Love in Action

Pastor Carol Grace ♦ June 19, 2024 ♦ Leave a comment

(NCV)Luke 10:25 Then an expert on the law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to get life forever?”

26 Jesus said, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?”

27 The man answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.” Also, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”

28 Jesus said to him, “Your answer is right. Do this and you will live.”

29 But the man, wanting to show the importance of his question, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 Jesus answered, “As a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, some robbers attacked him. They tore off his clothes, beat him, and left him lying there, almost dead. 31 It happened that a priest was going down that road. When he saw the man, he walked by on the other side. 32 Next, a Levite came there, and after he went over and looked at the man, he walked by on the other side of the road. 33 Then a Samaritan traveling down the road came to where the hurt man was. When he saw the man, he felt very sorry for him. 34 The Samaritan went to him, poured olive oil and wine on his wounds, and bandaged them. Then he put the hurt man on his own donkey and took him to an inn where he cared for him. 35 The next day, the Samaritan brought out two coins, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of this man. If you spend more money on him, I will pay it back to you when I come again.’”

The parables fascinate me. Jesus told these stories in response to questions designed to trap Him into saying something, anything that could be used against Him. In this particular parable, there are four main characters.

A man has traveled down from Jerusalem on the Jericho Road. The pathway was steep, twisted and narrow, with many places sufficient to hide those intent to do harm. The man was beaten, robbed and left for dead.

The priest surely would stop to help. He was moved by pity, but rather than help he moved to the other side of the road. The Levite, one who served in the temple, did likewise.

But a Samaritan, a tribe despised by the Jews, saw this man as someone worthy of his help. Where the other two men, holy by all accounts, were too busy, the Samaritan interrupted his journey, tore his own garment into strips to use as bandages, spent his own funds to provide help—and all of this for a man who likely looked down on him.

The first two men had pity. But pity failed to drive these men to compassion, and lack of real compassion failed to drive them to action. Love requires action. As intentional disciples we cannot afford to look the other way, nor can we pick and choose our neighbors.

May each of us begin to see others through the eyes of God, so that our response will always be driven by love, first for our Savior and our Lord, and then for humanity.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.