Lectio Divina – Luke 10:25-37
1. Lectio – Reading
Read the passage slowly and attentively.
First Reading Notes (NABRE):
- Story of the good Samaritan.
- Christ takes a trap and turns it to his own missionary purpose.
- But he does so with truth, and goodness.
- “Scholar of the Law” in NABRE, “Lawyer” in NJB.
- I wonder why Priest and Levite are separated out, I would assume those would be synonyms at this time. But they’re clearly two different types of people. Will need to look into this.
Second Reading Notes (Greek):
- Words in question:
- ἱερεύς /hiereus/ - one who preforms sacrificial rites.
- Λευίτης /levitis/ - a Levite.
- Interpretation
- Ah, okay. All priests were Levites in Second Temple Judaism, but not all Levites are priests (descended from Aaron). So here, we have a line of people, each a little less fancy/respectable than the last, ending with the Samaritans weren’t well thought of.
- Both of these first two would have religious obligations here, and would be held to a high standard, and neither does. Each would have been understood to know and live the law. Only the more detestable one treats the injured man as his neighbor, and thus follows the law as its intended.
- Possibly a subtext of legalism versus having the law written on one’s heart?
- Northern Tribe v. Southern Tribe beef continues. John 4.
- Is there some question or concern with ritual purity, if they thought the man was a corpse? Numbers 19.11-13.
Words or phrases that stood out:
- Mercy (NABRE) and Pity (NJB)
- ἔλεος - pity, mercy, compassion; benefit which results from compassion, kindness, mercies, blessing.
- Pity seems to me to have a slightly negative connotation that mercy lacks. But clearly we’re working with the same Greek word, here. That probably says more about me than it does the text.
Observations about the text:
It’s interesting as someone not from this culture and time how the people of Samaria are often held up as paragons of all that’s wrong for the Jews of the Second Temple. Ethnically and religiously, to me, they are clearly related. However each views the other as corrupted or schismatic, misinterpreting what’s important.
It’s interesting that Christ uses this bias like a mirror for his audience, showing them to themselves by casting those they detest in the more favorable light. This could be an interesting sort of spiritual exercise.
What people do I detest? Who do I think badly about without cause? Can I imagine them as loving family members? Those who hold doors for the elderly or pregnant? Do they like dogs, and do the dogs like them back?
This is sort of the inverse of a philosophical exercise Marcus Aurelius describes in Book X.19 of Meditations:
What creatures they are; they eat, sleep, copulate, relieve nature, and so on; then what are they like as rulers, imperious or angry and fault-finding to excess; yet but yesterday how many masters were they slaving for and to what purpose, and to-morrow they will be in a like condition.
Marcus is trying to break his tendency towards enchantment with the world. He is trying to refocus himself from the trappings of importance, and note that we’re all just men doing our allotted tasks. Set a side the purple, and get to work.
Here, rather than imagining fancy people are their worst to avoid holding men in too high esteem, Christ invites us to imagine those we think less of at their best. Rather than shaking a preoccupation with what our neighbors have or do, Christ calls us to be a neighbor, to show mercy, and do what is right. In this passage, the best of the good Samaritan is better still than the Sons of even Aaron. That’s something.
2. Meditatio – Meditation
Reflect deeply on the meaning.
Personal reflections and connections:
- In the West, and probably in all of modernity, the view of the people of Samaria is totally shaped by this passage. The biases and sectarianism of the Second Temple era are gone. For us here, the Samaritans are not religious schismatics worshiping on the wrong mountain, but instead the example of the good man we are called to be. There’s a certain poetic justice to this. I wonder if the student of the law had any inkling that his question would reshape the view of a whole people? I think probably not.
Images, thoughts, or memories stirred by the text:
- My view of the story of the good Samaritan was not very nuanced growing up. I don’t (and didn’t) have any of the context or baggage associated with that people, so for me, the lesson didn’t quite land the same. I did understand that juxtaposition of a priest ignoring one who needed help, and a foreigner stopping to offer help. Not only that, but he goes above and beyond, ensuring that the man is cared for across a number of days, not just in the immediate.
- Who would Jesus cast as the Samaritan today to get passed my pride?
3. Oratio – Prayer
Respond to God in prayer.
Prayer:
- Lord, cleanse our hearts of the biases and bigotries of our peoples and our nations. In their place, inculcate in us a love for those who need us the most. Help us to set aside a fascination with the form of the law, and help us to live the spirit of the law as You taught us. Inscribe on our hearts a love of God, and a love of neighbor. Amen.
4. Contemplatio – Contemplation
Rest in God’s presence.
Time in silence:
Closing Prayer
- Lectio Prayer:
Lord, thank your for this time with your Word. Allow understanding to enter our minds and hearts, and change those minds and hearts that we may better emulate your Son, Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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