5th Sunday after Pentecost
Deuteronomy 30:9-14; Psalm 25:1-10; Colossians 1:1-14; Luke 10:25-37
Deuteronomy 30:9-14; Psalm 25:1-10; Colossians 1:1-14; Luke 10:25-37
This 5th Sunday after Pentecost brings to us the well known Parable of the Good Samaritan. The text is so rich in layers and wrinkles of Christian Ethics that it may be easy to miss that Jesus answers one of the most fundamental missional questions for disciples of every time and place: “And who is my neighbor?” With Jesus being Jesus, the answer may not be what we would expect.
The expert in the Torah— or the law of the Israelites— who approaches Jesus seems to have a good sense of God’s timeless hopes for all of God’s children (Luke 10:26-28; see also Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Leviticus 19:18). In Deuteronomy, chapter 30, the Israelites are about to cross the Jordan River a full generation after being freed from Egypt, received the covenant, and journeyed through the desert. Moses reminds the people who God provided, protected, and preserved that following God’s teachings was not meant to be a burden, but a gift into the wholesome existence they were about to live there and then.
Paul gives thanks to the young faith community in Colossae for their understanding and response— or bearing of fruit— to the grace and hope that has come from God to them through faith in Christ and love for all the saints (4-6). This is pleasing to the God who fulfilled the promise of forgiveness and newness of life for us (10-14; see also Jeremiah 31:34).
The Psalmist sings:
“Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all day long.
Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for the sake of your goodness, O Lord (Psalm 25:1-7; NRSVue)!”
Bridging Faith 