Jesus' Rapport with People

Jesus handles the delicate situation by diffusing the antagonism and redirecting the lawyer's negative thinking into positive challenges. This encourages the spiritual and moral development of the person rather than feeding his or her resentment and hostility

Questions

1. Why does this method of treating other people enhance their personhood rather than diminish it?
2. Christians believe people are made in God's image. How does this belief affect the way that people should be treated?
3. It is said we are living in a more aggressive age. Think of some confrontational situations, e.g. in the classroom, home, local community, wider world... How might Jesus' skill in responding, as shown in the story, be adapted to make a good and effective response to the situations you have chosen?

Eternal Life

Ambition is thriving in our society. There is evidence that we are experts in short-term goals - usually directed at careers, financial targets, distant holiday destinations etc.. Religions have their eye on ultimate goals. Naturally long-term goals affect short term endeavours. The goal of eternal life involves belief in a non-physical dimension unlimited by any time-scale which doesn't fit easily into a materialistic approach which focuses on the here and now and the provable.

Questions

1. What are the advantages and dangers of ambition?
2. What leads some people to believe there is more to life than what they can see, hear and prove?
3. Why are some Christians prepared to bet their whole life on a final state of being with God?
4. What different beliefs do people hold about what happens after death? How might these beliefs have on their daily lives e.g. their ambitions, concerns, behaviour?

Love God...

How strange to find 'love for God' presented as the most important requirement in life. Can 'love' really support everything and change the world.? Something more hard-hitting would surely be better. Anyway, what sort of God would demand such allegiance? Why would a perfect God request love from the created? And whatever can be meant by 'loving God'?

Christians, in common with other people of faith, believe humans can only be what they were intended to be when they are taken out of themselves and find a different focus, on the ultimate good. That focus will find expression in worship, prayer, meditation, study etc.. This enables people to leave behind all that limits them - selfishness, pride, prejudice, hatred - and be liberated to operate in a new and better way. Freed from their own pettiness, they can love their neighbours by meeting their neighbours' needs. So the world can change into the 'kingdom of God' where God's standards are taken seriously. Love of God becomes the key which unlocks the sensitivity, skills, patience, understanding and other strengths which will make all the difference to that neighbour in need.

Questions

1. How do we normally define 'love'? In what ways is it vital to our existence?
2. Think of ways in which we diminish 'love' in the way modern society promotes it by exploring the place of 'love' in life in poetry, music, literature, campaigns etc..
3. Consider what is meant by 'focusing on God'. How could this be achieved and what difference might it make?
4. What might be the advantages of observing religious or spiritual laws and maintaining high standards? What can be the dangers?
5. Is observing religious laws a very mechanistic or negative way to promote love or might it provide positive opportunities to free people to act spontaneously in a loving way?

Spiritual Wisdom

Enormous importance is given to knowledge in our society. If we can master knowledge then we are rewarded and highly regarded. It could be argued that we are in danger of making information a god e.g. the importance of quizzes in our lives. Intelligence can become disproportionately prized. This parable highlights a different type of knowledge - a wisdom which allows a person to be discriminating at a deeper, spiritual level which enlightens people about how to live in the fullest way, to their full human potential.

Questions

1. Do knowledge and intelligence guarantee that the person will be able to get to the heart of the matter as far as living is concerned? What attributes are most useful?
2. What other qualities contribute to deep understanding of the more spiritual issues?
3. What are the truly important issues about human life that we need to get to grips with? What issues seem to occupy most of our time? Are they different, if so, how and why?

Neighbourliness

The way people behave towards others is very important for everyone's well-being, both at a personal and community level. Human behaviour is dictated by what we believe human beings to be. If humans are just physical and mental entities, with no ultimate value, then they perhaps merit less attention than if they are sacred beings, designed by God to participate in the divine purpose of the universe and with an eternal destination. If people have no conscience or ultimate responsibility for the way they act, why bother about behaviour? This parable challenges such a situation. Christians believe love is at the heart of the universe. For the Christian, it is love which dictates his or her response to others and their needs. Everyone matters equally.

Questions

1. Think of a series of situations in which people are in different sorts of need. What sort of responses do people give to others' needs? What values are these responses based on?
2. What form might an active response to need take? Is sympathy ever enough?
3. How important are national, ethnic and religious labels in giving people a personal identity? Do they help or hinder people in understanding and accepting others? How far do they inform the expectations people have of others?
4. What principles bind people together as neighbours? What separates people into non-neighbours? Who might be a non-neighbour in modern times? Why/ Why not? Who decides?
5. Has the definition of neighbour changed since biblical times? Why? Why not?
6. If there are no limits on who a neighbour is, what possibilities and challenges are opened up?
7. How can individuals ever meet the needs of their neighbours. Are there limits? What could the point be of loving one's enemy? Can you think of examples where this has happened?
8. What effect does 'loving your enemy' have on the person prepared to go this far? What effect might it have on the enemy?
9. What is it within a person that enables them to love their enemy?

Following Jesus' example

People seem to need heroes or role-models in order to be inspired and have an example to follow. Here, Jesus is very definite about the standard of behaviour he expects from anyone who takes his teaching seriously.

Questions

1. Do you think the lawyer in the story would go and 'do likewise'? Why? Why not?
2. Where can you see the command 'to do likewise' being carried out in the modern world by Christians or others? Is belief in God necessary to obey Jesus' command to 'go and do likewise'? Why? Why not?
3. What difference should belief in God make in responding to any situation of need?
4. What qualities should people look for in role-models?