The Better Samaritan

I'd like to add something to the Gospel Parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10: 25-37): The Jew going down the road to Jericho was ambushed, robbed, beaten and left for dead... the Priest passed by without as much as a word of consolation, do did the Levite. But the Samaritan took it upon himself to nurse him and get him to a nearby inn for further attention. (Now for my addition...) He left the inn to trace the very track the Jew undertook, in order to encounter the robbers who did this to the Jew. He met them in order to help them see what good they could do in life. He wanted to show them what great things God wanted them to do rather than get stuck in the wilderness, running, hiding, looting and bringing harm to fellow human beings. He went back to the route to ensure that no one ever has to endure what the Jew endured during his journey.

What the good Samaritan did was indeed praiseworthy, noble and courageous indeed. But what the 'better' Samaritan did was empowering; not just tackling the individual symptoms of a malice but tackling the very root of the issue. Given our potential today, we really can effect changes that eradicate some of the evils that plague our society... if only we can move beyond the 'single Jew' at hand.