The lawyer answered Jesus' question to him correctly. The lawyer responded that to inherit eternal life, "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." Luke 10:26-28 (NRSV).
But the lawyer didn't stop there. He persisted and asked Jesus, ". . .And who is my neighbor?" Luke 10:29 (NRSV).
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| At the foot of the cross in Ataco, El Salvador |
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| Pinnacle View Road, Kentucky |
This was new to me. I had never thought of the victim as a Samaritan. The Preacher said the victim could have been a Samaritan. If the victim was a Samaritan, does that change the story in any material respect?
Here's a hypothetical. Assume that an incident like that described in the story of the Good Samaritan actually occurred. Afterwards, the innkeeper told the story to all who would listen. It went like this. A traveler brought the victim to his inn for care, and paid the innkeeper for his trouble. In the innkeeper's account, the victim and his rescuer were both from Samaria. The victim survived and told the innkeeper about the passersby, the priest and the Levite.
The resulting controversy centered on whether Jewish law, in this case the Great Commandment, required passersby such as the priest and Levite, both Jews, to stop and help the victim. In the innkeeper's audience a lawyer opined that the law imposed no such requirement, since the victim was not a neighbor, but a foreigner, a Samaritan. Perhaps the lawyer was trying to curry favor with the religious elite and defend what we now know to be the questionable conduct of the priest and the Levite, both of whom crossed the road to avoid the injured victim.
The resulting controversy centered on whether Jewish law, in this case the Great Commandment, required passersby such as the priest and Levite, both Jews, to stop and help the victim. In the innkeeper's audience a lawyer opined that the law imposed no such requirement, since the victim was not a neighbor, but a foreigner, a Samaritan. Perhaps the lawyer was trying to curry favor with the religious elite and defend what we now know to be the questionable conduct of the priest and the Levite, both of whom crossed the road to avoid the injured victim.
Imagine how the lawyer felt when Jesus turned the tables and asked the lawyer, "Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" Luke 10: 36 (NRSV).
The lawyer answered, "The one who showed him mercy." Luke 10:-37 (NRSV).
This was the right answer. The lawyer must have realized that the hero of the story was not only a Samaritan, but a Good Samaritan, almost an oxymoron.
"Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise." Luke 10:-37 (NRSV)
The neighbor was the one who acted to help the victim. In this case, the Good Samaritan was the neighbor. To be a neighbor we must act. We can control our own behavior toward others.
Our focus is not on the victim, the recipient of kindness and compassion. Whether the injured person looks or sounds like us is not important. The fact that is was messy, inconvenient and expensive to help the victim emphasizes the need for mercy. It is ironic that in this version of the story a Samaritan helped a fellow countryman, a Samaritan. A Samaritan is the hero of the story, possibly to the lawyer's chagrin. Maybe the Levite and the priest did not offer aid and assistance to the crime victim because they recognized him as a Samaritan. Maybe they did not offer aid to a fellow Jew because he was not a Levite or a priest.
"Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise." Luke 10:-37 (NRSV)
The neighbor was the one who acted to help the victim. In this case, the Good Samaritan was the neighbor. To be a neighbor we must act. We can control our own behavior toward others.
Our focus is not on the victim, the recipient of kindness and compassion. Whether the injured person looks or sounds like us is not important. The fact that is was messy, inconvenient and expensive to help the victim emphasizes the need for mercy. It is ironic that in this version of the story a Samaritan helped a fellow countryman, a Samaritan. A Samaritan is the hero of the story, possibly to the lawyer's chagrin. Maybe the Levite and the priest did not offer aid and assistance to the crime victim because they recognized him as a Samaritan. Maybe they did not offer aid to a fellow Jew because he was not a Levite or a priest.
The Jewish elite violated their own law. They missed their opportunity to go the extra mile, which, according to the Preacher, is what we are called to do. Going the extra mile for them would have been to help a person of a country they held in contempt, or maybe even one of their own. Interrupting their day would have been extending grace. Helping an enemy is extending grace.
We are called to go the extra mile and extend grace to others, as Preacher Scott Pickering said. As Preacher said, those of us who have known grace in our own lives know that it is God who ministers to us. Maybe it is is seeking grace upon grace to pray, as the Preacher suggested, "Lord, help me to share more grace with others than you have shared to me."
If you are interested in learning more about the Samaritans, I recommend that you study the footnotes for relevant scriptures in The New Oxford Annotated Bible (NRSV) (Oxford University Press NY © 1991).
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| Lunches prepared for Summer Lunch Program |
If you are interested in learning more about the Samaritans, I recommend that you study the footnotes for relevant scriptures in The New Oxford Annotated Bible (NRSV) (Oxford University Press NY © 1991).
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