Jan Joest von Kalkar. Christ and The Good Samaritan at the Well.
Did you think there was only one good Samaritan story in the Gospels? There are three, and one was about a woman. The Jews in Jesus’ day despised Samaritans for being racially mixed with pagan ancestry and not adhering strictly to mainstream Judaism. Samaria was a large area in central Palestine between Galilee and Judea. Rather than contaminate themselves by walking through it, they would cross the Jordan River to walk all the way around it. Jesus passed through it frequently. He was thirsty and tired that day, so he sat down at the well.
The woman who came up to draw water was a Samaritan. She was alone because she was an outcast for her scandalous sexual behavior. Jesus, a Jew, was sitting there when she arrived that day and shocked her by talking to her. He chatted kindly but told her he knew she had been divorced five times and was currently living with a man she wasn’t married to. She was taken aback at first, but his manner was non-threatening, so she began to ask him questions about his religion versus hers. When she told him she believed the promised Messiah was coming, Jesus said to her, “You don’t have to wait any longer; the Anointed One is here speaking with you—I am the One you’re looking for.” Immediately she put down her jug and ran into town, telling everyone that the One they had been waiting for was at the well. Her neighbors came streaming out from the village to see. Many had failed to see the woman’s true goodness before but now believed because of her testimony. They thanked her and said, “Now we’ve heard him ourselves. We no longer believe just because of what you told us, but we are convinced he is the true Savior of the world!” 1
Will I offer Your love and presence to those who have rejected me?
The more familiar good Samaritan story is one that Jesus told to a young law expert who was only interested in justifying himself. When Jesus told him to love God and his neighbor, the young know-it-all asked who his neighbor was. Jesus answered with a story of a man robbed, beaten, stripped naked, and left to die on the side of the road. A priest passed by him without stopping, and then a Levite passed by him without stopping. Finally, a Samaritan came by and not only stopped to help the man but took him to a lodge and paid for all his expenses. When Jesus asked the young Jew which was the true neighbor, he had to answer that it was the man who had shown mercy. Then Jesus told him to go and do likewise.2
Will I stop long enough to see and succor Your broken people?
The third good Samaritan was a leper who was an outcast, forced to live outside of the village with nine other lepers. Leprosy was such a horrible, filthy and contagious disease no one would go near them. All ten believed in Jesus’ power to heal, so when they saw him walking by one day, they cried out from a distance for him to heal them. Rather than healing them on the spot, he told them to go show themselves to the priests. They were healed as they went. Only one of them, when he realized he was healed, turned and ran back, throwing himself at Jesus’ feet thanking him—it was the Samaritan. Jesus asked him, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”3
Will I, when my prayer is answered, return to thank You?
Who are my Samaritans? Non-Christians, Trumpists, progressives, Christians, republicans, democrats, abusive parents, self-centered siblings, illegal aliens, addicts, homeless people, wealthy people, corrupt politicians? All are sinners like me. These angry, awful, idolatrous, diseased people are not who they think they are and certainly not who I think they are. They are my neighbors and God’s beloved children who may not know it yet. Can I find Jesus in them in their distressing disguise? Will I quench their thirst a bit by my loving attention and acceptance? Can I have empathy for their pain I cannot see? Will I believe that they may become saints even if not yet? Will I see beyond what I see?
Will I be merciful to my neighbors whether their choices look good to me or not?
Jesus, our Good Shepherd, overcame death as the Lamb rejected and senselessly slaughtered by the wolves of dogma and self-justification. He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by his wounds, we are healed.4
I will, with the tenth leper, return to throw myself at His nailed feet and thank Him.
From The Hidden Life Awakened p128.
“When we defend ourselves, define another person or situation, or deny our culpability, we cease to see things as they really are. A situation that we label as terrible is, in reality, to be used in some mysterious way for our good. We might label a woman a snob because she is too beautiful or successful, so we never see her heart. A child might be giving us a difficult time, so we label him ‘a problem child’ and relate to him from that place, never seeing his heart or our part in the problem. That child belongs to God. We need to trust Him to be as creative with our children as He has been with us. We get so caught up in competing, comparing, and controlling that there is no hope of love
.Only those who have confronted their pride and come to humility fully experience harmony in relationship with God, with others, and with self. Such harmony then opens an infinite vastness for others to move about freely in. Remember that love always takes the initiative. Love affirms and honors the dignity of each human soul. Love feels no power or superiority in the humiliation and desecration of another fellow sufferer.”