Most of us have heard the story of the good Samaritan so many times, we assume that we know what Jesus was illustrating when He told this story…and based on that assumed understanding—that Jesus wants us all to be good Samaritans—we now have hospitals named Good Samaritan, churches named Good Samaritan, and even a “Good Samaritan law” designed to protect those of us who take the risk of helping those who need help from being able to sue us if our efforts result in more harm than good. But, let’s take another look at where the famous question “who is my neighbor?” comes from.
From Sunday School lessons, you may remember that Jesus was headed toward Jerusalem on one of His many ministry trips. Stopping over to do some teaching, Jesus butted heads with a testy attorney who was having difficulty with some of what Jesus was saying. He baited Jesus, apparently trying to make Him look silly in front of the crowds. In what appears to be similar to a modern day cross-examination, the man asks Jesus, “exactly what do I have to do to inherit this eternal life you are so quick to talk about.” Jesus, not willing to take the bait, says, “You’re the lawyer. So what does it say in the Law?” Now we know that Jesus is referring to the Torah, the ancient Jewish teachings. The lawyer knows this too and is more than able to recite from memory: “the law says ‘love God with all your heart and soul and strength and also love your neighbor as yourself.’” Jesus responded, “You are exactly right, love God completely and love your neighbor as yourself and you will have life.” Not satisfied, perhaps because he had failed to show Jesus up, the lawyer (and you can almost see him tugging at Jesus’ robe as Jesus turns to move on), the lawyer says, “Wait a minute, not so fast, you didn’t define your terms, Jesus—a little more precision is in order—who, exactly is my neighbor?”
Jesus answers that question with the parable of the injured traveler and the Good Samaritan. The first part of the story bears no surprises. The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was treacherous in every way. The road was steep and winding. On top of that, it was notorious for the thieves that hid behind the rocks, just waiting for someone to pass by. So the fact that the man—who was more than likely a Jewish man—travelling that road would be robbed and injured could have surprised no one—it is the next part of the story that causes surprise among Jesus’ listeners. Two people, both religious, both supposed to be caring and trustworthy, come upon this injured man. It’s like saying Martin Luther King, Jr. and Billy Graham come upon this man and do nothing. Not only do they do nothing, they cross to the side of the road so as not to even get close enough to him to see if he is dead or alive. So if the first surprise of the story is that people who should help don’t, the second surprise is even better—the very person who you would least expect to help the man—in fact, does. This third man is a Samaritan and there was a bitter rivalry for centuries between Jews and Samaritans—and everyone listening to the story would have known that, so the significance of this part of the story would not have been lost on the lawyer or the rest of those listening. No one would have expected this age-old enemy to help the battered Jewish man. But not only does he stop and help, he takes the man to a hotel and pays for his recovery out of his own money.
While the surprise is still ripe in his mind, Jesus says to the lawyer, “So now you determine who would be the neighbor in the story I just told.” The lawyer, unable to come up with a snappy response, merely whispers, “The one who showed mercy.” Jesus in a final response, says “Go and do likewise.”
Now, most of us have always assumed that the point of the story is simple—that Jesus wants us all to be helpful neighbors to those we encounter along the way. There are a couple of problems with this—mostly the insertion of the identity of the merciful person as a Samaritan. Jesus never did something for nothing and it is unwise of us to assume that this is the case. If it mattered to Jesus that the one showing mercy was an arch enemy of the one that is injured, it had better matter to us. This is not a simple two bad people, one good one—now go be good story. It is much more complex than that. The point of the story must be understood in the context of a rejected, unwanted, despised person stepping up to provide aid to one of the very ones who had formerly rejected the Samaritan. Secondly, we have the problem that most of us are simply unable to risk everything and help our neighbors. It is simply not who we are—left to our own devices.
Many years ago, an experiment was conducted on seminary students—students who were studying to become ministers. It seems that the experiment was set up like this: researchers gathered the group into a room and told them that they were going to record a talk about the very parable we are studying today. But the recording was taking place on the other side of the campus and they needed to hurry to get there on time. Along the way, the researchers had planted a person in distress, slumped along side of the sidewalk, coughing and gasping for breath. You can probably guess the outcome of this experiment. Almost without exception, they rushed past the hurting individual, with one student actually stepping over the person when they got in the path. As easy as it is to judge the actions of the seminarians, we should not. Why? Well, because most of us would respond the same way. What Jesus wants us to see in this parable is that it is not enough to know right from wrong, we must chose the right action every time and that will require us to have a change of heart.
Other researchers have shown that those of us who are most likely to be compassionate and tend to our neighbors have, in fact, been tended to by someone in our lives—someone stranger or not, cared enough about doing the right thing to reach out and show us compassion when they didn’t have to and we never forget it. For some that is enough to inspire us to reach out to others. And yet, we have all been the one lying in the ditch when the Good Samaritan Jesus came along and offered us a hand. Jesus, sent from God takes us into His healing arms and offers us solace and peace. I invite you to remember when you may have been on the side of the road waiting for someone to stop their journey. Who did God use to bring you to safety? Is that enough to inspire you—when once you are healed from your bruises—to reach out and show compassion and mercy to those who would be your neighbor?
Finally, it is important to note that the Samaritan put no limits on the mercy he was extending to the Jewish traveler. After putting his trip on hold, he took the traveler to a hotel and pre-paid for his stay. The story leads us to believe that he significantly overpaid for his stay and then told the innkeeper to put it on his tab. Obviously, the innkeeper trusted the man enough to do just that. Not only did the Samaritan do the right thing, he did it without placing limits on his willingness to care for his neighbor. Is this not what God does for us in the welcoming, healing arms extended to us? No matter what we need, or how many times we need it, God is there, bandaging us up again—transporting us to a safer and better place. Just as the “Law” tells us we are to love God completely, God loved us first completely and without limits. May we find the courage to love others like God loves us. May we expand our definitions of neighbor to include all those who need our care and concern and may we truly be neighbors to all those who we pass on our journeys. May we allow God, in Jesus Christ to lift us out of our brokenness and take us to a place of comfort and healing. And may we allow that same God to use us to heal others. Amen and amen.
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