What must I do to inherit 141 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:26,030 eternal life? Yeah. 142 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:32,210 And here's this rich man. What good thing must I do to get 143 00:08:32,220 --> 00:08:38,610 eternal life? And I think they are naming in, 144 00:08:38,620 --> 00:08:43,169 in many ways, the way we also come about this question, which 145 00:08:43,179 --> 00:08:48,120 is what do I have to do? Which is exactly the question 146 00:08:48,130 --> 00:08:50,470 that you said, you know, the United States is asking, like, 147 00:08:50,560 --> 00:08:53,350 have I done enough? I don't think I've done enough. 148 00:08:53,400 --> 00:08:55,110 Yeah. But I think that's a question 149 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:59,070 that rattles around in our souls because human beings like we, we 150 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:03,370 really like measurable, quantifiable, like definable, 151 00:09:03,380 --> 00:09:07,460 attainable. Was in effect, you know, like I 152 00:09:07,470 --> 00:09:09,430 do this then that, yeah, absolutely. 153 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:13,500 You know, like if I if I can hedge my bets by by doing more 154 00:09:13,510 --> 00:09:16,010 of this to make sure that I get that net result. 155 00:09:16,020 --> 00:09:17,420 Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 156 00:09:17,430 --> 00:09:22,980 So it's like, you know, what must I do to retire at 65? 157 00:09:23,070 --> 00:09:28,060 Well, if I contribute X amount every month from the moment I 158 00:09:28,140 --> 00:09:31,840 turn 18 until the moment I like, you know you can start making 159 00:09:31,850 --> 00:09:34,760 those calculations and go. Start market crashes and. 160 00:09:34,770 --> 00:09:36,320 You're Yeah, absolutely. Then who knows? 161 00:09:36,430 --> 00:09:40,530 Yeah, you know, we, we like those step by step attainable. 162 00:09:40,540 --> 00:09:44,090 If this, then that I can, I can do this, Yeah. 163 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:50,230 And I think it's worth naming that we come, I think very often 164 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:52,140 to Jesus with that same question. 165 00:09:53,230 --> 00:09:56,920 But really at the end of the day, what we see in this in this 166 00:09:56,930 --> 00:10:00,640 exchange with Jesus is that Jesus holds up a mirror to this 167 00:10:00,650 --> 00:10:04,120 guy and says in, in essence, there's nothing you can do. 168 00:10:05,470 --> 00:10:07,940 Yeah, because he says what he what he says is, oh, just keep 169 00:10:07,950 --> 00:10:10,160 the entire law. Love the Lord your God with all 170 00:10:10,170 --> 00:10:11,900 your heart, soul, mind, strength, love your neighbor as 171 00:10:11,910 --> 00:10:15,520 yourself. Commonly brought together, 172 00:10:15,530 --> 00:10:21,960 Deuteronomy and Leviticus commonly brought together as a 173 00:10:21,970 --> 00:10:27,150 way of representing the entirety of the law in a similar way 174 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:29,300 that, you know, talking about the 10 commandments is really 175 00:10:29,310 --> 00:10:32,520 talking about the 10 commandments and all of the law 176 00:10:32,590 --> 00:10:36,490 that was given to Moses. This had by Jesus and become a 177 00:10:36,500 --> 00:10:40,950 very popular sentence or statement answer to the question 178 00:10:41,060 --> 00:10:44,690 when really what they're saying is love Lord God with their 179 00:10:44,700 --> 00:10:47,270 heart, soul, mind, strength. Love your neighbor as yourself 180 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:51,340 encapsulates the entirety of the law. 181 00:10:51,350 --> 00:10:56,180 So with all of this doing all of these things, you inherit 182 00:10:56,190 --> 00:10:57,910 eternal life. She just says do this and you 183 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:00,180 will live. Which is also from Leviticus. 184 00:11:00,190 --> 00:11:03,800 Well, shoot, the one who does this, who does these things, 185 00:11:03,810 --> 00:11:10,000 will live by them. And I think in that moment, what 186 00:11:10,010 --> 00:11:15,080 becomes brutally, honestly clear to this teacher of the law is I 187 00:11:15,090 --> 00:11:19,250 haven't done those things. So now what? 188 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:22,090 Jesus held up a mirror. Say, do all these things and you 189 00:11:22,100 --> 00:11:27,850 will live. And I go, well, I don't, and so 190 00:11:27,860 --> 00:11:30,990 now what? And that's where Jesus flips 191 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:33,790 into the parable of the Good Samaritan. 192 00:11:33,860 --> 00:11:37,720 Yeah, to really illustrate what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. 193 00:11:40,030 --> 00:11:43,860 So Jesus responds, You have answered correctly. 194 00:11:44,150 --> 00:11:50,100 So he, he's like, you know, you, you have cognitively understood 195 00:11:50,170 --> 00:11:56,130 the reality of the situation. Interesting that he doesn't go 196 00:11:56,140 --> 00:12:01,170 into sort of like questioning whether or not he has actually 197 00:12:01,180 --> 00:12:02,710 lived out. I think it's probably the, the 198 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:04,590 safe assumption that he, the man hasn't. 199 00:12:04,670 --> 00:12:08,090 And so there's no point in, you know, his, the, the man's 200 00:12:08,100 --> 00:12:10,110 gotcha. Jesus kind of returns with 201 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:16,510 another gotcha. Yeah, so then the man wanted to 202 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:20,140 justify himself, and he asks this other, you know, what feels 203 00:12:20,150 --> 00:12:23,590 like a very poignant question? Both of them. 204 00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:27,550 And now who is my neighbor? Who is my neighbor? 