Being a Good Samaritan is Impossible

James Janknegt painting, 'Portrait of You as the Good Samaritan.'

The Parable of the Good Samaritan is one Jesus' most well known and well loved stories. Even those with little-to-no Church experience know this story. The phrase, 'be a Good Samaritan' has entered our cultural lexicon. Parents encourage their children to be 'Good Samaritans' and help others in need.

At Church, this story usually ends up with an application like this: 'Anyone in need is your neighbor. Be sure and help them.' And we leave Church reminded that we are to care for everyone.

I love what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote about this familiar story...
'The first question which the Priest and the Levite asked was, 'If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?'  But the Good Samaritan reversed the question, 'If I do not stop and help this man, what will happen to him?'

Jesus ends this story -found in Luke 10- with a challenge to 'go and do likewise.' Did you catch it? Jesus wants us to follow the Good Samaritan's example of radical selfless compassion.

The truth of the matter is that sometimes the most familiar stories are also the most difficult to understand.

It is impossible to be a Good Samaritan to everyone who is in need.  And that is exactly the point of this story.

Jesus wants us to realize that our standard is impossible to achieve....

...to be continued...

Police Matters

The International Conference of Police Chaplains holds regional training seminars throughout the country each year.  I am thankful to the City of Franklin Police Department for providing the funds to attend this training.

This is my fifth year as the Chaplain for the Franklin Police Department. It truly is an honor to give back to the City through serving as their Chaplain. The chance to positively influence the officers and their families is truly rewarding.


A few takeaways of the conference:

• Law Enforcement Officers have higher rates of alcoholism and divorce than the general population.
• While every school holds Fire Drills (even though the last student to die in a fire was 50 years ago) -schools rarely hold Active Shooter Drills even with the higher rates of school shootings in the news.
• Every School, Business or Church should have an Active Shooter Response Plan.
• Police Families need extra love and attention.
• The prevalence of Domestic Violence is as tragic as it is overwhelming.
• Dispatchers are often overlooked when it comes to caring for those who work in Law Enforcement.
• More Wisconsin Law Enforcement Officers died by suicide in the past 10 years, than died in the line of duty.
• 'Every Saint has a past, and every Sinner has a future.' -Police Chaplain Instructor

Sunday Morning LeftOvers: Sunday March 9th, 2014

This is a modern day icon painted by Athanasios Clark. He depicts Jesus raising Lazarus from the grave and it serves as a great reminder of Jesus' love and his care for his followers.

Sunday at Southbrook Church we dealt with the challenging topic of death. Honestly I would rather talk about the Book of Revelation or even ancient Jewish circumcision rituals, than talk about this subject.

Death is woven into the fabric of our culture. I think of Pixar's 'Up' and that opening four minute scene which depicts the life and love of the main characters Carl and Ellie. It truly is a powerful montage of their life, culminating in Ellie's death.

The story of Jesus bringing Lazarus back to life is recounted in the book of John, chapter 11. This lengthy account is filled with intrigue, a plot to kill Jesus, and the overwhelming grief of Lazarus' sisters.  Lazarus' death not only brought the city to tears, but literally drove Jesus to his knees as he wept and sobbed.

Looking into the story we find great hope and compassion displayed by Jesus.  Twice in this story (in v33 and v38) we are told that Jesus was 'deeply moved in spirit and troubled.' In the original language this phrase is just one word: embrimaomai. This word is used to describe the snort of an angry animal. The image that comes to mind is of a Saturday morning Cartoon bull that is about to charge. Can you see the steam and rage that emanates out of the bulls' nose? That is the image used to describe Jesus in this chapter.

Jesus being filled with anger is an unusual perspective on someone who is assumed to be meek and mild. We know that Jesus is not mad at the crowd for their crying -as he too starts to weep.  We also know that Jesus is not angry that his friend Lazarus has died -as he knows that Lazarus will soon be alive.

Jesus anger flows from his love for us.  Jesus feels our pain, weeps along with us, and personally felt the same hurt that we too experience. If there is any comfort that we can find when facing death it is this: we have a God who understands our hurt and who understands our deepest pain. And Jesus goes beyond identifying with our pain.  His anger over death and his love for us drove Jesus to die for us.

