This Lent, Common Grace and Bible Society Australia invite us to rediscover Jesus’s profound teachings veiled in everyday stories. As we come together, we’re praying for ears to hear these teachings of Jesus afresh, to let them get past our defences and under our skin, as they transform us to make things right in this world.

Why can’t you see us?
Have you ever felt invisible? Unseen? Discarded? Devalued?

In today’s video Brooke Prentis shares a powerful reflection, inviting us to see our neighbour who is hurting and who does not feel loved. The Parable of the Good Samaritan tells the story of a person who was attacked, robbed and left half dead on the side of the road. Two different men come across the gravely injured person: a priest and a Levite (a member of the Israelite tribe who carried out special religious duties). Both of these men come face to face with the injured person but instead of helping, they cross the road and pass by. Help comes from a Samaritan. A Samaritan was the most unlikely hero: in Jesus’ cultural context, Jews and Samaritans despised each other. In Jesus’ telling of this story, he uses the Samaritan’s actions to illustrate what it really means to love your neighbour and live out the Kingdom of God.

The first two men in the story both belonged to the dominant religious culture. They were likely viewed as men of God. Why would they ignore such desperate need, when they were respected, holy people? What does this say to us about what it truly means to be God’s representatives on earth?

In this parable, Jesus gives a shocking illustration of what it means to love one’s neighbour. To love our neighbour sometimes means seeing the people and the need we would rather ignore. It requires us to face and experience discomfort. Yet in showing love to people who we may prefer to ignore, we discover the true nature of love and the freedom it brings.

This series has been produced by Common Grace and Bible Society Australia.