Walking the Walk

Guillaume Bodinier, The Good Samaritan,
1826 (Wikimedia Commons)

Today's Gospel lesson from Luke 10 was about the Good Samaritan:

But wanting to justify himself, [the lawyer] asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.

Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, `Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.' Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?" He said, "The one who showed him mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

Comments:
1) In Sunday School we learned the simple version of the story, that Samaritans were not expected to behave honorably but in Jesus' parable the Samaritan was the only one who helped the wounded man. The Samaritan was the good guy.
2) The enmity between Jews and Samaritans dated back centuries, with the Samaritans ignoring Jewish laws, dietary customs, and social norms.
3) Jesus emphasized the principle that it is not social status or speech that matters but how one behaves.
4) Signalling real virtue comes at a cost in time and money, not on a bumper sticker or a social media post or sign posted on one's lawn (note: I haven't done the research about whether these examples existed in Jesus's time).