The good news with Jesus is that he not only identifies with us in our suffering; but he has the ability to replace our sorrow with peace and comfort.  The good news with Jesus is that when we face death, we approach it with the God of the universe walking alongside of us...

Gay Weddings? Let Them Eat Cake - A different perspective

A recent post on Jonathan’s “Coffee Shop Pastor” blog asked the question, “Should Christians make Gay Wedding Cakes?” and kicked off an email discussion between the author and myself. The answer Jonathan gave was “yes” and his reasons can be found in his February 26th blog by clicking here.

To summarize- Jonathan believes as Christians we should serve others, including those we don’t agree with. I absolutely agree. He also questions whether as Christians we want to live in a society where we can refuse business transactions based on religious beliefs. Here’s where I must respectfully disagree. I believe any business owner should have the right to follow his conscience when deciding whom he will do business with if it violates a deeply held conviction.

Answering the question of whether we want to live in a society where we can refuse to do business with those with whom we disagree, I emphatically say, “It depends.” Do we wish to force those contractors who are morally opposed to abortion to bid on a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic? I think there is a discernible difference between refusing to do business with those we don’t like and refusing to engage in business that goes against our core beliefs.

I also believe we are to follow Christ’s example in standing up for what is right. Examples of this are the times he exposed the hypocrisy of the religious leaders of the day and his throwing the “moneychangers” out of the temple. When we stand up for righteousness in a loving way, we show the world our principles are something we really believe in. Turning down business (especially in today’s economy) is something most people would view as odd if not downright crazy and could illustrate there are things more important than profit- like principles.

Some may refer to the story of Jesus and the adulterous woman to show how he was unwilling to condemn her sinful behavior. While I agree, Jesus defended the woman the most important part of the story is at the end. John 8:11 (NIV)- “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (Italics mine) Jesus made sure to tell the woman she needed to change the direction of her sinful life. I believe making a cake for a Gay Wedding implicitly implies acceptance of the wedding and by extension the behavior.

In closing, I’d like to share a couple of thoughts:

First- I tried to stay away from the political arguments since I am uncomfortable with the way Arizona approached this issue. My belief is that government should stay out of the way unless compelled to act and Arizona wasn’t facing any imminent danger of religious persecution.

Second- I do believe there are certain factions in our society whose objective is to force their belief system down the throats of any and all who may not agree with them- and they’re not Christians. I think it’s more important for these factions to be “oppressed” than it is for them to celebrate a wedding. I know this- if I had someone tell me they didn’t want to bake a cake for my son or daughter’s baptism (because they felt Christianity was silly, oppressive to women, neanderthal or… well pick one) I would simply find a baker who would.

Now that’s a radical idea.

-DJ Haugh

Death's Checkmate

This scene comes from one of my all-time favorite movies, Ingmar Bergman's, The Seventh Seal.
Antonius Block -a Knight who recently returns from fighting the Crusades- finds his native Sweden ravaged by the Plague.  Block challenges Death to a game of chess, hoping to forestall the inevitable.  He manages to reunite with his wife, before Death checkmates Block.

Movies have long held great power in helping us deal with death. Bergman's dramatic range helps us to see Death from an existential perspective.

I am constantly surprised at how many children's movies deal with Death.  Matricide is central to both Bambi and Finding Nemo, patricide is key to The Lion King.  For my money, Pixar's Up, showed us all why it won the Oscar for the Best Animated Feature Film.

Who could resist the powerful montage of Ellie and Carl's relationship? Grab some Kleenex and spend the next 4:20 in awe of the emotional range that culminates in Ellie's death.

The movie Up reminds us that Death destroys our closest relationships and that all of us must be ready to respond when Death calls.

These movies remind us of something that we would rather forget: Death is inevitable.  Even when embrace the escapism of children's movies, we are still confronted with the reality of our own mortality.

Did a movie that dealt with death have a profound influence on you? I want to what movie and why. Discuss in the comment section below.