Jesus' parable of "The Good Samaritan" is known the world over in nearly every culture. I thought of it this past Sunday when my car quit just off the Interstate. I was on my way with Carol to conduct a church service, so I called a friend to take me to the church while Carol waited for the AAA truck to haul our car to the nearest dealership.
I stood at a busy intersection waiting for my ride about fifty feet from my obviously "dead car" wearing a clerical collar, holding my clergy garment bag, my brief case in hand. During that thirty minutes, at least a hundred cars stopped at the light where I was, but no one offered assistance. I should not be surprised. Consider this true story:
Some years ago an experiment was conducted at a seminary. Researchers gathered a group of seminary students in a classroom and gave them all an assignment. Their assignment was to record a speech about the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The speech would be in a building on the other side of the campus, and because the speech was to to be given soon, they all needed to hurry over to that building.
Unbeknownst to the students, on the path to that other building, researchers had planted an actor to play the part of a dirty vagrant, slumped next to a sidewalk, coughing and gagging. The students were attending a presentation about the Good Samaritan. What would happen if they actually encountered someone in need?
Not one of them stopped to help! All of them rushed past the hurting man to their assignment. One student even stepped over the man's body, then hurried to the speech!
We should not look down at these students because we may well have done the same. Simply knowing in our minds what the right thing is to do does not mean we will do it.
If we are going to be Good Samaritans today, it will mean more than a change of our mind. It will take a change of our heart. And that's what Jesus’ parable is really all about - a change of heart.
That is why Jesus said, "Go and do likewise!"
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