The Blessing of Descent

Luke 10.30-37 

Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

“By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

“Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.

The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”

Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

In the story of the Good Samaritan, we read a lot about the blessing of descent. The traveler is going from Jerusalem (the high place of worship) DOWN to Jericho (remembered as the city whose walls became a heap of rubble). This symbolizes the both physical descent in altitude as well as descent from the pinnacle of spirituality, down to the once pagan city that was the first one conquered in the Promised Land. On his way down, the wayfarer is set upon by robbers, beaten, and left DOWN on the ground. The high-born people, on their way UP to Jerusalem pass him by, but the LOWLY Samaritan comes DOWN off his donkey, bandages his wounds, puts him UP on his own animal, and takes him to an inn to receive care.

All of this is to illustrate the Greatest Commandment, to show the legalist how he could love God not by piety but by loving his neighbor. Jesus literally tells him to get off his high horse and become a servant. If you want to have a hero, Jesus says, emulate the lowly Samaritan rather than the "upstanding" priest and Levite.

By this story, Jesus demonstrates that the pinnacle of our divine experience isn't RELIGION, but RELATIONSHIP. God is far less concerned with religious activity and Temple mentality and Temple practice than He is with compassion and mercy towards our fellow human beings. Loving my neighbor is loving God, because Jesus said, "Whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me."