Good Samaritan Parable: A Way of Seeing a Neighbor
Our Gospel this weekend tells us a story about a good Samaritan, a story which raises a question, “Who is a neighbor?” The answer to this question is a matter of perspective, and requires a certain way of seeing.
In the story, there was a wounded man in the ditch who needed help because he was robbed. A priest passed by. And so did a Levite. Both just passed by, unheeding of the need of the man who was robbed. Then there came a Samaritan, who took care of the needs of the man. In this situation, a question re-echoes, “Who is a neighbor?”
Simplifying the meaning of neighbor will shed light here. The word neighbor has a basic meaning in Greek which means “to be near.” Coming back now to the question, “Who is a neighbor?” the answer certainly has to be the third person, the Samaritan. The other two stretched the gap between themselves and the man in the ditch. They would not come near to him. Definitely, they would not be a neighbor to him.
The story may have happen in our parish life, too. Perhaps one may say, “I am willing to love my neighbor as myself. I want to go near to everyone in need, for we are all in need when we come to the church. But please don’t get me involved with the wrong neighbor.” Hey, there is nothing wrong with one’s neighbor inside the church, but perhaps one gets his or her neighbor wrong because the other is seen not as of one’s same color, race, ethnic group, culture or language. One can easily fall into this trap of seeing a neighbor in a wrong way.
The story of the good Samaritan, then, provides us a perspective of seeing a neighbor. To see a neighbor is to look at the other in good faith. To be a neighbor is “to go near” to the one needing help and act according to their need instead of acting with grabbing over the other. To be a neighbor is not a matter of who and what we are in our status to others, but who and what we are on the basis of our actions, responding and doing unselfishly the good for others. Neighbor love knows no boundaries.
Fr. Bart
Parochial Vicar
