Go And Do The Same

“There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho…” Luke 10:25

That sentence starts one of the most important segments of the New Testament, a small portion but profound. It probably reduces the broad, sweeping message of Jesus to one fundamental statement: “Go and do the same.”

The man in the crowd asked his question, got an answer, asked another question and got a story that has the potential of reshaping the world. At the end of the story, Jesus asks the curious man: Which of the three men who looked into the ditch and saw the dying man was his neighbor? “The one who treated him kindly,” the questioner answered. “Go and do the same.”

The irony was, of course, is that the kind man was a sworn enemy of the man in the ditch. Jews and Samaritans hated each other. But “the good Samaritan” was the source of life, healing, and kindness. I wonder: if I ended up in a ditch from a severe accident and my life was slipping away, would I turn away the help of someone I don’t like, someone I hate? Who is my neighbor? Imagine yourself into the story. You are the person in the ditch, severely injured. Would you think it important to check the passport of someone who stopped to help? Would you demand to know about their political persuasion? How about whether their religious beliefs were acceptable? “Before you bandage me, show me your immigration papers. Are you straight or gay or liberal or conservative?” Some people, it seems, would rather die than deal with one of “those.”

Who is my neighbor? “The one who treated him kindly,” It’s so simple; it really is. “Go and do the same,” Jesus said. Let every day be defined by your kindness. Even if you are on your back, bleeding in a ditch and kindness comes dressed in the garb of your adversary or enemy, be kind enough to receive the hand that reaches out to you. Take it. You might be taking the hand of God.

Be kind to everyone you meet. Everyone. And you will live in more ways than you can imagine.