Who Do You Call a Samaritan?

In yesterday‘s gospel reading (Luke 29:37), we hear about the good Samaritan. At that time, Jews considered Samaritans to be the worst. Now, we consider a “good Samaritan” as being a very kind person. But are we really grasping all the lessons in this story?

Jesus uses the example of a Samaritan being a good neighbor to challenge their thinking. What if we were to apply that challenge to ourselves?. Don’t misunderstand, being a good neighbor is the lesson and is important, but there is another lesson to be learned. Jews of that time considered Samaritans to be the worst for a few reasons, especially because they worshiped differently on mountain tops and had different customs. Samaritans didn’t follow the laws like the Jews did. They had strayed long ago and lived differently. Jews didn’t just consider them different but unlawful and unfaithful to the Lord.

Who do we consider to be the “worst“ of our society? Is it those who disagree with our values? Is it those who disagree with our politics? Is it those who are so different from us that we don’t even recognize them as good citizens?

There are some who think that a person who is extremely left-wing or liberal is not a good person. Some may consider a person who doesn’t go to Church weekly or at all as “less faithful” or not as “good” a person. We must first recognize that we are not God and, therefore, not the judge of another person (Luke 6:37). We do not see as God sees (1 Samuel 16:7) and this is what Jesus was pointing out.

Jesus also didn’t tell about the man converting to the Samaritan’s ways, so don’t think this is a plea to agree or condone behaviors that go against our Lord’s commandments. This is not about conformity or tolerance of practices outside our own; this is about love.

I have known Christians, even Catholics, who wouldn’t give the time of the day to someone who they thought was sinful. Also, I have known some incredibly kind and compassionate (yet extremely left-wing) folks who would give you the shirt off their back, all their food, and gas money to boot.

So who is a Samaritan to us today?

Maybe if we think about who we consider as our Samaritan, we can start to examine how we look at others. It seems that in the story of the Good Samaritan, the Samaritan was closer to the Kingdom of God than the Levite or the priest. So, perhaps those we might easily condemn in our hearts might have more in their hearts than we give them credit for.

Isn’t our job to preach the gospel to all nations (read as all kinds of people) (Mark 16:15). If I want to share the gospel, the good news, the love of Jesus, then we need to be speaking to everyone and not just those we think will listen. Speaking to people in different ways will help us to close the gap between the way we think and live and the way others think and live. We must speak with love and not harsh judgment but kindness, the same kindness the Good Samaritan showed.

The answer may be different for each of us. Who in your life, in your mind, is a “Samaritan?” Maybe if we can identify our own “Samaritans,” we can find a way to see them as Jesus sees them and love them as Jesus loves them. In telling the story of the Good Samaritan, the lesson was to realize that despite the differences we cannot judge whether or not a person is “good“ just based on their lifestyle or ways of thinking or believing. No, the Jewish people and early Christians still needed to follow Jesus in the way that he had instructed but knowing that the Samaritan could still be good on the inside opened the gate to realize that the gospel is not just for those who follow the law (the Jews at the time) but for all people.

If we truly love God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind, then we will desire to follow His commandments. We will, by default, be “good Samaritans” ourselves.