Seems Like God…

In response to an online discussion on Wondercafe about the story of the Good Samaritan, I’d like to repost three articles I’ve written over the years that are drawn from that familiar old parable.

I’ll be adding a fourth, probably on the Golden Rule Radical site, in the near future.

I hope you enjoy them. – David

This is the third column, from 2007.

Is there anyone who doesn’t know the classic story of the Good Samaritan? Just in case, here it is in a nutshell. This guy is traveling from one city to another and gets beat up and robbed. His assailants leave him alongside the road and go on their way. A priest comes by and later on a Levite. Both of whom, in biblical times, would have been considered pillars of their community; and who, one would hope, would stop to help a countryman in need.

Both step around the poor fella in the ditch and keep on truckin’. After all, its pretty clear this is a bad neighbourhood isn’t it?

A Samaritan comes along. Samaritans were the kind of folk that priests and Levites and, well, pretty much everyone, did not invite to dinner. Unsavory characters. Not fit for polite company. But it’s the Samaritan who stops to help. In fact, he takes the guy to an inn and pays the innkeeper to look after him.

Luke puts this story right after some smart aleck tries to out-Scripture Jesus.

In fact, as much as it’s the classic illustration of how we should conduct ourselves, there’s another story here. One that illustrates Jesus’ response to those who like to spend their time using Scripture to tell us who is acceptable and who is just plain goin’ t’ hell.

You see, Jesus by all accounts didn’t much worry about the rules. He was more a love and compassion kinda guy. If the rules got in the way of the love, well it was the rules that had to go, not the love.

So when this fella that Luke calls an “expert in the law” tries to get Jesus to argue about which line from Leviticus or Deuteronomy or whatever was most important, Jesus doesn’t mince words. The “expert”, and we’ve all run into them, would have been tickled to spend the day pointing out chapter and verse and making grand pronouncements about which one trumped what.

Jesus says “Most important? Easy. Love God.” Then he continues, “oh yeah, and love your neighbour too. Everything kinda depends on that.”

Now, for most of us, that would be enough. We’d go away content to do our best to do those two things. Whew, no need for thousands of pages of clauses, sub-clauses and memorandums. Just love God, and love your neighbour. Gotcha.

But not the expert. After all, if everything we need to know is summed up in one sentence, the market for experts is going to be pretty slim isn’t it?

So the expert tries again. “Well then, who’s my neighbour?” Can’t you just see this guy waiting to jump on any answer Jesus makes? Obviously, we can’t be expected to treat everyone the same! There are rules after all!

Jesus doesn’t play. Instead he tells a story. And he makes the hero of the story a member of one of the most despised groups in the country. We truly cannot imagine how shocking it was to this expert to have a Samaritan cast in the role of the good guy.

And to top it all off, Jesus sets it up so that the expert is the one who has to answer his own question. Who’s he going to argue with now? Himself?

While the story, as we’ve said, certainly illustrates how we should respond to those in need, even more it illustrates how we must respond to those who would put fences of rules around God’s love for Creation.

Who, asks Jesus, is the true neighbour? The priest? The Levite? The Samaritan?

The one, the expert has to acknowledge, who showed mercy.

“Go thou and do likewise,” said Jesus.

No matter what the experts say.