Good Samaritan

Which of these three, in your opinion,

was neighbor to the robbers' victim?"

He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy."

Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:36-37)

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Br. Leo Clifford often used the parable of the Good Samaritan to illustrate the nature of justice and charity. He said that there are three different attitudes towards “justice” manifested in the parable. 

The first is the attitude of the robbers who clearly acted un-justly: “Whatever is yours is mine, and therefore, I can take it from you without concern for your rights or physical well-being”. It is safe to say that most people would consider this behavior to be wrong, and yet how often we see it play out in our own lives, even when we’re not actually taking the property of others. 

 
Any time we take something that rightfully belongs to somebody else, including their dignity, reputation, freedom to make choices (as often happens with those who care for older people), their self-respect, or anything that is an intrinsic part of who they are, we are committing an injustice against them that is no less serious than taking away their possessions, and, in some cases, can be even worse. We do well to keep this in mind because, whenever we hear the parable of the Good Samaritan, we tend identify with the priest, or the Levite, or the Samaritan himself, but not the robbers. And yet, all of us, if we’re not careful, can be guilty of acting as they did. 

 
And then, there’s the old understanding of “justice” symbolized by the priest and the Levite in the story, namely, “what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is yours, and I have no claims on you, and you have no claims on me.” 

 
Notice that the priest and the Levite not only failed to help the man in need, they also went to the opposite side of the road to symbolize their total detachment from the situation and the fact that they felt no obligation to help the poor man. 

Finally, the Samaritan in the story gives us a beautiful example of Christian justice, justice which goes beyond what is strictly required, and spills over into charity… charity that moved the Samaritan to do more than even the man had a right to expect and look after his long-term care.

 
The Samaritan didn’t just have pity on the man, he had compassion for him, meaning that he felt the man’s pain... that’s what the word “com-passion” means, to suffer with. 

 
The parable reminds us that true humanity, true concern for our fellow man, true openness to everything that is good, is not reserved for a chosen few but is intended for and is accessible to all people of good will. 

Beyond this wonderful perspective from Br. Leo, the parable also works on a deeper level because Jesus Himself is the Good Samaritan who showed us, through His own example, that we are our brother’s keeper, that we have an obligation to look after others, not just because they are our neighbors or countrymen, or because they can do something for us in return, but simply out of love. 

 
This is what Our Lord’s passion, death, and resurrection were all about. Jesus “crossed the road” that separates Heaven from earth and reached out to us to save us from our misery. And just as the Samaritan took the man to the inn and gave the innkeeper everything he needed to take care of him, so he has brought us into the Church. The Church is our inn, the place where we are cared for physically and spiritually, the place where we are healed from our sins, and the place where our hope is renewed knowing that the Good Samaritan will return at the end of time to make sure we are properly taken care of. 

 
It’s a beautiful story that invites us to reflect on how well we are making that transition between the limited understanding of justice we find in this world, and the idea that everything we have has been given to us by God so that we may share it generously with others, as the Samaritan did. 

 
Our possessions represent both an opportunity and an obligation to freely give what we have freely received. May we do so generously in a spirit of justice and charity.

 
Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together,

shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap.

For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.” (Luke 6:38)

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