205 00:12:29,450 --> 00:12:31,940 And that's when Jesus launches into this parable. 206 00:12:32,090 --> 00:12:35,520 But like, just even pause there for a second and, and just to 207 00:12:35,530 --> 00:12:40,860 like reflect on that question of of, you know, the way that he's 208 00:12:40,870 --> 00:12:47,950 asking it, he is asking it to well, he's not asking it to 209 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:51,050 like, just, you know, have an honest discussion about the, you 210 00:12:51,060 --> 00:12:54,630 know, clarifying, Well, you know, it, it it really is OK. 211 00:12:54,640 --> 00:13:00,360 What are the boundaries of my love that I am I ought to give 212 00:13:00,370 --> 00:13:02,690 to people? And I feel like this is a 213 00:13:02,700 --> 00:13:06,430 question that that we are often wrestling out in real time. 214 00:13:06,500 --> 00:13:13,740 Like I, I know, I know for me it is very easy to love people that 215 00:13:13,790 --> 00:13:18,480 look and act and believe the way that I look, act and believe. 216 00:13:18,490 --> 00:13:23,740 And that when you look at people across a political spectrum, 217 00:13:23,750 --> 00:13:28,180 across a religious person perspective across whatever 218 00:13:28,190 --> 00:13:31,530 else, right? Like that's when it gets real 219 00:13:31,540 --> 00:13:35,760 hard and it feels like the whole, the whole parable that 220 00:13:35,770 --> 00:13:40,940 Jesus gives after this is like, no, it, it is it your neighbor 221 00:13:40,950 --> 00:13:45,080 is, is not just the people that are in your affinity group. 222 00:13:46,290 --> 00:13:49,900 So I don't know if you want to go with that, but just to say 223 00:13:49,910 --> 00:13:57,010 like it, this is one of the greatest questions or the I 224 00:13:57,020 --> 00:13:59,090 mean, it's not a great question, but it's a great, it's a 225 00:13:59,100 --> 00:14:03,700 question that we need to grapple with and that I see Christians 226 00:14:03,710 --> 00:14:05,590 in real time. And I, when I go on, I think I 227 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:10,580 was on like I for some stupid reason went on Twitter yesterday 228 00:14:10,650 --> 00:14:13,120 and I saw someone. Yeah. 229 00:14:13,470 --> 00:14:18,790 Missed incorrectly in misinterpreting this question, 230 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:22,360 basically saying, like, well, my neighbor is only my, my, my kin, 231 00:14:22,410 --> 00:14:24,620 my affinity group. And so I don't actually need to 232 00:14:24,630 --> 00:14:27,680 love those people. Yeah. 233 00:14:27,750 --> 00:14:32,540 So like, biblical illiteracy is still running rampant here. 234 00:14:32,610 --> 00:14:36,140 Yeah. So this is, I mean the the 235 00:14:36,150 --> 00:14:41,530 teacher of the expert and the law would have working 236 00:14:41,540 --> 00:14:48,220 assumption is that neighbor is only a relevant term, a relevant 237 00:14:48,230 --> 00:14:55,130 term to be used for other law observing Jews. 238 00:14:55,140 --> 00:15:00,090 Yeah, like that's kind of the base assumption is that neighbor 239 00:15:00,100 --> 00:15:06,220 is exactly what you've said. Neighbor is kin, neighbor is 240 00:15:06,510 --> 00:15:12,400 friend, Neighbor is same beliefs, same religion, same 241 00:15:12,410 --> 00:15:20,080 practices. Neighbor is not those outside of 242 00:15:20,130 --> 00:15:24,620 in this day like biblical Israel, right and even within 243 00:15:24,630 --> 00:15:30,680 that like very clearly law observing Jewish people. 244 00:15:31,530 --> 00:15:35,000 So I do think and and we didn't talk too much about this on 245 00:15:35,010 --> 00:15:38,520 Sunday, but I do think that really the lawyer is still 246 00:15:38,530 --> 00:15:41,800 trying to trick and trap. He's still trying to test Jesus 247 00:15:42,490 --> 00:15:51,590 because in some way he's, he's doubled down on his question and 248 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:55,190 said, well, who is my who, who, who do you consider to be my 249 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:58,030 neighbor? Because I know what's correct in 250 00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:03,070 the eyes of the law. So now Jesus has actually given 251 00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:07,000 an answer that's technically like incorrect in their 252 00:16:07,070 --> 00:16:12,860 understanding of law in the day. So it's interesting to me that 253 00:16:12,870 --> 00:16:16,060 the the lawyer actually concedes the point at the end. 254 00:16:16,070 --> 00:16:18,500 Hmm. You know, he's, he's been 255 00:16:18,510 --> 00:16:21,620 convinced to some degree when he says, OK, fine. 256 00:16:22,030 --> 00:16:24,840 You know, like the one who had mercy on him, he's the one who 257 00:16:24,850 --> 00:16:30,770 acted like the neighbor. So, you know, I, I think to your 258 00:16:30,780 --> 00:16:36,160 to your point, though, we still like that same question, who is 259 00:16:36,170 --> 00:16:38,780 my neighbor? Because it still puts us in 260 00:16:38,790 --> 00:16:42,670 control. It still allows us to include 261 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:49,020 and exclude based on my own comfort and what I would like to 262 00:16:49,030 --> 00:16:51,580 see what makes me content or happy. 263 00:16:51,590 --> 00:16:56,500 And and it avoids or even allows us to exclude intentionally 264 00:16:56,510 --> 00:17:00,020 exclude what makes us the most uncomfortable. 265 00:17:00,450 --> 00:17:04,770 And you know, my I can still well, you know, if I choose to 266 00:17:04,780 --> 00:17:08,520 have charity towards someone, then hey, good for me. 267 00:17:09,420 --> 00:17:13,329 But you know, that's over and above what's kind of expected of 268 00:17:13,339 --> 00:17:15,430 me. Yeah, and I think we do this. 269 00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:16,950 So I I just want to challenge people. 