American politics, neighbors, and enemies

Who is my neighbor anyway?

I’ve been thinking lately about the parable of the Good Samaritan from Luke’s Gospel (10:25–37). At the same time, I’ve been reading the newspapers (usually the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times) and listening to podcasts like Honestly with Bari Weiss and Truth Over Tribe. Can I just say this? The world is a mess. And so is the U.S.

While it may be true that the United States is divided and angry in many ways, it is not the worst of times. People abuse power, the rich seem to get richer while the poor and middle class suffer, and social media influencers are primarily famous for being famous. But living under Roman rule in the first century was no picnic. The PBS website about world empires asserts, “The Roman Empire in the first century AD mixed sophistication with brutality and could suddenly lurch from civilization, strength, and power to terror, tyranny, and greed.” Judaea, a Roman province that included Judea and Samaria among other regions, was divided among lines of political loyalty (Rome versus autonomy), religion (Roman polytheism versus Jewish monotheism), and social standing, which had a detailed hierarchy from the Emperor to the lowest female slave of the poor, both Roman and Jew. Revolts against Roman rule were commonplace, and punished by crucifixion, among other brutalities. Taxes ensured the poor stayed poor; there were no real opportunities to improve their social status. It was into this world that Jesus arrived, upsetting the religious status…