This Sunday we continue our sermon series on the parables of Jesus, guided by the book Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi by Amy-Jill Levine.
Once again, we enter into a familiar story. The Good Samaritan is surely one we’ve heard ourselves, we’ve heard a number of pop culture references, and perhaps we’ve even seen children or grandchildren or nieces/nephews perform skits. We know this story!
Perhaps we even see ourselves in this story. We might connect with the legal expert who tests Jesus. We might resonate with the traveler who is beaten. We might—thinking inwardly rather than publicly—think we are more like the priest or the Levite who pass by. We might hope to approach the compassion of the Samaritan who helps. We might even wish to host the unfortunate traveler as the hospitable innkeeper did.
Luke 10:25-37 (CEB)
25 A legal expert stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to gain eternal life?”26 Jesus replied, “What is written in the Law? How do you interpret it?”
27 He responded, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.”
28 Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.”
29 But the legal expert wanted to prove that he was right, so he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus replied, “A man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He encountered thieves, who stripped him naked, beat him up, and left him near death. 31 Now it just so happened that a priest was also going down the same road. When he saw the injured man, he crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. 32 Likewise, a Levite came by that spot, saw the injured man, and crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. 33 A Samaritan, who was on a journey, came to where the man was. But when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. 34 The Samaritan went to him and bandaged his wounds, tending them with oil and wine. Then he placed the wounded man on his own donkey, took him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day, he took two full days’ worth of wages and gave them to the innkeeper. He said, ‘Take care of him, and when I return, I will pay you back for any additional costs.’ 36 What do you think? Which one of these three was a neighbor to the man who encountered thieves?”
37 Then the legal expert said, “The one who demonstrated mercy toward him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Consider these questions:
- The characters from the text are listed above. With which character do you identify most? Why?
- Consider the remaining characters from the story. Are there any who you dislike? Why?
- Imagine that you could interview the listed characters (note that Jesus wasn’t one listed). What questions would you ask them about their choices/actions?