I am reasonably confident that this parable of the Good Samaritan is well-known to many people, even those who would not regard themselves to be deeply knowledgeable about the Bible.
The parable was in response to a question asked by a teacher of the Law about what should be done to inherit eternal life? Of course, this man had no genuine interest to know this since he already did. After all, he was a teacher of the Law, one who would interpret the requirements of the Law of Moses and the writings of the Prophets for the people. In Jesus’ day they were often called Scribes. The real reason for his question was made bare in that opening preamble where it says he stood up to ‘test’ Jesus or as some other versions say, to ‘trap’ Jesus into saying something erroneous. In response, Jesus asked him what the reading of the Law in this regard was. The Teacher of the Law then correctly, as was to be expected, quoted from two passages, the first from Deuteronomy 6:5 and then Leviticus 19:18 in summing up the requirements of the Law on this matter. To this, Jesus told him how correct he was. Of course, the man would not give up so easily, so he decided to probe even further by asking, “and who is my neighbor?” By this time, it is obvious that this man is no fool on matters of the Law. He just wanted to get Jesus to say something that could be used against him. This is a good example of an attempt at entrapment.
At the end of it all, the Teacher of the Law was faced with a glaring reality. To inherit eternal life, one must love God above all and demonstrate this love of God to one’s neighbor. It is sin relationship with one another that the love of God can be displayed among humanity. This was and still is the essence of our relationship with God. Much later, in the latter part of the first century, the Apostle John, wrote in one of his epistles something quite similar when he said, “Whoever loves God, must also love his brother.” (See 1 John 4:21 NIV) A little earlier, John also pointed out that we are liars if we say we love God who we cannot physically interact with but do not love our fellow human beings who we can see and interact with. (See 1 John 4:20) As we get back to the parable in St. Luke, we could well substitute the word neighbor for brother or sister. It is practically the same thing.
As we return to the parable, I would like us to reflect on some important observations in the text that are critical to understanding this story in its context..
- The first thing to note is that the road from Jerusalem high in the mountain to Jericho down at the lowest point in Palestine is a long winding and steep road that was extremely lonely and dangerous because it was a frequent haunt of robbers who would prey on any traveler who dared to travel alone.
- The second thing to note is that all of the other three persons were travelling alone and would have had good reason to want to get on with their journey as quickly as possible.
- Thirdly, the Priest, the Levite and the man who was attacked by robbers were evidently Jews whereas the Samaritan is highlighted because by ethnicity and religion he is clearly different from the others. Some scholars think that he may not even have been a Samaritan because the term was often used for someone who the Jews despised equally as much as Samaritans. On the surface this may not seem to be a major point but the crucial thing about the difference with these men is in the non-existent relationship between Jews and Samaritans. They were enemies and this long standing enmity is at the heart of this parable.
As the story evolves we see that the Priest, the first to come by after the man has been attacked and left for dead, hurries by on the other side. So too does the Levite. At once you think that these two representatives of the Jewish religion should have been more compassionate but the priest was likely afraid of contaminating himself by touching a man he presumed to be dead. In any case, just touching blood or a bloodied person let alone a dead body, would make him unclean and he was clearly not prepared to risk that. (See Numbers 19:11-13) The Levite for his part may have feared that this man was either pretending to be dead or that the robbers were still in close proximity so it was best not to hang around trying to help someone in need. He too, like the priest, would have been wary of being defiled by touching blood or a dead person. Self-preservation may have been his motivation. But what about the third man? He is said to be a Samaritan. Whether he was that or was someone else who the Jews despised and treated as outsiders such as Gentiles, he clearly passed this way repeatedly and must also have known of the dangers of this road. He stopped and had pity for the injured man. Then he takes the time to dress his wounds with oil and wine, then he puts him on his donkey and takes him to an inn where he clearly has stayed repeatedly because the owner is prepared to trust him to pay him back when he returns. The man’s word and his credit history with this innkeeper is good. We cannot but be impressed, even awed at the extent to which this man goes to look after a stricken stranger, a man who he clearly never met before.
Let us look at this man’s actions a bit more closely.
First, he is filled with pity or compassion for this stricken stranger.
Secondly, he spends the time to dress this man’s wounds while fully aware that the robbers could be nearby and he could fall prey to them as well.
Thirdly, he takes the man to an inn and spends more time looking after him.
