WHAT
MUST I DO?
Luke
10:25-37
"What
must I do ...? Go and do likewise!"
Last week, in my meditation on "True Patriotism," I mentioned
several good things for which we can be thankful about our country, but also of the need to use our critical judgment in making
decisions as responsible citizens. There were several positive
e-mail responses, but one, from a retired professor and good friend, was more
critical. He decided to grade my
meditation, and gave me 33%. As 30% is
now the minimum for passing matric this meant that I just managed to scrape
through. He said, with some
justification, that I had not really dealt with the issues facing us as a
country, nor given specific guidance about how to decide what to do. So my question is: how do we decide what to do, not just in
voting in elections, but more generally in life when we have to make choices
and decisions? The same question came
up in a conversation recently with the abbot, which confirms the need to say
something about it. But it is also one
often put to Jesus: "What must I do" a lawyer asked him, "to inherit eternal life?" How must I live life now, he was asking, so
that I might have life in all its fullness?
Jesus first of all points him to the
commandment to love God and his neighbour which the lawyer would have known
very well. For Jesus the Commandments were
the first stop on the journey into knowing what is good, how we should live, and the choices we make. Whatever you do, don't commit idolatry, don't
kill, don't covet, keep the sabbath, honour your parents, and above all, love
God and your neighbour.. Such commandments provide
basic guidelines for discerning between good and evil. The only problem is that tomes have been
written about what precisely these laws and commandments mean in specific situations. So the man asks Jesus: "But who is my
neighbour?" Or we might also ask
as many have: we are commanded not to
kill, but does that mean we are not allowed to slaughter animals for food, or to shoot someone in self-defence? Each commandment raises further
questions.
The Old Testament is full of
answers to such questions, but as Jesus
taught, there is a danger that such legalism begins to subvert the intention of
the law, even preventing healing the sick on the Sabbath. Something more is
needed than simply knowledge of and literally keeping the Commandments. So Jesus tells a story to help this man find
an answer to his question.
The story is not about literally keeping
the law, but acting in the spirit of the law, discerning its intention. To do so well depends on the formation of a good conscience that
enables us to interpret moral precepts spontaneously when faced with decisions as
we journey along the road and meet a fellow traveller lying wounded on the side. How does the law, especially the law of love
become part of our way of being in the world?
We can set rules for our children which tell them what to do and
what not to do, but there comes a time when they need to make up their own
minds about what is right and good in terms of their own lives. The real test then is whether or not we have so nurtured them that
they make good and wise decisions on their own when they have to. Have we helped them to developed characters that
can cope well with life's choices, whether these have to do with sex or money,
relationships or politics, vocations or nurturing their own children? Commandments and laws need to be
internalized, made our own, and processed responsibly in order to guide our
actions when the moment of decision confronts us as it did confront the
travellers who passed down the Jericho road.
The formation of a good conscience
means becoming open to and led by the Spirit and not simply the law. But, of course, our consciences can sometimes let us down because they have
been inadequately formed, and we can also be deluded into thinking we are led
by the Spirit when we are not. We also need to use our God-given reason and think critically when faced with
decisions and choices along the journey to life in its fullness..
So, we might tell our children what is good
and give them rules to live by, and we might back that up with nurturing them in ways that make them
responsible human beings with a good conscience, but they also have to think critically for themselves about the consequences of what
they decide and do. Sometimes the
choices might be murky as when we have
to decide between two things that are both not very good, and sometimes they
are more clear because we can discern the consequences more easily. If we steal we might go to jail; if we speed
we might get a traffic fine; if we don't obey safety rules in the workshop we
might cut our fingers badly. If we have
unprotected sex outside marriage, the consequences might be unwanted
pregnancies and becoming infected by AIDS.
If we cut down a rain forest in
order to prospect for oil or develop farms, we will not only destroy the forest
but also the life that sustains it, and that could be disastrous for the future
of the planet and our own lives. We can
go to war and invade other countries in order to bring about regime change, but
not take into account the terrible consequences that will surely follow. We can
vote for and implement political
policies to safeguard our own interests, but not take into account their
consequences for the common good. The
policies of apartheid were based on choices made by the white electorate, and
some even claimed that this is what God intended quoting the Bible to prove the
point, but now we are having to deal with the dire consequences of Bantu
education and migratory labour on our door step. So critical thinking about consequences is
crucial in making decisions..
Those who passed by the victim on the
Jericho road knew the commandments by heart, but found excuses for not doing
anything. Knowing the commandments even
the commandment to love does not necessarily lead to the right decision and
action. You can even silence your
conscience! But the good Samaritan not
only knew the commandment, he also knew that if he did not act the consequences
could be fatal for the man lying along the road bleeding to death.
So we return to being responsible Christian
citizens who not only know the commandments, not only have a good conscience,
but also think seriously about the consequences of our decisions and actions. What are the consequences of doing nothing
about the living conditions of so many poor people in our society? What are the consequences of not saving
energy and caring for the earth? What
are the consequences of hating others, or not forgiving those who act against
us? What are the consequences of making
utopian promises in manifestoes without being able to keep them? What are the consequences for our health when
we drink too much, smoke, take no exercise?
What are the consequences of not opposing corruption and blowing the
whistle? What are the consequences of
the church remaining silent when it should be speaking out loudly and clearly
about injustice? All of these have to do
with loving God and loving our neighbour.
So Jesus turns to us as he did to his questioner. You want to know what to do? "Go and do likewise!" Or as the prophet says: "Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly
with God."
John de Gruchy
Volmoed
16th January 2014
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