Jesus hits below the belt!
By George Morara
It is funny really. I see it in our streets in the historic city of Nairobi where hearts are totally removed and detached from the harrowing suffering of our people. Disabled men and women, those who in slavery, street children and desperate, abused women clutching their hungry little ones!
Jesus was keen to help the cunning lawyer widen his scope from the narrow-minded bigotry of the religious leaders in his time. The lawyer knew the law, he was just being an intentional idiot. Having answered his own question, he went further trying to put Jesus on the spot!
And Jesus was quite good in capturing the scene. He had grown up attending Church and many times He had impressed the leaders with his understanding – further He had rebuked them for their self righteousness…. He knew all their wicked ways and this was no different occasion than many He had come across before from the chief rabbis, the Pharisees, the Sadducees and may other cults and self proclaimed messiahs.
Jesus then began the story. It was about a certain man who had been mugged and beaten, – robbed and left to die. Sometimes I read the Bible and think the scene was set in the historic city of Nairobi! Only that am spoiled for choice of religious leaders to give as example.
But anyway – the first person to come across the dying man was a priest! Aish! He thought to himself no way – this is bad luck. With my clean clothes I cannot possibly touch his bloodied body and soil myself. Maybe it is his fault as well he must have exposed himself to whoever who did this to him….I have better things to do. A PRIEST! A church leader – a “man of GOD†He was! He passed at a distance and not even his conscience bothered him!
I see lots of them in Nairobi…and please dont get me started if we were to mention Lagos…let alone the mega preachers of America! – they fly in private jets, drive big cars – often at the expense of their gullible congregations! They wouldn’t offer you a lift if they saw it raining on you! Some have security men as if The god they proclaim is unable to offer them security! Stupid faithless creatures!
Then comes the Levite! Levi was the ministerial family. Their lives were dedicated to the service of God – from birth to death. To be a Levite was a very privileged position. Partly that’s why we know Moses and his Brother Aaron. They were from the house of Levi. I would imagine Moses turning in his grave (Before he resurrected) – at the thought of a Levi walking past a dying man and offer no assistance. Church members honestly! We suck, don’t we?! The Levi also passed at a distance, leaving the desperately ill man to die!
And guess what who happened to pass by next?! My goodness! It was an unreligious man. You know during Jesus time, if you wanted to insult someone you called them a “Samaritanâ€! Samaritans and Jews didn’t really see eye to eye. Remember the story of the Woman at the well? Jesus tried to have a conversation with her and she was like, hey… we have no dealings amongst our tribes. But Jesus was a Man of the people. He befriended her – and after their simple conversation and Jesus being very very tactful, The gospel was received in the whole of Samaria overwhelmingly!
Anyway, The man who’d be known as “The Good Samaritan†to our day, – unrelated and a complete stranger to the robbery victim; knowing all the enmity between the Jews and Samaritans – he still stopped and The Bible says that HE HAD COMPASSION on the poor injured man. He came off his donkey – and carefully attended to the dying fellow human being.
He disinfected the wounds, tied him nicely and loaded him onto his own donkey and took to a comfortable hotel – paid for all the necessary treatment and upkeep – and requested the hotel owner to care for the stranger until he should return. And if the hotel owner should spend anymore than he had been paid, the good Samaritan would settle the bill soonest he is back!
This whole story was about “who is my neighbour†– I cannot emphasis the answer – it could be someone from the other side of the globe!
For me this is what is referred to as Religion! Forget the nonsense of Northerner Irish fighting because one group is Catholic and the other are Protestants. By all means fight over oppression and colonialism and imperialism and corruption and all manner of societal ills…. but don’t lie to me that in Belfast they couldn’t see eye to eye because they were “Christians†– what a load of holy crap! All these crazy people giving Religion a bad reputation…
And this alshabaab and ISIS thing – sharia law and all that – it is not religion – it is the dark forces of evil masquerading the earth in the name of GOD! Which god? Definitely not EL~OHIM
You want us to talk about Religion, let us talk about service to fellow humanity. When we overcome the indifference when we come into contact with those who are suffering and needing help – when our hearts are touched to reach out – when we stop to lend a hand and uplift someone – then we are practising Religion.
And if you are in a position of leadership – pastoring a church or Bishopping or priesting for GOD as you say– if you are in the ministry and and are behaving like the priest and Levite in this story, not wanting your sleek Range Rover spot dirtied….or your home in Runda opened to the “undesirables†– or even being too big and too busy to pass by Nyamakima and environs late at night or very early in the chilly hours of the morning – and wake the street kids with a hot thermos of refreshing milky hot chocolate and mandazi – woe unto you!
Jesus will be like, “Friend! I don’t actually know you! Like Kenyans know best, you will begin to give all manner of report about your great work – and the big congregation you gathered and the miracles you perfomed….in Jesus’ Holy name…..and Jesus will be shaking His said, saying..â€I swear mister, we’ve never met! If you’d excuse me!
You know everytime we claim to be “Christians” and not live our lives according to the example set by Jesus Christ Our LORD, we use His name in vain. And that is against The Commandment! It is very serious!
Amen!
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