Take a Walk on the Wild Side 

A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. Luke 10:31

Jesus teaches us from this story that there are two sides to every road. 

There is the clear side where nothing in particular is going on.  This is the side of the road that takes you peacefully to your destination. 

Then there is the wild side.  This is the side of the road that contains the hurting, the injured, the bleeding, the dying ... instinctively no one wants to be there.

Jesus teaches us that this is the side of the road our neighbour is on. 
This is not a  'Good Morning!' and walk on encounter ... this is a 'Roll up your sleeves and get busy' encounter.

True Christian ministry takes place on the wild side. 

Pastoral ministry will often upset our plans for the day, but not our God-given Agenda.
The Samaritan 'saw him' ... 'had compassion on him' ... and 'went to where he was'.

The Wild Side is exciting, rewarding, fulfilling, empowering .... it is there that the pastoral ministry begins and ends. 

It is the side that Jesus is already on.