Loving God and loving neighbor looks a lot more like sacrifice, and a lot less like protecting your own privilege.  The Good Samaritan in today’s parable is an immigrant Sunni Muslim from the West Bank (what used to be called Samaria), someone who would generally be looked down upon by the people most likely to love the teachings of Jesus.  My injured man is Phil Castille, a nutritionist teacher, father and fiancee who was killed at a routine traffic stop even though he did everything society says that a man must do to succeed.  He was well-respected in his community.  He was NRA-approved in that he followed all the rules that should protect a citizen who owns a weapon.  After last week, how is a person of color supposed to reach for their license and registration without fear that it would be taken as a threat to a police officer?  There’s a lot of opinions being expressed out there about what is really happening… A lot of people that seem more concerned with being called ‘racist’ than dealing with the continual reality of racism.

Everyone can do small things that will have great impact one day.  I’m not suggesting that the steps done by the guy in my comic are the be all end all to overcoming systems of oppression, but I do believe that everyone can do something active, something that makes a legitimate difference in chipping away at those powers and principalities.  Preaching the gospel means declaring the truth that we are ALL captive to powers and principalities of sin, and only the collective body of Christ can work together to overcome those powers through the sacrifice of Jesus.  Talk about the issues with people who don’t believe they exist.  Educate yourself on the School to Prison Pipeline, and issues of Mass Incarceration.  Read articles from minorities’ perspectives on how you can help.  Then stop talking and reading and go volunteer somewhere, go advocate somewhere, use the gifts and time God has given you to be a good neighbor.

I’m gone all this week on a mission trip to Nicaragua where me and a bunch of High School students will be building homes for the homeless and teaching children swimming lessons.  I hope when I get back next week that you guys will have figured out how to make this world a better place, and let me in on the secret so I can help!