270 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:21,829 I think we do this every even day around. 271 00:17:21,940 --> 00:17:26,569 Think about your real actual quote next door neighbors. 272 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:33,840 Um, you know, and are there folks in your neighborhood that 273 00:17:33,850 --> 00:17:37,790 you avoid? Are there individuals Now listen 274 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:41,050 like, you know, there, there might be individuals that you 275 00:17:41,060 --> 00:17:42,850 just for safety's sake need to avoid. 276 00:17:42,860 --> 00:17:45,670 You know, I'm not saying put yourself in harm's way, but you 277 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:49,010 know, do you have neighbors that you get along really well with 278 00:17:49,020 --> 00:17:51,650 and you invest in because they're fun and you know, you 279 00:17:51,660 --> 00:17:54,670 enjoy time with them? And do you have other neighbors 280 00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:58,280 that you avoid because they do silly things like leaf blow at 281 00:17:58,290 --> 00:18:02,090 6:00 AM on a Saturday morning or put up big old like, Halloween 282 00:18:02,100 --> 00:18:06,750 decorations on the front lawn? Or like, I don't know, drive 283 00:18:06,760 --> 00:18:10,140 loud cars that wake everybody up in the middle of like those are 284 00:18:10,150 --> 00:18:14,290 random examples. But you're speaking. 285 00:18:14,360 --> 00:18:18,070 You're speaking to me. I got a neighbor who has loud 286 00:18:18,080 --> 00:18:22,430 trucks and sometimes they Rev them at all hours of the night. 287 00:18:22,660 --> 00:18:26,670 So like, I, I think that the challenge of this, the challenge 288 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:32,010 of this parable is to get out of the mindset of asking who is my 289 00:18:32,020 --> 00:18:40,310 neighbor and into a mindset of asking how am I being the 290 00:18:40,320 --> 00:18:42,250 neighbor? Well, yeah. 291 00:18:42,300 --> 00:18:46,130 And you know, I would just to, to back up for a second, our 292 00:18:46,140 --> 00:18:48,990 like our mission statement to be rooted in Jesus as a church, 293 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:51,390 right? To be rooted in Jesus, grow as a 294 00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:54,550 community, and become trusted neighbors. 295 00:18:54,740 --> 00:18:59,130 And we've often interpreted that like for our church at least as 296 00:18:59,140 --> 00:19:04,150 like that we are present in a very specific neighborhood here 297 00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:10,610 in, in Guelph ON Canada and that we want to invest in our literal 298 00:19:10,620 --> 00:19:12,490 neighborhood. But then there's obviously the 299 00:19:12,500 --> 00:19:14,540 extension of, hey, we're not, we don't all live in this 300 00:19:14,550 --> 00:19:16,750 neighborhood. We all have actual literal 301 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:21,710 neighbors where we live. And so let's also like be 302 00:19:21,820 --> 00:19:24,390 trusted neighbors to those neighbors, right? 303 00:19:24,460 --> 00:19:28,890 But I think the broader point is, is that I think it's like a 304 00:19:29,060 --> 00:19:32,490 John Mark Comer quote where he's talking about this, this 305 00:19:32,500 --> 00:19:35,330 parable. And, and he says like, you know, 306 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:40,210 and I'm paraphrasing, this is not the actual quote, but it's 307 00:19:40,220 --> 00:19:46,420 something to the effect of of like, you know, your neighbor. 308 00:19:46,430 --> 00:19:49,020 I should really look this up and I'm probably gonna like splice 309 00:19:49,030 --> 00:19:52,660 in a a quote later. But put this, put the ink quotes 310 00:19:52,670 --> 00:19:55,320 over, yeah. Video, but it's like it's not 311 00:19:55,330 --> 00:19:57,900 less than your actual neighbor. Like you know, yeah, your 312 00:19:57,910 --> 00:20:01,340 neighbor is everyone, but it's actually like that includes your 313 00:20:01,350 --> 00:20:04,210 actual neighbors, right? I'll get that. 314 00:20:04,220 --> 00:20:06,600 It might be. I think what he says is like it. 315 00:20:06,610 --> 00:20:09,660 It might be more then like it is often more than your literal 316 00:20:09,670 --> 00:20:11,850 next door neighbor. It's not, but it's not less than 317 00:20:11,860 --> 00:20:13,680 your literal next door neighbor. You are called. 318 00:20:13,730 --> 00:20:17,400 And so I think the reason why I'm convinced that we've got the 319 00:20:17,410 --> 00:20:21,740 language right in our mission statement is that we didn't say, 320 00:20:22,170 --> 00:20:24,200 yeah, we're going to learn to trust our neighbors. 321 00:20:24,990 --> 00:20:27,270 No, it's like we're going to become the trusted neighbor. 322 00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:29,700 Yeah. And again, that's not a who is 323 00:20:29,710 --> 00:20:33,680 my neighbor? That's a how are we being the 324 00:20:33,690 --> 00:20:37,120 neighbor? So then my mind goes to, OK, if 325 00:20:37,130 --> 00:20:40,380 we're not called to ask who is my neighbor? 326 00:20:40,450 --> 00:20:44,100 We're called to challenge, be challenged by how are we the 327 00:20:44,110 --> 00:20:48,240 neighbor? What does the neighbor do in 328 00:20:48,250 --> 00:20:52,730 Jesus parable? Right How how is how is 329 00:20:52,790 --> 00:20:56,570 neighboring like if I could use that term? 330 00:20:56,640 --> 00:21:01,420 How is neighboring fleshed out by Jesus in the parable? 331 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:06,290 Because I, I see that as so not only, not only do I not get to 332 00:21:06,300 --> 00:21:10,630 choose who my neighbor is, I have to become the neighbor. 