A man was once on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of brigands; they took all he had, beat him and then made off, leaving him half dead…
Thus begins one of the most famous parables Jesus ever spoke. Jesus had been talking about the great commandments – loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind AND loving your neighbour as yourself. The ‘Good Samaritan’ story is given as the answer to the question of “who is my neighbour?” While we might not come across many beaten people on our morning walks, I want you to think of the last person you saw who you did not know but who needed help. It might have been something big or small to you, but I guarantee it was significant to them. What did you do?
Now a priest happened to be travelling down the same road, but when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. In the same way, a Levite who came to the place saw him and passed by on the other side.
Two people of the cloth, people who you might think would have stopped to help, did not. In your own reflection, did you help the stranger in need? If you did, that is wonderful. If you did not, think of the reason why. Were you in a hurry? Was the person dirty? Did you think someone else would help? Did you think it might be dangerous? Was it not your place to get involved? Was it because they were a stranger?
When looking at the scripture, we ask these questions about the priest and Levite, and many scholars have come up with lots of reasons why. A compelling reason was that by touching a possibly dead body, they would be ritually unclean and must undergo purification rituals, or that they thought this was a trap laid out by the brigands to rob more people. Great reasons, but what reason does Jesus give? No matter how much you search, he provides no reason, for there is no reason for him. To him, there are only two types of people – those that bend down to help and those who walk past.
But a Samaritan traveller who came upon him was moved with compassion when he saw him.
The Jews and the Samaritans hated each other. A Jew would travel many miles out of the way down to Jericho and down the Jordan valley to avoid travelling through Samaria. This hatred is captured here in this scripture. This parable is known as the ‘Good Samaritan’ as if all others were not of this nature. Worse still, when you read the original scripture, the word “good” does not appear. It just reads as I have said above – ‘a certain Samaritan’. Yet despite being the most estranged of strangers, this man is “moved with compassion”. Compassion means to suffer with another person, and in Latin, it is usually translated to the word Caritas. This is the love that God has for us. So, what the man shows here is the love that God would show to the vulnerable, and in doing so, the Samaritan demonstrated what it means to be made in the image and likeness of God. You see, every time you show compassion to another, you are connecting to the love God has for all humanity.
He went up and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. Then he lifted him on to his own mount, carried him to the inn and looked after him. The next day, he took out two denarii and handed them to the innkeeper. “Look after him,” he said, “and on my way back, I will make good any extra expense you have.”
When I talk about this scripture to students, I ask them to find how many verbs there are in this short passage – how many times did the Samaritan do something. The priest and the Levite no doubt felt sorrow for the poor man, at least we hope they did, but it was the Samaritan, the last person on earth who would have been expected to help, was the one who acted. Acting on our convictions is one of the hardest things. People are really good at looking at the problems and seeing the injustice. They are often impacted by the reality and the emotion, but when it comes to actually doing something, it all stops. Think of all the reasons which I asked you to consider earlier for not helping. Yet, the Samaritan puts himself out for another person in need. A denarius was about one week’s wages. Can you imagine giving a fortnight’s pay to look after a stranger….and here is the kicker – without asking for anything else in return.
Which of these three, do you think, proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the brigand’s hands?
I know you know the answer. Yet, I want you to look at what Jesus just did. He was asked, “who is my neighbour?” yet his return question is, “who acted neighbourly?” In this twist is the answer to the question, “who is my neighbour?” – Everyone! It is not about the person who needs help; it is about us. It is what we do that counts. How do we engage with the world, with our family, with our friends, with our neighbours, with the strangers we encounter? The answer to all this should be the same.
So, let us go back to the stranger in need you thought about before, or perhaps the next stranger you see, lying on the dusty road (metaphorically) looking for some help, however big or small. Who are you in the story of the Good Samaritan? Are you the brigand who preys on the unfortunate? Are you the victim looking out, hoping for some help? Are you the person who walks past? Are you the Good Samaritan who bends down to help? Are you the innkeeper who steps in next to continue to support the needy in their recovery? We all need to be one of the last two. Anything else is not acceptable. Like bullying amongst children, there are no excuses and no bystanders to the good and right thing.
Dr Nathan Leber
