One of the ways that Jesus taught during his earthly ministry was with a beautifully-formed question. The sort of questions that made his listeners pause and not just recite information, but to really engage with what they thought they knew. In Luke 10, Jesus demonstrates to an expert in the law just how little that expert really understands through a beautiful question, and then through a parable.The Good Samaritan is such a familiar passage that it has become a part of our common vernacular. It’s even used as a legal term. The concept it describes is simple to understand, but very difficult to put into practice. Love everyone. Yes, even them. Especially those people who you don’t think deserve it.

In this familiar passage we hear a call to love our neighbor, but beneath that there is a reminder of just how difficult that is. To love “them” can be nearly impossible! We have a thousand excuses why “they” are not really supposed to be loved. To those who know the law of Moses well, this command to love our neighbors shows us how far we fall short of God’s love. The bad news is we fall short on our own, the good news is what Jesus came to bring.