Fwd: #LiveLent reflections - Week 3, Wednesday

St. John's Church Ashe Street Tralee

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Learning from the other

Week 3 - Wednesday 23 March

‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’

Reading

Luke 10.25-37

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.” Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’

Reflection

Jesus’ teaching of loving our neighbour has always been a sticking point. It’s easy to find reasons why we can’t do it, why it is unreasonable, or to deny someone is our neighbour. This is exactly what happens in the parable of the Good Samaritan. It is somewhat easy to say, of course, the neighbour is the despised Samaritan, so we must all be as good as he is.

But this isn’t all that the parable is saying. The man’s question was, ‘Who is my neighbour?’ The answer: the Samaritan. The man is invited to identify, not with the Samaritan, but with the beaten and broken Jewish man. If we follow this logic, we are invited to think of ourselves, not as the saviours of those who are hurt, but as those who are hurt and in need of tending by and learning from those we despise, disregard and, possibly, oppress.

Prayer

God of challenge and transformation, open our hearts to learn from those we would rather walk past, ignore or silence, and see your face as we look into theirs. Amen.