The Good Palestinian

I was preaching Sunday on the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Most people know that the Samaritans and Jews didn't get along; in fact, if the Jewish victim of the story spotted a Samaritan, he'd have avoided any contact. They weren't friends. So Jesus tells a story to get us to expand our definition of neighbor to anyone whose need we see. Today if He were telling the story, I don't think He would mention the Samaritans--there are very few left. Jesus would likely tell about the "Good Palestinian". The problem with many people today is they have some group in mind where the name of the group and "good" would hardly be used in the same sentence. The point of our Lord's story isn't simply that we ought to be rendering "good deeds" to those in need, but to recognize that everyone we meet is our neighbor, regardless of their ethnicity, gender, faith or social status...they are people we need to "love as ourselves."