阅读经文 

这段经文包括两个故事：遭强盗殴打的人的比喻，和关于耶稣与律法师的故事。律法师主要是问“谁是我的邻舍？”而耶稣主要是问“在这个故事中，谁是邻舍？”

律法师没有说撒玛利亚人是邻舍，但他承认那个施怜悯的人就是邻舍。撒玛利亚人至少在三方面向被殴打的人施怜悯：

他敞开他的心。“看见他，就动了慈心。”这路过的人看见有人有需要，他便关心他。受了伤的人的生命是重要的。（参路 10:33）

他腾出时间来。“在他的伤处，包裹好了。”他搁置自己的计划来帮助他的邻舍，甚至不介意双手触摸到伤口的血。（参路 10:34）

他打开他的钱包。撒玛利亚人带伤者到一个安全的地方，又支付照顾他的费用，他甚至说将会回来支付照顾他时任何需要的其他费用。

在这个故事中，祭司和利未人明显地不被人看好。他们知道应该做什么，但他们却没有去做。我们需要承认，我们中间差不多每一个人都有一些“祭司和利未人”的心态的。看见有需要的人时，我们多少时候会转过头去不予理睬呢？

There are two stories in this Bible passage: the parable about the man beaten by robbers, and the story about Jesus and the expert in the law. The main question from the legal expert was “Who is my neighbor?” And the main question from Jesus was “In this story, who was being a neighbor?”

Without saying it was the Samaritan, the legal expert admitted that the neighbor was the one who showed mercy. The Samaritan showed mercy to the beaten man in at least three ways:

He opened his heart. “When he saw him, he took pity on him.” The traveler saw a fellow human in need, and he cared. The injured man’s life mattered.

He opened his schedule. “He went to him and bandaged his wounds…” He set aside his own plans to help his neighbor, to the point of getting blood on his hands.

He opened his wallet. Bringing the injured man to a safe place, the Samaritan paid for his care and even said he would pay later for additional care that might be needed.

Of course, in this story the priest and the Levite did not look good. They knew what to do, and they failed to act. We need to admit that there is some part of the “priest and Levite” in most of us. How often do we see people in need and conveniently look the other way?