The Good Samaritan

In Gospels, the Bible tells a story of a man (an expert in the law) coming to Jesus and asking him what the greatest commandment was.  Jesus had condensed all the law into two commands.  Love the Lord your God, and “the second is like it.  Love your neighbor as yourself.”  The expert goes on to ask Jesus who his neighbor was.  This is where Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan.  You may remember that in it a traveler is robbed and beaten and left for dead.  Two men pass by and do nothing.  Then a Samaritan comes along, tends to the traveler, takes the traveler to an inn, and pays for the traveler to stay there while he recovers.

A few years ago, I learned some things about this story that have really enriched it for me.  During biblical times, stories were largely passed verbally, and therefore followed common patterns to make them easier to remember.  In this story, the first man to come across the traveler was a priest.  He was a religious elite.  We can compare him to a priest or pastor today.  (Though priests back then had a lot more political power as well.)  The second man to walk by was a Levite.  Levites were tasked with assisting priests.  They had official roles in the church, though they were not at the head.  I will compare them to a women’s ministry leader.  The final person to come by should have been a layperson.  It followed the known pattern.  A regular church member is what the listener expected to hear.

Instead, Christ conjures the image of a Samaritan.  Samaritans at this time were condemned by the Jewish people.  There was serious hostility between these two groups, and Samaritans would have been seen as essentially evil.  So when Jesus takes this huge left turn and not only uses an unexpected character, but one so reviled, people would have been shocked.  He explains how this evil man cared for the traveler with tenderness and generosity.  Then he asks the expert in the law, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”  The expert replies, “The one who had mercy on him.”

The expert couldn’t even bring himself to say “the Samaritan”!  He was so uncomfortable with the idea of a “good Samaritan,” with the idea that the Samaritan in this story followed God’s law better than the priest or the Levite, that he can’t even say it!  Jesus than tells him to “go and do likewise.”  Go and be like the Samaritan??  This expert’s world was just rocked to its core!

There are two things I want to challenge you with at this point.  The first is, who is your Samaritan?  Would you be uncomfortable if this was the story of the good Democrat, or the good Republican?  Maybe it’s the good protester or the good LGBTQ+ person.  If none of these ruffled your feathers, spend some time looking at the groups that could fill in that blank.  A group where “good” doesn’t seem to make sense for you.

Once we’ve identified this neighbor, how do we love them?  (Challenge 2)  Do we only step in if they’ve been robbed and beaten?  Thankfully, the Bible tells us what love looks like too.  The next time you encounter the “good _____________” in the your life, whether in person, on social media, or even in the news, ask yourself if you are being loving towards them in this way.  Are you being patient with them?  Are you being kind toward them?  Do you envy, boast, or fall into pride?  Do you dishonor them?  Are you self-seeking?  Are you easily angered by them????   Do you keep a record of their wrong?  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth.  Do you always protest, always trust, always hope, and always persevere?  (Adapted from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

The Lord has convicted me on this for a number of “Samaritans.”  I hope that you will take the time to think on this as well.