Good Morning All,
This verse comes
from the parable of the “Good Samaritan.”
This is one of the better-known parables in the Bible. Most know the story, a man is robbed, a
priest and a Levite pass by him but a Samaritan stopped and helped the beaten
man. That is when our verse shows up.
We spend a lot of time hashing over this
and other parables. That is the
interesting thing about parables, as you read them, they tell you different
things. You must be careful not to overread
them but there is much to be seen. It is
always important to keep the context of the story in mind. Who is the story told to and what is it about
the listener that needs attention?
The story is told to a lawyer, (you know
that will make it interesting). The
lawyer is trying to justify himself for his own salvation. So, Jesus tells him this story. Most of the time we read this as a moral
story of how we should act; we should be the “Good Samaritan.” But there is a different way to read this. Remember the lawyer is trying to justify his
actions. He wants to think that there is
something he can do to save himself but there isn’t anything.
The lawyer, and you and me, are really the
man who is beaten up. Helpless and
hopeless in our life. We are left along
the side of the road to die. False
teachings of this world, self-induced lies, the devil’s deceptions, all pass us
by when we are beaten down and hurt.
There is no hope; we cannot really help ourselves. We are lost and beaten. We are beaten by the disappointments in our
life, by the frustration of relationship struggles, by the overwhelming of one
failure after another. We often don’t
even see the attackers and then they launch on us with a fury that we cannot
withstand. We are left beaten and
robbed, robbed of hope.
Yet Jesus comes along and he cleans us up
(Baptismal language) He carries us to a place of safety (the Church) and he
feeds us (Communion) and he tells the innkeeper that he will return (Second
Coming). Jesus is the one who saves
us. He is the one to pick us up and fixes
us. All the phony thoughts, all the
half-baked promises that the world makes always pass by on the other side of
the road. This includes any delusion
that you and I have, that we can save ourselves or even justify our
actions.
Much of the time, we may feel beaten and
destroyed. Yet Jesus comes to us with
his healing comfort and picks us up and binds our wounds. He makes us whole again. He gives us a place of safety to rest. Isn’t that what we really need, is rest? God protects us from all the devil’s lies and
his arrows of pain. He carries us to the
inn where we are safe. It is by his
grace that we are made whole.
Dearest Jesus, many times we feel beaten and robbed in this
world. Yet you pick us up and clean and
bind our wounds. Give us the certainty
of hope that we will always be safe with you resting in your loving arms. In your precious name we pray, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret
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