The Good Samaritan.
A standard for modern Christians

The Parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the best-known parables of Jesus. The story began with a lawyer coming to Jesus to ask, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25). Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” The Lawyer answered, “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 neighbour as yourself” (Luke 10:26-27). The lawyer asked again, “But who is my neighbour?” (Luke 10:29). He was expecting to engage in a rigorous intellectual discourse with Jesus. On the contrary, Jesus chose to give him an illustration that was simple and yet profound. He told this didactic story of the Good Samaritan. He began,
“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine, then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, “Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back” (Luke 10:30-35).
Would it not have been more convenient for the Good Samaritan to mind his business without paying attention to the beaten man? There is risk involved in giving assistance and extending a helping hand to people who are in desperate need. There are times when people are stabbed or injured in the process of separating a fight. We avoid charity because it cost us time, money and even energy. The Good Samaritan must have been in a hurry to catch up with some appointment somewhere, but when he saw a man at the point of death, he forgot about his appointment and stooped to help him. For this Samaritan, life was more precious than anything his appointment and plans for the day. We can imagine the energy he expended to carry the injured man to the inn. We know what it means to carry someone who is injured and helpless. There were no cars and ambulances and he had to carry the injured man on his beast. Thirdly, he gratuitously gave out money to the person responsible for the inn and generously said, if there were any extra spent on the injured he would take settle the bill. What a generous heart!
Just like this Samaritan, we also come across people who are in desperate need. We witness accident scenes where all rush to see, but are often too afraid to touch the victims or unwilling to help. It was not surprising that the Levite and Priest were too afraid, too busy or unwilling to help the victim. It is most likely that they had a myopic view of religion as an observation of a set of laws that forbid one thing or the other. Mercy, love and compassion were secondary in the kind of religion they knew and practiced. The strictly followed the laws handed over by Moses who emphasized the primacy of the law in the practice of religion. In his farewell speech to the people, Moses had instructed them to be faithful to God’s commandments (Deuteronomy 30:10-14). Thus, for the Jewish people religion is essentially about keeping the 10 commandments and many other laws. Nevertheless, the parable of the Good Samaritan gives us a fresh perspective about religion, which says, religion is essentially about compassion. Love of God cannot exclude love of neigbour and love of God is not a love in spite of love of neigbour.
We know something about the helper – he is said to be a Samaritan, but we hardly know anything about the beaten man, other than the fact that he was a human being. The Jews who were listening to Jesus must have been surprised that Jesus chose to make a Samaritan the hero of the story and not a Jew. There was some kind of historical hatred and age-old rivalry between the Jews and the Samaritans. In fact, the Jews considered the Samaritans to be inferior religiously and culturally. In the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus made the Jews understand that the wrong one can treat you right in difficult times and goodness is not limited to Jews. In addition, the parable teaches there are situations where we receive some crucial assistance from strangers that are unknown to us. We neither know the real name of the helper nor that of the person who was helped. Sometimes, it is necessary to conceal the name of the helper and the helped, so as to avoid unnecessary publicity. Publicity may boost the ego of the helper or embarrass the person who is helped. There are times when we need some privacy and do not want our needs and problems to be publicized, so that we are not subject to public ridicule. However, sometimes, public charity may be necessary to encourage other people to do likewise. We have many international organisations and business people that are renowned in doing good works for people around the world, they include Catholic Charities, Caritas, Justice Development and Peace, St. Vincent de Paul, Salvation Army, Samaritan’s Purse and Compassion, etc. The impact they make in the lives of people is enormous. Publicity of charity should always be in moderation.
We must take care not to politicize charitable works or use it as a means to make some economic gains. Most charitable organisations refer to themselves as non-profit organizations to distance their objectives from economic gains. Today, many prominent people want to be described as Philanthropists. However, it is good to be a philanthropist without exaggerating what we do for others. A popular proverb says, “Don’t thank me: you will repay me.” This proverb reminds us that charity must not have a secret agenda.
In conclusion, an encyclopedia of illustrations identifies three philosophies of life that we can find in the parable of the Good Samaritan. These philosophies are represented by the three attitudes of the major characters in the story (dramatis personae).
1. The robber's philosophy was "What you have is mine, and I will take it."
2. The priest and Levite had the philosophy that "What is mine is mine, and I will keep it."
3. The Samaritan's philosophy was "What is mine is yours, and I will share it."
In the Parable of the Good Samaritan Jesus answers the salient question of the Lawyer who asked: “Who is my neighbor?” According to Jesus, “My neighbour” is anyone who is in need. The life of Jesus reflects the life of the Good Samaritan, because Jesus is always good to all people who are in need. The life of Jesus reflects the image of God who is merciful and compassionate. This explains why St. Paul calls him the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). At the end of the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus challenges us to imitate the generosity, selflessness, and ‘large-heartedness’ of the Good Samaritan.
Mother Teresa says, “Today God loves the world through us. Especially in times like these when people are trying to make God “was,” it is you and I, by our love, by the purity of our lives, by our compassion, who prove to the world that God “is.”
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15th Sunday of the Year C; Deuteronomy 30:10-14; Colossians 1:15-20; Luke 10:25-37

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