Gatorade, Gunfire and the Good Samaritan

Last updated on: August 27, 2013 at 3:06 pm by Paul Louis Metzger

Gatorade, Gunfire and the Good Samaritan 2013-08-27T15:06:44-07:00 Paul Louis Metzger

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

In view of the biblical command to care for one’s neighbor, what does it look like to love a diverse neighbor as oneself?

In Luke 10:25-37, Jesus tells a Jewish religious teacher to be like a despised Samaritan who loved a man (likely a Jewish man) beaten, robbed and left for dead as he himself would hope to be loved. Samaritans were often despised by Jewish people because of their different religious views and heritage. The hated Samaritan compassionately cared for this helpless man, cleansing and bandaging his wounds, and transporting him to a safe and restful shelter where he could heal. Jesus wants us to be like this Samaritan man. The Samaritan did not ask the man what he believed before helping him. He did not ask him to pay him back for the expenses at the inn. He simply cared for the man, no matter what and with no strings attached.

What would this text look like in our day, if, for example, the story entailed Christians and Muslims?

A team of Christian Army chaplains in Texas provide dates and Gatorade during Ramadan to Muslim military personnel for their rejuvenation at sundown when they find relief from their daily fast during military training exercises. As military chaplains, they are required to care for the spiritual needs of people of all faiths in their jurisdiction, not just fellow Christians. As Christians, in view of such texts like the Samaritan story, they are required to love their neighbors as themselves, including Muslims, no matter the tensions Christianity and Islam have endured in their engagement with one another over the generations. Whether or not any Muslim converts to Christ as a result of these acts of kindness, these Christian chaplains want to demonstrate to these Muslims and everyone else that they themselves have been converted to Christ and what conversion to Christ entails.

I have also heard of Muslim tribesmen caring for a fallen American soldier who had crawled into their village during time of war, no ceasefire in sight. Instead of turning the American soldier over to his enemies, these tribesmen honored their long-standing custom to care for anyone in need, no matter who they were, even this American soldier, even at great cost to themselves.

The Jewish scholar to whom Jesus spoke and the rest of us have more than a thing or two to learn about hospitality from this Samaritan, these American military chaplains, and these Muslim tribesmen. They teach us that loving our neighbors as ourselves goes beyond caring for those who think and believe like us, those who like us, or those we like. No matter how different we are from these models of hospitality and neighborliness, may we become more like them.

This piece is cross-posted at The Institute for the Theology of Culture: New Wine, New Wineskins and at The Christian Post.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

August 21, 2013

“The Buddhists Are Coming! The Buddhists Are Coming!”

Next Post

August 25, 2013 Born Free. Live Free.

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month June 2025 April 2025 March 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz