Be Still And Know

Luke 10:33-34 Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. I love the parable of the Good Samaritan, not least because it would have come as such a complete surprise to Jesus’ hearers. Jesus was being challenged by an expert in the law who asked for the legal definition of the word neighbour. He must have been expecting a sophisticated technical response, and instead Jesus told him a story. To any Jew, the parable was deeply shocking. The fact that a man had been ambushed on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho wasn’t surprising. The winding road that connected the two communities made it an ideal place to attack a traveller, all so different from the large straight highway that we see today. What was shocking was that the priest and Levite did nothing. No doubt they felt that t