Luke 10: 25-37

I’m amazed at how much we tend to draw from this passage, given how simple it is. I wondered last night if it was best to use the most simple interpretation possible.

Jesus seems to define neighbour as one who does good to another. In the story he illustrates, the neighbour in the story radically goes out of his way to do good. Jesus tells the religious leader he’s speaking to, to “go and do likewise,” indicating that the he should BE the definition of neighbour. Jesus supersedes the original command.

The samaritan in the story took initiative to enter into the world of someone not at all like him. He forgot his agenda and invested his time and resources to help the man.

Which leads me to a conclusion. When we pray, let’s not ask for our enemy to change, let’s ask for God to change us into more loving people. Before we cast the first stone… and all that.