"The Good Samaritan"
The Lord woke me up around 5 am ..to revisit Luke 10:30-36..the story Jesus told of the Good Samaritan. In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two Denali and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”"
The Lord, spoke to me about the issue with the priest, and the Levite, both being of religious occupation, they both disregard the man in extreme distress. The Lord specifically put these two type of man in the story to show the condition of the heart, when we are confronted with a need that requires assistance out side our own circumstances. When we see a need of help, we deep down in our hearts feel ..." I do want I can..but I'm sure someone else will come along.." For the religious man, It is not enough to speak of the things of God, and to enquirer about them, but we must do it with a suitable concern for the truly needy. As Jesus is telling this story, I'm imagining the priest and the Levite...coming this way, and saw the poor wounded man. They probably heard his groans, and how could they not realize, without helped he would quickly die. The Levite, not only saw him, but came and looked on him, Luke 10:32..but they passed by on the other side. It is sad ....We have to be like the compassion of this Samaritan, he drew out his soul, he reached forth his hand to this poor needy person.
"We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit."
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”"
The Lord, spoke to me about the issue with the priest, and the Levite, both being of religious occupation, they both disregard the man in extreme distress. The Lord specifically put these two type of man in the story to show the condition of the heart, when we are confronted with a need that requires assistance out side our own circumstances. When we see a need of help, we deep down in our hearts feel ..." I do want I can..but I'm sure someone else will come along.." For the religious man, It is not enough to speak of the things of God, and to enquirer about them, but we must do it with a suitable concern for the truly needy. As Jesus is telling this story, I'm imagining the priest and the Levite...coming this way, and saw the poor wounded man. They probably heard his groans, and how could they not realize, without helped he would quickly die. The Levite, not only saw him, but came and looked on him, Luke 10:32..but they passed by on the other side. It is sad ....We have to be like the compassion of this Samaritan, he drew out his soul, he reached forth his hand to this poor needy person.
"We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit."
Comments
We’re living in enemy territory where people are often pawns and chips on the game table of someone else’s happiness and gain. Jesus came to change all of that: to teach us that people matter most, that eternal destinies are worth sacrificing for, that others count, and that love trumps self-centeredness! The familiar story of the Good Samaritan teaches us that even religious people can miss the point of the importance of “loving our neighbour.”