Luke 10: 25-37
On one occasion
an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I
do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he
replied. “How do you read
it?” 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’ 3 ; and, ‘Love your neighbor
as yourself.’ 4 ’” “You have
answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to
justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” In reply Jesus
said:
“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when
he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him
and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the
man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on
the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled,
came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he
put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins 5 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.’
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell
into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who
had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Do not pass by
José Antonio Pagola
“Be compassionate as your heavenly Father is compassionate.” This is the
legacy Jesus has left humanity. To understand the revolution he wants to
introduce into history we must CAREFULLY
read his story of the “Good Samaritan”. In it he describes the attitude
we have to promote beyond our beliefs and ideological or religious positions,
to bring about a more humane world.
By the side of a deserted road
there lies a human being, robbed, assaulted, stripped of all he has, half dead,
left to his fate. Jesus summed up the situation of so many innocent victims
unjustly battered and abandoned on so many road sides of history.
Over the horizon appear two
travelers: first a priest, then a levite – both of them belong to the
respectable world of the official religion of Jerusalem. Both behave in the
same way: “they see the wounded man, and pass by on the other side.” Both of
them close their eyes and their hearts.
That man doesn’t exist for them. They pass him over without stopping. This is
Jesus’ radical criticism of every religion unable to engender in its members a
compassionate heart. What meaning does such a religion lacking in humanity
have?
Along the way comes a third
person. He is not a priest or a
levite. He does not even belong to the
religion of the Temple. However, on arrival “when he saw him, he took pity on
him and went to him.” Then he does all he can for that unknown man to revive
him and restore his dignity. This is the motive force Jesus wants to bring into
the world.
The first thing is not to close
our eyes; to learn to “look at” the one who suffers in a careful and
responsible manner. This look can free us from the egoism and indifference that
allows us to live with a peaceful conscience in the midst of so many innocent
victims. At the same time we must “be moved” and allow their suffering to hurt
us too.
What’s crucial is to react and
to get close to those who suffer not to ask if we have an obligation or not to
help, but to find out at first hand what it means to be someone in need calling
for help from us. The way we react will reveal to us the kind of human beings
we are.
All this is not theory. The
Samaritan in the story does not feel obliged to follow a particular religious
or moral code. Quite simply, he responds to the situation of the wounded man by
inventing all kinds of practical ways of
alleviating his suffering and restoring his life and dignity. Jesus ends with
these words: “Go and do likewise.”
Help to restore compassion in the world
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