The Parable of the Good Samaritan is well known and beloved. It begins with a dialogue between Jesus and a lawyer.
1st Reading
(Track 1): Amos 7:7-17
The prophet Amos
functioned during the peaceful and prosperous reign of Jeroboam II of Israel
(the northern kingdom) although he himself was from Judah (the southern
kingdom). Around the year 752 b.c.e.,
Amos witnessed to God’s displeasure that this prosperity was built on the backs
of the poor. Our reading today is from the last section of the book, where the Lord’s judgment is brought to the fore
and disaster predicted. Indeed, the northern kingdom was wiped from history by
the Assyrians in 721 b.c.e. A
“plumb line” is a simple device of a string with a weight on one end, to test
true vertical for a wall, etc.
7:7 This is what he showed me:
the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a
plumb line in his hand. 8 And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you
see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “See, I am setting a
plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by; 9 the high places of Isaac shall be made
desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise
against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.” 10
Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to King Jeroboam of
Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the very center of the house
of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos has said, ‘Jeroboam shall die
by the sword, and Israel must go into exile away from his land.’” 12 And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee
away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; 13 but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it
is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.” 14 Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I am no
prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore
trees, 15 and the Lord took me from following the flock,
and the Lord said to me, ‘Go,
prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16 “Now
therefore hear the word of the Lord.
You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not preach against the house
of Isaac.’ 17 Therefore thus says
the Lord: ‘Your wife shall become
a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the
sword, and your land shall be parceled out by line; you yourself shall die in
an unclean land, and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.’”
Psalm 82 (Track 1)
Psalm 82 is among the more ancient of the psalms, given its
assumption of a polytheistic world. It puts forward a courtroom scene where
“the Most High,” the God of Israel, disputes with “the gods.” The charge is a
lack of justice.
1 God takes his stand in the council of heaven; *
he
gives judgment in the midst of the gods:
2 “How long will you judge unjustly, *
and
show favor to the wicked?
3 Save the weak and the orphan; *
defend
the humble and needy;
4 Rescue the weak and the poor; *
deliver
them from the power of the wicked.
5 They do not know, neither do they understand;
they go
about in darkness; *
all
the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 Now I say to you, ‘You are gods, *
and
all of you children of the Most High;
7 Nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, *
and
fall like any prince.’”
8 Arise, O God, and rule the earth, *
for
you shall take all nations for your own.
1st Reading
(Track 2): Deuteronomy 30:9-14
Today’s first reading
is a portion of the end of a long speech of Moses “on the plains of Moab” (Dt.
29:1—30:20). It is a curious reading in
that it begins in the middle of a paragraph in the middle of a sentence. The first half of the reading emphasizes the
blessing of obedience. The second part
answers the question, “Is not the law too difficult to obey in its entirety?”
30:9
[Moses
said to the people of Israel,] “The Lord
your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all your undertakings, in the
fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your
soil. For the Lord will again take
delight in prospering you, just as he delighted in prospering your ancestors, 10 when you obey the Lord your God by observing his commandments and decrees that
are written in this book of the law, because you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul. 11 Surely, this
commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it
too far away. 12 It is not in
heaven, that you should say, “Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for
us so that we may hear it and observe it?” 13 Neither
is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who will cross to the other side of
the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?” 14 No, the word is very near to you; it is in
your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.”
Psalm 25:1-9 (Track 2)
Psalm 25, like a few other psalms (9/10, 34, 37, 111, 112,
119, 145) is an acrostic poem. Each verse begins with a subsequent letter of
the Hebrew alphabet. There are a total of 22 verses in Psalm 25. It is an
individual’s lament, in dialogue with perhaps a worship leader of some sort
(the divisions are individual 1-7, 16-22 and leader 8-10, 12-14). Psalm 25
testifies to the possibility of confession, repentance, and forgives, as does
our first reading today.
1 To you, O Lord,
I lift up my soul; my God, I put my trust in you; *
let me not be humiliated, nor let my
enemies triumph over me.
2 Let none who look to you be put to shame; *
let the treacherous be disappointed
in their schemes.
3 Show me your ways, O Lord, *
and teach me your paths.
4 Lead me in your truth and teach me, *
for you are the God of my
salvation;
in you have I trusted all
the day long.
5 Remember, O Lord,
your compassion and love, *
for they are from
everlasting.
6 Remember not the sins of my youth and my
transgressions; *
remember me according to
your love
and for the sake of your
goodness, O Lord.
7 Gracious and upright is the Lord; *
therefore he teaches
sinners in his way.
8 He guides the humble in doing right *
and teaches his way to the
lowly.
9 All the paths of the Lord are love and faithfulness *
to those who keep his
covenant and his testimonies.
2nd Reading: Colossians 1:1-14
We will read the Letter to the Colossians for the next four weeks. Paul’s actual authorship is disputed, largely
due to language and phrasing that are uncharacteristic of Paul. Putting the
name of one’s teacher on a letter was not all that unusual in the Greek world
of the time. This is a letter to a community that Paul neither founded nor visited. Its apostle was Epaphras, of whom Paul speaks
well. The letter is written in response
to the threat of false teaching, although it is not entirely clear what that
false teaching was, although somehow the unique supremacy of Christ was being
challenged. The letter opens in the
usual way, with a short greeting and a longer thanksgiving prayer for the
community.
1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and
Timothy our brother, 2 To the
saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. 3 In our prayers for you we always thank God,
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 for
we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for
all the saints, 5 because of the
hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word
of the truth, the gospel 6 that has
come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it
has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended
the grace of God. 7 This you
learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of
Christ on your behalf, 8 and he has
made known to us your love in the Spirit. 9 For
this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and
asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual
wisdom and understanding, 10 so
that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear
fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. 11 May you be made strong with all the
strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure
everything with patience, while joyfully 12 giving
thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the
saints in the light. 13 He has
rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of
his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have
redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Gospel Reading: Luke 10:25-37
The Parable of the
Good Samaritan is well known and beloved. It begins with a dialogue between
Jesus and a lawyer. The lawyer is stuck on “understanding” and Jesus tries to
move him toward “doing.” The parable ultimately does that, with its finish, “Go
and do likewise.” The Kingdom of God is
not a proposition but an action. “Who is
my neighbor,” the lawyer asks. The
answer is not in a category, but in an action.
Jesus, in essence, turns “neighbor” into a verb.
10:25
Just then
a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit
eternal life?” 26 He said to him,
“What is written in the law? What do you read there?” 27 He answered, “You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength,
and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have given the
right answer; do this, and you will live.” 29 But
wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from
Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him,
beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31
Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw
him, he passed by on the other side. 32 So
likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the
other side. 33 But a Samaritan
while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds,
having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought
him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The
next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take
care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, was a
neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
The Scripture
quotations (except for the psalm) are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the
Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ
in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.
All rights reserved. The Psalm
translation is from The Book of Common
Prayer. Commentaries are copyright ©
2019 Epiphany ESources, 67. E. Main St., Hornell, NY 14843, www.EpiphanyEsources.com. All rights
reserved. Permission is given to copy
for group study. Bulletin inserts are
available. Go to our website for more information.
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