Lent 5 | OIL
“But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them.” Luke 10:33
No matter how many times I hear this story, the physicality of the Samaritan’s compassion touches me. The priest and the Levite go to the other side of the road, literally distancing themselves from the wounded man in the ditch. The Samaritan goes closer, moved by pity. He gets down in the ditch with the suffering traveler, pouring oil and wine onto his wounds. The hands-on care continues as the Samaritan transports the man to the inn and cares for him there. He provides funds for ongoing care and promises to return. All for a stranger.
Who is the neighbor? The one who shows that victim mercy. Just as the cruelty of the robbery entailed physical close contact, so does the mercy that seeks to amend the injuries and pain. Healing cannot happen from a distance. Compassion moves us to act, to get into the ditch, to pour oil on wounds and bandage them, to ensure that a person brutalized and violated knows another side of humanity. Even from a stranger.
Questions for reflection:
When have you been moved with pity to go toward someone in the ditch, either literally or figuratively? What did you do once you got there?
Have you ever been physically cared for by a stranger? When has someone poured oil on your wounds?
Who has been a neighbor to you? To whom are you a neighbor?
What might it look like to draw close with compassion — during a time of physical distancing?
Jesus, this very day, you are calling us to be neighbors to someone in need of mercy. As we go about our tasks and routines, help us to see those suffering in the ditch. Strengthen our faith in you in order to embolden us to move toward our neighbors in need of compassion. If we find ourselves wounded and afraid, send Samaritans to minister to us. May each encounter of this day make manifest our love for you and for our neighbors. Amen.
Thank you for journeying through Lent with us…
Receive our Lenten devotionals by emailing info@theologicalhorizons.org.
Thanks to Jill J. Duffield for allowing us to adapt from her book, Lent in Plain Sight: A Devotion Through Ten Objects. Read the book and join us for a virtual book club discussion at 4pm on Saturday, April 3.
