When we hear Jesus tell the story of the Good Samaritan, we usually focus on the kindness of the Helper and the callousness of those who passed by. But Jesus' original audience would have heard something very different, something much more challenging and uncomfortable. Picture this. A Samaritan traveling through hostile territory sees a Jewish man beaten and left for dead. Now, Samaritans weren't foreigners to Judaism.

They considered themselves the true followers of Moses. They knew the Torah, including that passage that we just heard from Exodus about helping your enemy when you see them in trouble.

But here's what we miss. The Samaritan had lived his entire life being shunned by people exactly like the man lying in the road. Jews crossed the street to avoid him. They refused his hospitality, considered him religiously contaminated, treated him as less than human. And now, ironically, a Jewish priest and Levite, the very religious leaders who preached about following the Torah, had just walked past the victim, demonstrating the same contempt this Samaritan faced every day.

Imagine the conflict raging in the Samaritan's heart. He could have thought, now you know how it feels to be ignored and abandoned This is exactly how your people have always treated me, He had every human reason to keep walking But he stopped He chose mercy over justice, compassion over payback And Jesus' audience would have recognized that the Samaritan was actually following their shared Torah better than their own religious leaders were.

That wasn't a heartwarming story about cross-cultural kindness. That was a devastating critique that left Jesus' listeners with no excuses. If this despised outsider could show such grace to his enemies, what did that say about them? The parable forces us to ask, when have we been the priest or the Levite, too concerned with our own purity or comfort to help? When have we failed to show the very mercy we hope to receive?

And perhaps most challenging, are we willing to show grace even to those who have shown us none? The Good Samaritan teaches us that following God isn't about maintaining our boundaries. It's about crossing them, even when it costs us, even when we've been hurt, even when the person we're helping would not do the same thing for us.

Our prayer today, God of mercy, forgive us for the times that we've walked past others in need, protecting our own comfort while ignoring your call to compassion. Help us to see beyond our prejudices and past our hurts.

Give us the courage of the Good Samaritan to choose grace over grudges, mercy over revenge and love over the safety of staying separate may we follow your torah not just in letter but in spirit showing kindness especially to those who have shown us none. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Jim Stovall.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout...