What Must I Do To Inherit Eternal Life?

This meditation is based on a passage for June 9, 2011 in the Daily Lectionary Year 1 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993).

Text: Luke 10:25-37

Reflection and Question: The initial question that prompts Jesus’ teaching can easily be forgotten as Jesus spins His tale and makes His point. Let’s remember it: What must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus’ answer is “Be merciful the way the Samaritan is merciful — this is the way to love your neighbor as yourself.” When we realize that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people today are in the position of being judged the way the Samaritans were in Jesus’ time, we get a measure of what Jesus was saying here. What must you do to be like the Samaritan and inherit eternal life?

Prayer: Jesus, our gracious Teacher, we yearn like the lawyer to inherit eternal life. We hear Your plea to us to love our neighbor as the Samaritan did, showing mercy to all in need. Save us from being the priest or the Levite, we pray. Thank You. Amen.