Episode Transcript  

One

The Good Samaritan

As we try to understand more deeply what it means to grow in holiness, we have to consider Jesus’ instructions for how to inherit eternal life. He gives those instructions in Luke 10, and follows it up with his most famous parable about love of neighbor, The Good Samaritan. We all know it, but listen to it now, and listen carefully, as we begin our meditation on God’s word.

“There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” He replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.’ Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Think about this and apply it to your life.

Two

Love of Neighbor

Jesus says that, at the end of the day, there are only two things we have to do: Love God and love neighbor. And these two things are connected, so connected that you can’t really have one without the other. St. John actually says, “If anyone says he loves God but hates his brother, he is a liar. For whoever does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.”

So it’s ultimately a waste of time if you’re trying to get closer to God without trying to love your neighbor better. 

And who is your neighbor? The parable of the Good Samaritan makes it clear: your neighbor is the needy person that God has put in your life. And you will come nearer to God to the extent that you are more willing to be generous to that person. 

So that’s the first question we need to ask ourselves: who is the needy person God has put in our lives? Who is the person who deserves our time and attention? Your spouse, an individual child, an elderly parent, or some friends tend to take more than they give? And what can we do to be more generous towards that person?

But there’s a second question we should probably ask ourselves, too, namely, what is it that tempts us to not be generous with the needy person God puts in our path? What was it that prompted the Levite and the Priest to ignore their neighbor?

Three

The Good Samaritan Study 

In 1973, two behavioral scientists conducted a study at Princeton Theological Seminary. The researchers asked the seminarians to prepare a homily, and a number of them were asked to prepare a homily specifically on the parable of the Good Samaritan. Then they were asked to walk across campus to deliver their sermon in another building. And here’s where it gets interesting.

Some of the seminarians were told they had plenty of time before they had to deliver their homily, there was no need to rush. Some of the seminarians were told they didn’t have a lot of time, but they didn’t need to worry. If they went now, they still had a good bit of leeway time before the sermon was scheduled. But the third group was told that there was very little time, that they needed to leave now, they were already late, and that they needed to really hurry to make it.

Now, to get to that second building, they had to go through a narrow alleyway, and the researchers had planted a man lying on the ground, looking like he was legitimately sick and in need of medical attention. So, some of the seminarians stopped to see if they could help the man. But some didn’t stop. Some went right past him to go deliver their homily. 

And the amazing thing is, whether a seminarian had prepared a homily on the good Samaritan didn’t actually make a difference regarding who stopped and offered to help, and who didn’t. What did make a difference was whether the seminarian thought he had time to spare or thought he needed to hurry. 

The seminarians in a hurry, the seminarians feeling anxious about what they had to get done, the vast majority of those seminarians didn’t stop. But the seminarians who felt unhurried, not anxious, the majority of those seminarians did stop. They were willing to act like the good Samaritan. And that is something for each one of us to think about.

Four

Making Yourself Available

Why did the Priest and the Levite not stop to help the man lying beaten and bloody on the road? Maybe because they felt busy. Maybe because they were in a hurry. Maybe because they felt they had something important to do and not enough time to do it in. Maybe they were like the seminarians in the study who were told they were late and had to hustle.

And isn’t that why we’re not as generous with other people as we should be? Because we think we don’t have the time? Because we have too much going on, too much to d,o and not enough time to do it in?

Which means if we want to be serious about loving our neighbor better, which is indispensable on the path to holiness, we’d should probably free up some time, reduce our to-do list, so we’re more available for the needy brothers and sisters God puts in our path.

Five

Resolution

Again, God has told us to imitate the Good Samaritan if we want to inherit eternal life. So first identify your neighbor. Think of the needy person God has put in your life, a person whom it would be generous to spend time on, to talk to, or do something for.

And then identify a time-constraint in your life that makes you less willing to help that person. And do whatever it takes to declutter your life, to the point that you are more willing and able to fulfill this second of the greatest commandments.

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