Luke 10:25-37
25Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” 27He 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 neighbor as yourself.” 28And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.” 29But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ 36Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
This too-well-known parable has been on my mind today. I say “too well known” because I think that our familiarity with it may stand in the way of our hearing it. We refer to this as the Parable of the Good Samaritan. I’d like to suggest otherwise. I suggest that the “good” characters in this story are the priest and Levite, and the lawyer, too, for that matter. These were men of high moral character who sought to live an upright life according to the principles they had known all their lives. In our society we would probably refer to them as good, law-abiding citizens. The Samaritan on the other hand was a sinner, one who lived outside the law, not as a criminal but as one who, by virtue of his birth, was seen as different, not a member of respectable society, not being in right relationship with God.
We have been taught that the Samaritan in this story was “good”, and our minds have leapt to the conclusion that the lawyer, priest and Levite were “bad.” I do not see even a single word here to suggest that Jesus saw them as bad in any way. It seems to me Jesus is simply saying there is more to it, there is another way. Notice that Jesus does not condemn the priest, Levite or the lawyer. He is inviting the lawyer to another way of seeing, a way of seeing beyond conventional morality. He was teaching about the realm of God…right here, right now…in this world, among us and within us, and there is more to that than living by the rules.
After telling the story Jesus asks the lawyer which of the three was a neighbor to the wounded man. A neighbor is one who lives close, and it is obvious to me that Jesus is saying that in God’s eyes, in the realm of God, we all live close to one another and to God. He is calling us to live out that truth in how we think, how we live and how we relate to others and to God.
The lawyer answers Jesus’ question, “The one who showed him mercy.” I am not a Greek scholar, but I understand the word translated here as “mercy” could also be rendered “kindness.” Kind-ness. The Samaritan understands that he and the wounded one are of the same “kind” and the story invites us to the realization that we are all of the same “kind”…created by God, in the image of God, loved by God, indwelt by God. The Samaritan sees himself in the wounded one, and he sees God in him also. The Samaritan loved his neighbor as himself, not in the same manner as he loved himself, but as one with himself. His oil became the wounded one’s oil, his wine the wounded one’s wine, his money the wounded one’s money and his animal the wounded one’s transportation to safety. His time became the wounded one’s time. They were both living in the realm of God.
This, I believe, is the real meaning of Jesus’ teaching. There is no us and them, no chosen and not chosen, no wounded and unwounded, no others. We are all neighbors in the realm of God, all of the same kind. And that can be troubling. It is so much easier to play by the rules, pick and choose. “You’re in; you’re out.” “I’m right; you’re wrong.” The list goes on and on.
You disturb me, God, I cannot see beyond categories. I cannot see my neighbor as myself. On my own I just want to live comfortably, respectably by the rules. But you tell me there is a better way. All I can do is ask you to open my eyes, my ears, my heart so I can know that in you we all are one, we are all of the same kind, we all are neighbors. Help me understand that my neighbors’ wounds are my wounds, my neighbors’ needs are my needs and that my neighbors’ joys are my joys. And give me the grace I must have to “Go and do likewise.” I cannot do it on my own. Amen.
Elm City, NC
August 12, 2013