Fourthly, he leaves the man in the care of the innkeeper and leaves money for him to continue taking care of him.
Fifthly, he tells the innkeeper that he will reimburse him for any further amount he spends when he passes by again and apparently the innkeeper accepts his terms. That’s why I said his credit history with the innkeeper or his reputation is obviously good.
But we could well ask, why has this man put all that effort in time and resources towards a man who he has never met before and who could even be ungrateful in return? What is in it for him? After all, many people don’t do this unless there is something to gain.
This is the heart of the message of the parable.
This man showed compassion and love towards this man which the two religious leaders never showed. The essence of being a neighbor is showing care to those who need irrespective of who they are and the cost to oneself in doing so. Being a neighbor is taking risks or putting oneself in harm’s way not just for those you know and love such as your own family and friends but especially so, for those who it is easier to ignore or pass by on the other side. We pass many people on the other side every day. They may not be bloody and dying on the roadside but they may be suffering just as much internally.
There are important points to reflect on from this text as we go through life as Christians.
- First of all, our neighbors are clearly all persons who we can help when they are in need and we are able to help them.
I can’t tell you the extent to which you must go to help someone who you can help. Your conscience and your Christian principles must be your guide. Our communities and our world at large are filled with neighbors. They are children who are going hungry. They are parents who can’t find a job and therefore cannot provide for their families. Our neighbors are people we despise because their lifestyles are not up to our standards or religious beliefs. They are people whose social standings we shun. Our neighbours are people whose sexuality we scorn and our neighbours are also people whose ethnic or national backgrounds we look down on and see ourselves as better than. Our neighbors are very different from us in many ways but they are like us in the most important way possible, because they are human, created by God and loved just as much by God as we are, despite their different circumstances and their needs.
- Secondly, we must never allow religious dogma and denominational teachings to get in the way of helping people irrespective of who they are and what distinguishes them from us.
We cannot say because they are not of my religious faith I can’t help them or because they are less holy and religious than I am or they are too evil and too heathen so I cannot reach out to help them. Some Christians even believe that people are meant to suffer because they are not Christians. They will say let them suffer. It’s because of their sins. Even in the Biblical times many Jews felt that suffering was always God’s punishment for sin. Many religious people have failed God in the most basic way by simply not showing mercy and compassion to someone who is suffering because that person is from a different religion or even from a different denomination or from no religious faith at all. When we use religious excuses to withhold loving care it is a crime against God pure and simple. If care and support is needed, give it. We can always argue about religion and denominational differences later.
- Thirdly, showing love and compassion in a genuine way when the need arises can be highly inconvenient.
The man went out of his way to care for this stranger. He essentially forgot about his own business and his own timelines so that he could focus fully on this injured man. Many of us would be annoyed or be rather upset to have this man take up so much of our time. Some people would even be blaming the man for allowing himself to be caught by these robbers in the first case. If we are to truly love and care for others, especially those who are in great distress and pain, it can be time consuming and emotionally draining and above all highly inconvenient as it takes away from your own personal priorities. If we say we are Christians, are we up for that?
- Fourthly, self-preservation can never be an issue if you are committed to being a good neighbor.
Some people will not reach out to help because they are more concerned about their image. What will my friends think? Can associating with these kinds of people make me lose my job? Or my social standing? For many people kindness and compassion is not as important as their image or their social standing. Even what may seem to be a genuine need to preserve one’s life is not a good enough reason to not help someone in distress. The good samaritan was willing to risk his life for this man. This is not stupidity. This is Christian love at work. Are you up to showing this kind of love? For many of us it is easy to say we love people but if the extreme situation arises where showing that love includes taking great risk or risking one’s own life are you really prepared for it?
I would like to suggest that this story asks some serious questions about how far each of us are willing to go to show that our Christian faith is genuine and God’s love for all people is an essential part of our Christian DNA. Anything less must make us think about what it really means to be Christian especially in a time when more compassionate and sacrificial actions are needed to make our world a more just and a more kind and loving place. If we desire a world that reflects the heart of God then we must be prepared to do risky things, bold and daring things to make this so. Let’s go out from here to seriously reflect on this story and the points that have been raised and other things that God is saying to each of us from this parable and commit ourselves to be authentic examples of Christ’s love as we reach out to our neighbors who need us most. Amen.