Holy God,
You tell the story slowly
as if giving us time
to find our place in it.

A road stretches from Jerusalem to Jericho.
A man lies broken
where no one meant to stop.

We recognize the danger
and the cost of compassion.

But then
You turn the story toward us.

The question is no longer
Who is my neighbor
but
What will we do now.

The road is suddenly ours.
The wounded one has a familiar face.
The distance between faith and love
shrinks to the space of a single step.

No one is watching.
No title protects us.
No explanation will count as mercy.

You wait
not for an agreement
but for our movement.

Lord Jesus,
Turn our knowing into kneeling.
Make us neighbors
before we make excuses.

Let the story end
with our lives poured out
on the side of the road.

Amen

-based on Luke 10:25–37