If we want to be the change we want to see in the world, we know that Jesus says, we need to practice the Be-Attitudes. We need to be:

Of all the tales Jesus tells, there is no better example of the embodiment of these Be-Attitudes than in the story of the man that we know of as the Good Samaritan.

25On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26″What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

27He answered: ” `Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, `Love your neighbour as yourself.'”  28″You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” 30In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. `Look after him,’ he said, `and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ 36″Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” Luke 10.25-37

Now what would you say is the point of this story?

I can think of three points.

1. 1. The first point would be that we need to show mercy to others.

(Yes. But there is more)

1. 2. The second point would be that we need to show mercy to those who are not the same as us.

(Yes. But if that was the only other point that Jesus wanted to make, the rescuer in the story would have been a Jew and the victim in the story would have been a Samaritan).

1. The third – and most important – point Jesus wanted to make in this story (by casting the Jew in the role of the victim and the Samaritan in the role of the rescuer) is that sometimes the only way we are going to learn about the need to show mercy to those who are not the same as us is if we are taught it by a righteous person from a different religion.

When we read the story of the Good Samaritan in the light of the Be-Attitudes we have discussed, its clear that, on the one hand, Jesus was condemning the leaders of his own religion for not practicing what he preached; and on the other hand, was commending a despised person from a different religion as an great example of all that Jesus was on about.

The Good Samaritan embodied the Be-Attitudes perfectly. He identified with the ‘poor man’ he came across ‘in spirit’. He ‘grieved’ over the injustice done him like he ‘grieved’ over the injustice done to himself. He got ‘angry enough to act’, but controlled his rage so he used his energy constructively to deal with the injustice. He ‘sought to do justice’ to the victim, by rescuing him from danger, even though the Jew was the Samaritan’s traditional enemy.  He ‘extended mercy’ to the broken man, by bathing his wounds in oil, binding his injuries in cloth, carrying him to safety on his donkey, and not only paying for his care at a road side inn, but also offering to pay more, if what he had already paid was not enough. He ‘acted with integrity’, not for the publicity, by quietly helping the man, and then quickly moving on. In so doing he ‘built a bridge of peace’ between the Samar-itans and the Jews ‘at the risk of being ridiculed by both sides’. In other words, the Good Samaritan embodied the Be-Attitudes celebrated in the Beatitudes.

And Jesus says to all who would listen: “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10.25-37)

Now if Jesus was telling the story of the Good Samaritan to Christians today, I’ve no doubt he would give the role of the Good Samaritan to someone who is as despised by Christians as Samaritans were despised by Jews.

Who do you think Jesus would cast in the role of the Good Samaritan today?

There are many possibilities. I think it would depend on the particular prejudices of the Christian he was talking to. But my guess is there would be a good chance that Jesus would choose a Good Muslim for the role of the Good Samaritan!

Let me tell you about three Good Muslims who are great examples to me.

I met Hasan as Hazara asylum seeker. He is doctor. Who had to flee Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban for treating Pushtu soldiers who were wounded in an attack on his village. Hasan now has his resident visa and serves the refugee community as their mental health worker, helping them cope with their painful experiences of torture and trauma. I once asked Hasan how his faith in God affected his community work and he said “Allah is merciful and we should be merciful too”.

Rahim is Hasan’s friend. I met him when I met Hasan. He is an agriculturalist. Who had to flee from Afghanistan when his development work for the United Nations made him a marked man. He bumped into Hasan when they jumped onto the same leaky boat that was heading to Australia. Since he has arrived, Rahim has worked with my son-in-law Marty in setting up a co-op to provide work for unemployed refugees. Many times Rahim has been offered easier work with higher pay. But he has consistently rejected better options for himself to create better options for others.

Asif owns the café across the road. He is a dedicated Muslim who migrated from Indonesia to Australia many years ago. Recently Asif decided to be initiated as a dervish in the Sufi tradition. I have been meeting regularly with Asif for some time now to encourage each other in our faith. Asif reckons that the best thing that people from the Abrahamic traditions can do – to nurture a spirited faith, over against our doctrinaire beliefs – is to recover the radical compassion of Jesus. Time and again it is the gentle voice of my Sufi friend who calls me back to the example of Jesus. Only last week, we spent an hour together meditating on the love of God revealed to us in Jesus.

And Jesus says to all who would listen: “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10.25-37)

Dave Andrews

From Hey, Be And See (Authentic)