The parable of the Good Samaritan, which we hear today, may be very familiar to us but we need to remember how revolutionary this story would have been for Jesus’ audience and, indeed, to recognise how challenging it should still be for us today. Geographically Samaritans were neighbours of the Jewish people, but because of historical divisions and conflicts they were looked down upon, even despised by many Jews. And so it would have been a real shock for Jesus’ Jewish audience to hear him tell a story in which their own religious authority figures – the priest and the Levite – are shown in a negative light while the Samaritan traveller is the hero, going out of his way to care for the man left for dead in the ditch. In this way Jesus challenges the young Jewish man, whose question “Who is my neighbour?” inspires the story, to see the Samaritan not as an enemy but as a teacher and moral example.

It is, of course, important to make clear that this is not an “anti-Jewish” story. Jesus is simply highlighting a form of prejudice which, if we are honest, can be present in us all. This is the prejudice to reject/look down on someone because of the social or cultural group to which they belong. We see their group label rather than their unique individual personality eg. a Chelsea supporter, a white van driver, an asylum seeker… Jesus wants to expose and shatter this prejudice in us all. Think about it - the man left for dead in the ditch by the robbers is probably naked and unconscious so he has neither a give-away accent nor distinctive clothes to identify who he is or where he comes from. This is not important for the Samaritan, who simply sees a fellow human being in extreme need and so does everything he can to help him. And so he becomes a teacher to us all – like Christ himself showing how we are called to love without boundaries.


With prayers & blessings - Fr Richard, Fr Ephrem & all the parish team
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