333 00:21:11,510 --> 00:21:15,140 I have to do it in a very specific way, which is still not 334 00:21:15,150 --> 00:21:18,140 just, well, I'll do a good thing for somebody. 335 00:21:18,370 --> 00:21:23,280 It is, like I think I said on Sunday, over the top abundant 336 00:21:23,330 --> 00:21:27,720 generosity. Like it is lavish generosity 337 00:21:27,730 --> 00:21:31,670 that this guy shows to somebody who would have considered him 338 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:36,320 the enemy. I also think, and this is like, 339 00:21:37,340 --> 00:21:40,610 sometimes it's easy in our in our homes or just wherever we 340 00:21:40,620 --> 00:21:45,430 are to like just sort of go on autopilot in, in our, in our 341 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:48,780 like just go about our day, you know, like you're mowing the 342 00:21:48,790 --> 00:21:51,150 lawn and you see something weird, but then you just sort of 343 00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:53,470 like that was weird and move on, right. 344 00:21:55,090 --> 00:21:58,220 And I think that there's something about this the, the 345 00:21:58,230 --> 00:22:04,190 Samaritan just even like paying attention to what's happening 346 00:22:04,260 --> 00:22:08,310 in, in, in, as he's walking on this road to, from Jerusalem to 347 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:14,160 Jericho, that he's not just like, oh, that's weird. 348 00:22:14,510 --> 00:22:16,900 And then just keep going, right? Because I mean, you, you can 349 00:22:16,910 --> 00:22:21,420 kind of see in the, in the examples of the Levite and the 350 00:22:21,430 --> 00:22:25,920 priest that there is a bit of an intentionality to their 351 00:22:25,930 --> 00:22:30,650 avoidance of this man, right? Whereas, whereas the, the, the 352 00:22:30,660 --> 00:22:34,890 intentionality for this Samaritan to just pay attention 353 00:22:34,900 --> 00:22:37,040 to what's happening around him, right? 354 00:22:37,270 --> 00:22:40,240 And I think about, you know, I think about our own, my own 355 00:22:40,250 --> 00:22:43,070 neighborhood where sometimes weird things happen. 356 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:46,350 We, we live on a like it's a busier St. and there's a lot of 357 00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:48,750 action. Like there's, you know, the sun 358 00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:52,270 early Sunday mornings and early Saturday mornings. 359 00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:55,550 It's the weekend and there's people coming in from downtown 360 00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:59,410 and cars are cars get broken into all the time and that kind 361 00:22:59,420 --> 00:23:03,160 of stuff. But like just being aware when 362 00:23:03,170 --> 00:23:05,600 like something potentially dangerous is happening, you 363 00:23:05,610 --> 00:23:08,180 know, like there been times when I've heard like yelling and 364 00:23:08,190 --> 00:23:13,040 screaming outside of my, you know, outside of our house 365 00:23:13,290 --> 00:23:16,390 because there's some people that are intoxicated or whatever that 366 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:20,620 are getting into an altercation. And one time there was a guy 367 00:23:20,850 --> 00:23:25,820 that was speaking in a way to a young woman that was like really 368 00:23:25,830 --> 00:23:28,160 giving me like my, my Spidey senses were going off and I was 369 00:23:28,170 --> 00:23:29,620 like, I'm going to intervene here. 370 00:23:29,670 --> 00:23:33,470 And I, and I did, I could have just went back to sleep. 371 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:34,950 I probably wouldn't have felt good about that. 372 00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:38,010 And so like I went on our way cause I'm like, I need like this 373 00:23:38,020 --> 00:23:40,690 could be unsafe, right? We, we need to do something 374 00:23:40,700 --> 00:23:43,070 right? Yeah, and and like just being 375 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:47,570 aware and and willing to go the next step. 376 00:23:47,820 --> 00:23:55,230 Yeah, yeah, Yeah. I think right on at at minimum, 377 00:23:56,240 --> 00:24:00,270 I'll say that cautiously. I think one of the challenges is 378 00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:05,690 to be aware, intentionally watch, look, engage. 379 00:24:05,780 --> 00:24:12,020 We live in such a cultural moment where a like an age of 380 00:24:12,030 --> 00:24:18,110 distraction could be like constant partial attentiveness 381 00:24:18,540 --> 00:24:21,970 or you know, in the in the inverse, like constant partial 382 00:24:21,980 --> 00:24:24,630 distraction. Yeah, is everywhere. 383 00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:27,920 Your family really struggles with this because we're all like 384 00:24:27,970 --> 00:24:29,840 overwhelmed. We try to go to a restaurant and 385 00:24:29,850 --> 00:24:32,380 eat and it's like, well who's gonna sit facing the TV because 386 00:24:32,390 --> 00:24:35,520 it can't be me and right. And like, you know, a couple 387 00:24:36,130 --> 00:24:38,840 just kind of trying to figure out how to how do we do that? 388 00:24:38,850 --> 00:24:41,690 We need, you know what we need someone to open up a restaurant 389 00:24:41,700 --> 00:24:45,760 with 0 screens in it. Like none. 390 00:24:45,810 --> 00:24:47,780 No CVS. The Mandarin. 