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Today’s text
Luke 10:29-37
But wanting to justify himself, he asked
Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from
Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him,
beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was
going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So
likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the
other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him,
he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured
oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn,
and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take
care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.”
Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the
hands of the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to
him, ‘Go and do likewise.’
Beyond reason
I remember days of wandering and reporting from out of the
way, forgotten and never-known villages, finding and recording the drama of
difficult lives.
I went to places the Western world never really knew--Bor,
Aswa, Atepi, Ame and dozens of others in southern Sudan caught in the maelstrom
of civil war, as if any war was ever civil … especially to the poor.
I recall entering devastated towns to discover aid agencies
had pulled out their people because it was too dangerous. The Red Cross, United
Nations organizations like UNICEF, Save the Children, church relief
organizations … all had left, leaving only the most intrepid who stayed, trying
to keep the starving survivors alive long enough to plant seeds of hope in a
new season.
After everyone else left, two organizations often stayed--medical
staff from Doctors without Borders and nuns from Mother Teresa’s Sisters of
Charity. They remained in war zones and instability where they were as likely
to get killed or sick as those they served.
The stayed beyond any reasonable expectation of what they
should do risking their lives for those at risk.
I loved them for that. I could kiss the dirt at their feet. Some
of them were a gnarly crowd, hardened by the lives they lived, the deaths they
witnessed and the risks they took.
No one needed (or would dare) to tell them ofthe story of
the Good Samaritan. They lived it every day in conditions that reasonable
people avoid or flee at all costs.
As I watched them I muttered to myself, “Where do you get
such people? How do you make people like this?”
You don’t.
These are the awakened hearts of the world. These are those
whose hearts have been roused by an inner love that moves them beyond limits,
beyond reason, beyond expectation.
Only the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ makes hearts
like these, stirring them to feel and become the love God wants us all to be.
Such people can make us nervous. They are often criticized
or judged as being foolish or strange. They may scare or unsettle us because they
love so freely, giving totally while we hold back protecting ourselves, our
safety, our personal boundaries.
However these hearts were awakened--by beauty or suffering,
by being loved or abused, by being helped or neglected--however the Spirit awakened them, they are a lighthouse shining in
the darkness showing us who God is, how we are to live … and the beauty that
lies deep within ourselves … awaiting its awakening.
Pr. David L. Miller
