The Good Samaritan

 "Then a teacher of the law came and began putting JESUS to the test.  And he said, 'Master, what shall I do to receive eternal life?'  JESUS replied, 'What is written in the law?  How do you understand it?'  The man answered, 'It is written: You shall love the LORD your GOD with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind.  And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  JESUS replied, 'What a good answer!  Do this and you shall live.'  The man wanted to justify his question, so he asked, 'Who is my neighbor?'

JESUS then said, 'There was a man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell into the hands of robbers.  They stripped him, beat him and went off, leaving him half-dead.

It happened that a priest was going along that road and saw the man, but passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite saw the man, and passed by on the other side.  But a Samaritan also was going that way; and when he came upon the man, he was moved with compassion.  He went over to him, and cleaned his wounds with oil and wine, and wrapped them in bandages.  Then he put him on his own mount, and brought him to an inn, where he took care of him.

The next day, he had to set off; but he gave two silver coins to the innkeeper, and said, 'Take care of him, and whatever you spend on him, I will repay when I return.''

JESUS then asked, 'Which of these three, do you think, made himself neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?'  The teacher of the law answered, 'The one who had mercy on him.'  And JESUS said, 'Then go and do the same.'" - Luke 10:25-37 

(Who is my neighbor?  The teacher of the law expected to be given the precise limits of his obligation.  Whom was he supposed to look after?  Members of his family?  People of his own race?  Or perhaps everybody?

It is significant that JESUS concludes HIS story with a different question: Which of these three made himself neighbor?  It is as if HE said: do not try to figure out who is your neighbor, listen instead to the call within you, and become a neighbor, be close to your brother or sister in need.  As long as we see the command to love as an obligation, we are not loving as GOD wants.

Love does not consist simply in being moved by another person's distress.  Notice how the Samaritan stopped by in spite of it being a dangerous place, how he paid for the expenses and promised to take care of whatever else might be necessary.  Instead of just 'being charitable' he took unconditional and uncalculated risks for a stranger.

With this example, JESUS also makes us see that, many times, those who seem to be religious officials, or who believe they fulfill the law, are incapable of loving.  It was a Samaritan, considered a heretic by the Jews, who took care of the wounded man.

For the Jews, neighbors were the members of Israel, their own people, dignified by sharing the same religion; in fact, this familial relationship came from "flesh and blood."  For JESUS, true love leads one to give up any discrimination.)

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