The Jericho Road

Jul 20, 2021

"...And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus replied with a story. “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead by the road.”

- Jesus, Luke 11:30

"When I was a little boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'"

- Mr. Rogers

It happened on the Jericho Road. It always happens on the Jericho Road. The Jericho Road is the 17 mile road that connects Jerusalem to Jericho. The road drops 3600 feet in those 17 miles. It is a steep, winding, descending, remote road that for centuries has been a place of robberies, assault, violence and pain. The Jericho Road -- It's a symbol -- it's 17 miles of hurt, heartache, and hardship. The Jericho Road is a world of hurt...

The Jericho Road is the 17 rooms of the corridor of the nursing home where Bob lived with severe Parkinsons.

The Jericho Road is the 17 blocks on State Street in south Chicago where 17 people were fatally shot and killed over July 4th weekend… six of them children.

The Jericho Road is the 17 mile border separating Tijuana from San Diego where everyday children are parlayed like so many chess pieces by politicians, bureaucrats, and gangsters.

The Jericho Road is the 17 years my friend Mikkey took care of her husband, Don, who had Alzheimers.

The Jericho Road is always with us - It's the 17 seconds your Dad stopped breathing… It's the 17 minutes you rushed your baby to the hospital… It's the 17 hours of not knowing the outcome… It's the 17 days before the divorce is final. The Jericho Road is always with us. It is the place where God's children are robbed of our dignity, our value, our identity, our sanity, our peace, our joy, our love, our hope. The Jericho Road… maybe you're walking that road today.

One time a young lawyer came up to Jesus and asked, "What can I do to live forever?" Jesus replied, "What do you think?" The lawyer said, "You should love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And, love your neighbor as yourself." "Good answer," Jesus said, "Do this and you will live." "So… who is my neighbor?" the lawyer asked. Jesus looked at the young man and said, "Let me tell you a story…”

One day a priest was walking down the Jericho Road and saw a man hurting… so he ran back to his parish and delivered an amazing sermon about the Bible's perspective on poverty… and the priest felt better.

Then there was a left-wing activist who was walking down the Jericho Road and saw that man hurting, and he was so angered by it all that he ran back and organized demonstrations to march in the streets to protest crime and social injustice… and the activist felt better.

Then there was a successful businessman from the political right who walked down the Jericho Road, and when he saw this man hurting, he thought “this moral decay has got to stop… we've got to raise employment and get people back to work so they stop robbing people…” So he voted to lower taxes on the wealthy.... and the businessman felt better.

Meanwhile… the man on the Jericho Road… died.

When Candace and I were visiting her Mom, Cookie, who we had just moved into a memory care facility. I was talking to the charge nurse about how impressed I was with the personal care she took with the residents. I saw her on one occasion just stop, kneel down beside an old man in a wheelchair, put her hand on his arm, and whisper something to him that made him smile… as she went about her 1001 things to do. That marked me… and I told her so. She said, "Honestly, sometimes I don't think I can handle it anymore. I don't know how much longer I can care for people like this. On the other hand…” she paused... “I don't know how I cannot do this." I smiled and said, "Your problem is that your heart is just too big." "What can I do about that?" she asked. And I said, "I don't know… just be grateful you got it, I guess… cause Jesus said… that's the heart that lives forever!"

The Jericho Road runs right by your front door. Wanna know what God's will is for your life? Look no further than the one who needs your help the most…

The face you see with the tear running down its cheek… It's the disappointment you see in the friend who just got that bad news… it's the faded smile on a spouse who feels her marriage is on the rocks… it's an employee who suddenly realizes he doesn't fit in and seeks direction… it's a dad who sees his son struggling to succeed and feels powerless to help… it's that young mom who's so concerned about her baby eating and growing and developing like normal babies do… it's that person you see who's searching for the comfort and for the peace that you found in Jesus!