391 00:24:49,220 --> 00:24:51,290 OK, yeah, except you know this about me. 392 00:24:51,300 --> 00:24:53,970 The last time I went to the Mandarin Man, it was like I was 393 00:24:53,980 --> 00:24:55,350 15. And we all end up with food 394 00:24:55,360 --> 00:24:57,660 poisoning. The only reason I bring that up 395 00:24:57,670 --> 00:24:59,560 is because we were there. I was there a couple weeks ago 396 00:24:59,570 --> 00:25:05,230 for my Lindsey's grandparents anniversary party and and we 397 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:07,750 were we all wanted TV because it was during like the first 398 00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:08,430 playoff. Game. 399 00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:11,040 That's right. So so there was like 3 of us 400 00:25:11,050 --> 00:25:13,570 that had it on our phones because there was no TV's. 401 00:25:13,580 --> 00:25:15,370 You brought your own screen. Yeah, we sure did. 402 00:25:15,380 --> 00:25:16,870 It's. Bad, so bad. 403 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:20,740 You know, I think there's, there's this, there's this 404 00:25:20,750 --> 00:25:23,580 constant partial distraction that we all live with, whether 405 00:25:23,590 --> 00:25:26,380 it's externally driven by what is going on around us. 406 00:25:26,390 --> 00:25:29,820 Like the world has become louder than ever before. 407 00:25:30,490 --> 00:25:36,970 So even just they've they've done research on decibel level 408 00:25:36,980 --> 00:25:41,630 and health for those who live on a Main Street versus those who 409 00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:43,490 live just off that same Main Street. 410 00:25:43,500 --> 00:25:45,810 Yeah, right. And we've always, there's always 411 00:25:45,820 --> 00:25:48,970 been studies that show it's really healthy to live by water, 412 00:25:48,980 --> 00:25:52,060 like by by bodies of water, by big lakes or by oceans. 413 00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:55,490 But what are some of the actual like deeper kind of things going 414 00:25:55,500 --> 00:25:58,970 on? Well, you know, we, we felt that 415 00:25:58,980 --> 00:26:01,150 when we left the city. When I say the city, like when 416 00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:03,670 we moved out of Hamilton and came to Guelph and moved to a 417 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:07,700 quiet St. like I, I don't think I've slept better over the 418 00:26:07,710 --> 00:26:13,120 course of a year in a long time because I had just how much less 419 00:26:13,130 --> 00:26:16,630 noise there is constantly. So whether it's external or 420 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:19,980 whether it's internal work in our own sort of mental 421 00:26:19,990 --> 00:26:24,220 distraction, thinking about the important and significant things 422 00:26:24,230 --> 00:26:26,260 that are going on in our own lives. 423 00:26:27,030 --> 00:26:30,210 One of the things that this parable does challenge us to 424 00:26:30,220 --> 00:26:32,260 think really practically about is no, you're right. 425 00:26:32,270 --> 00:26:34,740 I'm I'm going to choose to be aware, I'm going to choose to 426 00:26:34,750 --> 00:26:36,740 watch. I'm going to choose to see what 427 00:26:36,750 --> 00:26:40,540 is happening and not ignore it. You can't blame the Levite and 428 00:26:40,550 --> 00:26:42,720 the priest too much. Like, I think, you know, we have 429 00:26:42,730 --> 00:26:45,370 this tendency to, like, just be really harsh. 430 00:26:45,500 --> 00:26:48,820 But they are choosing, in their mind, they're choosing what they 431 00:26:48,830 --> 00:26:52,870 think to be right, which is their duty to the law and to the 432 00:26:52,880 --> 00:26:57,210 people as religious officials. So if they had touched this guy 433 00:26:57,220 --> 00:27:00,190 and he turned out to be dead, then they couldn't go and be the 434 00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:03,250 priest and the Levite. So priest in the temple and 435 00:27:03,260 --> 00:27:07,220 Levite helper within the temple, they couldn't go and do that. 436 00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:10,290 So if they were on their way, in theory, they're either they're 437 00:27:10,300 --> 00:27:16,200 on their way to the temple in all likelihood, and they would 438 00:27:16,210 --> 00:27:18,500 not be able to do that had they stopped. 439 00:27:18,510 --> 00:27:22,140 So like, we can be harsh on them, but what else could be 440 00:27:22,150 --> 00:27:23,490 going on? Like this could be a, this could 441 00:27:23,500 --> 00:27:25,840 be a diversion. There could be robbers waiting. 442 00:27:25,850 --> 00:27:28,020 Like they've beat this one guy up and they're like, we're going 443 00:27:28,030 --> 00:27:31,000 to not just take his stuff, but now we're going to use him as 444 00:27:31,010 --> 00:27:34,820 bait and we're going to wait and see who else we can draw in. 445 00:27:36,420 --> 00:27:40,030 So you kind of like, here's this Samaritan who's aware of all of 446 00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:48,510 this and still chooses to lean in and go the extra, you know, 447 00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:51,510 few miles of, of taking care of him. 448 00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:57,910 And so be aware, it's a great place to start. 449 00:27:57,920 --> 00:27:59,790 Just choose to see people. Yeah, right. 450 00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:04,400 How often do we intentionally try to ignore the least and last 451 00:28:04,410 --> 00:28:09,960 and most underprivileged and disadvantaged in our own 452 00:28:09,970 --> 00:28:11,180 society? Yeah, right. 453 00:28:11,190 --> 00:28:16,300 Start thinking about like even just and there are so many 454 00:28:16,310 --> 00:28:19,720 different ways that we could go here, but how we how we want to 455 00:28:19,730 --> 00:28:23,240 talk about houseless or you know, what we've previously 456 00:28:23,250 --> 00:28:26,820 referred to as homelessness. What How do we How do we want to 457 00:28:26,830 --> 00:28:29,760 treat those who are living on the street? 458 00:28:29,770 --> 00:28:34,700 How do we want to? Like many, there are many, many, 459 00:28:34,710 --> 00:28:39,680 many bylaws designed essentially to move it out of sight. 