Of course the problem with a parable that is so very well known is that whenever we think about it we think we already know what it means. The Good Samaritan means be a good neighbor by helping the people around you who are in trouble. End of story.

But the Gospel always means more than we think it means, and Jesus' parables especially are intended to do more than just convey moral information--they're intended to get inside us and change the way we see things. But in order for that to happen we need to dig into the parable, and let the parable speak to us in our time and our own place, in our real-life circumstances, in the way we need most to hear that parable speak.

And that is something each of us has to do in our own way. So this morning I am not going to preach to you about what this parable means. Instead, I'm going to invite you to speak with each other, and together to dig down deep and see what this parable says to you. So look around and find one or two other people to talk to--arrange yourselves in groups of two or three--and if you want to, make a special effort to find someone you've never had this kind of conversation with before. Some of you may prefer just to meditate on the parable in the privacy of your own thoughts, and that's okay too. But try to talk this out with somebody else, because hearing how someone else responds always deepens your own response, too.

Everyone got some partners? You've just heard Philip read the gospel. As you were listening to his reading, what jumped out at you? What in the reading grabbed your attention? What did you notice in a particular way? Take a few minutes now--doesn't have to be very long--and share with your conversation partners what caught your attention in this parable.

[3-4 minutes]

Okay, now listen to the parable again. [Read from The Message] Now in your groups, talk about what you think God is saying to you in the parable. The Word of God in scripture always addresses each one of us quite personally, if we let it. In this parable today, what is God saying to you?

[5-7 minutes]

Okay, now listen to the parable one more time. [Read from Revised English Bible] Now in your groups, talk about one final question: What is God calling you to do? What response to this parable is the Holy Spirit drawing forth from you? What action can you take because of what God has said to you in this scripture today?

[5-7 minutes]

How was that for you? Did you find the parable speaking to you in a way that cut through all that over-familiarity? This way of reading scripture, with these three questions--What catches my attention? What is God saying to me? What am I going to do about it?--this way of reading scripture is something you can practice any time, by yourself, with others, in a short conversation, in a deep and patient meditation. This way of reading scripture is something you can take home with you today, and you can practice many days. This way of reading scripture take the story off the page, out of the past, and make it part of how we live our Christian lives here and now.

May God bless our reading of the parable of the Good Samaritan, and may God bless our response to the parable, this day and always. Amen.