While visiting with my brother (a professed atheist) this weekend he raised a very good point about the Parable of the Good Samaritan. We always enjoy healthy debate, and he never pokes to antagonize me but to encourage critical thinking. His question was "who is the Samaritan in your life?" For those people unfamiliar with this parable, I have included it at the end of this note. Most believers assume this parable is simply about helping others, and that is certainly a part of it, but the meaning goes deeper than that. At the time, the Jewish people (particularly Pharisees) held themselves up as God's only chosen people and despised many other groups, especially the Samaritans. You would never have seen a Samaritan and a Pharisee breaking bread together or even speaking to one another unless it was absolutely necessary. Yet this Samaritan was willing to help someone poor and down trod when those in "God's favor" would not, and performed an action far more holy than pious starvation or public moans of suffering. A priest and a Levite, both "good guys," had the opportunity to do something and chose to continue on their way. Only the Samaritan--the social pariah, the one at whom others would shake the dust from their feet--was willing to help. He saw a need and fulfilled it. So who is the Samaritan in my life, or in the eyes of the church?
If Jesus was speaking with today's believers, this story might be called the Parable of the Good Homosexual, or the Good Woman Who Had an Abortion, or the Good Muslim. All of them groups despised by many churchgoers, all of them looked down on simply for their existence, all of them people who would receive "that look" if they walked into a church. Who would be the person lying on the road, beaten by life's robbers and left to die? Perhaps it would be the pregnant teenager, the person forced to use Medicaid, the recovering addict, or the gay teen kicked out of his or her house. All of them people with a need that we fail to see, or who we decide to step away from rather than risking a challenge to our perfectly polished faith. Many of these modern-day Samaritans are the proponents of policies such as expanding Medicaid, raising taxes to fund halfway houses, and creating an open marketplace so that citizens across the nation can have healthcare; policies that conservative Christianity is known for opposing.
I'm not here to claim that the church should jump on the bandwagon, abandon our morality to changing times, and "wake up to smell the coffee," but why are we wasting time fighting these people who are simply doing the work that we are called to? In 2008, 73% of the United States identified their household as Christian. Out of an estimated total population of 303,824,640, that's 221,791,987 people. Now, 27.3% of those were under the age of 20 so let's throw them out of the mix. The highest unemployment rate in 2008 was 7.3--I'll be generous and round that up to 10% in order to account for errors in reporting--and we'll excuse them because of their financial need. But what about those with who are living below the poverty line? That's another 13.2% and we'll exclude the full amount even though some of that population also falls under the unemployment percentage. If my math is correct that still leaves about 125,817,737 stable, employed believers in our country. Imagine if every one of them chose to pay for someone's health exam, counseling sessions, groceries, etc. once a month or even once a year. That could have a huge impact in lessening our reliance on government aid, and would be a better use of funds than the billions spent to ensure that someone has miles of red tape to dig through before he or she can use unemployment benefits.
To take things one step further, once we've done our part to help the needy why not invite those victims and loathed groups alike into our fellowship? When we read about Peter's animal-filled vision in Acts 10, most of us have no trouble understanding that God gave us the thumbs up to eat shellfish (I’m literally sitting here stuffing shrimp linguine into my mouth), but that part about witnessing to the Gentiles (another undesirable group) seems to get lost in translation. Church is a time for me--and many others, I’m sure--to go and worship with people who think a lot like I do, look oddly similar to me (soooo many khaki pants), and are fairly pleasant to one another once they’ve had some coffee. We can’t reach the lost if they aren’t invited to the party. I honestly can't remember the last time I invited someone to fellowship and that's a shame. Oh wait, it was in November of last year, a whopping 6 months ago. That's pretty much the same thing as recognizing God on Christmas and Easter. So what will it take for God to wake us from our slumber and light the fire under our butts to get us out of the pew and onto the streets? I wish I had the answer, and I fear that whatever it is will require removing many of us from the equation completely. As for my modern Samaritan, I can't give an adequate response because I pre-judge far too many people. There isn't a single group I could isolate, instead I need to work on removing pride on a broad scale so that I stop placing myself in a position to make those judgments. As for the rest of you, how would you answer these questions? What are your thoughts on Samaritans and victims?
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'" and, "'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live."
29 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 was attacked by 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, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii 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.”
