Gospel LK 10:25-37
There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said,
“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law?
How do you read it?”
He said in reply,
“You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your being,
with all your strength,
and with all your mind, you
and your neighbor as yourself.”l
He replied to him, “You have answered correctly;
do this and you will live.”
But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus,
“And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied,
“A man fell victim to robbers
as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.
A priest happened to be going down that road,
but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place,
and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him
was moved with compassion at the sight.
He approached the victim,
poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.
Then he lifted him up on his own animal,
took him to an inn, and cared for him.
The next day he took out two silver coins
and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction,
‘Take care of him.
If you spend more than what I have given you,
I shall repay you on my way back.’
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.”
Reflection:
A priest, a Levite and a Samaritan came across an injured man on the dangerous road to Jericho. The priest and Levite passed him by; the Samaritan stopped to help him.
Jesus asks the scholar; “Which of these three, in your opinion,
was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?”
He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.”
I am left to speculate on why the priest and Levite passed by the injured man.
Perhaps, like the Samaritan, they were sympathetic but pressed for time and did not want to arrive late for an important event.
Perhaps they were afraid that the man was pretending to be injured to entice them to come close so he could rise up and rob them.
And the Samaritan? He too could have been on an urgent mission or been concerned about being robbed.
Whatever his fears and concerns, the Samaritan unselfishly set them aside. He did the merciful thing: he went to the aid of a fellow human being.
As Jesus said to the scholar, He also says to me:
“Go and do likewise.”
The true value of the gospel is the extent to which I am able to apply it to my own life.
“Never look down on anybody unless you’re helping him up.” Unknown