Sunday Reflections
Can you be a Samaritan?
✠ A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke 10:25-37
There was a lawyer who, to disconcert Jesus, stood up and said to him, ‘Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? What do you read there?’ He replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.’ ‘You have answered right,’ said Jesus ‘do this, and life is yours.’
But the man was anxious to justify himself and said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was once on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of brigands; they took all he had, beat him and then made off, leaving him half dead. Now a priest happened to be travelling down the same road, but when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. In the same way, a Levite who came to the place saw him and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan traveller who came upon him was moved with compassion when he saw him. He went up and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He then lifted him on to his own mount, carried him to the inn and looked after him. Next day, he took out two denarii and handed them to the innkeeper. “Look after him,” he said “and on my way back I will make good any extra expense you have.” Which of these three, do you think, proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the brigands‘ hands?’ ‘The one who took pity on him’ he replied. Jesus said to him, ‘Go, and do the same yourself.’
1. The commandments of God are known to every practising religious Jewish person at the time of Jesus. Moses, in today’s first reading (Deut 30:10-14), says that the commandments are not difficult to understand. All that is needed is the willingness to put them into practice. The Jews believed, following the teachings of Moses, that obeying the commandments brings health, wealth and life.
2. What then is the reason for the young man’s question to Jesus in today’s gospel? The gospel writer noted that the man simply wanted to put Jesus to test. Knowing his mind, Jesus made him recite the summarized formula of the commandments that are taught in catechetical classes. But still wanting to justify himself as one who knows it all he asked a second question: and who is my neighbour? Jesus used the opportunity to teach a wider perspective of neighbourhood. He told the story of the Good Samaritan.
3. At the end of the story, Jesus asked a question: “Who do you think, proved himself a neighbour to the wounded man?” The lawyer, in his arrogance, refused to use the word “Samaritan.” He simply said: “the one who showed him mercy.” It was shocking to the Jewish listeners of Jesus to hear that the people they regard as God’s enemies could do good. With this story, Jesus passed a number of messages:
•Those who pretend to be religious may be lacking in brotherhood and love, as was the case of the priest and levite in the gospel.
•Those that we look down on as enemies of God may actually be the ones who are close to him by their concrete acts of love.
•The neighbour is anyone in need of our help.
•Love for neighbour demands the courage to take risks for the betterment of others.
4. The parable of the Good Samaritan challenges us to go beyond our myopic ethnic and religious clivages and conceive humanity as one family. Two months ago, some franciscain friars had an accident at Obudu. For six hours, they were stocked in the accident site. People were passing and taking pictures of them and posting them online without going near to help them until some of them died. This brings home the parable to us. Are we not losing our humanity? The comportment of the Samaritan has a lot to teach us concerning coming to the aid of our neighbours as a member of our common humanity. The Samaritan did not know the wounded man. He was not asked to help out. He rather offered to help and spent his resources for an unknown needy person. Today, we find it hard to help those we know, those who ask to be helped, those who may even repay us one day. This shows how far we could be from the Samaritan attitude. We may have had bad experiences that may justify our being cautious in holding out a helping hand to an unknown person, especially in Nigeria today. But what reasons do we have for refusing to help those who are close to us? What reasons do we have for refusing to offer our help to someone in obvious need? What stops us from saying: ” Can I help?”
5. The road to Jericho is not far from you. It is there in your family, in your workplace, in your neighbourhood, and even in your church. Do not wait for the day that you will see someone lying helpless by the roadside. The roadside is already with you. Start from where you are today to be a good Samaritan. If you occupy a position of authority, make sure that your personal decisions do not lead to anyone falling by the roadside. Make decisions that will contribute to making the road to Jericho safer for all. Above all, always step forward to help when the need is obvious even when no one has asked you to do so. Be the Good Samaritan.
