To be rejected for whatever reason always causes suffering to the one rejected. The Samaritan is Jesus’ parable would have known what it was like to be rejected. Samaria had been the ancient center of Israel. But the Samaritans were descended from immigrants who had settled in Samaria, and the Jewish people looked on them as heretics and rejected their claim to be true worshippers of the God of Israel. The conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well, as narrated in St. John’s Gospel, indicates the depth of the breach that divided Samaritans and Jews, for the woman was amazed that Jesus even spoke to her, let alone asked her for a drink of water.
When people are immovably hostile to one another, an act of kindness can work wonders. Those who might have been expected to help the man, one a representative of the religious leaders and the other an assistant in the Temple, decided not to get involved and avoided him. Only the Samaritan, the one who was rejected and hated, proved himself a neighbor by taking pity on the man and giving him practical help.
The parable not only answers the lawyer’s question, “Who is my neighbor?†It also reveals that God is greater than any prejudice or hatred and that true love can be found when least expected.
The Good Samaritan was a true neighbor because he acted unselfishly. The challenge for us is to act on the Lord’s words, “Go, and do the same yourself.â€