Saturday, June 23, 2012
Sitting with it
I've had to make a remarkably hard decision this week. Actually, the decision was made by the circumstances involved, by lack of money and reluctance to give to someone who is an incurably, irrevocably, ungrateful, unrepentant recidivist. Facebook asks, "What is on your mind?" What is on my mind is an incurable, irrevocable, ungrateful, unrepentant recidivist. That is what is on my mind. Lord help us all. When does assistance go from assistance to enabling? And in that case, what is the truly loving action?
Friday, June 22, 2012
Reflections on the Good Samaritan
Luke 10:29-37 (NIV)
29b ...so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
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 traveled, 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[a] 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 neighbor 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.”
Sometimes I wish Jesus were still around so I could ask a few question. Like - what happened to the wounded man? Did he recover? Did he thank the Good Samaritan? Did he go forth and never fall again into harm's way?
Or did he retrace his steps and fall back into the ditch? Did he go down the same road and make the same mistakes that got him there in the first place? Did he run into another group of robbers? Did he jump back into his ditch because that was the life he knew? How many denarii did the innkeeper end up with? At what point does the traveller have to take responsibility for his own path?
Just asking.
29b ...so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
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 traveled, 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[a] 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 neighbor 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.”
Sometimes I wish Jesus were still around so I could ask a few question. Like - what happened to the wounded man? Did he recover? Did he thank the Good Samaritan? Did he go forth and never fall again into harm's way?
Or did he retrace his steps and fall back into the ditch? Did he go down the same road and make the same mistakes that got him there in the first place? Did he run into another group of robbers? Did he jump back into his ditch because that was the life he knew? How many denarii did the innkeeper end up with? At what point does the traveller have to take responsibility for his own path?
Just asking.
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