"The Good (Compassionate) Samaritan" - Luke 10 and Other Things
This past Sunday the lesson appointed was the Parable of the "Good Samaritan" from Luke 10. In my sermon I went through some of the basics, first about Parables in General: 1. They are all Parables of the Kingdom of God - they reflect God's Kingdom, which is why so many of them are about radical forgiveness, acceptance and grace. 2. They are about God - they are not morality tales for us. 3. They are an invitation for those of us who have been baptized and have been called to be citizen's of the Kingdom. How are we to live? How are we to relate to others - well, A man had two sons..." "A man was going from Jerusalem to Jericho..." I also pointed out in my sermon that the Parables tend to be "pretty in your face" and radical. This is why the man who shows mercy is a despised Samaritan. Maybe Jesus, if he were telling this story today, would lift up an immigrant from Central America or a refugee. Does that offend you? Well, it should and it