Good Samaritans and waiters/waitresses

The Good Samaritan

This is actually a continuation of the last post because on the other blog, they are already up over 100 comments. One person posted and commented that the people that the New Testament is calling for us to help are the people within the Church, and only if there is enough left over are we to go outside the Church. That particular went on to comment that while it is true that the Gospels appeared to have a broader mandate, the Epistles limit the mandate. Frankly, that is the first time I have ever heard the Epistles used to try to limit the teachings of the Gospels. I suspect that many of you would tell me that is very bad hermeneutics.

Listed below is my reply to that statement.

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The whole point of the Parable of the Good Samaritan was to point out that our neighbor includes those who are completely outside the community of faith, as the Samaritans were. And, that those neighbors are to be helped. In the light of this discussion, I would like to point out that the Levite and the priest behaved exactly like the people in the story told by iMonk. It was the non-Jew who behaved like the Levite and the priest ought to have behaved.

I would also tend to add that, as far as the Orthodox are concerned, when one has to use a phrase like, “Certainly the Gospels give a broader picture of whom you should help …,” then one has already lost the argument. Among us, the Roman Catholics, and the Anglicans, the Gospel book is ceremonially processed through the congregation and its reading, during the Liturgy, is only permitted to a deacon or a priest. [I promise, all other times anyone can read the Gospels. GRIN.] To put it in more common terminology, for us, DA GOSPELS RULE!

In fact, a couple of quotes from the Early Church Fathers are apropo here. Speaking of this parable they say:

St. Bede – The Samaritan, whose name means “Defender,” stands for the Lord.

St. Ambrose – The whole human race would have fallen if that Samaritan, on His journey, had not tended its grievous injuries. . . . Who is the Guard if not He? . . . The Shepherd laid the weary sheep on His shoulders. . . . He sets us on His own beast, . . . so that through the taking on of flesh, He may abolish the weakness of our flesh. Then He led us who used to be beasts to the stable.

And finally, from the Epistles:

St. Paul – . . . while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. . . . when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son. . . .

Hebrews – Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.

Let us therefore go outside the camp also. And there let us meet the enemies, the Samaritans, the adulterous women. The Pharisees can take care of themselves.

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Frankly, I have no problem of taking care of those within our own community first. But, when that becomes an excuse for the failure to engage the outside community, then I have a problem. I was a missionary. I believe in the preaching of the Gospel. My wife and I left new congregations in Peru, and some of them have already planted daughter congregations. But we also left an orphanage and a parochial school. We also helped to send relief to a village that was hit by devastating mudslides, with 30 some people killed. It is not a question of one or the other. It is a question of having a wholistic witness for the Lord.