By Rev. Dr. Dezo Schreiner
As we move deeper into the Lenten season, I want to encourage you—if you have not already started–that it’s not too late to begin spiritual journaling. Lent is a time for reflection, and journaling can help you notice where God might be inviting you to surrender control.
Last week we talked about surrender: what happens when we let go, and how transformation begins when we release our grip and allow God to reshape our lives.
I want to encourage you to keep making space for prayer and spiritual reflection. Continue listening for how God is speaking to you. And never underestimate the spiritual power of silence. Carve out moments of quiet. In those moments, you may hear the whisper of God.
If you remember, we began this Lenten journey by noticing that Jesus often rose early to pray. Before He spoke, before He acted, even before He listened to others, He prayed. That listening life shaped everything He did.
And today’s scripture flows directly out of that listening life.
It is a call to compassion.
It calls us to loosen our grip on ego, release selfish habits, and orient our lives toward caring for others.
When a Familiar Bible Story Speaks Again
The parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the most familiar stories in the Bible. But sometimes familiarity dulls our hearing. We think we already know the story.
Yet when we slow down and really listen, the story still has the power to confront us.
Let me share something personal with you.
I love Jesus.
I don’t think I’ve ever said that directly to you before, but I genuinely do. Not because it sounds like the right thing for a preacher to say, but because I truly love Him. I love the way Jesus moves through the world. I love the way He speaks to people. I love the way He treats people.
Again and again, Jesus crosses the boundaries that society tries to enforce.
And I love that about Him.
A Question About Eternal Life
In today’s story, Jesus is speaking with a lawyer who is a person trained in religious law. The lawyer asks Him:
“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
What I love about Jesus is that He often answers a question with another question.
Jesus responds:
“You are a lawyer. What is written in the law? How do you read it?”
The lawyer answers with what we know as the Great Commandment:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind–and love your neighbor as yourself.”
Jesus says, “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.”
But the lawyer presses further.
Luke tells us he wanted to justify himself, so he asks:
“Who is my neighbor?”
Between friends, do you think he really didn’t know?
Or was he asking something else?
In other words, he may have been asking:
Where are the boundaries of my responsibility?
Who counts?
Who is in—and who is out?
The Story That Flips the Question
So Jesus tells a story.
A man is traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. Along the road he is attacked by robbers. They beat him, strip him, and leave him half-dead.
A priest walks by.
He sees the man.
And passes on the other side.
Then a Levite, another respected religious leader comes along.
He also sees the man.
And keeps walking.
These were people who knew the scriptures. They knew the law. They were respected spiritual leaders.
But they did not stop.
Then Jesus introduces the most surprising character in the story:
A Samaritan.
In Jesus’ time, Samaritans were outsiders. They were people viewed with suspicion and hostility.
But the Samaritan stops.
He bandages the man’s wounds.
He lifts him onto his own animal.
He takes him to an inn and pays for his care.
In modern terms, he takes the man to the hospital.
Then Jesus asks the lawyer a question:
“Which of these three was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
The lawyer replies:
“The one who showed him mercy.”
And Jesus says:
“Go and do likewise.”
Compassion Defines a Neighbor
Notice what Jesus does here.
The lawyer asked, “Who is my neighbor?”
But Jesus shifts the question entirely.
Neighborliness is not about identity.
A neighbor is defined by action.
A neighbor is not about proximity.
A neighbor is about compassion.
Why Compassion Matters
Throughout scripture, God reminds the people of Israel that they were once strangers. Because they knew what it felt like to be vulnerable, they were called to treat others with compassion.
The truth is, from the moment we enter the world, we need one another.
Every one of us begins life vulnerable.
Every one of us begins life dependent on someone else.
I remember when I gave birth–something I will not be doing anymore, hallelujah!
Every time those babies arrived, they came into the world with nothing. No clothing. No protection. Just vulnerability.
And the first thing a healthy baby does is cry.
That cry is not just noise. It is hope. It is the hope that someone is there to care for them.
To wrap them in warmth.
To place a finger in their tiny hand and say, “I’m here.”
I will never forget hearing my husband say those words to our babies when they cried:
“Hi, little one.”
And suddenly they would quiet.
Because they knew someone was there.
That is how human life begins.
Connected.
Dependent.
Cared for.
The Problem With Tribal Compassion
Yet somewhere along the way, we begin to imagine that our responsibility only extends to people who are like us.
We often practice what you might call tribal compassion–care that is limited to our group, our community, our people.
But Jesus refuses to let compassion stay inside those boundaries.
In the parable, the religious insiders walk past suffering.
The outsider stops.
That story still speaks to us today.
Or does it?
Compassion in a Divided World
Our world continues to build tribes.
Political tribes.
Cultural tribes.
Racial tribes.
Economic tribes.
And we are constantly tempted to ask the same question the lawyer asked:
“Who counts?”
“Who deserves care?”
But Jesus calls us to something larger.
He calls us to notice the wounded along the road.
He calls us to Christian compassion that interrupts our plans and crosses the boundaries that divide us.
The Real Question for Lent
During this Lenten season, perhaps the deeper question is not:
“Who is my neighbor?”
Perhaps the real question is this:
Where is someone hurting?
Where is someone hurting in our community?
Where is someone hurting in our world?
Where might God be inviting us to stop?
It might not be here inside the church.
It might be somewhere uncomfortable.
It might be right outside our doors.
Or right here.
Compassion Requires Action
Compassion is not just a feeling.
Saying “I’m sorry.”
Or “I’ll pray for you.”
Is not always enough.
Sometimes we pray and then move on.
But look at what the Samaritan did.
He stopped.
He showed mercy.
And he followed compassion with action.
Bandages.
Lifting the man up.
Taking him somewhere safe.
Real compassion always leads to action.
The Question For Us
So who is God calling you to see right now?
Is it someone here in Kansas City?
Is it someone beyond our city?
Is it someone across the country–or across the world?
There is a lot of pain in the world right now. You can see it in the news. You can see it in our communities.
And Jesus is still speaking.
His words still echo today.
“Go and do likewise.”
Go and live like the Samaritan.
Go and show compassion.
Will you?
Summary Q&A
What is the main message of the Good Samaritan?
The story teaches that a neighbor is defined by compassionate action, not identity, culture, or proximity.
Why did Jesus tell this parable?
Jesus told the story to challenge the idea that our responsibility only extends to certain people.
What does “love your neighbor” really mean?
It means actively responding to the suffering of others with mercy, compassion, and practical help.
How does this apply today?
In a divided world, Jesus calls Christians to cross boundaries and care for people beyond their own social or political tribes.
What is the challenge during Lent?
Lent invites us to reflect, pray, and ask where God is calling us to stop, notice suffering, and act with compassion.
Thumbnail Picture Credit: Linoleum block print by Elizabeth Steele Halstead