Reflection for Sunday 13th July 2025

The Fourth Sunday After Trinity

Deuteronomy 30.9–14, Colossians 1.1–14, Luke 10.25–37

There’s a moment in the Gospel reading where the lawyer, having asked what he must do to inherit eternal life, tries to justify himself. “And who is my neighbour?” It’s a question we’ve all asked in different ways — where does my responsibility end? Who really counts?

Jesus doesn’t give a list. He tells a story. A story where the “righteous” pass by, and the outcast stops. Where compassion isn’t just a feeling but a costly act.

The Samaritan binds wounds, delays his journey, gives his money. His response is messy, inconvenient, and full of love. Jesus ends with that striking phrase: “Go and do likewise.” Not admire the Samaritan. Not host a discussion group. Do likewise.

This story lies at the very heart of what it means to be church. We are not just a gathering of like-minded people. We are a body called to see the hurting, stop for the wounded, give of ourselves.

Deuteronomy reminds us this isn’t beyond us — “the word is very near to you, in your heart.” And in Colossians, Paul gives thanks for a church already bearing fruit — people who are growing in love and in endurance, because they’ve been “rescued from the power of darkness” and brought into light.

Compassion is not optional for the Christian life. It is our heartbeat. And it is through compassion that we find our purpose again — as churches and as individuals. In a time when many churches are struggling to find direction or energy, the call remains the same: Love your neighbour. Not abstractly, but sacrificially, willing the good of the other.

May we be known, not by the beauty of our buildings or the length of our history, but by the way we stop for others — and by the grace of Christ that moves us to act.

Blessings and prayers,

Emma