Luke 10:29 - 37

When a lawyer desiring to justify himself asked Jesus the question, “Who is my neighbour”, Jesus ingeniously presented the parable of the Good Samaritan to answer him. He indicated to His audience that the traveller attacked by the robbers was a Jew, because only the Jews take the circuitous route via Jericho, in order to avoid passing through Samaria to go to the North. The Jews and the Samaritans were always at loggerheads.

Introducing the priest and the Levite in the story – the highest order among the Jews, Jesus conveyed that in spite of loving God and knowing the scriptures, they did not want to risk getting close to the man, fearing the implications they had to face if he was dead. It would take one whole week for them to make themselves ceremonially clean, needless to mention the money they had to shell out and the ignominy they had to face during the cleansing ceremony in Jerusalem. The priest and the Levite became victims of God’s rule book and the legalistic system instead of showing love and mercy to the beaten man.

The Samaritan too followed the same rule book and could have avoided defilement by going past the fallen Jew, but was willing to spend his own money and fulfill the same rituals because he valued mercy more than money and shame! The priest and the Levite failed to show mercy to their neighbour (Jew) but the Samaritan, hated by the Jews, showed his love and mercy by cleaning up the Jew’s wounds and even paying for his medical treatment.

Thought for the day:

Showing love and mercy to our neighbor will affect our daily routine and our bank balance.