Daily Devotion, July 16, 2020

Devotion: Read Luke 10:25-37.

Jesus the Teacher told many stories in the form of parables to get his lessons taught. Today’s parable is perhaps the most moving parable in scripture. You might ask why. It is because it cuts right to the chase of the world’s prejudices and selfishness and asks who is our neighbor. When Jesus is asked the question, ‘who is my neighbor?’ he does not answer with a definition but instead answers by telling a story. This beautiful passage from the Gospel shows how the answer must come from the heart, not the head. No matter what religion or non-religion someone is, they can readily find the truth in this story for today. In Jesus’ time, the Jews and the Samaritans despised each other. The Samaritans were ethnic religious outsiders. Jews did not want to associate with the Samaritans and would go out of their way to avoid them. The priest and the Levite fail the test because they would not help and did not want to then be considered unclean.

Today the Samaritans only number about 850, with half living in Holton (South of Tel Aviv) and the other half on Mount Gerizim which is on the West Bank. They are one of the world’s oldest and smallest religious groups with their existence among the most ancient in the world. Some of us got to see their settlement on the Holy Land trip in February. It was very moving to think back to this story.

Adult Challenge:

How does this story touch you? Spend some time reflecting on this parable as if it were addressed personally to you. You may love the Lord with all your heart and all your soul, but who in your life is your neighbor? To whom are you a good neighbor? Think about who might be a stretch for you to consider a neighbor. Are you willing to get involved in messy people’s lives?

Youth Challenge:

This is one that I think we are familiar with the most. It doesn’t matter how many times I read it I find myself being so judgemental of everyone who passed him by. Likewise, everytime I read it I see myself in the ones who passed him by. More times than not I do not love my neighbor as much as myself and can be so consumed in my own world that I pass by and overlook people who need love. Does this parable connect with you? How can we use this lesson to rethink and reevaluate how we feel about the things going on in our world today?

Children's Challenge:

Distribute 2-3 bandaids to each family member. Using a pen, write the name of a person who needs healing, encouragement, or help (in any way). Pray for each person, Place these bandaids in a place where they can be seen to continue to pray for each person. Choose one or two people that your family can assist. It may be a written communication, or financial gift, or food, etc. Decide as a family and meet this need as a family.