The Bible contains the eternal Word of God. While times change, God’s Word never changes! Consider the parables of Jesus. Spoken over 2,000 years ago, Jesus used the parables to help His followers understand spiritual and moral truths. In the parables, Jesus used common everyday events to explain aspects of the kingdom of God. This month, I will look at 4 parables of Jesus and recreate a modern scenario using the interpretive elements in each parable to speak to my contemporary audience and together we will discover how the principles taught in the parables are still relevant today. The inspiration for this series is Pastor Fred L. Crouther, New Covenant Baptist Church, Milwaukee. I am always amazed how he can take a parable of Jesus and preach a modernized version of the parable, while preserving integrity of the parable. This is certainly a God-given gift and, thus, I am dedicating this month’s series to Pastor Crouther. Let’s begin by looking at the story of the Good Samaritan.
Read: The Good Samaritan – Luke 10:25-37
Jesus told the Good Samaritan parable in response to a question regarding which neighbor we are called to show love. Let’s look at the story in a similar contemporary scenario:
One day an elderly woman spent the day volunteering at an elementary school and then visited for a few hours with her grandchildren. When she arrived home early that evening, she parked her car on the street just a few feet from her home. Suddenly, someone came running up behind her, knocked her down and stole her purse. A minister on his way to his car after Bible Study saw the woman lying on the ground, side-eyed her, could hear her moaning and was relieved she was not dead. The minister continued walking to his car. As the minister strapped on his seat belt, he initially felt a sense of guilt for not going to the aid of the woman, but quickly dismissed it by saying within himself ‘that’s why we have first responders to address those type of issues.’’
Soon after, a few choir members left the same church and were humming the tune of a new song the praise ensemble will debut during virtual online services Sunday. They also saw the elderly woman lying on the ground, and without saying a word to one another, crossed to the other side of the street to avoid walking directly past the woman. Finally, a person who left the church after experiencing “church hurt”, arrived home from work and sees the woman lying on the ground groaning in pain. The man ran over to the elderly woman and called 911. The man rode with the elderly woman in the ambulance to the ER and stayed with her until her family arrived. The man left his name and number with the family members and told them he would take care of the woman’s hospital bill over and above what Medicare Part A & B and any other supplemental insurance doesn’t pay.
In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus asked the young man, who was more neighborly? Answering correctly, Jesus told the man to go and do likewise.
Beloved, there are people in our world who have been beaten or hurt physically, emotionally and/or mentally by life and others. We need people like the Good Samaritan in today’s parable who will show love and concern for others, even the stranger, not just in words, but also in action.
Next Week: Series Continuation
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