The Parable of the Good Samaritan
Lk 10:25-37
25There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test [Jesus] and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” 27He
said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart,
with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind,
and your neighbor as yourself.” 28He replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”
29But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30Jesus
replied, “A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem
to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him
half-dead. 31A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. 32Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. 33But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. 34He
approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged
them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn and
cared for him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins
and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ‘Take care of him.
If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my
way back.’ 36Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” 37He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE. The
scholar of the law asks a very important question, inquiring into
salvation or admittance into heaven. Jesus replies that to inherit
eternal life, we are to love God above all and to love our neighbor as
ourselves. In other words, to be saved, we have to observe God’s
commandments, which Jesus sums up in the commandment of love for God and
for our neighbor.
The
lawyer asks, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus replies with the parable of
the Good Samaritan, where the neighbor is the one who helps the man
victimized by robbers. In contrast, the priest and the Levite do not
give a helping hand to the wounded man, perhaps for fear of ritual
impurity. Jesus says that to help someone in need is to fulfill the
commandment of love.
Do I keep the commandment of love?
Am I always ready to help another person in need?
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