You have wisely answered your own question, Andrew.

While it would be inaccurate to describe the Hebrew scribes and Pharisees as nationalists – that’s what the Jewish zealots were -- it is absolutely true that they prioritized their personal comfort and convenience over the messier and more vulnerable work of caring for all people, especially those who were forgotten, despised or displaced.

In a quick look at the Samaritan parable (Luke 10:25-37), the priest and Levite travelers see the robbed and beaten man, left for dead on the roadside.  In their rush to get to Jerusalem, their sense of duty is more important than compassion.  Each of them crosses to the other side of the road to continue their respective journeys.  Then, a person from Samaria comes along, notices the wounded man, and we all know the care and generosity that follows.

Let’s observe that, in Jesus’ telling of the story, he does not label the Samaritan as “good” or otherwise.  This is so as not to imply that this Samaritan is, “one of the good ones.”  In his time, the people of Samaria were consistently marginalized, uniformly judged as “lesser than.” In the current USA landscape, racism and all forms of prejudice have created systemic oppression towards those who are Black and Brown, Indigenous, Latin-X, or queer-identified.  And the Christian Nationalist and Religious Right agendas support this hatred.

In their narrow and incorrect interpretation of select scriptures, these groups are not even trying to connect with people who appear to be different from them.  In their understanding, to show compassion is to be weak.  Entrenched in their belief that everyone should look and act as they do, they perpetuate practices that continue to feed the growing gap between rich and poor.  They ignore the very diversity that preserves our species.  They deprive themselves of the inner reflection and spiritual growth that come through the soulful work that Jesus modeled, such as deep listening with another, actively apologizing, exercising forgiveness, and trying new things.  In short, compassion. Compassion requires unsettling ourselves, which, very often, is not comfortable.

In their serious and shallow efforts to act as professionals of the temple, the Pharisees made layers of over 600 rules that blinded them to the deep wisdom of Jewish teaching. They gave themselves to power and excessive control.  In addition to simply calling them out, Jesus employed fantastic ways to reveal that the Pharisees were not being faithful to their ancient tradition: healing acts, parables, sharing a meal with the discarded, or inviting Simon the Zealot to join his team of disciples! Often, Jesus would call their attention back to the sacred text, reminding them of who they truly were and what their spiritual teachings asked of them.

And this is our task today.  While certain clergy, politicians, and laypeople have appointed themselves to be representatives of Christian Nationalism or the Religious Right, they are serving a self-made program that doesn’t reflect the teachings of Jesus at all.  Occasionally, we hear about a politician or an insurrectionist who has had a change of consciousness.  How does this happen?  With the help of Jesus’ examples and the care that is waiting for us in our spiritual communities, we too can share stories, host bi-partisan dinners, and offer care for those who appear to be different from us.  Together, we can grow our compassion.

~ Rev. Lauren Van Ham