The Good Samaritan

a reflection on Luke 10:25-37

by Serena Lee

This passage that describes the conversation between the expert (lawyer) and Jesus includes the most famous commands of the Bible: to love the Lord your God, and to love your neighbor as yourself. Moreover, it includes the famous parable of The Good Samaritan that Jesus tells in order to convey to the expert what “neighbor” means. We may have heard this story and been reminded of these commands time and time again. But I hope that by sharing a bit of my own processing of this story with you, it will bring a fresh perspective and a gentle conviction that we will never be able to “graduate” from learning God’s love. That is, God’s love is not something to be achieved nor earned, but rather an ever-growing relationship between the Lover and the beloved.

The expert of the law and Jesus seem to have a cordial conversation, and in fact seem to be in agreement with one another. They both agree that (paraphrasing) “loving the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength” and “love your neighbor as yourself” are two important commands written in the law. Jesus’ response “do this, and you will live” brings up the expert’s wonderful question of how he should carry out these commands. 

This part of the story, Jesus inserts yet another story (a pericope) in order to present to the expert who “neighbor” is. At this point, we have all read and heard the sermons attempting to help us connect with each character of the story: the Levite, the priest, the Samaritan, and even the observer of the story. What we may have not paid much attention to is how a sermon prompts listeners to take on the perspective of each character significantly changes what we take away from this short story. 

For example, a sermon that focuses on the perspective of the Levite or priest perhaps prompts challenges listeners to think about their own judgments and prejudice against people they consider as “the other,” just like the wounded, unnamed man. If preached from the perspective of the Good Samaritan, the sermon may encourage listeners to think about those they consider “the other” and serve them the way the Good Samaritan has. Even as an observer in the story, it is clear that the Samaritan is considered “the other” when compared to the Levite and priest, and therefore should be welcomed into the kingdom of God for showing mercy to the wounded man. 

The only character that we have not yet taken perspective of is the wounded, unnamed man’s. Though his role in the story is quite passive, I understand that he represents pain, suffering, and hurt in this world. I’m positive most of us have not experienced being beaten half to death, but perhaps for our purposes, let’s take up his perspective of pain, hopelessness, and desperate need for a neighbor. 

This unnamed man has no background or context, only that his life depends on the mercy of someone who will give it. Because we cannot assume the identity of this name, we don’t know what his reaction would be if a Levite or priest were to have helped him. However, I wonder if it would have mattered to this unnamed man if the Levite or priest did help him. Would he have been more thankful? Would he have tried to repay them? I don’t think so…I think he would have reacted the same because he simply needed a neighbor. That is, he needed someone to show him mercy. 

Of course, there is significance that the Samaritan plays the role of the neighbor, especially given that Luke writes for a Gentile audience. Thus, I think Jesus uses the Samaritan as the example not to create the dichotomy of “other” and “included”, but to actually eliminate otherness. After all, the kingdom of God will not have “others.” This is a taste of heaven. We may need to categorize “others” for now, but we do so as a means to an end, a tool in order to eventually create relationships of equality and reciprocity, just as Jesus did in the story by making the Samaritan an example as the Neighbor.

Neighbor is not the one who is included or excluded. Neighbor is not “us vs. them.” Neighbor is not our group and “others”. Neighbor is not beneficiary and benefactor. Neighbor is not patronizing. 

Neighbors are patient. Neighbors are kind. They do not envy, they do not boast, they are not proud. They do not dishonor others, they are not self-seeking, they are not easily angered, they keep no record of wrongs. Neighbors do not delight in evil, but rejoice with the truth. Neighbors protect, trust, hope, and persevere.

There is no cultural, socio-economic, racial/ethnic, or gender construct or barrier that restricts one from becoming or having a neighbor. For being a neighbor only requires mercy and love—transformed through the love of God—which means anyone can be a neighbor, and anyone can have a neighbor. We know who our “others” are. We have all been the “other.” But I think otherness begins to cease when we can recognize that there is a neighbor-ness (and need for neighbor) in each of us, which allows us to sense a common humanity among the people that God has called us to love.

artwork:The Good Samaritan, Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)