When we hear the word “Samaritan,” we think first of someone who helps someone else when they need it.
That’s because most people have heard the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), so we associate the name with a good person, so much so, that the name “Samaritan” has been taken on by a number of organizations that do good works. That can cause us to miss part of the point of the Parable, however. In Jesus’ day, Samaritans were looked down upon by the Jews, even though they were also Israelites. In simple terms, the two groups had disputes over how to properly celebrate their religion. You can learn more about this and Samaritans here.
Important to keep in mind when reading the story is that Jews hated Samaritans. They tried to have as little to do with them as possible. They felt that Samaritans were committing acts against Judaism, which they found repulsive, and it was mutual. When we read the Parable today, we can miss this crucial fact.
Let’s see if we can make this story understood by Americans today. Let’s imagine the Samaritan as someone many of today's "Christians" like to persecute because they believe that these people commit acts against their beliefs....
A 21st Century religious leader wanted to test Jesus, who was in town for the day. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“What is written in the Law?” Jesus asked. “How do you read it?”
The leader answered, “‘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, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself..”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
But the leader wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “But who is my neighbor?”
In reply Jesus told this story:
“A man was traveling from his home to another city, when he stopped for gas. He wanted to get a cup of coffee, and he knew he could get that in the store. When he had finished pumping his gas, he parked his car in the parking lot. While he was on his way to the gas station store, he was attacked by a couple of thugs armed with knives and blackjacks. They beat him unconscious, then went through his pockets and stole his wallet and keys. They removed his watch. Then they left him there, bleeding, and drove off in his car.
"A TV evangelist happened to have stopped for gas at the same gas station and was in the restroom at the time of the attack. As he came out of the restroom and walked to his car, he saw the man lying there. He avoided him as he walked to his car, thinking it was probably "just" a homeless man asleep or drunk.
"Soon after, a CEO from a big company came out of the gas station store with a sandwich he had bought. As he walked toward where he had parked his car, he also saw saw the injured man, but he walked quickly past, because he was in a hurry, and he didn’t want to get involved.
"About that same time, another car stopped for gas. A transgender woman got out.
"She filled her tank with gas and moved her car to the parking lot, so she could go into the store to get a bottle of water, but when she saw the man lying on the ground, she knelt down beside him to check on him and realized that he was injured. She checked for a pulse, and finding that he was still alive, she took out her cell phone and called 911. She took off her coat and put it over him. She did what she could to stop the bleeding from a gash on his forearm, where he had been slashed as he tried to defend himself. She used her scarf to make a tourniquet around his arm, mindless that it would be ruined. When the ambulance arrived, she waited while the EMT technicians tended to the injured man and then loaded him into the ambulance. After watching the EMT technicians care for the man, the transgender woman got into her car and followed the ambulance to the hospital.
"At the hospital, the transgender woman learned that the man had no identification on him, so she offered to pay for his care in case he didn’t have insurance, because she was afraid he might not get the best care, and he was still unconscious."
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked and robbed?” Jesus asked after he was finished telling the story.
The religious leader replied, “The one who looked after him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Questions to think about:
1) What do you think the most important point of the story was?
2) Why, in the original story, was the person who helped specifically a Samaritan?
3) What would you do if you came across a person lying in a parking lot?
4) Who do you think might be your neighbor?
––Peggy Stuart
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