The Good Samaritan Teaches Authenticity
The parable of the Good Samaritan has transcended spiritual literature to become a well-known colloquial phrase meaning someone who helps a stranger. In the story, a man who is presumed to be a Jew is beaten, robbed, and left on the side of the road. A priest and a Levite both pass him by, but when the Samaritan comes upon the man in the road, he stops to help him. The Samaritan helped the man reach a place where he could receive the care he needed and provided money to pay for it. He also promised to return later. Now, in those days, Samaritans and Jews did not like each other, which makes the story all the more powerful. The one who stopped to help fully embraced the job of helping the victim.
In this story, Jesus is telling us that it isn’t enough to profess to be a good person; we actually have to go out and live like that – even when it isn’t easy. This is living an Authentic Christian Life. The story was told to answer the question, “Who is my neighbor?” The answer, then, is that everyone is my neighbor. If we are to live a life authentically aligned with the gospel teachings, we must be willing to help even those whom we don’t like.