460 00:28:39,750 --> 00:28:41,700 Yeah. So you just don't see it. 461 00:28:41,820 --> 00:28:45,230 Hmm. Drug use and addiction, right. 462 00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:50,660 We try to ship it out so that we don't see it in our own everyday 463 00:28:50,670 --> 00:28:53,020 life. We try to sanitize what we see 464 00:28:54,140 --> 00:28:59,890 seniors right into home. So again, there's and that's not 465 00:28:59,900 --> 00:29:01,230 all bad. I'm not saying that that's 466 00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:05,000 that's necessarily some people need care that I can't give them 467 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:07,580 like I shouldn't be administering medication right? 468 00:29:07,590 --> 00:29:10,690 Like that's not a thing, but we've created a lot of 469 00:29:10,700 --> 00:29:17,500 mechanisms within our society that that ship out the those 470 00:29:18,300 --> 00:29:22,490 whom Jesus calls us to see. Yeah, when I think about like 471 00:29:22,500 --> 00:29:25,970 even just another example within all of those examples, like just 472 00:29:25,980 --> 00:29:29,730 like some of the pervasive mental health challenges that 473 00:29:29,740 --> 00:29:31,410 people face. And like I said, I'm on a busy 474 00:29:31,420 --> 00:29:33,080 St. Sometimes there are people 475 00:29:33,090 --> 00:29:39,030 having like an episode of some kind just just wandering about 476 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:40,530 the street. And. 477 00:29:40,540 --> 00:29:43,470 And one of the one of the greatest challenges in that, 478 00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:46,880 which makes me think of this parable a little bit, is like, 479 00:29:46,940 --> 00:29:50,370 how do I, how do I approach, how do I approach this situation? 480 00:29:50,380 --> 00:29:51,910 I want to do something. I want to help. 481 00:29:51,950 --> 00:29:54,700 Sometimes I feel helpless. Sometimes I'm like, is it, is it 482 00:29:54,710 --> 00:29:58,980 a good idea to call 911? Is it a good idea to, to just 483 00:29:58,990 --> 00:30:02,120 sort of, you know, observe, make sure he's safe? 484 00:30:02,130 --> 00:30:07,590 You know, like, like there's, there's so many questions that 485 00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:10,540 we need to ask ourselves when there is, you know, when, when 486 00:30:10,550 --> 00:30:13,180 there is someone who, you know, we're aware of a situation, we 487 00:30:13,190 --> 00:30:16,500 see it happening, but then it's like, OK, what, what can I do? 488 00:30:16,540 --> 00:30:18,540 Right? And sometimes we can be 489 00:30:18,550 --> 00:30:23,100 paralyzed even just by, you know, not knowing how to help, 490 00:30:23,110 --> 00:30:28,080 how to approach. But I, I think the better thing 491 00:30:28,090 --> 00:30:31,280 is that we're just wrestling it out like, say, like, like that. 492 00:30:31,290 --> 00:30:34,010 I would prefer that we actually ask the question of how can I 493 00:30:34,020 --> 00:30:37,060 help rather than whether we should or should not help. 494 00:30:37,130 --> 00:30:39,980 It's what is the most helpful thing in this situation. 495 00:30:40,020 --> 00:30:43,720 And sometimes we don't know the answer, you know, but I, I've, I 496 00:30:43,730 --> 00:30:47,320 know that I have really wrestled that, you know, in my 497 00:30:47,370 --> 00:30:50,820 neighborhood. And I think, you know, just to 498 00:30:50,830 --> 00:30:56,020 say, obviously what we're not saying is go and put yourself in 499 00:30:56,030 --> 00:30:58,620 incredibly dangerous situations by yourself. 500 00:30:58,630 --> 00:30:59,860 Yeah, right. Yeah. 501 00:30:59,930 --> 00:31:01,590 We're not encouraging you to do that. 502 00:31:01,600 --> 00:31:03,750 Yeah. So please don't make that the 503 00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:07,040 take away from this. I think you're right. 504 00:31:07,050 --> 00:31:13,290 I think if you are genuinely wrestling out what to do, I 505 00:31:13,300 --> 00:31:18,230 think that's that should not give you cause to beat yourself 506 00:31:18,240 --> 00:31:20,070 up. Yeah, if you wrestle that out 507 00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:23,330 and in in that acute moment, decide not to do something. 508 00:31:23,340 --> 00:31:24,530 But. We're not gonna get it right 509 00:31:24,540 --> 00:31:26,130 every. Time no, but then choose to live 510 00:31:26,140 --> 00:31:28,870 differently because of it, right. 511 00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:36,410 So, you know, maybe one of the easiest, like so significant, 512 00:31:36,460 --> 00:31:40,700 but maybe like low hanging fruit is go put yourself in a 513 00:31:40,710 --> 00:31:46,740 community where there are groups of people intentionally doing 514 00:31:46,750 --> 00:31:50,380 something right. So we have a, we have a food 515 00:31:50,390 --> 00:31:55,120 covered that you can volunteer at and we need volunteers for 516 00:31:55,130 --> 00:31:57,840 that food cupboard. Use a pitch right everyone, come 517 00:31:57,850 --> 00:32:00,280 on. And that could be, that could be 518 00:32:00,290 --> 00:32:04,160 unloading the orders that come every week into our room. 519 00:32:04,170 --> 00:32:08,100 It could be sitting while the actual food covered is open for 520 00:32:08,110 --> 00:32:12,780 people to come and meet. It could, you know, honestly, it 521 00:32:12,790 --> 00:32:17,590 could be spreading the word about the resources that are 522 00:32:17,600 --> 00:32:20,430 available through our church community. 