The good neighbour

It is easy to be blinded by familiarity when we come to the parable of the Samaritan. To feel its proper force, we need to consider the question the teacher of the law asked, then understand the story the Saviour told, the question the Saviour posed, and the challenge the Saviour issued. Taken in context, this is not instruction to the disciples about the way of life, but correction for the lawyer about the way to life. Properly understood, it leaves us exposed, renouncing our own imagined righteousness, and looking for the true righteousness of another.