7 September 2013 - A Change of Altitude and Attitude

Several years ago, I was traveling along an interstate with some friends. We stopped at a rest stop and on the way in noticed a group of men who were rough to say the least.  Tattoos, chains, etc. My attitude was that these were people to be avoided. After eating, we went to start our car—dead.  I know nothing about cars, so just looked around in desperation.  Most people just ignored me.  One of the “rough men” pulled out jumper cables and helped me.  It changed my attitude about him.

Today, we hear Jesus telling us a story that is familiar to us: the parable or story of the Good Samaritan.   Luke is the only one of the four gospels that includes this parable.  

What is a parable?  It is a story, using ordinary, simple situations to teach great truths.    Some of us are familiar with Aesop’s fables.  These are also parables.  In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus is teaching what it means to be a good neighbor.

Let’s look at the story for a moment.  Jesus situates it on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho.  While Jericho is about 18 miles northeast of Jerusalem, Jesus described the journey as “going down” to Jericho.  It truly was downhill all the way.  Jerusalem is 2500 hundred feet above sea level; Jericho is 825 feet below sea level.  The trip was a drop in altitude of more than a half mile.   The story speaks not only of a change in altitude, but also a change in attitude.

While we don’t really take notice of it, the example that Jesus used would have shocked the listeners of his day.  For the example of a good neighbor, he used a Samaritan.  What is a Samaritan?  Samaritans are close to the Jews, but not Jews. In the sixth century BC, the Israelites were exiled to Babylon (which was near the modern Baghdad).  The Samaritans were a group that remained behind and claim to have retained the true religion that had been changed by the Jews. Perhaps because they are so close yet different, they are enemies. One would definitely not expect a person from one group to be helping another. 

The parable that Jesus tells makes not mention of the man who had been robbed and beaten and then helped by a Samaritan.  He must have been shocked when his own passed him  by and  he was being helped by someone he regarded as a natural enemy.  One would hope that the incident challenged him to re-think his attitude towards others who were different.  Maybe we should do the same.