"Amen, O hear us, Lord!"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Our Father, who from heav'n above

Bids all of us to live in love

As members of one family

And pray to You in unity,

Teach us no thoughtless words to say

But from our inmost hearts to pray (LSB 766).

Our Father in heaven bids us to pray, and in today's Gospel lesson, His Son, our brother, teaches us how to pray, so that we may pray not with thoughtless words and unsure hearts, but with faith and confidence, believing that He will give us all that we need.

For you, O Christians, have the joyous Word and promise that God is with His people. He is with you every moment of your life, from the instant of conception until the end of your last breath, and then He continues to preserve you in glory in His eternal, heavenly kingdom. Your God is not distant or far off or caught away in the furthest heavens, far removed from you. No – your God is Immanuel, God-With-Us.

Samaritan Ethics

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

God does not need your works, but He commands you to do good works. Your neighbor needs your good works, but cannot command you to do them. This is where the love of God and the love of your neighbor intersect, as we see in today's Gospel lesson.

A lot of ink has been spilled about Law and Gospel, and the Law/Gospel turnabout in this passage, generally focusing on the account that Jesus tells, rather than the discussion in which it happens. You have heard it before: you are the man beaten and left for dead, Jesus is the Samaritan who picks you up out of the ditch, the Church is the inn, and the oil and wine and so forth are the Means of Grace.

However, this passage, in its greater context, is a discussion about the Law and about ethics, before one ever lays on the typological interpretations. Ethics is generally understood as determining, and then doing, the best good thing. Ethics is about knowing and doing the right thing, whatever the circumstances.