The
story of Good Samaritan in today’s Gospel cannot be neatly covered up by Jesus’
simple but true summary statement: Love your neighbor. You and I like to think
that the priest and the levite should have known better. Of course, they should
have come to the aid of the man in the ditch.
But put
these passersby in the context of their own life. If either of them had
stopped, they would have broken the law. Each of them was bound by temple
discipline not to incur ritual impurity. To touch the bloody body of the man in
the ditch would have mad them ritually impure and would have prevented them
from carrying out their own official religious functions.
On the
other hand, the Samaritan found himself in a bind. In making that split-second
decision to aid the battered Jewish traveler, the third man risked quite a bit.
Cultural norms – profoundly gripping though unwritten – required that
Samaritans had nothing to do with Jews. This Samaritan would, as a result of
his action, incur the wrath of his Samaritan relatives and friends or open
himself to ridicule, scorn or maybe even shunning.
These
are two separate cultures that created mindsets which hindered mercy. One man followed his intuition, his heart. The other two did not.
What do
we have to build into our life for us to be like the Good Samaritan and follow
our God-sent intuition? For one thing, we need to develop a deep-seated belief
that God accompanies us in the daily events of life where opportunities for
kindness arise? At the same time, we need to grow in consciousness of what’s
happening around us? Such awareness takes work.
Most of the time, the person who needs our help is not lying
in a ditch. Our co-worker, neighbor, a stranger
or casual acquaintance could need to talk about an illness, a job
difficulty, a relationship that has become complicated.
Finally,
in the Samaritan we find the readiness to act – to take a chance, even though
he might be misunderstood or his efforts not appreciated, The priest and the
levite were aware of the wounded man . That’s why they walked around him. It
was the readiness to act that was missing.
Each of
us finds ourself in the Good Samaritan story. We may help or we may be the
person in the ditch who finds ourselves the recipient of a great kindness given
by one who did not walk away but who could have.
Whoever
we are in this story, God is the companion of our experience.
It’s
clear that our times are fraught with people needing help. Will we have the
readiness to give or receive even though it may be costly or poorly
regarded?
Big-heartedness
isn’t easy, but it is God’s call to us.
~Sister Joan Sobala
