Sunday 5th April Message

Sunday 5th April Message
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April 05, 2020
in Minister's Daily Message
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Dear Reader
Who would have imagined that just a few short months ago while the country was embroiled in Brexit negotiations (sorry to revive that troublesome word), party political campaigning and canvassing for a general election and all that happened as a result, we would all be facing this new and threatening global crisis?
Previously the entire country was split. There were remainers and leavers and all sorts of nasty things were said and done.
All that has now been superseded though, by a united country with the single aim of getting through this crisis. Gone, for now anyway, is the vitriolic party political point-scoring, replaced instead by a genuine and heartwarming sense of unity.  People of all religious and political persuasion and none, have come together.
The prime Minister said on TV recently, ”There is such a thing as society”.  His predecessor some decades, earlier, said ”there isn’t”.   Whatever your point of view, and I’m sure you’ll have one, rampant individualism or an overpowering state would never produce the wonderful examples of care and concern for one another that we are seeing and experiencing today.
The deeds of the ‘Good Samaritan’ is in our considerations today. Jesus taught this parable because to his listeners there was a belief that all Samaritans were bad.  So hearing about a good one would ‘cock their ears.”

It was this unexpected ‘bad guy’ who stopped to help the victim of brutality and robbery in this New Testament mugging, which is the point of the story.
Jesus was asked previously, ‘who is my neighbour?’, and the parable was his answer.
The words of the the song, ‘When I needed a neighbour, were you there?’, are poignant.
Today I ask you to think/meditate on Jesus’ words.
God bless you.

LUKE 10: 25-37

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

“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

 He answered, “‘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, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’

 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?”

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.  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.  But a Samaritan, as he travelled, 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 denarii 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.’

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

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