(Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the World)
By Tim Miller, OVD Coordinator of Emerging Leadership
From the very beginning of the early church, Jesus made it clear in Acts 1:8 that our circles of accountability, in terms of being his witnesses in Holy Spirit power, could be framed in ever widening spaces referred to as “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the World.” Jerusalem refers to peoples and places around us that our both geographically close and culturally similar to us, either in terms of ethnicity or values/lifestyle, or both. Judea refers to peoples and places that are not quite so geographically close but still culturally similar to us in terms of ethnicity, values/lifestyles, or both. Samaria refers to peoples and places that are indeed geographically close but very culturally different from us in terms of ethnicity, values/lifestyles, or both. And the world refers to peoples and places that are both geographically and culturally distant and different from us in terms of ethnicity, values/lifestyles, or both.
Jerusalem is usually our most comfortable (maybe easier) arena because of similarities. We don’t have language barriers, we understand one another’s backgrounds fairly well, share similar values; and we can easily interact with one another on a regular basis. What is interesting, however, is that here in the United States, our Jerusalem is getting ever smaller. Many of our neighborhoods include many more ethnicities than they did a few years ago. And even when our neighbors reflect similar ethnicities to ours, cultural values and backgrounds and lifestyles continue to grow more and more disparate. Judeo-Christian values are not taken for granted as they, at least to some degree, once were. Marlene and my neighborhood is still very similar in terms of ethnicity and language; but we couldn’t be more different in terms of what we believe and how we live. It is like we are from different planets! We clearly live in a post-Christian era, though it has taken us a little longer to get there than the rest of the world. This is not a bad thing. If nothing else, we are forced out of our comfort zones and forced to interact with others in the power of the Holy Spirit rather than being deceived into thinking we can do so in our own strength because we share so much in common!
Judea is usually comfortable for us, but inconvenient in terms of logistics because of distance. But what we often forget is that our Judea is usually someone else’s Jerusalem! This is neither good nor bad; it just is. But it is a reminder that our primary strategy in serving our Judea should be to first look for others (people, churches, missions) that are already there and find ways to come alongside them and assist them in what Jesus is already doing. And if indeed there are Judea’s in our circle that have no or few people or organized organisms there representing Jesus (areas that are clearly under-saturated), we probably should begin praying about birthing a child (planting a church), or at least creatively saturating that space with the gospel of Jesus’ love!
Samaria is typically our most uncomfortable and inconvenient circle of accountability. The people we interact with are very different from us, often ethnically, but definitely in terms of thinking/background. It can feel awkward to engage together, even though we are in close proximity. But what is remarkably interesting is that our Samaria is way bigger than we tend to think it is, and it is ever growing! While this may, again, make us uncomfortable, it is definitely a good thing. The world is closer than ever before. And again, we are reminded that we must operate in the power of the Holy Spirit for Jesus to be truly seen!
The “world” in one sense is what has always been for us in terms of circles of accountability. It is still geographically distant from us and culturally distant from us. But our Samaria’s provide us greater potential access to the world than ever before! This too is a good thing. The original Jerusalem’s and Judea’s for at least a critical number of our Samaritan friends is throughout the world (or in lifestyle circles we don’t normally travel in). They have primary contacts there; and they share what they are hearing and learning in interaction with us, with those contacts! And when they return “home”, they have a huge advantage in terms of sharing over those of us who do not reflect their culture or background! While we still have a mandate to go into the world, and especially where gospel access is limited, an ever increasing way we get there in part is through our Samaria!
Acts 1:8 was written/spoken over two thousand years ago; but it could never be more relevant than it is now. Changing, but relevant. And there is nothing “either/or” about it! May we delight to unconditionally love and serve peoples in every circle of accountability! May we be Spirit-sensitive to the changes in our circles so as to maximize potential Kingdom impact.