Luke 10:25-37 (ESV)
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
Explanation:
There once was an OSU fan that was beaten by robbers and while two OSU fans stood by and watched, a Michigan fan came and helped at the cost of his reputation and comfort…
There was once a Democrat beaten by robbers and left on the side of the road. After being passed by two other Democrats, a Republican came along and at the cost of his constituency, sacrificially cared for the down and out Democrat…
There once was a pro-life supporter that was beaten by robbers and left by the side of the road. After being passed by their fellow pro-lifers, a Planned Parenthood staffer stopped and sacrificially took care of the pro-lifer, saving their life…
I get the scandalous nature of this last example and I chose it purposefully because it has the potential to be the most polarizing, the one where the Christian community may feel most justified in their disdain for another group of people. I chose it because it gets us the closest to the scandal that we so quaintly call the “Parable of the Good Samaritan.”
This story that has become almost like a children’s tale to us is a story of the barriers God is calling us to break down to see and show His love. It is a call to throw off the simple stereotypes we use to label people and keep them at a distance. It addresses the issues of why the “good guys” don’t always act like the “good guys,” and the “bad guys” maybe act more like Jesus than the “good guys.” Telling the people of God that they are missing God’s intentions, while celebrating how a “heathen heretic of a Samaritan” (the 1st Century Jewish thought) demonstrated it, was scandalous.
Jesus told this story to shake things up and to open eyes, first to the type of sacrificial, scandalous, and reckless love God puts on display for each of us, and second to break down the walls of who we show it to. No matter how much we try, we categorize the people we do or do not care for.
So the question is, who are the people that you disqualify? Maybe those who we see as evil? Are we willing to see them as human beings, willing to see the hints of godliness they portray? Are we willing to look at the evil inside of us and where we fail to demonstrate Jesus’ love? And are we willing to change?
Application:
How does the story of the Good Samaritan challenge our perceptions of how we view those outside our group?
How does God’s extravagant and scandalous love for us challenge how we love others?
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, please help me to love those who aren’t like me, those that frustrate me, even those who offend me. This is the type of love You demonstrated for me when I was offensive to You. Amen.