Are We There Yet?

How many of you have ever heard this before? “How much longer until we get there?” or “Are we there yet?” I remember asking those questions as a kid and now as a parent I get the the joy of answering those questions as well. There were times when we were on the road when I was a child and I remember staring out the window and enjoying the sights. There were times we sang songs or listened stories on the stereo and we played games. The problem is that those didn’t always last and the most pressing and important question came back up again, “Are we there yet? How much longer until we get there?” I feel like it’s one of those many things in life that we all did and went through as a child and now are the recipients of that same experience as adults.

I feel like it’s one of those many things in life that we all did and went through as a child and now are the recipients of that same experience as adults.

I don’t know if I have quite gotten the whole thing figured out, but what I think what I now understand that I didn’t as a kid is that the traveling is part of the experience. Getting to the destination is definitely more interesting part of it because that is where you are going, but there is so much to enjoy and do on the road, that the trip on the road is just as an important part of the vacation as the destination is. I guess one way to help out the traveling part of things is to instead ask the question, “what else can we do to make the traveling more enjoyable?” or “What can we do to make the time go by faster?” Maybe asking these questions instead could help everyone, parents and children, find a way to see that there is another solution to passing the time and making the trip a part of the experience. Honestly, I’m not sure because I am no expert, but perhaps there are other questions we can ask to discover a better answer to that timeless question.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan that we heard today we also get a slew of questions asked. There are 5 questions that both the lawyer and Jesus ask each other. The very first question asked is asked by the lawyer and it is, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”Jesus responds with two questions back to see what the lawyer feels is the correct answer. To which the lawyer gives a great and beautiful answer to which Jesus answers that he has given the right answer. However, at the same time what I find interesting is that even though Jesus says he has given the right answer he tells the lawyer that if he does these things then he will live.

The lawyer asks what must I do to inherit eternal life, but Jesus respond that if he does these things he will live. I feel as if the lawyer is asking the wrong question and Jesus is trying to help him understand the right one to ask. If he wants to live a good life according to the life then he will live according to the law. Plus based on what we know as Christians I feel like we know that the lawyer is asking the wrong question. I think it has been engrained in all of us that to ask someone or to ask God what we have to do to inherit eternal life isn’t a question we should ever ask. Eternal life isn’t something for us to earn. There is no good work, there is no good deed or right way of acting that will ever earn us the gift of eternal life because it is a gift from God through Jesus Christ.

However, Jesus does respond that the lawyer is right and that he should do those things. Clearly, even though eternal life isn’t based on the works that we do, Jesus clearly states also that we should do good works and that we should do that by loving our neighbor as ourself. Since Jesus tells him to do that, the lawyer then wants to know the answer to the question of who Jesus considers is a neighbor. And this is where we get the famous parable about the Good Samaritan.

Clearly it is the Samaritan that is the neighbor to the Jewish man who was beaten and robbed. The Samaritan is the one who showed him mercy. And isn’t it interesting that this lawyer can’t even say that it was the Samaritan that was the one, but simply the one who showed mercy? This shows just how hard it was for him to answer this question that Jesus posed for him. Sometimes we don’t like the answer to the questions we ask. “Are we there yet?” “No we still have 6 more hours before we get to Grammy and Grandpas house.”

Not only do we not always like the answers to the questions that we ask, but sometimes those questions and answers force us to change the way that we think and act as we move forward. My neighbor isn’t just someone who lives far away, but my neighbor is the person or group of people that I can’t stand. And how come that person that I can’t stand is neighborly to other people? Why did I have to see that human side to that person or people I don’t like and can’t stand? Plus think about how the Jewish man who was robbed and beaten must have felt like when he finally came to and realized that it was a Samaritan that saved his life. He may have asked the innkeeper a question like, “how did I get here” or “who brought me here?” and the innkeeper would have responded that it was a Samaritan that did it.

Be careful the questions you ask, especially when you ask God a question. I don’t say that to stop you from asking God any questions, because I firmly believe that is the best way to become closer to God, but you also have to be prepared for the answer. “Are we there yet?” That might be a question on a road trip, but it may also be a question that we ask God as well. The answer is yes and no. The answer is no, because we have been called to live on this earth and to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. We have been called to go and do likewise. We have been called on a journey of faith. We have been called to be lifelong disciples and apostles. Faith is a journey and the only destination is when we have made our final journey back to God.

The answer is also, yes. With the gift of eternal life we are, and have always been there. We have always been given the gift of eternal life. This is nothing that we can earn. This is nothing that hinges on anything because Christ has already paid the price for every person for all time. We are already there because we have a God who loves us and who has given us everything we need. God is the one who cares for us and is and always will be by our side each and every day knowing that we all need a little bit of mercy in our lives. Amen.

With the gift of eternal life we are, and have always been there. We have always been given the gift of eternal life.

The answer is yes and no. With the gift of eternal life we are, and have always been there. We have always been given the gift of eternal life.