Go And Do Likewise

GO AND DO LIKEWISE

a prayer to open

Open my eyes and help me to see you.

Open my heart and help me to know you.

Jesus, my Lord and my God.

One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”

The man answered, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”

The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

“By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

“Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

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

The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”

Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

We all are tempted to find loopholes—ways of more easily and comfortably following Jesus’ commands. “Love your neighbor,” Scripture tells us, and we want to know who that means, exactly—surely not everyone! Or we want to know how far this love should go or what it must entail. We want to set boundaries so we can love in ways that don’t cost us too much or make us feel uncomfortable. But Jesus says that love is expansive, extensive, and expensive. And there is no better story to illustrate these truths about love than the story of the Good Samaritan. Who must we love? Even your enemy, Jesus says. What does love look like? Inconvenient, costly, and intentional, Jesus says.

• When you hear the word neighbor, who comes to mind? How is your definition of that word expanded by Jesus’ teaching in this parable?
• Who are the people—whether in your community, your country, or the world—you have a hard time extending mercy to? How is Jesus calling you to respond to those people?
• What does today’s passage reveal to you about Jesus?

Father, forgive me for walking away from, turning my back on, and closing my eyes to those who need mercy and care the most. Clean out the dark corners of my heart where so much judgment, hatred, and contempt lurk. Banish all fear and free my mind from distractions that call me to lesser ways and lesser loves. Take my hands and feet, Lord, and use them to demonstrate your love in this world. Amen.