Sunday, August 9, 2009

Am I my brother's Keeper?


How many are the sufferers who have fallen amongst misfortunes along the wayside of life! "By chance" we come that way; chance, accident, Providence, has thrown them in our way; we see them from a distance, like the priest, or we come upon them suddenly, like the Levite; our business, our pleasure is interrupted by the sight, is troubled by the delay; what are our feelings, what are our actions toward them? "Who is thy neighbor?" It is the sufferer, wherever, whoever, whatsoever he be. Wherever you hear the cry of distress, wherever you see anyone brought across your path by the chances and changes of life (that is, by the Providence of God), whom it is in your power to help--he (she), stranger or enemy though he be--he (she) is your neighbor.

A.P. Stanley (1815-1882)


Luke: 25-37

And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?
So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’
And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

7 comments:

ellen b. said...

Go and do likewise. Good words of truth this morning Cori G! Enjoy this day the God has made :0)

Miss Gracie's House said...

A great post to ponder and to put into action!
Have a great day of worship!
Rene'

Bernideen said...

Hi Cori and great thoughtsin a world not so loving to samaritans!

Anonymous said...

This is the exact passage used for the sermon at church this morning. Powerful!

Kathy b

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

Cori, this is a wonderful post. Thank you for this cogent reminder that we are to keep our eyes and hearts open and to go and do likewise.

Andrea said...

Beautiful, dear friend! We just talked about the Good Samaritan in Sunday school yesterday.

Those listening to the parable expected a Jewish hero. They did not get what they expected. Rather, the hero was an outcast of society. One of those they disdained.

How challenging for us! May God help me to ever look, open my eyes, to those moments of providence.

Thank you for sharing. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayers for my dh and me. Praise God! I am still in awe of God's grace and healing!

Take care. Have a blessed week.

I appreciate you!

Andrea

Seawashed said...

Wow...this is what I taught in my K-3rd grade Sunday School class on Sunday. It was so fun to teach...Their memory verse for the month is "Never tire of doing right."1Thess. I gave them bandaides with "love your neighor' written on them.