That guy is my neighbor? That is often the reaction that people have, at least viscerally, to the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus is telling me to love that guy? That can’t be what he meant. There has to be an out clause somewhere in that commandment: someway that I can exclude those people or that individual. There is no out clause. We are commanded to love all. How’s that going for you? If you are like me, rough at times. As we read the words of this familiar parable again, let us ask God to show us those times where we have not treated our fellow man as our neighbor.
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read?” And he 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.” And he said to him, “You have answered right; do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “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. And 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.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed mercy on him.” And Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” Luke 10 : 25-37
Scriptural Analysis
In the section prior to today’s Gospel Jesus just finished telling the disciples how the word of God was hidden from the learned. In the scene immediately following, we are presented with such an individual.: a scholar of the law. Such individuals are always portrayed negatively in Luke’s Gospel. The scholar wants to test Jesus asking him a question that was typical of the late Old Testament period: what must I do to inherit eternal life. The Greek word used here for “test” literally means “put to the test.” This is the same question asked by the rich man later in the Gospel.
Jesus turns the question around and asks the scholar of the law to answer his own question from the law itself: answer from scripture. The Scholar of the Law answers the question correctly first quoting from Deuteronomy.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Deuteronomy 6:4-5
This verse forms parts of the Shema prayer recited twice daily by Jews. In other words, it is at the very heart of the faith and something the scholar would be very familiar with. Of note is in Luke’s passage there are four elements which to love God with adding mind to the list. Some manuscripts of the Septuagint have mind included so it is not surprising to see it here. The point is, the love of God should encompass all of one’s being.
Added to the love of God is love of neighbor:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Leviticus 19:18
These two passages, independent in scripture, were likely linked in understanding by the time of Jesus as witnessed in nonbiblical Jewish literature of the time. That is to say, to love God means that we also love our neighbor. Jesus lets the scholar know he has answered correctly but note the original question, what must I do. Jesus tells the scholar to do this and he shall live. This shows that knowledge is not the same as action. It is not enough to know: action is required.
In an attempt to justify himself, why he asked the original question, the scholar asks Jesus to clarify who neighbor is. From the text in Leviticus it is possible to interpret neighbor as narrowly as family or as broadly as the foreign traveler or the resident alien. Jesus then presents a parable to offer the correct and definitive interpretation of scripture: of who neighbor is.
The setting of the parable is the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, a steeply descending road dropping some 3300 feet. There is a traveler on the road by himself. This road was notoriously dangerous and people rarely traveled this road alone: especially if they had valuables. In other words, it was this traveler’s fault that he found himself robbed, beaten, and left for dead on the side of the road. Both a priest and Levite passed by without rendering aid. While it is not certain their motivation may have been concern for maintaining ritual purity: a motive Jesus will clearly dismiss at the conclusion of this parable.
Finally a Samaritan passing by stops to help him. Samaritans descended from the Northern tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh but there was some doubt about their lineage given that their ancestors intermarried with the Gentile people imported by the Assyrians. In addition to the ethnic differences, there were also religious differences with the Jews with regards to the proper place to worship. There was open hostility between Jews and Samaritans which means the Samaritan was as far from being the “neighbor” of the Jew as possible. Additionally, making a Samaritan the hero would have immediately drawn a comparison to an event recounted in the Old Testament where a group of Samaritans helped a group of captives of Judah:
And the men who have been mentioned by name rose and took the captives, and with the spoil they clothed all that were naked among them; they clothed them, gave them sandals, provided them with food and drink, and anointed them; and carrying all the feeble among them on asses, they brought them to their kinsfolk at Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria. 2 Chronicles 28:15
The scripture recounts that the Samaritan was moved with compassion. The Greek word here is splanchnizomai which is the same word used to describe Jesus at the sight of the widow in Nain. We actually see a three fold comparison here. Both the Samaritan and Jesus see, are moved, and approach. Thus Jesus is showing that only the Samaritan acted in the way that he would have acted. The Samaritan then cares for the traveler.
Jesus invites the scholar to draw his own conclusion on who was the neighbor. The scholar’s answer was the one who showed mercy. The Greek here, poieō, could be translated the one who did mercy. Jesus then tell him to go and do, poieō, likewise.
Daily Application
The parable of the Good Samaritan is one that we have heard over and over. It is a favorite of many people, even people who are not Catholic or Christian, because it is an easy message to get behind: we have to help everyone. Yet this is perhaps one of the hardest Gospel truths to actually live out. Jesus is getting very specific here. He is telling us that everyone is our neighbor. Those people over there that I really don’t like, they are my neighbor? Yes they are? That coworker who drives me crazy, they are my neighbor? Yes they are? My sister who I have not spoken to in a decade, she is my neighbor? Yes she is.
What’s more is Jesus is inviting us into a deeper understanding of what it means to assist our neighbor. We have a tendency, especially in America, to blame people for their problems. While it may be true that they traveler acted foolishly, it does not matter. We still have an obligation to help. Likewise, if the homeless person who ended up on the street because of an addiction or through bad financial decisions, at the end of the day, that is history and has no bearing on our obligation. We have a duty to help, to love those people.
Our help also has to be specific and practical. Praying for people in need is always good, but if you walk by a man with no coat in the middle of winter and all you say is I will pray for you when you have the means to clothe him, that is not enough. You must clothe him. In other words, we need to get our hands dirty. We need to be like the Good Samaritan. Based on the account in the Gospel, this was an individual with at least some means. He may have potentially been able to pay to have someone go and tend to this injured traveler. However, he did not. He tended to the traveler himself. He showed him love.
Christ himself is our model for the kind of love we are to show our neighbor. He loved us so deeply that he poured himself out completely on the cross for us. That is the kind of love we are called to. It is hard to love like that: especially when dealing with someone you don’t like. Perhaps a good place to start is with your family and friends. Do you poor yourself out completely for them? If you don’t, invite the Lord in to show you were you are falling short and to teach you how to follow his example. As we being to love those closest to us in the way Christ loves us, it will become easier to love those who drive us crazy with that same kind of love.
Your neighbor is everyone. Everyone that God places in your life you are called to love. There are no exception, no caveats, no out clauses. Let the example of the Good Samaritan be your inspiration then then go, and do likewise.
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