Most of us are familiar with Jesus’ parable of the good Samaritan, or at least with the basic plot elements. A traveler is attacked by robbers and left for dead. One man walks by but ignores him. So too a second man. Then along comes a third, identified as a Samaritan; he stops to help the poor victim, binds his wounds, takes him to an inn, pays for his lodging until he gets well.
The story has traveled deep into our culture: We name churches and hospitals after the protagonist (I once served as a chaplain at Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland, Oregon) as well as outreach services like Good Samaritan Ministries of Helena). But our actual understanding of the tale tends to be sketchy: The good Samaritan was a good guy, worthy of remembering for some reason about which the details don’t seem important. You stop to help someone whose car is broken down on the side of the road, you are referred to as a “good Samaritan.” Big deal.
Most people don’t know why Jesus even told this parable, in the tenth chapter of Luke’s Gospel, in the first place. In this particular case, Jesus was directly prompted by an inquisitive man “wanting to justify himself.” They had just been discussing the commandments, Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and your neighbor as yourself, when this man asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”
