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Gospel: Luke 10: 25-37
There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said,
“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law?
How do you read it?”
He said in reply,
“You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your being,
with all your strength,
and with all your mind,
and your neighbor as yourself.”
He replied to him, “You have answered correctly;
do this and you will live.”
But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus,
“And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied,
“A man fell victim to robbers
as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.
A priest happened to be going down that road,
but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place,
and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him
was moved with compassion at the sight.
He approached the victim,
poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.
Then he lifted him up on his own animal,
took him to an inn, and cared for him.
The next day he took out two silver coins
and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction,
‘Take care of him.
If you spend more than what I have given you,
I shall repay you on my way back.’
Which of these three, in your opinion,
was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?”
He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.”
Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
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A few years ago, a twelve-year-old Palestinian boy, Ahmad Khatib, was shot by Israeli soldiers during street fighting near his house in a refugee camp in the West Bank.
The boy was found holding a toy gun. He was taken to an Israeli hospital, where he was pronounced dead two days later. His mother decided to donate his organs.
As a result, six Israeli lives were saved.
One of them was another twelve-year-old: an Israeli girl who had waited five years for a heart transplant.
When Ahmad’s mother found out who the recipient was, she said, “Part of our son will live. We gave life to someone else. We proved that we want peace.”
***
Israelis and Palestinians have a deep, complex history. And, in many cases, a clear sense of hatred for the other side. We see the fruit of that on the nightly news. A journalist is shot. Rockets are launched. Protests grip the streets. A child’s blood is spilled.
Imagine the love Ahmad’s mother demonstrated when she offered her son’s organs to Israelis.
That’s the essence of the Good Samaritan, which Jesus offers us in today’s Gospel. When your enemy becomes your neighbor, when you do good to those who hate you, then you’ve satisfied the Law.
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The parable of the Good Samaritan is guided by this question: “Who is my neighbor?”
***
Most Jews held a very exclusive idea of a “neighbor.” Your neighbors were only other Jews. We might say today, those who look, think, act, and believe like you do.
Anyone else was a Gentile, a “non-neighbor,” someone who could – and some Jews believed should – be ignored.
The problem is that the traveler in the parable is also a fellow Jew. He’s walking alone from Jerusalem down to Jericho. Along the way he’s robbed, beaten, and left for dead.
If he’s a fellow Jew, then why would the priest and Levite pass him by?
One possibility is that neither wanted to become ritually impure. If either came to the traveler’s aid – or buried his body – then under the Law neither could enter the Temple for seven days.
Caring for a dead man’s body would’ve been an… inconvenience.
This also could’ve been a trap. The road leading down from Jerusalem into Jericho was incredibly dangerous. It was a steep, curvy road, which was perfectly designed for an ambush. Robberies were so common that it became known as, “The Bloody Way.”
Both the priest the Levite could’ve reasoned that this man was just pretending to be dead; if either came to his aid, then they could’ve been robbed.
Then there’s a third possibility.
These men might’ve thought to themselves, “That traveler deserves it.”
Again, this road was notorious for crime. Whenever people carried valuables out of Jerusalem into Jericho, they walked in caravans to fend off thieves and robbers. This guy was traveling along “The Bloody Way” alone.
He was foolish.
***
Then the least likely person comes to his aid. Not a priest; not a Levite; not his Jewish “neighbor.”
A Samaritan.
This Samaritan not only saved the traveler’s life; he also paid the inn-keeper to nurse him back to health. And he did so anonymously; he had no need for praise or recognition. Nor would he ever meet this Jewish man again.
The Samaritan’s actions reveal who our neighbors are: anyone who needs our help, regardless of their race, politics, or creed.
***
That depth of love reminds me of Ahmad Khatib’s mother, who shared her son’s organs so that Israelis might live.
Did her sacrifice end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
Of course not.
But she became a “good Samaritan,” turning some hatred into love.
That’s the example the Lord invites all of us to follow.
So, who do I find difficult to love? Or, where do I need to expand my view of a “neighbor”?
***
By God’s grace, may we all work for peace, turning some darkness into light; some bitterness into love.
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Image credits: (1) Indian Defense Review (2) The Good Samaritan, Jan Wijnants (3) Newsweek