Deuteronomy 30.9-14
Luke 10.25-37

The driving instructor sits in her car with the man who is about to have his first lesson. Driving is simple, she says. From her perspective she is absolutely right. Driving is second nature to her. But to the learner, faced with three pedals, an array of instruments, a steering wheel, mirrors and a busy road…….driving is anything but simple. How will he ever get this thing to do what he wants?

That scenario is somewhat on a parallel with the story we read in Deuteronomy (30.9-14). Moses, in trying to get the Israelites to follow God's way, breaks out almost in exasperation, Surely the commandment that I have commanded you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away…No, the word is very near to you: it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe. Unfortunately their response is not recorded, but it is likely that what Moses saw as crystal clear was for them a good deal more complicated. That is assuming that the Israelites were not just being awkward!

The fact is that although something may be simple to one person, it may not be so to someone else. If we translate that to the Gospel passage for today (Luke 10:25-37) we find the situation skewed from the outset. The lawyer who faced Jesus with the question, Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?, was not so much concerned with the truth of the answer as with catching Jesus out. Nevertheless a simple answer emerged from their exchange: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.

That answer gave rise to another question and to one of the best-known stories in the New Testament. Who is my neighbour? the introduction to the story of the Good Samaritan.

Since it is one of the best-known stories, let's today look at it in a different way. No longer will we see the priest and the Levite as the bad guys and the Samaritan as the good guy, but we will turn the tables and make the whole story more complicated in order to see things from a different perspective. But we will not change the point of the story, just look at it in a different way.

On the long, lonely, hilly road from Jerusalem to Jericho a man was mugged and robbed and left badly injured. He lay there unable to move and out of earshot of any human settlement. He was not the first, nor was he the last, to find himself in a predicament like that. His good fortune was that on that day other people came along the road. The first was a priest, representative of religious people, and the second a Levite, representative of the civil authority. Neither of them stopped to help.

Was it simply because they didn't want to get involved? Or was it perhaps, because one of them had been mugged himself on that road and the fear of it happening again if he delayed for a second paralysed his better self? Or was it perhaps that one of them was engaged on a mercy mission and if he delayed helping this one man then the greater number he was going to help would be left in the lurch? Or was it perhaps that one or both of them recognised in themselves an inability to give the kind of practical help that was needed, and so they hurried on to find someone else who could give help? Walking by on the other side is not the act of a neighbour. That much is clear and simple. But even simple rules have to be applied in a complex world. And the outcome is not always what you might expect.

So to the Samaritan, who undoubtedly was a neighbour to the helpless man, and who went far beyond what even a good neighbour might do. But he did have resources which the other two probably lacked. He had oil and wine and bandages, an animal to carry the injured man, and spare cash to pay for his accommodation at the next inn. He was a much better bet than the other two who had passed by.

Now there is little point in pursuing this challenge to the accepted way of telling the story of the Good Samaritan because there is no way of knowing whether or not it has any truth in it. Most likely the story as Jesus told it was based on an actual incident but it is a story told without details, and so any detail we choose to put in is only a matter of conjecture.

What has point is that even if you look at this story in this different way, the fact is that one striking aspect does not change. It is a Samaritan, an outsider, who becomes the neighbour. Translate that into British society today, it is as if a member of the British National Party is injured in a road accident and the doctors and nurses who spend hours of patient care to save his life are immigrants with dark skins who followed the Muslim religion. The outsider becomes the neighbour. And in each case the challenge to the insider is to recognise the other as the neighbour. That is simple but radical.

Love your neighbour. Three words that could hardly be clearer, but three words which continually challenge us to look at our attitudes and our actions to make sure that our definition of "neighbour" is not too narrow. That is what the story is getting at, however you tell it.

So although my neighbour may be the person next door whom I have known for years, it may also be the person over the road who has just moved in and whose life style I find challenging. My neighbour may be my fellow church member who needs encouragement or support, but it may also be the person in crisis who has always been vocal in her criticism of the church. My neighbour may be the person of the same generation as me whose mindset I understand, but it may be the younger or older person who will only get through the challenges of life if someone helps them to see things from another perspective. My neighbour may be the person with whom I share a common culture and who I easily understand, but it may be someone from a different culture whose needs I will only recognise if I spend time understanding the way they see things.

Love your neighbour. Who is my neighbour? Who am I prepared to be a neighbour to? Who does Jesus show me as my neighbour?

It is no accident to bring the name of Jesus in at that point, for the context of the story of the Good Samaritan is the question of coming into eternal life, the life that God intends. Jesus commends the lawyer who says that the way is the unremitting commitment to love God and to love our neighbour. That is the twin route to be followed and, whether it is simple or complicated, one of the keys is always to be asking the question, "Who is my neighbour?"