Scripture
Luke 10:25
Deuteronomy 30:10-14; Psalm 69:14,17,30-31,33-34,36,37; Colossians 1:15-20; Luke 10:25-37
Sermon Week/Year
The parable of the Good Samaritan
It’s not every day that a French vocabulary word steals the national spotlight—but then again, it’s not every day that a 13-year-old spells a word so difficult it brings the crowd to its feet.
Recently, Faizan Zaki of Allen, Texas, won the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee by nailing the word éclaircissement —pronounced ay-klair-sees-MAWN—a French term meaning “a clearing-up of something obscure… enlightenment.”
Zaki didn’t flinch. He didn’t ask for the definition. He didn’t request the language of origin. He just spelled it—letter-perfect—and clinched the title in round 21. This, after a near-elimination just three rounds earlier.
The word is a mouthful. But the moment? Absolutely clear—no confusion, no hesitation.
And that moment of clarity—that éclaircissement (ay-klair-sees-MAWN) —doesn’t just belong on a spelling bee stage. It belongs in this morning’s Gospel.
Luke tells us a legal expert stands to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asks, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke…
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