Jonathan Sprang - November 16, 2014
The Good Muslim
There are times when our beliefs don’t actually inform our behavior. While we may say and even think a certain “belief,” our behavior doesn’t always line up. But it works the other way flawlessly. Our behaviors give us a 100% accurate view of what we really believe. Jesus has a conversation with a teacher of the Law where he comes to the conclusion that the way you receive eternal life is through “loving God” and “loving your neighbor as yourself.” But that begs the question, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus responds with a story that we refer to as The Good Samaritan. The crazy thing about this story is that the one who is neighborly to the beaten man is the one who doesn’t have the right beliefs, a person Jesus’ listeners would’ve considered an enemy. Our enemies are surprising allies that give us a unique opportunity to put what we say we believe into practice.
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In a world increasingly divided and hopeless, even something as simple as respectful disagreement seems impossible. But the prophets who taught Israel how to long for the birth of the Messiah made bold promises: weapons formed into gardening tools; wolves and sheep living in harmony; deserts blooming. Such promises seem impossible – like pure imaginative fiction. But God’s promises aren’t fiction. They’re a future God is bringing into existence. Jesus birth proves God is with us, that God is working. We can have purified imaginations, see the world as it will be, and begin to work for that world now. What does it mean to be a people of Advent?
