Luke 10:31

This parable speaks not only to “old” Israel, but it resoundingly speaks to “spiritual” Israel, the church. It reinforces that we cannot be indifferent to the hurtful needs of humanity and our fellow human beings.

The certain priest referred to in the passage exhibited cold heartlessness. He was too ceremoniously “holy” and “preoccupied” to get involved. Sometimes people can be so heartless and cold in the name of religion. The priest, this so-called man of God, the institution he represented, whose duty and responsibility it was to show mercy, remained unmoved and untouched in the face of human tragedy and intense suffering.

It is the duty of the priest to serve by offering up sacrifices to God on the behalf of himself and those he represents. However, this priest saw his duty as solely relating to the temple. Unfortunately, some people seem only to be religious and priestly when they are in church. As soon as they leave the temple precincts or the four walls of the church, they go off duty.

We are enlightened by Scripture that a priest is a priest all the time. It is not the clothes that make a priest, but it is the vows taken before God and faithfulness to those vows that make the difference. We are conscripted and consecrated to serve!

Consecration is not defiled in service. Consecration is heightened in service to God and our fellow human beings. Our consecration is exemplified in service. This priest was so “busy” serving God and being pious that he never realized that service to God is truly expressed and reflected in every deed of kindness shown to our neighbor. He was never so unneighborly, unpriestly, and untrue to his calling as when he saw this wounded traveler and instead of lending him a helping hand, he indifferently passed by on the other side.

May God help us never to be an embarrassment to our calling. May we be worthy of the badge we wear as Christians. Frankly it was a scandal – plain scandalous – for the priest to see another dying human being, helpless, stranded, weak and fallen and to leave him to die alone, frail, fragile, wounded and bleeding out. He saw him and yet pretended not to see him. He mentally blocked him out as if he didn’t exist. He never computed that were it not for the grace of the Almighty God, this could have been him.

Could this priest described by Jesus in any way be a picture of our church? It is inevitably a scandal of epic proportions not to get involved with the many hurt and wounded people all around us. It is more than looking saintly, pious or priestly on Sundays! To be called the Church of God is more than a title or profession! It is demonstrating by our involvement, that we are indeed representatives of the Christ. We take the blinders off our eyes and remove the stoppers in our ears! We refuse to just pass by on the other side! We never go off duty!