AND THEY PASSED BY, ON THE OTHER SIDE

Matthew 22:34-40, Mark 12:28-31and Luke 10:25-37

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
He 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’ and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
In 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. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was, and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He 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. The next day he took out two silver coins 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.’
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go, and do likewise.”

On Tuesday, January nineteenth, 2010, the voters of Massachuseatts had a similar choice to thee three, and in partly voting as they did to block progress on The Health Care for all Bill, they chose to pass “‘by on the other side.’”
Now, it is in a way understandable to make such a choice. The man was probably bleeding and messy and who knows what diseases, then and now, could have been caught through touching him? Similarly, Health Care for all may mean health care for people with diseases others might not want to get near, and certainly even absent that change is not without risk. The current bills may have unforeseen consequences and may cost a bit to implement, and there is a worldwide economic slow down right now. BUT, many of those who oppose acting on this problem also claim that we are a Christian Nation and rail against what they see as threats to that. But the biggest threat to a Christian Nation and life is not following the words of Jesus Christ. No vote is a foregone conclusion at this point, and if enough people choose compassion over fear and rise up and demand action on this Humanitarian Crisis, Congress will have to listen and act. Some say this is being rushed. Perhaps they haven’t been paying attention for the past seventeen years, because we’ve been talking about this since 1993 if not before. The time for talk is over, the time for action is now. So, if we are truly a Christian Nation, let us rise up and demand that as a congress and as a country, we follow the words of Jesus to the man who replied “the one who had mercy on him” and “Go, and do likewise.”