The Good Samaritan

May 22

(Luke 10:29-37 NIV) ““But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" {30} In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. {31} A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. {32} So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. {33} But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. {34} He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. {35} The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' {36} "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" {37} The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise.””

The man who asked Jesus how to obtain eternal life didn’t like the answer -- it disqualified him and the entire human race from earning eternity. He tried narrowing the definition of a neighbor to justify himself, but Jesus gave him no quarter. Christ told the story of a man who was beaten and robbed on the road to Jericho. Only a Samaritan stopped to lend aid, even though he was considered unclean and held in contempt by the Jews. Jesus didn’t make loving our neighbor easier -- He made it harder. We are called to love and serve those that we are prone to despise. Jesus not only destroyed this man’s hope of earning eternal life, He taught us that religious fervor without love is useless. The two religious men, who should have known God’s will, avoided the man in need. Only the Samaritan gave of his time and money to love his neighbor as himself. Go and do likewise. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day