Luke 10:29-37

Find a place and time free of distractions for the next 7-10 minutes. Take a moment to settle into your surroundings and then begin to recognize your breath. As you breathe in, call on the name of Jesus and become aware of his presence with you. As you breathe out, open your mind and heart to receive whatever Jesus has for you today.

Recall our last meditation (Luke 10:25-28) on the Shema prayer and the two greatest commandments. Then read Luke 10:29-37.

When we reduce the Bible to a list of dos and don’ts, we miss the greater story of Scripture and the spirit of God’s commands and Jesus’ teachings. We call an obsession with adherence to the finer points of the law, “legalism,” and often times legalism is simply an attempt to justify our questionable motives and actions.

The religious expert has discerned the connection between loving God and loving people - who are created in the image of God - but he needs a way to justify being selective about who he loves. The story Jesus tells in response turns the tables on the legalist.

Consider the main points of Jesus’ story:

• A person, just like you, traveling in familiar territory, falls victim to a brutal attack.

• A spiritual leader from your own faith tradition (or church) goes out of his or her way to avoid the injured person.

• A staff person or fellow congregant from your faith tradition displays morbid curiosity and a complete lack of compassion for the victim of violence.

• Finally, someone from outside your comfort circle, whose beliefs and ethnicity disturb or even disgust and scare you, goes out of his or her way to rescue the suffering person.

• This stranger sacrifices his or her time and money to ensure the wellbeing of the injured person - with whom you can fully identify.

Get quiet for a while and contemplate these points.

Read Luke 10:29-37 again focusing on the exchange between Jesus and the religious expert at the end of the passage.

Imagine that Jesus is holding this conversation with you:

“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?”

Talk your answer through with Jesus and then imagine him speaking the following directly to you:

“Yes, now go and do the same.”

What might Jesus want you to do or do differently as a result of this story?

Will you?

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