The story of the Good Samaritan leads Jesus to pose the question, “Which of these is your neighbor?”
The lawyer responded, “The one who treated him with compassion.”
Jesus said, “Then go and do the same.”
The parable stands at the heart of Jesus’ message of salvation. In effect, Jesus tells the lawyer (and all of us) that to be saved, whole, and happy we must love God and ourselves by loving our neighbors, including those for whom we may have no understanding or liking. Jesus asks us to act as the Samaritan does when he stops to help and heal another marginalized person, someone whose wounds and distress everyone else has ignored. He asks us to allow compassion to change our hearts and lives.
What experiences have taught you compassion and the need to be less judgmental?