Bible Studies
Ses'khona # 2We Are Here ... to Stop and Care
Bongiwe Dumezweni
Luke 10:25-37
AIDS Bible Studies
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Consider the following scenario:
Your aunt died of an AIDS-related illness a couple of years ago, having been
infected by her husband, your mother's brother. Now your uncle is very ill and your mother is asking you to help her care for him during your school holidays.
Describe how you would feel and respond in this scenario. If you were this person,
what questions could flood your mind at this point?
In the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus helps a young lawyer to think through
the question of why and how he should get involved with those in need.
Read Luke 10:25-29
1. How do the commands to love God and love our neighbor sum up the Ten Commandments?
Let's act out Jesus' answer to the lawyer's question "Who is my neighbour?" Here are the characters in the story that Jesus tells:
- Jewish man who gets robbed and beaten up
- Two robbers and an innkeeper
- Priest (member of the Jewish tribe of Levi who offered the prescribed sacrifices
in the temple, acting as a mediator between God and the people)
- Levite (member of the Jewish tribe of Levi given the task of taking care
of the temple property)
- Samaritan (half-caste ethnic group, despised/avoided by Jews)
Listen to Luke 10:30-35 read aloud to the group, Then choose seven people in your group to take each of the above character roles. Now act out the story.
2. Ask the characters in the story to answer the following questions:
- Priest: Why didn't you stop to help this man? What were you thinking when you passed by?
- Levite: How were you feeling toward the man? And how did you feel about yourself?
- Samaritan: Why did you stop to help this man on such a deserted, dangerous road? What was your reaction when you saw that the injured man was a Jew? What did it cost you to care?
- Injured man: What were you thinking and feeling when you were lying beside the road, bleeding? How did you respond to the Samaritan's actions toward you
- Innkeeper: Describe your thoughts as you saw this Samaritan bringing the wounded Jew to your inn? How did you respond?
3. As you reflect on how this story relates to your own responses to people living with AIDS, consider the following:
a. What keeps us from helping those in need?
b. What is involved in showing mercy to a person infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS? What might it cost you?
c. If you had Aids how would you respond to compassion like that of the Samaritan?
d. What does caring for people with AIDS demonstrate to the world?
4. According to Jesus' application of the parable (v. 36 -37) what should our
motivation be for caring for people in need?
5. How do our motives and reactions towards those in need impact our eternal
destiny? (See v. 25 - 26)
Silent Prayer
Take five minutes before the end of group time today in silence to ask yourself: "What is the one thing Christ is asking of me in today's study?" Write down your answer as a short prayer of response to him.
Listening Exercise
Before the next meeting, find someone who is HIV positive or who cares for AIDS patients perhaps by visiting a home care center. Ask them "In what areas of their lives do those with AIDS long to be healed?" Listen carefully for the questions they struggle with, fears they're facing, changes they're coping with, things they long for, etc. Share your findings with the group.
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