Killing Cops

Opening our hearts to trust and love everyone  

Luke 10:25-37  

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and said, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied, "A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.   

          As you may know, the next two weeks I’ll be going to India with my parents, for a little vacation. In preparation for that trip, I am going to deliver the rest of this homily with an Indian accent, while bobbing my head back and forth. You know the old adage: “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” But seriously, I am excited about the trip: seeing my family, eating spicy food that will “blow your head clean off,” riding on elephants and taming Bengal tigers – you know, what everyone does on an Indian vacation.   

          However, one thing I am not looking forward to is the long security check-points in the airports. Ugh. I really hate all the hassle of having to remove my shoes and belt, emptying my pockets, pulling out the laptop from its case, taking off my jacket or coat. You know, I remember many years ago someone asked Fr. George Tribou, the principal of Catholic High School for Boys in Little Rock, if he was going to install metal-detectors at the school entrances in case someone brought a gun to school. He replied in his wry style: “Of course not. Those boys have so much lead in their butts, it would go off all the time.” But do you know why we have all this extensive security in the airport? It’s because it’s very hard for us to trust people after 9/11. In other words, even though someone may look like an ordinary traveler – a man on his way to India with his parents – he might in fact be a deadly terrorist.  And I am convinced that this lack of trust has led to a lack of love.

          You see, I wonder if all this tight airport security has not also caused us to set up a similar security-check point in our hearts whenever we meet someone. That is, before I begin to love another person, before they enter into my heart, they have to pass security screening every bit as tough as TSA. We don’t let someone “board our hearts,” sort of say, if we don’t like how they dress, or we disagree with their religion, or their ethnic background, or what side of town they grew up on, or what language they speak. My friends, that attitude is not just “tight security,” the real name for that attitude is “racism” and “bigotry,” “discrimination” and “xenophobia.” That’s how a lack of trust leads to a lack of love.

          In the gospel today, Jesus invites us to reevaluate how tight our security screening is in our hearts, and really to remove it all together.  A lawyer wants to fulfill the commandment to love his neighbor, so he asks Jesus who his neighbor is. Jesus describes a man nearly beaten to death, left homeless and helpless. Two people walk by and ignore him, one of them is a priest – ouch, that hit a little close to home! But a Samaritan stops to help him. In other words, the priest and Levite had very tight security and not many could “board their hearts.” Their lack of trust had caused a lack of love. But the Samaritan had a sort of “open border policy” and everyone could get into his heart without exception. You see, the Samaritan could love everyone because he first trusted everyone; you cannot love your neighbor until you first trust your neighbor.

          It is in this context that I want to say a word about the shooting of police officers in Dallas last week. Of course, this is a part of the larger, national conversation about protecting police officers while respecting the African American community. There are lots of opinions on all sides, and everyone has a right to their opinion. Evelyn Beatrice Hall famously said: “I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” But what no Christian can claim a right to is stop short of loving your neighbor, and that neighbor includes police officers and it includes the African American community. You see, no Christian in good conscience can put up such “tight security measures” in his or her heart that he or she excludes anyone.  And I would suggest to you that the first step of love is trust.  Where there is no trust, there can be no genuine love.  Just ask any married couple if they can love each other without first trusting each other.

          My friends, like the Samaritan in the gospel, try to trust others a little more today.  We must trust police officers; we must trust African Americans; and we must trust priests who talk with thick Indian accents. You cannot love someone that you do not trust.  You see, Fr. Tribou refused to install metal detectors at Catholic High not because of the lead in the boys’ butts, but because of the trust in his own heart.

          Praised be Jesus Christ!