Advent Devotional - Day 14

DECEMBER 14 – Luke 10: 30-37
By: Peter Lund

When I was young, I liked this story for its simplicity: After a man was assaulted, various people ignored him, until a compassionate individual came along and helped him. The moral of the story was to emulate the caring person. A simple story, right? It wasn’t until I was older that I learned the significance of the fact that the “hero” of the story was a Samaritan, and what message that would have conveyed to those who heard the story directly from Jesus. Although the Samaritans practiced a religious tradition very similar to Judaism, they were rejected by the Jewish population; this rejection was mutual, as Samaritans also rejected the Jews, and as far as I am aware, both groups prohibited contact with the other. That being the case, not only is the Samaritan in this story “going across party lines” to help someone who would regard him as an “enemy,” but he is helping someone that his OWN society tells him to reject and ignore. His mindset at the time had to have been, “You probably hate me, but I’m going to help you anyway; my society tells me to hate you and helping you is  unacceptable, but I’m going to help you anyway.”

Now that I am older, I understand the deeper meaning of the story: while the message to “model the example of the caring person” still applies, the TRUE message is, when necessary, to go against closed-minded edicts of society, and help ANYONE in need, even if they are not “one of us.” At a time when our society feels so divided and unforgiving of differing opinions, I believe this story is as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago.

Lord, help me open my heart to anyone in need, and help me to realize that despite the divisions we create for ourselves, we are all your children. Amen.