This Sunday’s readings are all about living in and serving the Lord from heart and soul.  In Deuteronomy (30: 14) we hear that this is not about relying on others to find and deliver to us what it means to love and obey God, or something that is too difficult for us to do.  Rather God’s word, his commandment and calling for us, is within every one of us, in what we say and what is in our hearts. 

Jesus tells the story (Luke 10:25-37) of the Good Samaritan, the despised enemy who comes to the rescue of the victim of bandits, setting aside political differences and social expectations to go the extra mile in care and service of a fellow human being. In contrast, in this story, the representatives of established faith seem to shrink from compromising their interpretation of duty and obedience to religious law and duck out of helping as they worry about the problems they might face in risking their purity of service in the temple by engaging with the broken and perhaps dying or dead sufferer on the wayside.

The story of the Good Samaritan is told in response to a legalistic enquiry as to who is the neighbour we are commanded to love as we would love ourselves, to show that God’s love and mercy is for all (received and offered), not constrained by our perceived boundaries of who are God’s people or what qualifies someone as a good follower of the Lord.

This must be one of the most familiar of the stories told by Jesus.  Does its very familiarity flow over us as we hear it again?  Or does it shock and challenge us in the way it must have shocked and challenged that first audience?  This week, let’s ask ourselves how is the portrayal of the Levite and the Pharisee a question to each of us?  Where are we at risk of putting our own understandings of conformity, or our assumptions about those who are different from us, above Jesus’ call to love those around us as much as we love ourselves, and to live out our love of God in our recognition that God’s love is not limited by our likes, dislikes and expectations.  Where do we find it hard to set aside our own judgment of what is correct behaviour or attitude, what feels comfortable to us, or even perhaps of what we understand as right worship, so that we may live the Good Samaritan’s example of loving welcome and care for each other without boundary. 

As we hear again this familiar story, may God help us to open our hearts with welcome and kindness and care as did the Samaritan, and to go and do likewise.

Lucy G

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