What does love look like when it’s inconvenient, risky, or costly? This session explores the parable of the Good Samaritan alongside Luca Giordano’s stirring painting, inviting you to see compassion as a sacred calling. Let Christ’s words—and your own hands and heart—become instruments of mercy.

Luke 10:30-37

Use this guide for prayer and contemplation. Read slowly, pausing as needed for silence and reflection.

Opening

Welcome. Settle into a comfortable position and take a slow breath. As we begin, remember that this is a time of prayer—not only a time of looking at a painting, but a time of opening our hearts to God.

Allow a moment of quiet. [Pause in silence.]

Reflection on Contemplative Prayer

Teresa of Ávila reminds us that when we reach out in love, we become Christ to others. Consider her words:

“Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes with which he looks with compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world. You are his body.”

Centuries later, Juliet Benner (in Contemplative Vision) writes that we are invited to change our perspective—to move beyond ourselves, reaching out with compassion and love to those who are least like us. This takes not only renewed vision, but a transformed life.

Scripture

Luke 10:30–37 [Translation]

As you read or hear this familiar story, listen as if for the first time. Let it absorb your full attention. Notice any details that surface for you.

Jesus replied, “A man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He encountered thieves who stripped him naked, beat him up, and left him near death. Now it just so happened that a priest was also going down the same road. When he saw the injured man, he crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. Likewise, a Levite came by that spot, saw the injured man, and crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. A Samaritan who was on a journey came to where the man was. But when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. The Samaritan went to him and bandaged his wounds, tending them with oil and wine. Then he placed the wounded man on his own donkey, took him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took two full days’ worth of wages and gave them to the innkeeper. He said, ‘Take care of him, and when I return, I will pay you back for any additional costs.’”

Jesus said, “Which one of these three was a neighbor to the man who encountered thieves?” The legal expert replied, “The one who demonstrated mercy toward him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Hold any words or phrases that stood out to you today close to your heart. [Pause in silence.]

Artwork for Prayerful Reflection

The Good Samaritan, by Luca Giordano

Take a long, slow look at the painting. Look it over from afar and take in the whole scene. [Pause in silence.]

Notice the figure who stoops down to pour oil and wine on a dying man’s wounds. The scene is set in a rocky landscape that feels dark and forbidding; in the distance, light shines on the town to which the travelers were headed.

Reflection Questions

What is the experience like for you today as you hear this story?

How are you more aware of what is happening in this story than you might normally be?

What grabs your attention today—not what has grabbed your attention in the past, but what grabs it today?

What words or phrases jumped out at you?

What parts of the Scripture seemed to speak directly to you?

What did you notice today that felt important?

How is this depiction different from the image you may have created in your imagination?

What are you drawn to in this depiction?

What emotions or associations surface for you as you take in the whole scene?

What associations come to you as you look over the figures in the painting—and the painting as a whole?

How is God speaking to you—not only through words, but through what you feel?

What is your heart feeling as you look?

Is your heart beginning to draw a response?

Having looked at the picture and heard the story again, how did your perception of the parable change?

Did something shift in your heart as you heard the text a second time?

Was God inviting you to do something—to feel something—to think something?

What message does God have for you today?

Take a moment and respond to God. Speak your response, or write it down. [Pause in silence.]

Closing

God, help us set aside our preconceived notions and truly listen. As we contemplate this parable and this painting, form us into people of mercy. Give us eyes to see with compassion, hands ready to bless, and feet willing to go and do likewise. Amen.