Coming full circle
Iain Jamieson
May 03, 2025
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Luke 10: 25-37 (NIVUK)
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’
26 ‘What is written in the Law?’ he replied. ‘How do you read it?’
27 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”[a]; and, “Love your neighbour as yourself.”[b]’
28 ‘You have answered correctly,’ Jesus replied. ‘Do this and you will live.’
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’
30 In reply Jesus said: ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half-dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. “Look after him,” he said, “and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.”
36 ‘Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?’
37 The expert in the law replied, ‘The one who had mercy on him.’
Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise.’
This is easily one of my favourite passages. Who is my neighbour? You might as well read: what and how is love?
The Samaritan could be thought of as the last guy who would have helped this man out and yet all the other “worthies” just walked on by, secure in their pious belief they were good people. We’ve all been that person, passing by the homeless, not noticing the wordless cry for help or support from the one in the group who was being picked on. Not wanting to get involved.
I’ve got news for you. I’ve got news for me. Get involved! We are Jesus’s instruments on earth and sometimes I force myself to think: would Jesus want this person talked about in this way, would Jesus have left this man on his back on the street? The answer is no. The fear though is real. “What if?”, “How will this affect me?” This is one of these hard edges to being a Christian. To recognise when we should act, to parse it into “could” and to trust Jesus to make the way for us. Sometimes that way may not be smooth but it’s all learning and love. Love being the strongest thing.
As a song once said: “Be brave, be strong, ‘cause the Lord above is mighty”.
Be brave brothers and sisters. The Lord is mighty, let kindness reign and self-consciousness wane.
Prayer:
Jesus,
Sometimes I see things which make me uncomfortable
I feel that nudge that I should act
Be it your will
Let me act
With your wind behind my back
And carry me in your wings, calm my nervousness and give me courage to do as you would.
No matter what.
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