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| The Good Samaritan |
“The Good
Samaritan”
The parable of the Good Samaritan at its root is about love, mercy and eternal life. It is probably one of the most well known, if not THE most familiar parable in the New Testament.
A lawyer asks Jesus, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus answers with a question, what do the scriptures say? The lawyer quotes Deuteronomy, “Love God with all your heart, all your mind and all your soul...and love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus tells him he has given the right answer, and ‘do this and you will live’. But the lawyer continues to question, “And who is my neighbor?”, and Jesus tells the famous parable of the Good Samaritan.
Mercy. The Greek word for mercy is eleos. Interestingly, it is related to the Greek word for olive (eliá) and olive oil, (elaiólado). Olive oil has been used for hundreds of years for healing and anointing. Notice too, when the Samaritan finds the man left for dead, he pours olive oil onto his wounds and then wine, and then bandages him up. Wine was good for disinfecting wounds. Oil to soothe.
Think of the countless kind people who have helped you along the way of life. Our family, our friends, relatives, neighbors, doctors, teachers, professors, and sometimes, absolute strangers, and many of the invisible people who have helped us in life that we do not even know of!
The story is ingeniously told, and there is much symbolism in the parable. The dangerous road from Jerusalem to Jericho, twists and turns and descends over 3000 ft in altitude, can be a symbol of our lives and our spiritual journeys, with all its twists an turns, ups and downs, and dangers along the way.
Let’s look at the characters in the story. Who do you most relate to?
The Samaritan? The outsider, perhaps a bit misunderstood, not liked by Judean Jews…but the quiet, kind and invisible helper to the man in need?
Why did the Jews not like the Samaritans?
Well, they practiced a different version of Judaism. Samaria is a region just north of Jerusalem, the hill country. You see, back in the 700'ds BC, Assyria invaded Samaria and deported them. Other people were brought into the region. So Samaritans were ethnically and religiously a little different from Jerusalem, or Judean Jews, which led to antagonism as time went by.
Ironic, because in the present day the geographical region of Samaria is now known as the West Bank, Palestine.
I guess the more things change the more they stay the same. Judean Jews and Samaritans…. Neighbors that well, did not get along so well.
Or perhaps you most relate with the man who was robbed and beat up? The victim in the story, but also the lucky recipient of a stranger’s kindness and mercy…waking up and wondering how you got here and who helped you?
And what about the priest or the Levite? The ones who walked by but did not help? So stuck on religious law, rules and regulations, (“Canon Law” in the Episcopal Church!). Religious law stated if the priest or Levite had touched the injured man, they would have become ritually defiled. Then they would not be able to lead worship, as they had to be in a religiously pure state. So they walked on by…
But eternal life does not come from laws and regulations, but by living in love, for God is love … Lord have mercy!
Or perhaps you relate to the innkeeper. The person who observed an incredible act of kindness…but not only that, the innkeeper witnessed someone bring in and care for an injured man and even paid out of his pocket for his lodging and care!
Mercy. Kindness. Love.
And what about the robbers? Well, I thought about not talking about the robbers. The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was a very dangerous road. What drives people to criminal activity? Probably the same things that lead people to a life of crime today… Desperation… anger…evil. In those days, many wealthy landowners would buy up or take over many small pieces of land owned by the peasants, and then they found themselves landless, with nowhere to turn…
Well everyone, I have been here at St Peter’s now for nearly 2 months, and I already love you! But, I have hit a threshold, I feel like I am preaching to the choir here! For, what I see, is that many of you are practicing much kindness and mercy! You visit each other, you check up on each other, you take each other to the doctor or hospital when needed...
So I know I am not saying anything new here, you are already practicing much kindness! I really feel the need to get to know you all better. And so look forward to doing so!
In closing, I wanted to share a story with you that reminds me a lot of the parable of the Good Samaritan. It is from another religion, so bear with me here!
As you know, I teach World Religions classes at Mesa Community College. One day awhile back I was preparing for my class, and that day we were on the Buddhism unit. So I thought I would read a Buddhist story to tell in class, rather than just lecture about what the textbook covered.
So, I picked my book to read and came upon the story of the Buddhist monk who wanted to achieve enlightenment.
By the way, sitting on the floor next to me was my little dog. He was convalescing from a big surgery, back surgery. I began reading the book and my story…
A Buddhist monk decided he wanted to achieve enlightenment and see the Buddha, so he began to meditate. He figured if he meditated and meditated, he would eventually reach enlightenment and see the Buddha.
But to no avail. So he decided to go to monastery up on top of hill, and stay there and meditate until he reached enlightenment. And he meditated and meditated. Twelve years went by, but to no avail! Naturally, the monk was getting disillusioned. So he decided to leave the monastery.
The monk was walking down a windy road, and on the way he spotted a small dog lying on the side of the road. It had been injured and left for dead. Moved with compassion, the monk went over to the dog and began to clean his wounds. As he cleaned the last of the little dog’s wounds suddenly the dog began to stir…and then, POOF! The dog turned into the Buddha!
The Buddha said to the monk, “For twelve years I have been waiting for you to get over yourself and actually do an act of compassion!”
At that point, I looked down from my book, at my little dog sitting at my feet, wiggling with happiness and looking up at me! I looked back at the book about the dog and the Buddha. I had just spent lots of money on my little dog’s back surgery.
I then looked back to my dog, paused, and said to him, “I know who you are!”
So many have been merciful and compassionate to us and us to them; friends, family, absolute strangers, and others unknown and invisible to us, our neighbors… and our animal friends!
Mercy, kindness, compassion and love. We never know who will be our "Good Samaritan".
We learn from everyone, you know!
Thanks be to God!
Amen.
I really like reading your homilies. They give me something to ponder during these days when lack of transportation keeps me from attending mass. Thanks Laura.
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