“GO AND DO LIKEWISE“
“Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Jesus is always inviting us to the peripheries. He is always calling us to do something great, something different, and something that sometimes go contrary to the cultural norms and status. Jesus ask us to pull down the walls of division, hatred, jealousy, envy, racism and bigotry.
In the gospel, we hear about the Jews and a Samaritan. Jews and Samaritans were brothers and sisters, though due to historical circumstances, they come to see themselves as enemies. They hated each other.
Why did Jesus tell this parable? Were his Jewish audience happy to hear Jesus’s story? What was the reaction of the Jewish community in Jericho when they saw a Samaritan with a wounded Jew riding on an animal? Will they be thankful for the kindness of the Samaritan or would they enact a community vengeance? A Samaritan would not be safe in a Jewish town with a wounded Jew.
Let’s try to bring this message home using our situation today. During the Iraqi war, how would American soldiers have responded if they see an Iraqi solder or civilian with a wounded US Marine on a donkey?
The parable is an invitation to be kind and compassionate to one another no matter the circumstances. The Samaritan paid the bill. The story is open-ended, as with many of Jesus’ parables. We the listeners must supply the missing conclusion.?
Was the Samaritan beaten or killed? We were not told. Why did the Samaritan expose himself to danger and violence?
“Go and do likewise.” To “Do likewise”, we must overcome the psychological barriers that we have put in our heads and hearts like race, tribe, religion etc. Whatever drive us away from embracing God’s Love must be avoided. Your neighbor is anyone in need, regardless of language, religion or ethnicity.
Have a blessed Week.
