Listen to the audio of today’s Reflection:
https://soundcloud.com/hapearce/reflection-for-june-5-2025
Luke 10:25-37
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘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, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
If you’ve participated in these Reflections for very long, or if you have worshipped with me very long, you probably remember hearing me say that the further I go in the life of faith, the more interested I get in the parables of Jesus. I can’t imagine any better way of communicating the principles of the faith that Jesus had come to establish. And from a practical standpoint, the parables have the benefit of being easy for us to remember and pass along. It’s difficult and intimidating to explain theological doctrines, and most of us get them wrong as often as we get them right. But relating the parables is another matter. Most of us can remember the parables well enough to pass them along to another person in a way that allows them to get a sense of the point that Jesus was making.
It’s probably helpful to be able to point out the central idea a parable is making. But even if you can’t, just telling the story and inviting somebody to think about it probably helps to introduce the faith in a meaningful way. I’m pretty sure that’s what Jesus had in mind in using the parables as the cornerstone of his teaching — that his listeners would think about his parables and reflect on what they say to us.
Our reading for today seems like a perfect example of how this can work. A Hebrew theologian asks Jesus would it takes to “Inherit eternal life.” Jesus responds by asking what passages in scripture are central to our relationship with God. The man correctly names the very commandments that Jesus himself identified as the most important – love God and love your neighbor. But there’s a piece of information the man perceives as missing: “Who is my neighbor?”
Jesus could have answered the question by a systematic description of the nature of ‘neighborhood.’ But instead, he tells this parable, which leads the man unerringly to the correct answer.
And maybe more importantly, the parable points the man toward a number of different aspects of the idea of love, as we’re commanded to love our neighbor.
Of course, we need to remind ourselves that the love Jesus is talking about here is the love indicated by the Greek word agape, which isn’t romantic love or affection. It’s a commitment to the welfare of another person. That’s the kind of love the Samaritan in the story demonstrates to the victim of the robbery.
The first thing we might notice about the kind of love Jesus is commanding us to show is that it’s active love — it requires us to do something. The Samaritan treats the man’s wounds, lifts him up, and puts him on his donkey. He goes beyond “thoughts and prayers” and takes action to help the man.
Next, this kind of love can be expected to include sacrifice. The Samaritan used his own oil and wine as medicine in caring for the man’s wounds. He paid the innkeeper out of his own pocket for the wounded man’s care. And of course, he sacrificed some of his own time and effort to provide help. There’s a cost to the kind of love the Samaritan man demonstrated.
The love the Samaritan showed the man also carried a certain amount of risk. The scholars and historians tell us that the story takes place on a dangerous road known to be frequented by bandits. It could have been a trap with a gang of criminals hiding nearby. Or the injured man could have turned out to be a freeloader, and stayed at the inn at the Samaritan’s expense long after he was well enough to move on. Or the innkeeper could have taken advantage of the Samaritan’s generosity. But the Samaritan took those risks.
So the kind of love Jesus described in this parable – the kind he’s telling us to show – has elements of action, cost and risk.
But there’s more: Some people might say that it was the man’s own fault that he was attacked – what was he doing traveling alone on such a dangerous road? But agape love requires us to respond to the needs of others even if we think they foolishly brought their troubles on themselves. That one sticks a little going down – we don’t like being asked to help someone who’s to blame for their own problems. But of course, Jesus died for our sins even though we are responsible for the burden of sin we bear.
And there’s no ignoring the ethnic aspect of this parable. It seems to me we’re meant to understand that the victim of the robbery in the parable was a Jew, and the Jews regarded the Samaritans as racially and spiritually inferior to themselves. So it seems to me that this parable sort of nudges us toward a really radical conclusion – that our neighbors, the ones we’re commanded to love and whose welfare we’re meant to take responsibility for, might just include people who despise us.
It’s not hard to show love and charity to those who like and respect us. But what about someone who says, “Get away from me! I don’t need any help from your kind!”? That’s exactly the kind of thing a good Jew might have said if he found himself being ministered to by a Samaritan.
It seems hard to escape the uncomfortable conclusion that in answer to the question, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus showed that he wants his followers to show his radical love – risky, costly, active love – even to those who might not welcome or appreciate it.
So maybe you can see why I say there really is a lot to think about in this parable.
Let’s pray. Lord, help us to love as you have commanded us to – to love our neighbors and our enemies as well as our family and friends, and to love even when our love carries risks and costs. And help us to love even those who hate and reject us. In other words, help us to love as Jesus loved. Amen.
Grace and Peace,
Henry
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