Major Dalton - June 9, 2024
The Good Samaritan
We are all terrible at doing the right thing. We are much better at doing the right thing for ourselves. Those who attempt to earn God's pleasure through their good works must cope with their inability by adjusting God's rules, adding to some, and redacting others. Jesus met just such a man one day. He was a lawyer and his problem was the command to love one's neighbor as himself—which is a big one. The problem was, and I think most of us can relate to this, there were some people who really annoyed him. To cope with this internal struggle, he decides to redefine the word neighbor. "Who exactly is my neighbor," he asked. His question was a veiled attempt to draw a boundary around the command. To force the truth to align to his prejudice. But Jesus refuses to allow this lawyer to change the rules. Jesus answers his question by telling a story about an unlikely hero. Today, we know it as the "Parable of the Good Samaritan." Join us this Sunday as we examine the familiar story to learn some forgotten truths about love.