THURSDAY 18 JUNE 2020

Good morning friends,

Recent news reports have featured two men who have made the headlines because of their outstanding care for others.

Patrick Hutchison stepped in to rescue a man whose life was in danger during the Black Lives Matter protest on June 13.

Marcus Rushford spoke out against the government’s intention to stop school meals for the neediest children during the school holidays. This act caused those in power to think again and ensured that those children will be catered for.

These men are just two of many who day who act to help others in need, most of whom they do not personally know, as day by day, week by week, month by month............... hospitality is offered and received, and sometimes we don’t have to look very far to find a neighbour in need.

In Luke : 10-25-37 Jesus speaks out in answer to a question from an expert in the Law who asked, what he needed to do to inherit eternal life?

Jesus asked, “What is written in the Law?” “How do you read it?”

“The lawyer answered, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.”

Jesus said, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?”

Jesus responds by telling a parable, “The Good Samaritan”

“A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest saw him and passed by on the opposite side. A Levite came to the place and passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveller who came upon him was moved with compassion, lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him. Which of these three, in your opinion, was a neighbour to the robbers’ victim?”

He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.”

Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

That command — go and do likewise — rings through the centuries and lands squarely on our shoulders today.

Make no mistake — the mandate to love our neighbour as ourselves is just as much the responsibility of God’s people today as it was 2,000 years ago. But just like 2,000 years ago, the question for us today is, “Who is our neighbour?”

The parable of the Good Samaritan gives us the answer. It’s simple — like the man on the side of the road; our neighbour is anyone in need that we are in a position to help.

Our neighbour is anyone in need that we are in a position to help.

Jesus message was one that was very radical, and I wonder what effect it had on these first hearers.

Were they shocked? Were they motivated to act? We don’t know,

Jesus said, “go and do likewise” did they?............Will we?...................

“When I needed a neighbour Were you there, were you there?

When I needed a neighbour, were you there? And the creed and the colour And the name won't matter Were you there?” (Sydney Bertram Carter)