A Samaritan who became Good Samaritan

GOSPEL THOUGHTS

*Ordinary Season:  Fifteenth Week :  Sunday*

*Gospel : Lk 10:25-37*

*First Reading : Dt 30:10-14*

*Responsorial Psalm : Ps 69:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36, 37*

*Second Reading : Col 1:15-20*

*A Samaritan who became Good Samaritan*

*1) The Challenge to call Samaritan as 'Good"*

In the cultural context of the parable, calling a Samaritan “good” would have been shocking and even offensive to many of Jesus' original listeners. 

Jews and Samaritans had long-standing hostility and distrust due to religious and ethnic differences. 

So for Jesus to make a Samaritan the hero of the story — and the one who embodies the essence of neighborly love — was radically countercultural.

*2) He Shows Compassion When Others Do Not*

Unlike the priest and the Levite who passed by the injured man, the Samaritan “had compassion.” 

This is the core of his “goodness”: not just feeling pity, but taking action to help.

God’s definition of goodness is not based on status, identity, or background, but on the heart’s response to others’ suffering. Compassion leads to action .

*3) He Goes Out of His Way to Help*

The Samaritan’s help is personal, costly, and time-consuming. 

He risks danger, uses his own resources, and sacrifices convenience for the sake of another.

Love that reflects God’s heart is sacrificial. Jesus Himself modeled this in His ministry and in giving His life for others

*4) He Helps Across Ethnic and Social Boundaries*

Jesus deliberately chooses a Samaritan to make the point that neighborly love transcends boundaries. 

The Samaritan helps a Jewish man — someone from a group that typically despised his own.

The “goodness” here isn’t just about the act, but about crossing lines of division to love someone different. 

This mirrors the Gospel, where Christ reaches across the divide between God and sinners.

*5) He Demonstrates the Law of Love*

The parable is a response to a lawyer’s question: “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29). 

Jesus flips the question around: it’s not about who qualifies as your neighbor, but what kind of neighbor are you?

The Good Samaritan represents what it means to fulfill the law — to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27). 

In this way, his actions reflect true righteousness.

*6) Jesus the Good Samaritan*

The Samaritan is called “Good” not just because of what he did, but because his goodness challenges our assumptions about who deserves love, and what it means to be holy. 

In Jesus’ teaching, goodness is not about religious status, but compassionate action. 

Ultimately, the Good Samaritan is a picture of Christ Himself, who had compassion on the wounded world and came to heal and restore.

*Think about it*

*God bless you and your family. Praying for you and your dear ones*

*Fr Maxim DSouza*

*Jeppu Seminary*

*Mangalore*