Today’s Reading: Luke 10:25-37
“Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise”
The old saying goes “the devils in the details. In this story from Luke, Jesus is asked by an “expert in the law” just who is my neighbor after hearing that life that is lived by eternal values includes loving not only God but also your neighbor. We don’t know what motivated the question, but it is not difficult to imagine that the lawyer was hoping that the field of who that included would be narrowed down to a group he could accept.
The response from Jesus is the familiar story of the good Samaritan where a person who has been beaten and robbed is ignored by the professional religious [think clergy] and the Levite [who were the ritual caretakers of the Temple – think pious layperson]. Instead, the wounded individual is taken care of by a Samaritan [think of a group that the Jewish people considered guilty of idolatry and hence probably reviled by the lawyer who asked the question].
But the point Jesus makes is clear. It is our actions not our theology that reveals our true faith. Loving our neighbor means nothing less than treating all people with compassion even when we disagree with their theology [think politics], Jesus simply doesn’t allow us to pick and choose those whom we will treat with the love we have received from God. We can hold people accountable for their actions just as Jesus is holding the lawyer accountable for his actions. But he challenges us to do that with mercy and compassion even then.
Reflections 