What Kind of People Are We Going to Be? - Luke 10

1. A Prayer For The People of God
Divine Judge, you framed the earth with
love and mercy and declared it good;
yet we, desiring to justify ourselves, judge others harshly,
without knowledge or understanding.
Keep us faithful in prayer that we may
be filled with the knowledge of your will,
and not ignore or pass by another's need,
but plumb the depths of love in showing mercy.
Amen.

3. Luke 10:25-37
the KIND of PEOPLE we WANT to be…
Artwork by John Mosiman

4. On one occasion
an expert in the law
stood up to test Jesus.
“Teacher,” he asked,
“what must I do to
inherit eternal life?”
LUKE
10:25

5. “The lawyer is thinking of something
to check off his to-do list: recite
a prayer, offer a sacrifice, drop off
a box of macaroni for a food drive,
put a twenty in the collection plate.
If he’s efficient, he can inherit eternal
life before lunch…(In addition) the
question presumes eternal life is
a commodity to be inherited or
purchased on the basis of a particular
action rather than a gift freely given…”
AMY JILL
LEVINE

6. “He thinks in terms of a single action
rather than a life of righteousness…
He focuses on eternal life – his own
salvation – when he should be,
as Judaism teaches, focused on loving
God and neighbor (and) he is asking
obnoxious questions to which he
already knows the answers…”
AMY JILL
LEVINE

7. But he wanted
to justify himself,
so he asked Jesus,
“And who is my neighbor?”
LUKE
10:29

8. “To ask ‘Who is my neighbor’
is a polite way of asking,
‘Who is not my neighbor?’
or ‘Who does not deserve my love?’
or…‘Whom can I hate?’ ”
AMY JILL
LEVINE

9. In reply Jesus said:
“A man was going down
from Jerusalem to Jericho,
when he was attacked by robbers.
They stripped him of his clothes,
beat him and went away,
leaving him half dead.
LUKE
10:30

10. “The road…was known to be a
treacherous and dangerous route…
Jerusalem is some 2,700 feet above sea
level, but Jericho is 820 feet below.
That means that there is a drop of over
3,500 feet, and the drop takes place
within a seventeen-mile journey…
According to Josephus, it was ‘desolate ARLAND
HULTGREN

11. A priest happened to be
going down the same road,
and when he saw the man,
he passed by on the other side.
So too, a Levite, when he came
to the place and saw him,
passed by on the other side.
LUKE
10:31-32

12. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came
where the man was; and when he saw him,
he took pity on him. He went to him and
bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and
wine. Then he put the man on his own
donkey, brought him to an inn and took
care of him. The next day he took out two
(days wages) and gave them to the
innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said,
‘and when I return, I will reimburse you
for any extra expense you may have.’
LUKE
10:33-35

13. “(I’ll) tell you what my imagination tells
me (about why the Priest and Levite
passed by, but the Samaritan stopped
to help.) It’s possible these men were
afraid…And so the first question that
the priest (and) the Levite asked was,
‘If I stop to help this man, what will
happen to me? But then the Good
Samaritan came by, and he reversed
the question: ‘If I do not stop to help
this man, what will happen to him?”
M.L.K.
JR.

14. “We are called to play the Good
Samaritan on life’s roadside,
but that will be only an initial act.
One day we must come to see
(for example) that the whole Jericho
Road must be transformed so that
men and women will not be constantly
beaten and robbed as they make their
journey on life’s highway.”
M.L.K.
JR.

15. “When pastors simply try to help
parishioners and others in their
community to adjust to injustices
rather than fight for justice, they are
failing to exercise pastoral care.
Good pastoral theology calls for
ministers to work on behalf of
congregants who suffer from
unjust systems.” UNITED
THEOLOGICAL
SEMINARY
Upon the hiring of
Rev. Gary F. Green II

16. Luke 10:25-37
the KIND of PEOPLE we WANT to be…
Artwork by John Mosiman

17. what KIND of PEOPLE will WE be?
“Who is my neighbor?” people
– or – “Who can I be a neighbor to?” people

18. “Who is my neighbor?” people
– or – “Who can I be a neighbor to?” people
“Only people like us are capable of doing good?” people
– or – “Any person is capable of doing good” people
what KIND of PEOPLE will WE be?

19. “Who is my neighbor?” people
– or – “Who can I be a neighbor to?” people
“Only people like us are capable of doing good?” people
– or – “Any person is capable of doing good” people
“What might happen to me?” people
– or – “What might happen to them?!” people
what KIND of PEOPLE will WE be?

20. Luke 10:25-37
the KIND of PEOPLE we WANT to be…
Artwork by John Mosiman

21. Benediction
Almighty God,
you gave the law to your people
and it was fulfilled in every way
through our Lord Jesus.
Grant that, through his Spirit, we may love you
with heart, soul, mind, and strength,
and our neighbor as ourselves,
to the glory and honor of your name.
Amen.