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Parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk. 10:29-37)

But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 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.  31 A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.  32 Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.  33 But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight.  34 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.  35 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.’  36 Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?”  37 He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

The lawyer wanted Jesus to define who his neighbor was (v. 29).  The Christian community would have understood the question as who belongs to God’s chosen people and is therefore worthy of neighborly love and eternal life.  The Law stated, “Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your own people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Lv. 19:18).”  The Law further stated, “You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself; for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt (Lv. 19:34).”  Jesus did not give the lawyer a definition of neighbor but gave an example of a good neighbor by using a parable.  

The 18 miles of road from Jerusalem to Jerico was uninhabited in many sections and travelers were frequently robbed.  It was the scariest Judean road in Palestine at the time.  The man was naked and could not speak so he could not identify himself.  One of the reasons the law-observant priest and Levite did not help the man who was apparently dead could be because by touching him they would be defiled, rendered ritually impure.  In their eyes they were correct in observing the law.  The Samaritan, who was an outcast and scorned by the Jews, was not in his own territory and was the one who had the best reason to pass by without stopping.  Out of compassion he went to great lengths to help the unidentified victim.  The innkeeper trusted the Samaritan, a foreigner, to stop by at a later date to pay him any additional amounts owed.  When the lawyer answered Jesus question, "Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim (v. 36)?” he could not say the word Samaritan but recognized that a neighbor is one who shows mercy as God shows mercy (v. 37).

Almighty God, in your tender mercy you sent the light of the world to bring us out of darkness and the shadow of death into the light of life.  Grant us the grace to understand that your Word is the tree of life from whose blessed fruit we can freely eat to attain the promises you made to mankind from the dawn of creation.  This we pray through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.  Amen!

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References

Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.

Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Expanded Edition, Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.

Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.


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