Part One
Note: I’m not a Mormon, nor am I a fan of Mormon teachings (although I know and love quite a few Mormons). But that’s not what this post is about. Read on…
Some years back, my comedy act Mitch & Allen did a live show sponsored by a group of churches in Ogden, Utah. We’d been there twice before and built a strong following, so this time they moved us to a large university auditorium. When we got there, it was standing-room-only!
Scary, but cool.
We were a faith-based team, so churches expected us to close with a message. As always, I sought God’s guidance, but the answer I got was so dicey, I questioned whether I’d heard correctly (I’m always cautious not to confuse my “vibes” with God’s leading).
The performance went well. In fact, we received a standing ovation. Then, as the applause died down, I stepped up to the microphone, my Bible was bookmarked at Luke 10:30-37, the Parable of the Good Samaritan. I shot up an emergency “are you sure about this, God?” and got an unnerving green light.
The crowd was made up mostly of non-Mormons, a minority in Utah, home of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. There are two common strains of spiritual pride in Utah: Mormon “We’re-the-only-true-Church” pride, and non-Mormon “We’re-the-people-who-left-that-false-church” pride (a large percentage of people there are ex-Mormons). My heart was with the minority. In fact, I’d been asked to consider pastoring a church in Ogden and had studied Mormonism at length. So I was as surprised as anyone when God led me to re-tell the story in Luke, Chapter 10, as…
The Parable of the Good Mormon.
I felt like I was beating sheep. Because so many of those ex-Mormons had been disowned by their families for leaving “the true Church,” had lost jobs and community standing, had given up everything to do what they believed was right. And there I was, telling them the parable of a “good Mormon” who compassionately aided a stranger when other “godly” people passed him by!
When I finished, there was deadly silence. I began to explain: We think of “samaritans” as good guys. But in Jesus’ time the Samaritans were a Jewish schism—just as Mormonism is a Christian schism—one that had reinvented Judaism and labelled themselves the only true Jews. Result? Jews hated them. And they hated Jews. So why did Jesus cast a Samaritan as his hero?
To make a point:
It’s not knowing the right stuff that makes us good or righteous, it’s what’s in our hearts. The Jewish prophets had been gifted with revelations from God, and the Samaritans had not (Jesus acknowledged this). But that didn’t automatically make all Jews good, or all Samaritans bad. What mattered to God, Jesus insisted, was the disposition of a person’s heart.
“OK, go on…” said the sea of silent faces before me.
To read the conclusion, click here.
I can hear the pin drop…waiting
Gasp! You went there!
I am also waiting!
Tomorrow?! Come on, Mitch! Throw us a 🦴😍
;>)
I love where this is going!
Can’t wait for the conclusion!
Exactly! And I have the attention of a 🐿️.
Tomorrow? Did you know that’s 24 hours from now?
Yeah ~ and that’s if he posts at the EXACT SAME TIME!…
I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Oh, those unnerving, counterintuitive green lights! You check back once, you check back twice, and then you take a big breath and … !!!
It would be interesting to know who was neighborly when you fell into the hands of robbers of humor. The exegesis is difficult when you kill them on stage, enemy of rival performers. 37: … “The one who had mercy on him.”
What a story! I’m on pins and needles (like you were.)
Exceptional
Thank you.
A very powerful retelling of the biblical “good Samaritan”! When we respond to those seemingly unlikely nudges from God, amazing things can happen. Look forward to reading the conclusion.
Just reposted the conclusion, Rosaliene.
Great story, Mitch. It sounds like Mitch & Allen was a successful Christian comedy duo that successfully shared the Word. Why stop?
We had a great five year run, but then Allen left to attend college full-time (I’d already finished my degree work), so I continued on as a solo speaker and humorist.
Great stuff, Mitch. I think you’re doing exactly what Jesus did – telling stories about topics others won’t talk about, and asking questions that others aren’t brave enough to ask. Thank you.
My privilege, Malcolm.
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I’ll be interested in reading the conclusion!
Here it is, Ann: https://mitchteemley.com/2023/08/28/the-parable-of-the-good-mormon-conclusion/
Sounds similar to the insisting of one blogger I debated that it was possible to have a good Samaritan who was LGBTQ +. They shamed me into it. I’m reading the rest of this story!
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Pingback: “The Parable of the Good Mormon”: Making the case for the wide-is-the-way false gospel of “good-heartedness” – Part 1 – excatholic4christ