Holy Communion for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity: celebrant the Revd Tola Badejo. Junior Church takes place at the same time in the hall.

First reading: Colossians 1. 1–14
Gospel: Luke 10. 25–37

The Gospel today is the familiar story of the Good Samaritan, in which Jesus answers the question 'Who is my neighbour?'. The lawyer who poses the question probably hopes for a straightforward answer, one that includes certain kinds of people and excludes others. Jesus's answer, however, is about the way we should ourselves behave rather than about who should or shouldn't be treated in a neighbourly way.

The parable is deeply rooted in context, not only in the traditional animosity between mainstream Jews and Samaritans but also in the dangers of life and travel in Jesus's time. In his world, as in some places now, robbers would often kill or injure a victim and leave them by the roadside so that anyone who came to help could also be attacked, and for that reason it was prudent to 'pass by on the other side' as quickly as possible. The Samaritan was taking on not only a troublesome task but also a potentially dangerous one; if he himself had become the next casualty at the roadside, his contemporaries would have said he had only himself to blame. Reading between the lines, he turned good intentions into effective practical help by approaching the situation in a considered and cautious way and by being well prepared for any problems he might encounter on his journey.

Whereas the Gospel quite literally describes hands-on assistance of a neighbour, Paul's letter to the Colossians is written to people he has never met (he knows of them only through the reports of Epaphras, who has presumably founded a church in Colossae) and is unlikely ever to see in person. Yet he addresses them as 'brothers and sisters' and reassures them of his constant prayers. In each reading, the main character acts as a 'neighbour' regardless of the identity or proximity of whoever they are called to support. Neighbourly action is likely to involve effort and liable to involve risk - Paul is already in prison - and van Gogh's painting of the Good Samaritan reflects some of the tension of the situation; it is also a reminder, through the artist's own life story, that we should always be prepared to cast ourselves as the victim as well as the Samaritan. (Detail above; full image attached.)

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