523 00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:24,770 So that's why I think at the end of the day, you and I, we often 524 00:32:24,780 --> 00:32:28,570 like, beat the drum of get yourself involved in community 525 00:32:29,180 --> 00:32:33,750 because what we want to do as a church is position ourselves to 526 00:32:34,130 --> 00:32:42,640 to be a hub for both those who require help. 527 00:32:42,710 --> 00:32:45,180 Yeah. And those who are looking for a 528 00:32:45,190 --> 00:32:47,700 way to do something. You're sitting there like, I 529 00:32:47,710 --> 00:32:49,300 wanna do something. I just don't know what that 530 00:32:49,310 --> 00:32:51,680 thing is. Don't go reinvent the wheel on 531 00:32:51,690 --> 00:32:52,800 your own. Yeah. 532 00:32:52,850 --> 00:32:56,600 There's so many opportunities within our church, within the 533 00:32:56,610 --> 00:33:05,600 city to, to where you can learn how to love your neighbor in 534 00:33:05,610 --> 00:33:09,430 very practical ways. Yeah, I mean, the, the 535 00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:14,740 opportunities are endless. I, I think I can be prone toward 536 00:33:14,790 --> 00:33:18,370 sometimes like, like fatalistic thinking about about, you know, 537 00:33:18,380 --> 00:33:20,520 like, well, what difference can I make, right? 538 00:33:20,590 --> 00:33:24,280 But the reality is like if we're, if we're, if we're 539 00:33:24,890 --> 00:33:31,570 helping people to receive care of of any kind, like the answer 540 00:33:31,580 --> 00:33:33,140 is a lot. Yeah, we, we can do a lot. 541 00:33:33,150 --> 00:33:37,130 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I, I wanna focus maybe less 542 00:33:37,140 --> 00:33:43,890 on this like just lavish kind of generosity that the Samaritan 543 00:33:43,900 --> 00:33:48,510 shows because I think it's reflective of the generosity 544 00:33:48,520 --> 00:33:52,670 that God shows to us. And I alluded to that a little 545 00:33:52,680 --> 00:33:54,810 bit. Like, you know, we like to see 546 00:33:54,820 --> 00:33:57,750 ourselves as the Good Samaritan, right? 547 00:33:58,740 --> 00:34:03,340 Maybe in our darker moments, we gotta wrestle out the expert of 548 00:34:03,350 --> 00:34:06,530 the law inside of us, right, when we rise to justify 549 00:34:06,540 --> 00:34:10,889 ourselves or test Jesus. But really, I think at the end 550 00:34:10,900 --> 00:34:15,100 of the day, what the gospel says is you're the you're the, the 551 00:34:15,110 --> 00:34:19,500 dude who's beat up, half dead, left for dead on the side of the 552 00:34:19,510 --> 00:34:23,090 road. Desperately in need of generous 553 00:34:23,100 --> 00:34:29,409 care from a good neighbor. And, and Jesus steps into that 554 00:34:29,420 --> 00:34:34,949 role in perfection, right? And so I think, like, I think 555 00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:39,250 that's also something that each of us needs to wrestle out is, 556 00:34:39,560 --> 00:34:43,440 you know, not while I think it's a good inclination. 557 00:34:43,449 --> 00:34:44,639 Go. Yep, I'm going to go and be the 558 00:34:44,650 --> 00:34:46,040 Good Samaritan. Yeah. 559 00:34:46,090 --> 00:34:48,440 I'm going to try to fight the urge to be the expert in the 560 00:34:48,449 --> 00:34:49,360 law. Yeah. 561 00:34:49,630 --> 00:34:55,260 Actually, what we need most is to receive this generosity from 562 00:34:55,270 --> 00:35:01,420 Jesus and find ourselves on the side of the road receiving care 563 00:35:01,710 --> 00:35:09,980 and being mended and yeah, allowing God to be that one who 564 00:35:09,990 --> 00:35:16,140 is generous toward us. So I think we like is I know for 565 00:35:16,150 --> 00:35:18,960 myself, right, What's easier than being vulnerable helping 566 00:35:18,970 --> 00:35:22,620 somebody else? What often feels better than 567 00:35:22,630 --> 00:35:25,090 being vulnerable helping somebody else? 568 00:35:25,290 --> 00:35:27,620 Yeah, right. We can kind of mask like our own 569 00:35:27,630 --> 00:35:32,730 need by good works and good deeds because that, like at the 570 00:35:32,740 --> 00:35:35,200 end of the day, it's not. I said that too many times in 571 00:35:35,210 --> 00:35:38,810 the sermon. At the end of the day, it's not 572 00:35:39,080 --> 00:35:44,390 about what good you can do. And that's the I think that's 573 00:35:44,400 --> 00:35:50,600 the other mistake we can make in reading this parable is we can 574 00:35:50,610 --> 00:35:55,760 link the guys question, what must I do to inherit eternal 575 00:35:55,770 --> 00:35:58,760 life? And then Jesus saying go and do 576 00:35:58,810 --> 00:36:01,070 likewise. Right. 577 00:36:01,080 --> 00:36:04,990 So you can end up causing maybe an incorrect link of like, well, 578 00:36:05,200 --> 00:36:09,050 these are the things you must do here 123 you need to and 579 00:36:09,060 --> 00:36:13,130 including, you know, serving all of all of the poor beat up 580 00:36:13,140 --> 00:36:17,250 people on the side of the road. Yeah, and it does feel like it 581 00:36:17,260 --> 00:36:20,630 links all the way back to that in, in that, you know, he's 582 00:36:20,640 --> 00:36:23,610 asking what must I do to inherit? 583 00:36:23,810 --> 00:36:27,230 You know, and and there is an implication of, of when you 584 00:36:27,240 --> 00:36:30,010 receive an inheritance you don't like, you didn't, you didn't 585 00:36:30,020 --> 00:36:33,970 really earn it. But he's asking what must I do 586 00:36:34,260 --> 00:36:36,260 to inherit like this? There must be something I have 587 00:36:36,270 --> 00:36:38,790 to do, right? And, and I think that the whole 588 00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:44,890 point of the gospel, the good news of the Kingdom is that it 589 00:36:44,900 --> 00:36:48,540 is unmerited, right? And and that we are like the 590 00:36:48,550 --> 00:36:52,320 person dying on the side of the road that needs that, that needs 591 00:36:52,330 --> 00:36:55,960 life support. Yeah, This is this is like grace 592 00:36:56,010 --> 00:36:59,910 is I think best defined grace is unmerited favor. 593 00:37:00,490 --> 00:37:07,580 Like it is unearned, unwarranted favor toward you. 594 00:37:07,650 --> 00:37:10,180 Yeah. And you know, unearned is maybe 595 00:37:10,190 --> 00:37:13,040 a little bit of a misnomer because we we theologically 596 00:37:13,050 --> 00:37:16,450 would then flush out, well, no, Jesus earned it, right, Right. 