THE GOOD SAMARITAN

A MINI RANT
One of the things that constantly amazes me, and I know I should not allow it to do so, is the fact that alleged “Christian” conservatives, Values Voters, and much of the religious right seems to have thrown out the New Testament when it comes to dealing with illegal immigration.  They remember the “Eye for an Eye” and “Render unto Caesar”, but have a tendency to conveniently forget everything else. Let’s be honest here, do you really think we can forget the basic teachings of Christ:  Technically we’re talking Paul, but what the heck, it’s in the New Testament!  And, what do I know, I'm just an Episcopalian, and we all know "Christian" conservatives don't approve of us.  (We believe in being kind to gays and illegal migrants).  Yikes.  I guess we're going to Hell!

The Fruits of the Spirit
love
joy
peace
patience
kindness
goodness
faithfulness
gentleness
self-control

I don’t see anything about rendering unto Caesar, which is ABOUT PAYING YOUR TAXES WITHOUT PROTEST. Or an eye for an eye.  Do you?

“Luke 10:25-37 (New International Version)
 25On 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?"
 27He 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'[a]; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[b]"
 28"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
 29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
 30In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins[c] 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?"
 37The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." 
      Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."”

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF  
“…"Love your neighbor as yourself" was part of the Old Testament law (Leviticus 19:18). But the Jewish teachers had often interpreted "neighbor" to include only people of their own nationality and religion. In Luke, the man who asked Jesus about the greatest of the commandments wanted justification for that interpretation, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" In response, Jesus told the famous Parable of the Good Samaritan. A Jewish man had been beaten by robbers and left half dead beside the road. Two different religious leaders passed by but did nothing to help. Finally, a Samaritan man came by and took pity on the injured man. He gave him water, patched up his wounds, put him on his own donkey and took him to an inn where he could rest and recover:… Samaria was a region of central Palestine that was once the capital of Israel. In 721 B.C. it was captured by the Assysrians who deported much of the population and replaced them with foreign colonists (2 Kings 17:24-33). The colonists were pagans who eventually intermarried with the remaining Jews. They adopted the religion of Israel, but they also continued to worship their pagan idols. The Jews considered the Samaritans to be religious heretics of a foreign nationality and inferior race. The Samaritans offered to help rebuild the Jewish temple, but their offer was rudely rebuffed (Ezra 4:1-3). Finally the Samaritans built a rival temple on Mt. Gerizim and proclaimed it, rather than the Jewish temple, to be the true house of God. By the time of Jesus, the Jews and Samaritans had hated each other for hundreds of years. With that background, it is easy to understand that there was no one the Jewish expert in the law would have considered to be less of a "neighbor" than a Samaritan. If a Samaritan man could be a "neighbor" to the Jewish man who was robbed and beaten, then the definition of "neighbor" would have to include all people, regardless of race, religion, nationality or any other artificial distinction.

The Samaritan man gave freely of both his time and his money to help a Jewish man who was not only a stranger, but also was of a different religion, a foreigner and an enemy of his people. In His Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus challenges us to "Go and do likewise." We do not have to agree with other people's beliefs and opinions or condone their actions, but Jesus calls us to overcome our prejudices and show our kindness to all people of the world and consider them our "neighbors."…”

A QUICK MINI RANT
I know I sound like a broken record about immigration, but I keep going back to my faith and what I believe.  I’ve used the Sermon on the Mount and Matthew 25:30-45.  I always look at illegal immigrants as the very “least of them”.  If we cannot be good, gracious, and kind to them, then we should not expect our Father in Heaven to reciprocate with us.  That’s rough stuff, scary stuff if you ask me.  As Christians we are required to do so. 

Matthew 25
“ 31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
 34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
 37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
 40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
 41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
 44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
 45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

Then there are the Beatitudes – Matthew 5
1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:
 3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
      for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
 4Blessed are those who mourn,
      for they will be comforted.
 5Blessed are the meek,
      for they will inherit the earth.
 6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
      for they will be filled.
 7Blessed are the merciful,
      for they will be shown mercy.
 8Blessed are the pure in heart,
      for they will see God.
 9Blessed are the peacemakers,
      for they will be called sons of God.
 10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
      for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
 11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you

Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Stop the ACLU, Perri Nelson's Website, The Virtuous Republic, The Midnight Sun, , , Right Truth, The Populist, Shadowscope, Wake Up America, Stuck On Stupid, The Amboy Times, Leaning Straight Up, Pursuing Holiness, Adeline and Hazel, third world county, Pirate's Cove, CommonSenseAmerica, Stageleft, Church and State, A Blog For All, The Random Yak, 123beta, Adam's Blog, Grizzly Groundswell, Webloggin, Cao's Blog, Phastidio.net, Big Dog's Weblog, The Bullwinkle Blog, Nuke's, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, The World According to Carl, Blue Star Chronicles, Wolf Pangloss, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
My BlinkList
Powered by BlinkList
"> StumbleUpon Toolbar Stumble It!TOPICLinkfest Haven, the Blogger's Oasis

ifollowpinkJOIN THE MOVEMENT