June 22, 2006

  • The Parable of the Good _____

    Luke 10:25 through Luke 10:37


    "Who is my neighbor?"


    Jesus answered, "A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, and gave them to the host, and said to him, 'Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.' Now which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?"
    He said, "He who showed mercy on him."
    Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

    Jesus answered, "A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, and gave them to the host, and said to him, 'Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.' Now which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?"
    He said, "He who showed mercy on him."
    Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

    So the priest, someone who is respected and is supposed to be a godly person, is not a neighbor to this man.  The Levite, who was a member of a respected Jewish tribe often given additional rights and responsibilities in the Jewish religion, is likewise not a neighbor to this man.  The Samaritan, who was a member of a group that schismed from Judiasm with a mutual dislike between the two religious and ethnic groups, was a neighbor to this man.  The moral is, of course, that according to Jesus - actions speak louder than words, position, ethnicity and religion.


    This calls us all to look at ourselves and wonder which group of people would we be shocked to have pass by on the other side of the street, and which group of people would we be shocked to have help us as we lie half-dead.  What if the roles were reversed, if you were the one walking down the road, who would you help and who would you walk past?



    • Would it be based on their religions: Muslims, Jews, Athiests, Catholics, right-wing Christians, left-wing Christians, etc?

    • or their ethnicity: Arabs, blacks, hispanics, whites, Asians, etc?

    • or their sexual preference: homosexual, heterosexual, transgendered, intersexed (hermaphrodite), or any combination thereof?

    • or their political leanings: liberal, conservative, libertarian, facist, moderate, etc?

    How can we claim to have the faith in God necessary for salvation if we would ignore a human who's in need of help?  How can we claim to be Christians if we fail to "do unto others as we would have them do unto us?"

Comments (1)

  • The whole matter of faith vs. works gets us confused because the Bible is contradicting. Yeah, I know....me? Questioning the Bible when I am a Roman Catholic? But see, during these past few months, I can't stand it anymore! All these praying, all these hypocrisy, all this nonsense about trying to lead a good life but it never comes. How can we ever live a good life anyway if we are always bombed? Always robbed even poor people like me whose mother is only a housewife with no car, we borrow money from other people just to survive everyday and no own house (my sister's cellphone was snatched a couple of days ago) while some people SURVIVE and they don't even deserve to be (like those monsters and killers, abortionists and etc)

    I work my butt off just trying to be a good human being and what do I get? Just lot of bad circumstances. If others will steal or kill and get away with it and still have faith in God, then why can't I do that? Why can't we? Why is it forbidden? Why is it a sin? See, that why the bible is contradicting. You can't just be saved by praising God through your mouth yet you kill people, like the Muslim terrorists for example. I am not saying that  I judge them, but in light of what I SEE in the news, in the world.....well, I think judging others shouldn't come as a sin or something that is bad. If we judge others that isn't true, then that should be a bad thing, but there is NOTHING false about what I hear and see in the news everyday about this terrorism. Don't you think it contradicts their faith? They keep praying to allah or whoever and yet they KILL their fellow human beings, which of course were made by God.

    And if EVERYONE is saved even if through faith alone and their works are evil, what in the world is the use of that place called "HELL"? Does that mean it is just a myth and since all people will be saved through works (whether bad or good) and faith, then all will go to heaven?

    About forgiveness....I don't think it repaires the relationship between two people, unless of course the sin or wrong that was committed was a VERY small one. I mean, sure I can forgive a streetchild who is stealing goods, I can forgive someone who gossiped about me....but something like cheating on your husband/wife IS NOT forgivable. The fact that you yourself is striving hard to make this relationship work is NOT fair because your partner is willing to jeopardize all the effort that you've put through for the relationship. How can you live and do things normally knowing your partner cheated on you? Can you even have sex normally knowing someone has been inside your partner intimately? Don't you question the love your partner has for you knowing he/she was willing to just go out to the winds and to hell with your relationship? No. In some cases, forgiveness isn't the solution. Because sometimes, people ABUSE that ability to forgive. Sometimes, just because they have been forgiven, they will commit the same mistake over and over.I don't think I can tolerate that especially if in cases of sexual affairs in marriage. That is WRONG.

    I mean, hello!!!!! You've already said your vows in church. Does that mean we should just say "Ok, come into my arms and all will be well." That is pretenciousness. And just so you know, WE are NOT God, so if God can forgive someone as easily as 1, 2, 3.... LIVING with a person who cheats on you (this is just an example) is not EASY as 1, 2, 3.

    Also........in this scenario, you think of yourself too. Other people can't cope up just as easily as others when it comes to cheating wives/husbands. You can always have the possibility of a heart attack if you try to keep on forgiving someone who abuses your ability to forgive.

    I am saying this because forgiveness is such a common word these days that people don't seem to realize they are always forgiving to the point that they LET/ALLOW that person who wronged them to be abusive. I should have known. That was my mistake. I still love my ex......but know what? I let him abuse me. He told me that he has committed a sin again and that he slept with a girl while we were a couple. And each time, I forgave him.....I cry each time I forgive but even though it hurt a lot (the kind of hurt wherein you can't breathe and your nose is clogged because of crying hard) I still forgive him again and again. And that was a terrible mistake. You forgive once, but if he does it again, forgiveness isn't the solution. He will be so used that you forgive him that he keeps on repeating that mistake and that in turn, makes it as abuse.

    Right now, I still think God is loving....however, he LOVES the idea of killing innocent people....if not physically, but emotionally, spiritually and mentally. This kind of killing doesn't happen when someone stabs you with a knife. This killing happens when you are SO scared of all these terrorism, whether you might die today or tomorrow, scared of being hurt again and thinking that there are probably ZERO good guys on the planet and wondering if all relationships end within 3 months.....this kind of killing is a slow painful death....it involves the brain, your emotions and your intelligence.

    I don't believe anymore if there is still someone out there for me. How can I hope when every guy I know or have encountered has been having sex and one night stands with girls whom I know? My ex was my VERY first and very deep strong love.

    Sometimes I think doubts my deep strong love for that guy. And I hate that because why should I fall in love with someone anyway if I really don't love him?

    It's stupid to fall in love if you're not sure you love the person. But I was and I am sure. But God decided I should be a rebel.

    And so I will be.....

    A rebel heart and I will keep on questioning till everyone's brains will pop out.

    If this is what God wants.....a mind game, ah well.....am good at it. I've read enough mystery stories and detective/crime stuff to last me a lifetime.

    -Jam

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