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Meditation: The Four Samaritans

1). Once there was a Good Samaritan traveling a country road who came across a man beaten and bruised. Using his cell phone the Samaritan immediately made an on-line donation to the Red Cross in honor of the man in the ditch.

Later, the Samaritan thought better of his actions, and immediately called Marriott to send a shuttle to the man in the ditch and set him up in a comfortable suite for three days, and to charge it to his Capital One card, so he could get airline miles in addition to his Marriott Reward points.

2). Once there was a Good Samaritan traveling a country road who came across a man beaten and bruised. Using Siri on his iPhone, the Samaritan immediately made a note to himself to develop a Samaritan App that would enable people to send help right away with one touch on their phone. The Samaritan App will ask permission to use your location.

3). Once there was a Good Samaritan traveling a country road who came across a man beaten and bruised. Later that day the Samaritan blogged about the importance of noticing people on the side of the road. Especially women and minorities. Then he tweeted a link to his blog. Later, the Samaritan kicked himself because he realized he should have shot some video of the man in the ditch. Video always enhances a blog post and those kinds of video are likely to go viral.

4). Once there was a Good Samaritan traveling a country road who came across a man beaten and bruised. The Samaritan stopped his car and ran to the man. He picked the man up and carried him to the car, which spoiled the interior of the car with bloodstains, as well as the Samaritan’s clothing. At the Emergency Room the Samaritan stayed with the man through the initial treatment. He offered to call his family and stay with the man until they came to his side. It turned out the man’s family couldn’t book a flight until the next day, so the Samaritan ended up at the man’s bedside for another 24 hours, during which time the police came and questioned the Samaritan about the incident—they told him he would have to testify at a trial if the thieves were ever captured.

The Samaritan lost two days of work and a thousand dollars of resale value on his car. His favorite suit was ruined. The Samaritan became frustrated because of the inconvenience, but he quickly saw how small-minded this was. He repented from his own personal lack of patience and realized more deeply than ever that loving his neighbor was costly.

When the man’s family arrived, the Samaritan learned the man was in reality the son of a Great King. The Great King bowed low to the Samaritan in gratitude and honored the Samaritan, declaring that because the Samaritan had stopped to care for the King’s son, the King would forever more watch over the Samaritan and his family.

Reader Comments (3)

Thanks for the reminder, Ray. Having just read it, Acts 9:15 comes to mind.

May 13, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterEd

I like that, Ed. The character of (little-known) Ananias is so fascinating to me. Just a "nobody" Christian in a faraway town who puts his own life at risk to follow the Holy Spirit's leading--and he (we!) discover he is ministering to a world-changer like Saul of Tarsus.

May 13, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterRay Hollenbach

To meditate on Luke 10:29-42 with the contrasts both of you present I realized that in 69 years I have been “all” characters except Jesus, but He was with me as He was with them. When in the role of the Good Muslim, oops Samaritan, the key to the successful healing was listening to the Holy Counselor to know how to first respond. I have been His instrument to heal physically, mentally and spiritually and each time with more than the resources necessary, including time (and a couple times just the exact amount of money????). Our Father knows and provides.

May 14, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterHerm

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