A dirty, sandy road from Jerusalem to Jericho, known as the road of blood, that is where Jesus takes everyone who asks whom they are really supposed to love. This sermon rediscovers the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) and confronts it with our everyday lives: neighbors, refugees at the border, people we would rather not think about. Because being a neighbor is not a title, it is an action. Listen and ask yourself not who your neighbor is, but for whom you will prove to be one today.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- The expert in the law asks Jesus who his neighbor is because he "wanted to justify himself" (Luke 10:29). Why might he have wanted to narrow that definition, and what was he trying to protect?
- Why did Jesus make a Samaritan the hero of the parable, and how might Jewish listeners, who saw Samaritans as unclean enemies, have reacted?
- Jesus shifts the question from "Who is my neighbor?" to "Who proved to be a neighbor?" What does this shift say about being a neighbor as an action rather than a title?
- The priest and the Levite had their reasons for passing by on the other side. Which of the excuses mentioned in the sermon, like having no time, "it's not my gifting," or "they brought it on themselves," show up most often in your life?
- Luke describes the Samaritan's compassion with a word for a gut-wrenching inner stirring that won't let you walk past. How is that different from a passing feeling of pity, and what helps you move from emotion to action?
- The sermon encourages us to start with one person instead of thinking about everyone. Who specifically could you be a neighbor to this week, and what will your first step be?
