A Place On Earth: The Samaritan

To begin 2025, we are utilizing a series of Jesus’ parables as a lens through which we might better see and live into God’s Kingdom in the messy here and now; not a distant destination, but a present, parallel reality which we have a hand in cultivating. In this third entry, we look to the familiar story of a wounded stranger on the roadside and consider the responses of those who happen to be passing by.

Scripture & Quotations

Luke 10:25-37
Horton Hears a Who, by Dr. Seuess
The Christ comes into the midst
of ongoing history, not at its end.
- Eugene Boring, An Introduction to the New Testament: History, Literature, Theology
The appearance of the merciful Samaritan on the Jericho road is not simply the arrival of another traveler, a despised enemy, or even a good example. It is, rather, the arrival of another world, an unexpected and life changing reality in which mercy overcomes alienation.
- Thomas G. Long, Proclaiming the Parables: Preaching and Teaching the Kingdom of God
I imagine that the first question the priest and Levite asked was: 'If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?' But by the very nature of his concern, the good Samaritan reversed the question: 'If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?’
- Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love
I am not yet discouraged about the future. Granted, the easygoing optimism of yesteryear is impossible. Granted, that those who pioneered in the struggle for peace and freedom will still face uncomfortable jail terms and painful threats of death; they will still be battered by the storms of persecution, leading them to the nagging feeling that they can no longer bear such a heavy burden; the temptation of wanting to retreat to a more quiet and serene life. Granted, that we face a world crisis which leaves us standing so often amid the surging murmur of life’s restless seas. But every crisis has both its dangers and its opportunities, its valleys of salvation or doom in a dark, confused world. The kingdom of God may yet reign in the hearts of men.
- Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Eulogy for James Reeb