Scripture Reading: Luke 10:25-37
Jesus’ Parable of the Good Samaritan is a familiar and classic story of a traveler from Jerusalem to Jericho who is attacked by thieves and left half dead. Two religious men, a priest and later a Levite, came by afterwards but both passed by on the other side of the road. Then a Samaritan man came along, cared for the victim, and took him to a nearby inn. The next day, the Samaritan paid the innkeeper to care for the wounded man and committed to pay any additional costs upon his return.
Commentaries address the logic of the priest and the Levite for passing by: their unfamiliarity with the victim, concern for their own safety on this dangerous stretch of highway, the ritualistic requirements one would have to undergo for touching a bleeding or dead person. Whatever the reason, both religious men made a conscious decision not to get involved. It took a Samaritan, a people disparaged by Jesus’ Jewish audience for their mixed heritage and worship at Mount Gerizim instead of Jerusalem, to show compassion for a fallen stranger.
It is easy to look at the priest and the Levite with disdain for their lack of action. But we have our own forms of passing by on the other side today—we get in the “left lane” to avoid getting involved. Perhaps it is the homeless person on the street, the single parent needing encouragement, the person being bullied, the victim of domestic abuse or the simple act of compassion to one in need. We quietly justify our inaction with, “not my business…someone else can help…I can’t help everyone…there are programs out there…that’s why I pay taxes…they don’t really need my help…someone should say or do something…” We divert our gaze from the moment of making a difference, get in the left lane and pass by on the other side.
The left lane of a highway is designed to pass others by while expediting movement to our destination. Drivers in the left lane minimize contact with the rest of the highway because the left lane is designed for those who are just passing through. Jesus tells this parable in response to a lawyer’s question of how to inherit eternal life and his follow-up question, “And who is my neighbor?” In the end, the lawyer acknowledges it is the one who showed mercy on the fallen man was the real neighbor.
Who needs me to get out of the left lane to be their neighbor today?
Question to Ponder: Am I my brother’s keeper or am I focused only on getting to my destination?
“…Am I my brother’s keeper?”—Genesis 4:9
