Samaritans – Luke 10:25-37

A text – Luke 10:25-37                   

²⁵ An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” ²⁷ He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸ And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

²⁹ But wanting to vindicate himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰ Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and took off, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. ³² So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan while traveling came upon him, and when he saw him he was moved with compassion. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, treating them with oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him, and when I come back I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ ³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” ³⁷ He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

A reflection:

The Good Samaritan. The favorite parable. Everybody loves it. It’s got an unexpected twist. The really really “good” guys (who are actually bound by Jewish law to help their neighbor) ignore the dying Israelite on the road. The Samaritan, the “bad” guy (people hated by Jews for claiming to be Jews but worshipping differently) embodies being a neighbor to the injured man, going way beyond rendering immediate aid and hospitality.

Jesus asks the church law expert which of these three did he think was a neighbor to the man. The expert replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” He probably could not stand to say “the Samaritan,” since they were reviled. Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” As Forrest Gump might say, “Neighbor is as neighbor does.” Our actions prove whether we are neighbors in Jesus’s sense of the word.

Of course we usually think of ourselves as the really good guys. That notion in this parable gets blown away. And being told to not just be neighbor to people we can’t stand but to actually live, act, embody neighborliness to people we can’t stand – how can we manage that?

What boundaries would I need to cross in order to be, live as, embody the life of a neighbor of this kind? I’d have to help a nasty person. I’d have to sit at dinner with the opposition voter in my family. I’d have to care about the health and well-being of the most selfish person in my class at school. I’d have to make a compassionate visit to the person who told lies about me to the people in my group. To “do likewise,” to act as the Samaritan did, I would need to look back in my life at my grudges and break through the walls. Jesus calls us to do all of this – we are obligated to love all of the humans God has made. Where can you and I start this week?

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for this parable which we love and hate at the same time. Help us to see one place this week where we can live out what you ask us. Help us to do it into order to become it. Amen.