I guess we’re supposed to be like the Good Samaritan, right? Isn’t that what the Gospel demands of us? Look at the way in which Jesus speaks the parable. Jesus is asked, what am I supposed to do? Jesus answers, love God and love your neighbor. Who is my neighbor? Then Jesus tells the story which has the conclusion: Which of these was neighbor to the robbers’ victim? “The one who treated him with mercy.” “Go and do likewise.” Pretty straightforward. Do like the Good Samaritan. But what does that look like in Chicago? Does being a Good Samaritan mean we’ve got to give to all the panhandlers when we go downtown? Does being a Good Samaritan mean we’re supposed to roll down our windows when we come to the intersection and someone comes around with a cup? Does being a Good Samaritan mean we’ve got to respond to every request that someone makes on us? What exactly is Jesus asking of us?
Let’s see if we can unpack the meaning underneath the story as Jesus told it. The contrast is between the priest and Levite and the Samaritan traveler. Note that in the New Testament the priest and Levite are good guys. Jesus had his problems with the Pharisees and the Scribes but priests and Levites seemed to be okay. Well, these good guys pass by the crime victim. It seems the question they asked themselves was: “If I stop and help this man, what will happen to me?” The traveling Samaritan on the other hand asked himself: “If I do not stop to help this person, what will happen to him?” So that is the first lesson we can draw out of the parable of Jesus – to look things from the point of view of the victim. The Catholic Church has just experienced the tragedy that happens when we don’t adopt this attitude during the sex abuse crisis. When some parent or child would report abuse the response of the Church all too frequently was “If we deal with this situation, what will happen to us?” Hence, the crisis. The only acceptable response is: “What can we do to help the victim?” Think about the other. Or another case: I wonder how the national debate on immigration would go if we stopped asking, “What will happen to us” and started asking “What will happen them.” So to adopt the attitude of the Samaritan traveler requires shifting the emphasis off of ourselves and onto the other.
The second thing to notice about the story is that the Samaritan traveler does what he can given his situation. He has his own life to live and he continues to live it. He does not cancel his own travels. He gives what he can but does not overdo. He took him to the inn he was going to stop by anyway on his own journey. He will check up on him at his convenience. He doesn’t presume that he can fix everything but he can do something. To be a Good Samaritan, therefore, does not require altering one’s lifestyle or giving up one’s own plans or sacrificing all. A Good Samaritan cares for the victims who are woven into the providence of everyday life as best she can.
The story talks about the behavior of the priest and Levite. The story talks about the behavior of the Samaritan traveler. The story has another character – the crime victim. We should put ourselves in his shoes as well. Maybe we haven’t been mugged and left half-dead but we have been brutalized. We’ve been victimized by a society which establishes a pecking order so the rich get rich and the poor get poorer. We have had to endure those petty aggressions from relatives, friends, co-workers, fellow students which put us down and make us doubt our worth and dignity. We have experienced losses and griefs that fill us with sadness that can feel as deep and wide as the ocean. This says two things. First, we have to realize that our Good Samaritan activities are not limited to those people “out there” who are looking for a hand out. There are people right in our families and among our friends who need some of the care and compassion that the Samaritan showed. The second thing is the flip side: we sometimes are the ones who need some mercy. We are often tempted to put up a brave front and say “I’m fine” when going through something. That is not helpful. There are times when the greatest act of kindness that we can do is to let someone be kind toward us. We need not fear being vulnerable with one another for that is how a Good Samaritan acts.
Given that background, have we figured out what it means to be a Good Samaritan in Chicago? This is very much a work in progress, an open ended question. Each circumstance that we find ourselves in will demand that we strive to find the right response. But to attain the overarching answer we have to go back to the incident that prompted Jesus to tell the story. The question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus quotes from the Bible: love God with ALL your heart, ALL your soul, ALL your strength. That’s the key – ALL. The reason being a Samaritan is hard is because of the illusion that we have that some of this is mine. Oh, I’ll give God what is due but I have to take care of myself, I have to look after my welfare, I must use my time well. But the truth is that anything we have is not ours but a gift from God. Thank you, God, that I can take a breath. Thank you, God, that I can take a step. That you, God, that I can take a rest. Thank you, God, that I can bring it on home. Once I understand that it is because of God that we live and move and have our being then we know that it ALL belongs to God and not ourselves. We act as the Good Samaritan with compassion and mercy because God has been compassionate with us. We give because we have received.
