Luke 10.25-37, Pentecost 5C
Theme: Compassion
This Sunday, we are looking at a well-known parable. I recall the text being discussed in my Sunday School classes as a child. I have heard it told in Lonkundo, French and English. I have also translated it from the Greek text.
We get involved in the account Jesus tells of a Jewish man who is beaten and robbed along the road between Jerusalem and Jerico. Three men find him lying near the road – one a Jewish magistrate, the next a Priest. Neither of these men stop. They have more important things to do. There is so much packed in this parable. Rightly so; we are drawn to the ethical significance of it.
However, there is so much more to be found in this passage which is often missed.
The lawyer, trying to entrap Jesus asked him a question. “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responds by asking the lawyer what the law says. As any good lawyer would do, he quotes the laws which pertain to the question. They are:
1. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (Deuteronomy 6:5)
2. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:18)
The lawyer used the second quote to entrap Jesus when he asks “who is my neighbor?”
So….
The question remains: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus points out quite succinctly the parable holds the secret. He points this out to the lawyer by asking about the men who found the victim of the robbery, “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”
The lawyer answers, “The one who showed him mercy.”
So Jesus then reveals the secret to eternal life when he said to the lawyer, “Go and do likewise.”
This is what WE must do.
Worship with us in person at 10:30 AM as we will be meditating on as we meditate on how we gain our inheritance. The service will also be streamed live on the internet -- (https://fccmaryvillemo.com) or on the church’s home Facebook page. If you miss the live stream, a recorded session is also available to view at your convenience. Want to make a comment on my blog? Click on https://fccmaryvillemosanc.wixsite.com/ftdo
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