(Please read the Scripture passage before reading the homily.)
“And who is my neighbor?” Once upon a time, in Washington, both Houses of Congress decided that they needed special and distinctive suits either of purple of orange cloth. So it happened that on another day, the Speaker of the House walked home from the office and saw a person badly beaten and left for dead on the curb. So purple suit and all, he passed by on the far side of the street. Later the Speaker of the Senate walked home in his bright orange suit. He likewise saw the man and passed by on the far side. Then a Taliban person came walking down the street and saw the man. Moved with pity, he carried the man to the nearest hospital, checked him in and to take care of him, this our insurance would cover the costs. Who was neighbor to the victim?
The road from Jerusalem to Jericho. I understand, had many curves and many places when bandits could hide and surprise their victims. The road was also the road from the Temple to the homes of the priests and Levites who worked in the Temple. The elite of the people is Israel did not get involved with the victim of crime. On the other hand, the despised, semi-heretical and partly-foreign Samaritan came by and came to the aid of the victim. The shock to Jesus’ audience was probably worse than your reaction to my version.
There is another aspect of the story. The neighboring of the Samaritan is also the neighboring of the victim. Both are reconciled in the act of mercy, one by showing mercy and one by receiving it.
To follow Jesus means to take up a radical way of living. Enemies become neighbors and friends, even if former friends turn away from us. This is how we inherit eternal life. “Now, go and do likewise.”