posted February 25, 2020 04:52 PM            

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To really get this story you have to understand who the Samaritans were.

In Jesus’ time, they were considered the lowest of the low. While they generally believed in the same teachings, they believed they were not required to worship at the Temple nor follow the myriad of rules set up by the leaders in Jerusalem.

As a result, they were outcasts, unclean. Ethnically and socially they were to be treated as lower than animals.

(There is a lot lot more to it than that, and if you are interested I highly suggest you research it. The Wikipedia article on Samaritans is a good place to start, and the references there can get you to some great information.)

So in the parable, found in Luke, chapter 10, starting in verse 25, we have a man, robbed and beaten and left for dead. We don’t know much about the man except that he was going from Jerusalem to Jerico. So there he is, at the side of the road and along comes a priest, a holy man who works in the Temple. He sees the man and goes to the other side of the road to avoid him. Along comes a Levite, also one who works for the Temple. He, too, goes to the other side of the road to avoid him.

And then along comes our Samaritan. Remember, he’s the lowest of the low. Being seen with and associating with an Israelite would get him in huge trouble. For his own good, and possibly for his own life, he should likewise pass on the other side.

But instead, he helps the guy, puts him up in a hotel and makes sure he’s cared for, even offering to pay his future medical bills. Knowing full well that when this guy is well he will probably treat him as every other Israelite treat Samaritans – as scum.

Jesus uses this parable to answer the question “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” and after telling him to love his neighbor, the follow-up question, “who is my neighbor?” Basically, Jesus says even when you have been taught to avoid someone, don’t, treat them as equal

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Likewise, you can’t be a ‘nationalist’ anything. Oh you can be happy to be American, celebrate the 4th, put a flag up on your house, that’s OK, but to claim America is better than Mexico or Panama or Brazil just because Americans are better… that’s not really a thing. Especially if you are Christian. Because if you are, then your real home, your real citizenship is in Heaven and all Christians, no matter where they call home on earth, are your fellow citizens, literally your family, and you’re not better than them because of where you live on earth

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