The Gospel for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost is from Luke 10:25-37. This passage contains the Parable of the Good Samaritan. In the parable, a despised Samaritan shows greater compassion toward a wounded Jew than representatives of the Jewish religious elite do. This striking parable is very important as an encouragement to show mercy. Unfortunately, the story has often been taken out of context and simplified so that it just means "be nice to everybody." Although Christians certainly should be kind and should show mercy to other people, the context in the Gospel deals with a more basic spiritual and moral issue.
The issue concerns the attitudes toward both God and neighbor that lead to eternal life. The Parable of the Good Samaritan is addressed to an outwardly pious lawyer. The man likes to follow the rules, and he wants to test Jesus. The man thinks that he already has all the answers. However, instead of debating the man, Jesus tells a story that transcends legalistic categories. The point is that any human being can be a neighbor, and basic attitudes and actions are more important than social conventions. Qualities such as faith, love, mercy, sincerity, fairness, etc., transcend legal definitions and societal norms.
Although rules can be of some practical use as guides, the underlying attitudes accompanied by kind deeds are the key. So the parable is not a legalistic principle. Rather, it is an encouragement to seek divine grace and embody loving attitudes to God and neighbor!
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