Sunday, April 30, 2017

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

Luke 10:25-37 & James 4:1-2 by Rev. Susan Lukey
Series:Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

Guess who’s coming to dinner? That’s going to be our theme for worship this spring and, yes, I borrowed it from the 1967 movie. When Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner was released on December 11, 1967 it caused shock waves. A white woman brings home her fiancé to introduce to her parents. As open and accepting as they thought they were, the parents struggle when the fiancé walks through the door. He is African-American (played by Sidney Poitier) – and in the 60’s (even 70’s) it was still hard for people to get their minds around the idea of marriage between blacks and whites, Protestants and Catholics, Jewish and Christian. While we, in 2017, might chuckle at how that was possible, at how that was shocking, the reality is that we have our own versions of the same dividing lines that we find hard to cross. And, it seems that that is an age-old struggle because Jesus told one of his parables just about this kind of situation, the parable of the good Samaritan. We’ve used this parable several times this year, because I think it really speaks to what we need to be about as followers of Jesus in our time and context. This was a hard-hitting parable for those who first heard it from Jesus. They would have been as shocked by his words as were people in 1967 when the movie “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” was released showing a successful inter-racial marriage and the first inter-racial kiss on screen (even though it was seen only through a rear-view mirror image). Why was the parable of the Good Samaritan shocking? We’ve lost the cultural sense of this parable. It’s been made into a nice parable about a good neighbour and used to remind us that we should not be like those bad, bad people who crossed the road and ignored the injured fellow. We have “Good Samaritan” legislation in most provinces of Canada that protects passers-by who stop to help. It is all very nice and good when we talk about the Good Samaritan. But, those listening to Jesus tell this parable would have been very uncomfortable by the time he finished, squirming in their seats, not totally sure about how to take his words. The young lawyer (a student of Jewish law) got more than he bargained for in the answer Jesus gave. He and Jesus had agreed that the greatest commandment was “Love God, and love your neighbour as you love yourself.” Then, in good Jewish scholarly debate fashion, the young lawyer asked Jesus the question that would bring nuance and understanding. “Who is my neighbour?” Good question. If I am to love my neighbour, then I need to know who my neighbour is. If I have the definition clear in my mind, then I can judge which people I have to love and which ones I can disregard. But Jesus turns the tables on the young lawyer by telling this parable, and concluding with the words, “Go be the neighbour.” Be the neighbour.
Duration:22 mins 37 secs