When the Interruption is an Opportunity

But a Samaritan… took pity on him… went to him and bandaged his wounds. 

Luke 10:33-34 (NIV)

Living the Sermon on the Mount Through the Practical Wisdom of Jesus' Parables

I stopped making plans in the ER a long time ago — the patients never read the schedule. And somewhere along the way I made peace with that — professionally, at least. It's the everyday interruptions where I still catch myself quietly resisting. The inconvenient conversation. The need I didn't budget for. The person who shows up sideways into my day. Jesus points to a Samaritan — of all people — and says, this is what compassionate love looks like.

The priest and the Levite weren't villains. They were busy, probably important, almost certainly heading somewhere that mattered. I recognize them more than I'd like to admit. What the Samaritan had wasn't a more generous personality — he had open eyes and a willingness to let someone else's emergency become his own. In the ER we call that showing up. Jesus calls it being a neighbor.

What if…the interruption I'm already dreading today is actually the moment Jesus has been preparing me for all along?

Lord, forgive me for the times I've passed by — not out of cruelty, but out of hurry. You've been training me my whole career to stop when it matters. Help me bring that same instinct home. Amen

Let's do this together.

Founder, IHS Global