597 00:37:16,530 --> 00:37:21,430 And gives it. But it's my unmerited, right. 598 00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:27,000 It's unmerited favor that's given toward me and toward you. 599 00:37:27,310 --> 00:37:31,940 It's interesting. So in the Matthew similar 600 00:37:31,950 --> 00:37:38,380 interaction with this rich young man, he, we don't get any sort 601 00:37:38,390 --> 00:37:41,240 of inclination as to how this guy goes away. 602 00:37:41,250 --> 00:37:43,170 Jesus just tells him go and do likewise. 603 00:37:43,210 --> 00:37:45,790 And then we're into Mary and Martha as Jesus and his 604 00:37:45,800 --> 00:37:51,000 disciples were on their way. So in Matthew, though, this rich 605 00:37:51,010 --> 00:37:54,720 young man who comes to Jesus and says, you know, functionally the 606 00:37:54,730 --> 00:37:58,110 same thing, teacher, what what good thing must I do to get 607 00:37:58,180 --> 00:38:01,200 eternal life? Jesus does he goes on this, you 608 00:38:01,210 --> 00:38:02,550 know, why do you ask me what is good? 609 00:38:02,560 --> 00:38:07,530 There is only one who is good. If you want to enter into life, 610 00:38:07,600 --> 00:38:10,890 keep the commandments. And then the rich young man asks 611 00:38:10,900 --> 00:38:12,690 which ones? Jesus replied, you shall not 612 00:38:12,700 --> 00:38:14,550 murder, you shall not commit adultery, shall not steal. 613 00:38:14,560 --> 00:38:16,450 You shall not give false testimony on your father and 614 00:38:16,460 --> 00:38:18,470 mother and love your neighbor as yourself. 615 00:38:18,560 --> 00:38:21,820 So again, what he's doing is pairing the the 10 commandments 616 00:38:21,830 --> 00:38:25,870 like the law with this love your neighbor as yourself piece from 617 00:38:25,880 --> 00:38:28,910 Leviticus. He's summarizing all of the law 618 00:38:30,120 --> 00:38:35,180 and the the young man says, well listen, all these I've kept, 619 00:38:35,870 --> 00:38:38,590 what do I still lack? Jesus answered, if you want to 620 00:38:38,600 --> 00:38:41,120 be perfect, go sell your possessions, give to the poor 621 00:38:41,190 --> 00:38:42,820 and you will have treasure in heaven. 622 00:38:42,890 --> 00:38:45,700 And then he gives this call. Then come follow me. 623 00:38:47,450 --> 00:38:51,080 When the young man heard this, he went away sad because he had 624 00:38:51,090 --> 00:38:53,240 great wealth. He still misses the mark. 625 00:38:53,250 --> 00:38:57,970 So what Jesus is calling this young guy to do too is is to 626 00:38:57,980 --> 00:39:03,440 that same life like of lavish generosity of ultimately like 627 00:39:03,450 --> 00:39:09,510 surrender, sell everything that you have, give to the poor, be 628 00:39:09,520 --> 00:39:17,230 one who embraces this wild generosity and then come, follow 629 00:39:17,240 --> 00:39:26,390 me, come be with me. And I think that really is in in 630 00:39:26,400 --> 00:39:28,340 some way what we're called to wrestle with in the Good 631 00:39:28,350 --> 00:39:31,700 Samaritan as well. Feels like it's like this, you 632 00:39:31,710 --> 00:39:35,230 know, that that the rich young man there, like Jesus kind of 633 00:39:35,240 --> 00:39:38,870 puts a mirror on him about what's going on in his world. 634 00:39:38,940 --> 00:39:41,640 And Jesus does the same here with with this expert in the 635 00:39:41,650 --> 00:39:42,590 law. Yeah. 636 00:39:42,600 --> 00:39:45,430 Yeah. And, and by the end of the 637 00:39:45,440 --> 00:39:47,570 story, by the end of the teaching, by the end of the 638 00:39:47,580 --> 00:39:52,030 exchange, what is abundantly clear is that yes, like 639 00:39:52,040 --> 00:39:55,790 generosity is the currency of the Kingdom. 640 00:39:55,880 --> 00:40:00,490 It is how the Kingdom operates. And you are called to live out 641 00:40:00,500 --> 00:40:04,520 that generosity toward others. You're called to live out that 642 00:40:04,530 --> 00:40:08,320 generosity toward others because you've received it from God. 643 00:40:08,390 --> 00:40:12,500 Yeah, and that and and you've, you've known it deep into the 644 00:40:12,510 --> 00:40:18,280 core of your being that unmerited, unwarranted, not 645 00:40:18,290 --> 00:40:23,530 because you did the right thing. It's been given to you, and so 646 00:40:23,540 --> 00:40:27,430 therefore, yeah, you become one who lives generously toward 647 00:40:27,440 --> 00:40:29,750 others. That's good. 648 00:40:30,500 --> 00:40:36,160 Go and do likewise that's good Well that's that seems like a 649 00:40:36,170 --> 00:40:39,630 great place to close out so yeah we hope that you can carry this 650 00:40:39,640 --> 00:40:43,790 into your week as you think more deeply about some of these 651 00:40:43,800 --> 00:40:47,410 questions of you know like my hope is that a very familiar 652 00:40:47,420 --> 00:40:51,020 passage like this that we can kind of when we're not breathing 653 00:40:51,030 --> 00:40:53,080 new life into it. I think that the the scriptures 654 00:40:53,090 --> 00:40:55,140 speak for itself, but just hopefully illuminating some 655 00:40:55,150 --> 00:40:59,130 things for, for discussion, for for the reflection for further 656 00:40:59,140 --> 00:41:05,080 thought This week, this upcoming week will be and Mary and Martha 657 00:41:05,090 --> 00:41:08,200 and Jesus in their home. I got Annabelle Edward up to 658 00:41:08,210 --> 00:41:09,540 preach. It's going to be great to have 659 00:41:09,550 --> 00:41:12,940 her back and looking forward to that. 660 00:41:12,950 --> 00:41:15,000 But for now, if you have questions, you can send those 661 00:41:15,010 --> 00:41:18,740 questions to questions at courtrightchurch.org and we'll 662 00:41:18,750 --> 00:41:22,550 do our best to incorporate some of those in our in our 663 00:41:22,560 --> 00:41:25,250 discussion. For now, have a great week.