Get Off Your Donkey . . .the Good Samaritan

Good morning. I am Katie Cleric from GNN, God’s Network News. Coming to you live from the city of Jericho. In case you are just tuning in, Jesus has just has

summed up what we have to do to be a follower. Jesus has told us what we have to do taste eternal life this very day.

It’s quite simple. Jesus says: “Get off your donkey!”

Let’s see if we can get more detail. I have an eye witness to the events of today: Father Void. Father, can you tell us in your own words what happened here.”

“Yes I would be delighted to, but, actually Katie, my name is Father Avoid. I was coming from Jerusalem and saw a man in a ditch. He had been beaten pretty badly.

The thugs had even stolen his clothes. I just couldn’t stop though. After all what could I do, really. I’m not a medic. So I gave my donkey an extra “giddy up” and we kept going. We came into town, and I reported the incident to the proper authorities. I did my due diligence. I hope they catch the people responsible for this.”

“Well, thank you, Father Avoid for that account. For another perspective I have another witness to these surprising events. I have Mrs. B. Wary.”

“Well Katie I am glad to tell you. In this day and age you can’t be too careful. There are scams all around. Sure I saw the guy. But heck, the other tv channel had a report on just the other day how these people are actually millionaires…they just pretend to be hurt…and then you give them money and as soon as you are out of sight they get up and go back to their air conditioned home, open their champagne and eat caviar, on your dollar. No way was I going to stop. Get off my donkey, no way.”

“I see. Maybe we can get clarification from the source himself. Here comes Jesus.

Jesus, Jesus, it’s Katie from GNN.”

“Hello Katie and all your viewers. What we have here is the best example of how

anyone can live God’s life now. For those who want to know what it means to be part of God’s kingdom, look at what happened here. If you are really thinking you want to be identified as a person of God, as one of my followers, here’s what you have to do: you got to get off your donkey.

Look. A man was beaten up, robbed, left for dead. He was passed by by others, each with very good excuses. One reported it to the authorities, one from a lot of

fake news. But Katie that simply is not enough.

You have to get off your donkey…no matter what.

Like the Samaritan.

Sure he was hated. I’m sure he thought that maybe this was a trap for him…after all racial crimes and hate crime happen every day. And these days no one is more hated Samaritans. They are foreigners. Immigrants really, here without the right

“documents”. This particular Samaritan could have been deported or killed at any time.

But this man…put all that aside for someone he did not even know. He steered his donkey over to the man and hopped down. He took out his wine flask, his hydration for the journey. With no water in the area, with no poland spring, wine was his life source…but he did not care. The man in the ditch needed help now.

And the aid did not stop with the wine. The Samaritan, let’s call him Sam, took his wine and mixed it with the oil he had bought in Jerusalem for his family. He made an antiseptic ointment and cleaned the wounds.

And then, he tore his very own clothing, to make bandages and gently dressed the stranger’s wounds to stop them from bleeding and getting infected. He lifted the man up and put him on his donkey and brought him to the inn.

And even with all that, Sam wasn’t done. Sam stayed by this man’s bedside all night. He lifted a cup of water to the man’s lips when he asked and Sam spoon-fed him helping him to recover.

In fact, you just missed him. Sam left to tend to some business but not before he did something even more remarkable than what he had already done.

He paid the innkeeper two full days wages for room service for the man, giving this man he did not even know carte blanche. Sam said when he came back to check on the man, he would pay the innkeeper what ever the man had wanted.

Spare no request.

You see Katie, it’s not enough to know that people are dying in the desert, or drowning on the shore.

It’s not enough to know children are separated from their parents.

It is not enough to know people are being held in what is akin to concentration camps.

The time has come to act.

Follow my example.

If you really want to know God here and now…You have got to be over the top, extravagant beyond extravagant. You got to risk…you got to do…you got to get off

your donkey.

Just like I did.

I got off the heavenly throne. I got off my donkey and came to be with you. I gave it all up because of you and your listeners…I came to care for you, to bind your wounds, to raise you to new and ever lasting life. If I got off my donkey, you can get off yours. You could say…donkey see, donkey do.”

“Thank you Jesus. Well folks, there you have it. Whether your donkey is fat, or smart, or lazy…looks like it’s time to get off him. This is Katie Cleric and that’s the good news.”