Across the Pastor’s Desk by Rev. Todd Walsh

Todd Walsh is pastor at Thorne Crest Senior Living Community.

The parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 is a great commentary on its time and our time. Quoting the whole thing below is helpful.

“Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’”

There are several details of the story that bear revealing. Jerusalem to Jericho: the Jerusalem priests worked in Jerusalem but kept retreat homes in Jericho. So when the parable says the priest and the Levite are going down to Jericho, we know they are on their way to get away for themselves.

The Jericho road: we are talking about only 30 miles.  But it is a drop of 3,500 feet,  and this road goes through a lifeless desert of steep hills and rocks that will either fall or hide a dangerous thief. The Jericho road is a dangerous road.

The man who has been robbed is according to the religion of the priest and Levite unclean and unapproachable. He was naked, bloodied and half dead — and that is as good as dead. To touch the wounded man would make the priest and Levite ritually unclean.

The Samaritan is also untouchable. He is an outsider. He is assumed to be a lowlife, worthless and helpless. Yet this rejected Samaritan does what is right and shows mercy and gives of himself to bring life. We have in the Samaritan a picture of Jesus, the rejected one who brings life by giving up his life from the cross.

We also have in the Samaritan a picture of humanity as it was meant to be and as it should be. The priest and the Levite are a picture of a world turned in on itself and seeks only for itself even at the expense of others, especially the most helpless.

I believe Jesus spoke then and speaks now to tell us all that we are living on the Jericho road. And it is up to us who travel that road to make it safe for all.

I believe a safe Jericho road is one where everyone can participate. Allow me to set before you three questions about how we live on the Jericho road today.

Why is it that we are seeing laws today that make it difficult or impossible for minorities, the poor and the elderly to vote in our elections? Everyone should be able to vote in our elections; anything else is just another form of banditry on the Jericho road. We are all robbed of our potential as a nation when anyone is left out or forced out.

Why is it that, in our schools, if you are a minority or low income your chance of graduating from high school is less than if you are white or of means? We are a nation that can feed the world and put human footprints on another world. We can create a society where all children live in families with parents who receive fair pay to help create an environment where full potential can be realized and anyone can make a mark in our lives and on the world.

Why is it that we allow our society to become another Jericho road where violence is the expected norm? The Good Samaritan made a decision to break the cycle of violence. A commitment to nonviolence in how we live can do the same today. Mind you, this means we change what we watch and listen to for entertainment. It means the games we play on our devices need to be recognized for how they desensitize us to violence. It even means we slow down on the streets, and we slow down our words that can be quick to anger and accomplish nothing good.

Martin Luther King Jr. once preached about the Good Samaritan and the Jericho road. His words complete this message better than mine.

On the one hand we are called to play the good Samaritan on life’s roadside; but that will be only an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life’s highway. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.

Jesus offers us a challenge and a new life with his final words in the telling of this parable.

“Go and do likewise.”