Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
E100:12.d – The Teachings of Jesus
The Good Samaritan – Luke 10:25-37 (NLT)
The Most Important Commandment
Luke 10:25 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?”
26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”
27 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.’”
28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”
29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Parable of the Good Samaritan
30 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.
31 “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. 32 A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
Vincent van Gogh, 1890
Kröller-Müller Museum
Otterlo, Netherlands
33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 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. 35 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.’
36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.
37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”
“Love your neighbor as yourself “
Prayer
Gracious God: thank you for the compassion and mercy that you have shown me in Jesus Christ. I would love you with my whole being, and my neighbor as myself, because you loved me first.
+ Give me a servant’s heart, willing to respond to the needs of people around me.
+ Give me the courage to do what’s right, not simply what’s convenient.
+ Give me patience and a forbearing spirit to love the difficult people that I run into.
+ Give me the opportunity to express your love and mercy in an unexpected way today.
May your Kingdom come, and your will be done today – in me, and through me. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Closing Sentence
I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning. Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning. – 2 John 5-6 (NLT)
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
The Peanut Gallery 