In the time of the evangelist Luke, when the community of believers was now composed of Jews and growing number of Gentile converts, the parable of the Good Samaritan would serve as a reminder that Jesus broke the dividing wall that separated Jews and Gentiles. For Jews at that time, pagans/Gentiles and Samaritans were outsiders. The Gentiles worshipped idols. The Samaritans might consider themselves children of Abraham, but the Jews considered them “half-breed,” descendants of mixed marriages of Jews and pagans. Moreover, they worshiped God in their temple on Mount Gerizim rather than in Jerusalem. But through the guidance of the Lord himself, the deacon Philip preached and converted many people in Samaria, Peter received the household of pagan centurion Cornelius to the community of believers, and Paul became the apostle to the Gentiles. The parable of the Good Samaritan reveals that the human heart which empathizes with the suffering of people answers to the great commandment of love of neighbor.

The story of the Good Samaritan continues to challenge us today. Pope Francis encourages us to view our world as one global village— we are neighbors without borders, a society open to integrate everyone, bonded by “social friendship and universal fraternity [that] necessarily call for an acknowledgement of the worth of every human person” (Fratelli Tutti, 106).

This is the word of the Lord that came to Jonah, son of Amittai: “Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and preach against it; their wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah made ready to flee to Tarshish away from the Lord. He went down to Joppa, found a ship going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and went aboard to journey with them to Tarshish, away from the Lord.

The Lord, however, hurled a violent wind upon the sea, and in the furious tempest that arose the ship was on the point of breaking up. Then the mariners became frightened and each one cried to his god. To lighten the ship for themselves, they threw its cargo into the sea…

Still the men rowed hard to regain the land, but they could not, for the sea grew ever more turbulent. Then they cried to the Lord: “We beseech you, O Lord, let us not perish for taking this man’s life; do not charge us with shedding innocent blood, for you, Lord, have done as you saw fit.” Then they took Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea’s raging abated. Struck with great fear of the Lord, the men offered sacrifice and made vows to him.

But the Lord sent a large fish, that swallowed Jonah; and Jonah remained in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. From the belly of the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord, his God. Then the Lord commanded the fish to spew Jonah upon the shore.

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” He replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”

But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.’ Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”