Today's gospel reading contains so much; too much to do justice to in a short Devotional. There is the Good Samaritan, Martha & Mary and the Lord's Prayer. First thing to suggest is to read it all again!
Jesus answers the question, 'what must I do to inherit eternal life?' with a question of his own; 'how do you read the law?'
"He answered, "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 "love your neighbour as yourself." "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied, "Do this and you shall live." But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And, who is my neighbour?" Luke 10:27-29 [NIV]
The parable of the Good Samaritan that follows is very well known; I wonder if too well known. Perhaps we are so familiar with the story that it no longer impacts us as it might. How might it look today?
Imagine it was you walking through a street in Rugby when you were set upon, mugged, and left injured and bedraggled on the roadside.
How would you feel to see one of the town's priests cross over the road and walk on by?
How would you then feel if a well respected church member, obviously in a hurry, crosses over and walks on by?
And how then would you feel when the Big Issue seller, on their way home from a day of sitting outside Smith's, stops, wraps their arms around you, takes care of you and then somehow finds a way of getting an ambulance to you...?
Who do we see as our neighbour; who do we most readily take time out to help? Our reality is that 'our neighbour' is so often 'somebody like us'; is that true for you?
Lord, open our eyes and open our hearts to see where those 'not like us' are in need, and grow in us the desire to go to them and show them your love.
Amen
Mike Iredale
Read the Bible in a year: Psalm 41:7-13, Deuteronomy 3:1-4:49, Luke 10:25-11:4
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