Samaritan

Tonight at confirmation we discussed the parable of the good Samaritan.
If you haven't read it/heard it for awhile, I'd really recommend checking it out.
It's quite a thought-provoking tale.
This year for confirmation class (during the small group time),
I'm hanging out with a group of 8th grade girls.
It was truly inspiring to hear the girls connect the parable with their lives at school.

The parable made me think a lot about what it means to be a "neighbor."
In the parable, a man gets beat up by robbers and he ends up in a ditch.
We don't really know anything about the man.
A priest (a super "holy" guy) walks past him without helping.
A Levite (another super "holy" guy) walks past without helping.
A Samaritan (a total outcast of society) stops to help.
I was particularly struck tonight by the fact it totally does NOT matter to the Samaritan who the hurt man is, what the hurt man does for a job, what the hurt man's religious preference is, what the hurt man likes to eat, or any past sins the hurt man has committed.

The Samaritan sees that there's a beat-up person in the ditch - and he helps.
He helps in a really major way. Wounds are bandaged - bills are paid.

The parable made me wonder:
"Who are the beat-up people in my community?
Where are the ditches?
And how can I be a lot more like the Samaritan - and a lot less like the Levite?"