Over the last few weeks, I have been leading one of the home groups in our church. Although it is a small group, it is vibrant, outgoing, and willing to reflect together. One of the most rewarding experi ences we can have is to sit around the table and prayerfully reflect over a passage of Scripture together.
Last Tuesday fortnight, we were doing exactly that - looking at the parable of the Good Samaritan. This is a passage we know so well, and over the years have heard a thousand sermons on it. Really, it is timeless in its application. In our group reflection, we noticed the context - a debate between a lawyer and Jesus. We find Jesus as the master communicator, countering every question the lawyer put up. Finally, the lawyer asks a question regar ding eternal life, a question that Jesus answers with the parable. As a group, we looked at all of the characters and their shortcomings; then we studied the ministry of the unlikely hero - the Samaritan. The climax is the question of “Who is my neigh bour?”. In Jewish understanding, the neighbour is never de fined, so the lawyer thinks he is “off the hook”, and sometimes we can think the same way, because the real question is not “Who is my neighbour?” but “To whom can I be a neighbour?”
When Jesus asked the lawyer “Who was a neighbour to the man?”, the lawyer gave the answer as the Samaritan, and was thus challenged to go and do likewise.
This is our challenge too! Who is the one that God has placed in your life to whom you can be a neighbour? It’s worth praying about, isn't it?
Pastor Roger