Jesus as the Good Samaritan

I think it’s safe to say that most of us know this Parable of the Good Samaritan pretty well and can probably recount the story by heart. It’s so familiar to us that the temptation is that we either skirt over it or we view it through just one lens, that being a moral tale reminding us to love our neighbor. That’s certainly part of it – I mean, after all, Jesus ends the story by saying, “Go and do likewise.” And yes, we should. We are called to love as the Samaritan did: to care, to stop, to serve, and to give without counting the cost.

But, if we only see this parable as a call to imitate the Samaritan, we’re kind of missing its deeper meaning. Because before it’s about what we should do, it’s about what Jesus has already done. Above all, the Good Samaritan is a self-portrait of Jesus.

We are the ones left on the side of the road – bruised, beaten, abandoned. The effects of sin – both our own and those of others – have wounded us in some way. Each of us have known rejection. We’ve felt shame. We’ve carried burdens of guilt and discouragement. Too often, we are the stranger on the side of the road and people walk right by us. They don’t notice. They don’t stop. They don’t care. … But Jesus does. He does see us. He comes to us. He stoops down, lifts us up, and mends our wounds.

Through the Incarnation, the Lord of the Universe, the One who created the heavens and the earth, steps into our world; He becomes one of us; He walks our roads; He journeys with us. And like the Samaritan, He doesn’t just offer words – He pours the oil and wine of His grace into our wounds. He pays our debt not with silver or gold, but with His own precious Blood. And then He entrusts our care to the innkeeper – the Church – so that we can continually be nourished through Her sacraments, through the ministry of priests. And the Lord provides that so that His healing can continue until He comes again.

This parable isn’t just a model for how we should treat others. It’s a reminder of how Jesus has treated us. The only reason we’re asked to be Good Samaritans is because He was one for us first. And He did that and continues to do it for one simple reason…because He loves us. That’s the heart of it all. Not because we’ve earned it. Not because we’ve done anything to deserve it. But simply because He loves us. And it’s a love that is freely given despite how we fail to love Him in return.

Every single day, we wound the heart of Jesus with our sins…when we don’t love our neighbor as we should; when we fail to follow His will perfectly; when we neglect our spiritual life. And yet, every day, He still chooses us; He longs to stay close to us. He enters our pain. When we suffer, He suffers. When we cry, He weeps. When we feel abandoned, He whispers, “You are not alone.”

St. Paul tells us in our second reading that Jesus is “the image of the invisible God.” He existed before anything else. In Him, all things are held together. He is not just a wise teacher or the latest spiritual guru. He is God Himself – our Creator, our Redeemer, our King. He is the One who came down into the mess of our lives to bring us back home to the Father. He had absolutely nothing to gain…He doesn’t need us – He’s God, He is lacking for nothing. But you know what? He did it anyway. And He is still doing it. Because that’s who He is. He desires us.

And tonight/today, He’s doing it again…right here, right now. In this Mass, He’s coming to us again – not in a story, but in the Flesh. In the Eucharist, the Good Samaritan walks right up to us. He stops beside us. He kneels in front of us. He offers Himself to us. He enters into our brokenness – not just to sympathize, but to save.

So, when we come forward today to receive Him, don’t let it be routine. Recognize Him. Invite Him in. Ask Him to heal what’s wounded, to strengthen what’s weak, to restore what’s been lost. Because He is here for us. And then, we have a choice to make. How will we respond to Him? Let our answer be giving Him our hearts. Not just a piece of them…but our whole hearts. Let’s respond not just with words that can so often mean nothing…but let’s respond with our lives.

This week, let’s not walk past the people lying on the roadside of our lives. Let’s see them. Let’s stop. Let’s care. Let’s be Jesus for them. Let’s follow His example. What He has done for us, let us do for others. Because that’s how we show we’re truly grateful – by becoming what we’ve received.

Jesus says, “Go and do likewise.” And if we do, He promises something even more: that in loving others, we will find ourselves more fully alive. So, let’s go out and make it count.