Monday October 9, 2023

Luke 10:21-37

Jesus replied, ‘A man was once on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of brigands; they took all he had, beat him and then made off, leaving him half dead.

You know this story very well. We often refer to it as the Story of the Good Samaritan. I wonder how that sounds like the the Samaritans . Anyway that Is besides the point. The first thing that strikes us in this passage is that the man was headed from Jerusalem to Jericho. All the stories at this time lead to Jerusalem. This man is going the wrong way!

Remember the song: Jerusalem Jerusalem it is there that the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord. There is only one who has come from God, from the place of the Temple where God dwells, Jesus himself. He has been ignored by priests and levites but it is the outcast who has gone out of his way to attend to the holy one who has come God, from Jerusalem. The religious did not attend to him for good reason, lest they make themselves unclean. Real church is not neat, it is messy. Real marriage is not Facebook perfect, it is messy. Maybe we should turn down the pose and live the real life. Let’s meet our people where they are, we might just be touching the face of God.