The Good Samaritan: A Remix for White Evangelicals

On one occasion a white evangelical 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 black man was walking home in the evening, when he was shot by a police officer. They claimed he was resisting arrest and had a gun so they shot him.  A white pastor happened to be driving the same road, and when he saw the man, he said, “He should have obeyed their directions.”  So too, a white evangelical on Facebook heard about the shooting, but ignored it and posted about the dangers of CRT instead.  But a “Woke” Christian, as she heard about what happened, listened to the man’s story and how his community was hurting; and when she saw him, she believed him.  She spoke against injustice and called for reform of the system that created injustice. Then she joined a protest to insist that those who are in authority enact justice for all people, especially the historically oppressed.  The next day she wrote a letter to her representatives and voted for candidates who supported justice. ‘Look after him,’ she said, ‘and next election, I will vote for you for again.’

 “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.”